Photo of the Day

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#3695 - Racing Cars Q4 1977, Sharp Photo.

#3694 - "Levi Jones (Tony Stewart 22) performs his rendition of the "Ascot Slide" during qualifying at Du Quoin. Levi scored three top tens with the big cars in 2006." Quote and photo from ROLLING THUNDER: 50 Years of USAC Silver Crown Racing 1971-2020, by Bob Mays, Richie Murray, Patrick Sullivan, John Mahoney. (Ken Simon Photo)

#3693 - A favorite moment in the often dreary East Coast winter the has been the popular Miss Motorsports contest at Area Auto Racing News' Motorsports show, held near Philadelphia each January. Even today, though, contestants struggle to match the charms of Tracey Lape, the original winner back in 1986. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3692 - 1965 was one impressive breakout year for Pete Hamilton, the energized, brush-cut kid from Massachusetts. Ray Stonkus had taken a chance, placing Pete in his surprisingly speedy #Flying 9 sportsman coupe. While they were strong from the start on the paved Northeastern NASCAR tracks, the season did have its punctuation along the way. There was the afternoon at Thompson, CT, when Peter flew high, wide and handsome right out of the park, as captured above by lensman Henry Graham. Then, at the prestigious World Series Finale at Thompson, things got off to an embarrassing start. The tow vehicle broke down, and the #Flying 9 completed the journey to the track under its own power. But that afternoon had grand things in store. Hamilton drove with brilliance, sweeping both ends of the dual-feature championship. He was unquestionably now on his way to his win in the 1970 Daytona 500 and national NASCAR glory.

#3691 - "The winning team: two-time runner-up Bill Holland (right) captured the 1949 [Indy 500]; owner Lou Moore (center) set records with three victories in a row and five overall; and Mauri Rose contributed three of those wins." A year later, in 1950, Holland was runner-up yet again. Caption and Photo from 500 on (the Indy) 500: Tales, Facts and Figures on “The Greatest Race in the World," by Rick Shaffer. (IMS Photo Archive)

#3690 - How about Tiger Tom Pistone at Daytona in 1960? The Chicago native was so fearful about ending out in Lake Lloyd during the 500 that he carried scuba equipment in the race car. Somehow, however, he had the moxie to compete in Bill France's questionably sane contest to see who could turn in the fastest lap - in any car - for a $10,000 prize. Pistone sallied forth in a dual engine '59 Chevy owned by Dick Rathman and ran at 180+ mph, but that was no match for Art Malone aboard Bob Osiecki's hemi-powered, winged Indy roadster. Photo from FLORIDA MOTORSPORTS RETROSPECTIVE by Eddie Roche.

#3689 - That's Ed Pink conferring with Spike Gehlhausen at Indy. Pink went to the 500 in '79 for the first time, taking care of Fletcher Racing's engines. He says, "My biggest concern was that any engine I touched had some longevity built into it. That was a whole new deal for me, running races that last more than five or six seconds." From ED PINK: The Old Master, by Ed Pink with Bones Bourcier. (Ed Pink Collection)

#3688 - When Joan Biondi interviewed VIPs for her book ED OTTO: NASCAR's Silent Partner, she asked Richard Petty if he wore his hat to bed. He did not answer. (Howie Hodge Photo)

#3687 - In 1958, Jim Malloy, a Supermodified star, took a break from the open-wheelers and campaigned a Late Model on the dirt Colorado National Speedway. Of all things, the car, reportedly built to Grand National specs, was a '58 Edsel, and it was quick. He had a number of feature wins and lapped the feature field twice in two feature events. But, halfway through the season, as quickly as he arrived, he was gone. It was back to the Supers and on his way to the Brickyard, where he died in 1972 practicing in his Thermo-King Eagle. Photo from EARY SUPERMODIFIEDS and Other Early Racers, by Gerald Hodges.

#3686 - Portland, Oregon's Art Pollard was on a tear at the turn of the 1960s, paving his way to the Brickyard. His crewman Don Caskey recalled, "We went to Edmonton in 1961 for the Gold Cup [the most prestigious race in Western Canada], and Art won hands down. The engine was a Chevy 283 bored a little with a single Pontiac carburetor. We worked it over pretty good. Art qualified quickest, naturally. And hell, he took those guys into the first corner so fast that those hot rods were clear up agin' the wall. Art just disappeared. It wasn't long before he had a lap on them, and I'd get out there and signal 'COOL IT!'" Quote and Photo from POLLARD: The Gentleman Racer, by Bob Kehoe.

