April 13th, 2007

50 YEARS AGO IN MODIFIEDS

As we enter the year 2007, let's take a quick look back at 1957, 50 years ago.

Back to the days of Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the other top rock and rollers. Back to cruising in our ragtops to the sounds of WIBG radio, with Hy Lit, and Joe Niagra. Back when American Bandstand still came from Philly, and Wilbert Harrison was headed for Kansas City to get one of their "Crazy little women".

Back to the days when we would show off our lowered, Fords, Chevy's and Oldsmobiles, with the fins, Mercury skirts, and Douglass Steel Pack Mufflers at the local Weber's Drive-in every night, and at the Drive in Movies on the weekends.

Back then we had 6 weekly speedways running in this area. Flemington, Alcyon, Old Bridge, Wall, Pleasantville, and Vineland, in NJ, plus Georgetown Dela.. In addition, we also had Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia which ran periodically.

All of the above mentioned short tracks were NASCAR sanctioned. Then there were also the big Speedways, Langhorn, and Trenton. It was a great time to be alive and young.

The National NASCAR Modified point standings in 1957 were:

So, 9 of the 20 NASCAR Modified drivers in the country were running Alcyon every Friday night.

The National NASCAR Sportsman standings were:

LOCAL TRACKS FINAL 1957 POINT STANDINGS:

As we visit those thrilling days of yesteryear, here are some interesting facts you may not know.

1. The Modifieds and Sportsman ran together, with extra money and separate points for the Sportsman. If a Sportsman finished 5th in the feature, behind 4 modifieds, for instance, he was paid 5th place money, AND first sportsman money, plus given a feature winner sticker for the side of the car.

2. The cars had to run the same make engine as the body. So, a Ford body had to run a Ford engine and a Chevy body had to run a Chevy engine. Since Ford had V8s since the days of the model As, and Chevy didn't have a V8 till 1955, everybody was used to running Fords. As the new 265 Chevy V8, and especially the 283 Chevy V8s came out, and were found to be fast, a lot of owners switched.

3. The cars all had to run the original factory frame, although, you were allowed to "box" them, and engines were not allowed to be set back.

4. Full fenders were required for all 4 wheels that must cover at least half of the tire.

5. Quick Change rears were the standard, and the 39 Ford was the transmission of choice.

6. Drivers side doors had to be either bolted or welded shut, but, passenger side doors could be just chained so that they could be opened and closed for entry and exit. An important factor for some of the overweight, or older drivers who had trouble climbing through the window.

7. Stock steering shafts tended to break due to the abuse of the pot holes and ruts. Most of us put a universal joint on the shaft to avoid that problem.

8. Flat towing, (No trailer, tow the race car on the road with a tow bar) was the common way of transporting the cars in the 50s. A trailer was a luxury. You were running a regular street tire on the left front anyway, so, you would just switch the racing tire on the right front for a street tire, and pull the axles out of the quick change, hook the race car to your car or truck, and go to the track.

9.There were no oval track dirt tires in those days, so you bought drag slicks, and grooved them yourself.

Still, 1957 was a very good year for modified racing. You could race 4 to 5 nights a week, and the drivers were making good money, the crowds were big, Alcyon had about 4 to 5000 fans for a regular Friday night show, and 9000 for a Holiday show.

This was the heyday of racing in this area. More than a dozen Florida drivers came here all summer because here was where they could make some money. The purses were good, you could run Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday night. Most nights you had a choice of where you wanted to race.

It was magic, from the time you loaded the car, and when you got there ... all those beautiful race cars, coupes, coaches, Fords, Chevies, Studebakers, and you name it. The fuel injected 312 Ford Engines, and fuel injected 283 Chevies, all running on alcohol, the burning rubber, everything was magic.

The sights, the smells, the anticipation, the excitement of the races themselves, the shouting , "Go Go Go" for your heroes. I wish I could have stayed a kid and those days had stuck around forever. I think that's as close to Heaven as you can get on Planet Earth.

 

On the other hand...
I seem to be - Missing the "F" Chromosome

Maybe someone out there can explain this to me.

Let's just suppose that Bridgeport, Wall Township Speedway, or New Egypt came up with a new format. We line up the cars for a 25 lap feature, as usual, BUT we run one lap, and red flag the field.

Once the cars are all stopped, the crew chiefs go out, and talk to the drivers. Then they line the cars up again, run one more lap, red flag the field and the crew chief's come out again and talk to the drivers, etc. and the entire race is run using that format.

Race one lap, say 20 seconds. Stop, talk and regroup for 4 or 5 minutes, and then run another 20 second lap. We're probably looking at 5 or 6 hours to run a 25 lap feature.

That, my friends, is FOOTBALL - The stupidest game ever invented by man, as far as I'm concerned.

That's the "F" chromosome I seem to be missing. How boring can a game get? 90 % of the time nothing is happening, there is no playing going on!

I guess that's why they sell so much beer at football games, You would have to be drunk, nuts or both to sit for hours when most of the time nothing is happening but a bunch of guys talking.

Personally, I NEVER watch a football game, but many times I tune in to watch something else, and the game is running late, there are two minutes and twelve seconds left on the clock, and it takes 25 minutes to play the two minutes twelve seconds. HUH? What the hey? Booooooorrrriiiinngg !!!

I can't decide what is more moronic, that some fool would actually come up with a game like that, or, that so many of you actually seem to love it! ( Or do you?) Maybe many of you just think you have to pretend to love it to somehow prove your manhood or something? So you can talk about the game like a man around the water cooler at the office tomorrow.

I don't know, and I don't care, but, if you are ever invited to my house and you start talking about Football, you're gone, you're history, you're outta there! Once you've seen an automobile race, there's nothing like it for excitement, fun, adrenalin pumping, and all the great things a sport is supposed to provide. That pretty much makes it the opposite of Football. Nothing on this planet boors me more than Football. Am I missing something?

Anyway, if I haven't ticked you off too badly,

I retired a few years ago from driving race cars, but now I want to get back in. ON ASPHALT!


If anybody has a car they want a driver for, and they are willing to gamble on an older guy with lots of experience including many feature wins left in me, email me! After all, Bill Anderson, Sr. was the IMCA Modified track champion at Brewerton Speedway in NY in 2005 at age 71, and I'm a hell of a lot younger than that!

Have Helmet - Will Travel