c03.19.06_010_LEW_DOR_0079

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Date:	Visitor's Name:	Comment:
03/30/06	Troy Kline	The "Darth Vader" of Dorney Park... For some reason, as a kid and a fan of Jack Follweiler, Gus Lewis was always "the bad guy" when I was at The Park. That white and black 85 and the way he sat all the way in the back seat for some reason made me think of him as the guy I'd root against.
04/07/06	Wayne Urffer	I know what you mean, Troy. But it was that way for a lot of Dorney drivers: a saint one Saturday night, the devil the next. George Wambold was so unpopular at one point (1982 or 83, I think) that he actually quit Dorney for a while, but he came back and won the points title and "Most Popular Driver" in 1984. Bob Hunsicker in the #50 late model was very popular until the night (1978, I think) when he ran Clarence Ruppert into the infield a half-lap from the end of a feature, and after that he was one of the least popular drivers I've ever seen at Dorney. Neil Beech in the #28 late model was very popular when he raced at Dorney in the early 70's, but when he came back in 1980 after a few years layoff, he got booed every Saturday night. Lots of really good drivers went up and down in popularity--Jack Follweiler, Terry Markovic, Joe Sinkievic, Doug Hoffman, Kevin Rex...on and on. The Dorney crowd was sometimes hard to figure. I've often wondered if such was the case at other local tracks.
04/07/06	3-Wide	Its an interesting subject Troy and Wayne. I've found if a driver gets booed it's usually one of 3 things: 1. Winning too much 2. Causing a few too many accidents 3. Saying something over the mic or in print that makes them look like they are whining I remember reading somewhere that we are a country that loves to root for the underdog... enjoy their rise to the top... do what we can to destroy them.... and then root for them once again when they are down on their luck.
04/14/06	Troy	Wayne, We're kind of getting off topic but now that you mention Clarence Ruppert it brings back some great memories. My uncle, Donald Kline, raced at Dorney in the 60's and 70's and had one feature win to his credit. My father helped him all through that time. Then, after my uncle quit racing, my father helped Clarence for a couple years (because they both worked together) before moving to the grandstands with me and my mother. Clarence was always an underdog and one of the reasons was because he always ran Fords. There weren't many at the time but right around the same time of Bill Elliott's rise Clarence built a new car and put together a new motor....and he started winning. I don't recall the specific year, probably '83 or '84, but when he started winning on a more regular basis, after not winning much at all for years, you could see the change in fan reaction. This is good stuff. I was crushed the year the # 11 late model came out for warm ups and it was announced that Mike Follweiler was the driver. "Where was Jack?"....then out came the modified with the same paint and sponsor. I couldn't have been happier. Speaking of George Wambold, my father always talked poorly about that guy. Having worked in the pits for years he had a very strong opinion of George and it wasn't a good one, but the guy did win a lot.
04/19/06	Warren Urffer	Oh, man! Troy, you are bringing up all kinds of great Dorney memories for me!! Did Donny Kline run a Vega station wagon sportsman that looked a bit like Don Weida's Vega wagon? Maybe I'm remembering wrong. Please, let's trade memories! wurffer@aol.com
01/11/09	Henry Schaadt	Wasn't Neil Beech the driver with just one leg? Thanks, Henry Schaadt - Dorney Park races from 1959 to 1985?
03.12.09	Shirley	Is Gus still around the area? I went to the Park from the time I was 1 (1971) until Till closing. It was great to see some good hearted drivers pay their respects to a fellow racer Keith Kocker. Keith will be deeply missed by many.
11.16.10	Gary Lileck	Gus Lewis also drove in the Late Model class at the Big Diamond Raceway on the dirt in the Late 1970s.
12.14.13	Todd Smith	I think that's Jack Follweiler not Gus Lewis

Photo ID #	c03.19.06_010_LEW_DOR_0079_1
Car #:	#10
Driver (s) :	Gus Lewis (see Visitors Comments below)
Location:	Dorney Park
Date:	1979
Photographer:	Wayne Urffer
Photo provided by:	Wayne Urffer
Comments:	Comment from Wayne: Gus was one of the great Late Model drivers at Dorney, and one of the most popular. In 1979 he finished 3rd in the Late Model point standings in the Tom Snyder-owned #10. He finished his career with 9 feature victories, all between 1972 and 1979, many in his self-owned and un-sponsored black-and-white #85.