#3685 - In April of 1975 Dick Morris of Sioux Falls asked Doug Wolfgang (shown above at Flemington, NJ) to try out his Sprinter at Knoxville. Doug's recollections demonstrate his unusually wise perspective even then: "That night at Knoxville I worked my way up to second place. Hell, I took to that car like I had been doing it for thirty years. It just felt comfortable. I felt like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. Right in front of me was the 4x with Ray Lee Goodwin driving. I mean I'm right in him. I'm thinking I can pass him and win the race. But I eased up, because something inside me said, 'Sonny, you shouldn't be doing that. Yet.'" Wolfgang quote from LONE WOLF with Dave Argabright. Photo from EARLY SPEED KINGS, by Gerald Hodges. (Ed McClantoc Photo)

#3864 - In his book with Dave Argabright, LIFE WITH LUKE, Jimmy Sills posted this picture and caption: "Bob Davis owned this Lloyd chassis sprint car. It's 1975; the hair is getting bigger and so are the wings."

#3863 - The promoters of the Questor Grand Prix at Ontario in 1971 hoped for a battle royale between European drivers and the Americans. They "brought in Jackie Stewart in to hype the event...and he did not disappoint"..."'Road racing takes more intelligence,' Stewart said. 'We expect to win. Can you imagine what that fellow down in Texas is planning to do to us? I hate to think what he would be like if he beat us.' Foyt was a favorite target of Stewart, who told another reporter, 'I’m going to show that gentleman from Texas how a long-haired Scotsman can come over here with a nervous, high-strung, delicate car and beat the brawn of America. They're going to cry when I take all their money.'" Stewart finished second to Andretti; Foyt had engine problems and is said to have deliberately blown it up in frustration. Quote and Photo from A.J. FOYT: SURVIVOR, CHAMPION, LEGEND, by Art Garner. (Bruce Craig Collection)

#3682 - "'Aggressively smooth' is how [crew chief] Billy Nacewicz describes Richie's style and that shows in this green-flag shot of Evans made by a remote-control camera mounted on Bob Polverari's roll cage... 'We once went one whole season, 80 some races, without ever breaking the steering. Those rack and pinion setups were pretty sensitive; you didn't have to hit a wheel too hard before you'd break a tie-rod or chip a tooth, but we never had to replace a rack all year.'" Quote and Photo from RICHIE: The Life and Times of NASCAR's Greatest Modified Driver, by Bones Bourcier. (Marc Rohrbacher Photo)

#3681 - "Next was what had to be the funniest thing I ever saw in a race…Buddy Baker, going for his third Grand National win at Texas in 1969] had led on 13 occasions 150 of 229 laps He was leading and so excited about his opportunity to win this major race, that he put his fingers out in a V for victory sign and looked back at his pit to see their reaction. As he did, James Hylton slowed in front of him and he ran into Hilton; crushed his nose cone, knocked his radiator out, and was out of the race...Cotton Owens, his car owner, was so upset he threw his pit board like a frisbee in the direction of the car!" From RACING’S REAL McCOY, by Jack McCoy and Keith Sellers with Richard “Sterling” Hagerty. (Billy Conn Photo)

#3680 - "That's Jimmy Daywalt starting a heat at Winchester on the pole in 1953. He once said, 'The best driving school in the world was three feet behind 'Pappy' Carter, O'Connor or Sweikert on a banked track.’ It was a circuit where the old hands really helped the youngsters along. Don Branson often took youngsters out for a tour behind his sprinter. It wasn't out of the ordinary for any of the older drivers to have two or three protégés following then around the track, watching the line.” Quote and Photo from Dick Berggren’s CLASSIC RACER, April 1989

#3679 - Some tracks, especially back in the day, seemed to operate on their own, off the beaten track, with funky cars and unusual characters. One such as Plainville Stadium, a quarter-mile asphalt in Connecticut that ran from 1949 to 1980. Nicki Porto and his #69x were typical regulars. The show was often promoted by the colorful Joe Tinty in his cowboy hat from high on his horse. Literally. (Coastal 181 Collection)

#3678 - Road racer Scott Pruett recalls: "In 1990, I crashed testing on the West Palm Beach course and broke my back, my heels, my knees and was out for almost a year. I was 30 and I focused on my trauma like a job. Six days a week, 8 to 12 every morning, an hour off for lunch, and back to rehab and exercise from 1 to 5. I did that for months on end. Then came the moment – the IROC race at Daytona. The night before I was nervous, excited, anxious. The night afterwards I felt a huge payoff for all that work. I won it after a battle with Earnhardt and Elliott." (Brian Cleary Photo)

#3677 - Long-time New England Non-Ford and Modified competitor Barney Mattie made a hasty exit over the fourth-turn wall at Thompson Speedway (CT) in 1968. It could have been a perfect parking job if he had landed on all fours. (Bill Balser Photo, RA Silvia Collection)

#3676 - Kody Swanson was the fast qualifier of the day for the annual running of the Tony Bettenhausen 100 Silver Crown race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2015; however he was relegated to the 16th starting spot after using a push start to make his qualifying attempt. Here he is shown appealing to USAC's Silver Crown Competition Director, Andy Hillenburg, to re-consider the ruling. Kody lost his appeal but then went on to a dominant win from that 16th place. In doing so, he joined exclusive company that afternoon as he became the seventh driver to go back-to-back in this event. (Photo and caption from Don Figler)

