| Photo ID # | d03.11.07_093_097_EWS_0070_1 |
| Car #: | #93 & #97 |
| Driver (s) : | Dick Havens in George Taylor owned #93 and Sammy Beavers in the Ruberti owned #97. |
| Location: | East Windsor |
| Date: | Early 70's |
| Photographer: | Ace Lane Sr. |
| Photo provided by: | Ace Lane Jr. |
| Comments: | Two
great looking coupes and 2 great drivers. This is my favorite version of the #93 owned by George Taylor from Morrisville, Pa. This car just looked great, and ever since someone told me that it was lettered by Tom Backes (who also lettered the Piscopo #39's out of Morrisville, I can picture switching the #'s around. The #97 was an absolutely gorgeous car. I always thought of it as being copper with bright white wheels and a great lettering job. The car always looked just a little wide to me, and because of it, it looked like it had a real good hold on the track. I remember Sammy Beavers and Al Tasnady driving this car at East Windsor. One thing this photo reminds us is how many "teams" there were back in the 70's that had a hired driver... The Deasey 707, The Norcia #81, The Brenn #24... the list goes on.. Seems to me that in the early 70's all but a few of the modifieds were driven by someone different than the person who owned the car. Compare that today and you'll find that almost all the cars, in all divisions are owned and driven by the same individual... and I think I know the answer. To put a car together in the early 70's it took ingenuity, grunt work, fabrication ability, time, a place to meet and work on the car... and a few $'s. Often times there were people that were willing to put all that into a car and then find the best "shoe" they could to grip the wheel. In some cases, maybe the owner was a former driver who now felt that someone else could do a better job behind the wheel. In some cases the owner was someone who was honest enough with himself to know that his talents were under the hood, or under the chassis.... someplace other than behind the wheel. While there are certainly sacrifices made by anyone who fields a race car today, and it still requires many of the same things as in years past... $'s has to be at the top of the list in today's short track racing. And when it comes down to it, I don't think there are that many people out there willing to hand somebody $50k just to watch somebody else drive the car. |
| Visitor's Comments | To add your comments about THIS PHOTO - Click Here | |
| Date: | Visitor's Name: | Comment: |
| 03/19/07 | Wayne Weaver | I think you are right on track with your theory about owner driver
arrangements today compared to the old days! I was very good friends with the Ruberti's.
In fact my brother Paul's very first coupe was an ex Bronze Ruberti coupe. Tony was a very skilled craftsman. He made his living as a engine machinist. He built many engines for some top teams of the day. I worked for the Ruberti's in their engine machine shop and learned a lot from Tony. Tony died suddenly of a massive heart attack in 1997 it was a sad day, I remember it well. I remember going over to the Ruberti's house as a kid and admiring this car. One thing that stands out, Tony always named his cars. If you look close at this photo on the front of the roof it says "Pathfinder" The car my brother purchased was the "defiant one" The Ruberti T4 that Tony Siscone won features at Pleasantville Speedway was "Pappy's toy". Dave still has the last #97 Gremlin in a garage. The car is just as it came off the track in the early 80's. One of these day I am going to convince Dave to bring the car out for some Vintage Stock car events. |
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