#3675 - "Freddie Agabashian qualified for the pole at Indianapolis in 1952. He finished 27th in the Diesel-powered car, forced to drop out with a clogged turbocharger." From HARD DRIVING MEN: Images of Speed 1895-1960, by Dick Wallen. (Dick Wallen Collection)

#3674 Hmmm - "Bill Rexford won the 1950 NASCAR Grand National Championship driving an Oldsmobile 88 coupe. The masking tape on the front of the car and around the windshield was there to prevent paint chips, so the vehicle could later be sold as a used car." From RACE CAR FLASHBACK, by John A Gunnell. (Phil Hall Collection)

#3673 - One of our favorite authors, Rick Shaffer, at age 14 with his favorite driver, Jackie Stewart.

#3672 - Joie Chitwood, the 1940 AAA Eastern Sprint Car champion, turned and winced. That 'windshield' was no match for the rock thrown from Ted Horn's car at Williams Grove Speedway. (Photo from Safe at Any Speed: The Great Double Career of Joie Chitwood, by Jim Russell and Ed Watson)

#3671 - AJ Foyt, age 5, plays to the photographer with Doc Cossey, his favorite driver at the Houston Speed Bowl in 1940. From AJ FOYT: Survivor, Champion, Legend, by Art Garner. (Foyt Family Collection)

#3670 - Briggs Danner at the Eastern Storm at Grandview this past June, becoming the first Pennsylvanian to win a USAC National Sprint Car race since Frankie Kerr in 1999. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3669 - Curtis Turner, partyer par excellence, recalled arriving at a track a little on the tipsy side. "I was about half-tuned when I got to the race and didn't even have time to change my clothes. So I just got in the car with my suit and tie on and took off runnin'. Blew a tire and finished fourth. Told my sponsors they might want their drivers to dress like gentlemen." Quote from Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of Curtis Turner, by Robert Edelstein. (Photo from STOCK CAR RACING, by Don Hunter and Al Pierce)

#3668 - The old-time lure of Oswego - everything different, everything fast. (Photo from STRAPPED IN magazine, November 2013)

#3667 - Like much of the racing world we were deeply saddened by the passing of Lynn Paxton, an extraordinary sprint car driver in his time and a huge benefactor to the preservation of racing history through his co-founding of the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing (EMMR). Shane Carson sent us this photo of Lynn, taken with Shane and Pat Sullivan, at the 2023 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame awards weekend.

#3666 - Some people seem to say aggressive things without regard to how their audience might respond. Back in the 1960s, Bowman Gray Stadium ran a New Year's Day Modified event. New Englanders Eddie Flemke and Rene Charland towed down for it, and, standing in the pit line surrounded by Southerners, Rene announced loudly, "Eddie, I just can't understand that General Grant. It took him all those men to defeat the Confederates then. Now it takes just you and me." From The Home of Heroes: Fifty Years of Racing at Utica-Rome Speedway, by Bones Bourcier. (John Grady Photo)

#3665 - Hard work and perseverance pay off. Peter Pernesiglio Jr., on the left, won his first NEMA Midget race at New Hampshire’s Star Speedway in 1999. Now, 25 years later, his son Michael won the NEMA LITES race there this past weekend (9/14/24), his first NEMA checkered. (Photos and info by John DaDalt)

#3664 - That's Pennsylvania's Paul Lotier Jr. a decade ago. An up-and-coming wheelman, he was time trialing for the 2014 Atlantic City Indoor Gambler's Classic when he brushed the Jersey Barrier off turn four and rode out a wild, sparky slide. Today he is part owner and crew chief for Tim Buckwalter's open-wheel efforts. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3663 - It was the way things were. The Detroit Nationals drew hot rodders from far and wide in the early 1960s. Among them were members of the Ty-Rods Club from way back in Massachusetts. Several joined in to help Sy Sidebotham repair what seemed to be a major issue with his dragster in less than luxurious conditions. One of them, Bob Parker, snapped the picture.

#3662 - The weather was perfect for the Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile IndyCar weekend in August. Pato O’Ward is shown leading into Turn one and subsequently looking – refreshingly – like a good, old-fashioned, happy winner in Victory Lane. (Photos from Nutmeg State lensman and bluesman John DaDalt)

#3661 - "Mark Donohue won all four Trans-AM races held at St. Jovite from 1968 through 1971. His 1970 victory was his third in four races. Ford now led AMC by just 13 points in the Manufacturer's Championship, with three races remaining. Donohue is seen here on the winner’s podium with his wife, Sue, and Hurst-sponsored race queen Linda Vaughn." Do you think that 'stache helped? From TRANS-AM ERA: The Golden Years in Photographs,1966-1971, by Daniel Lipetz. (Peter Luongo Photo)

#3660 - Ralph Armstead ran this blown dragster at Sanford, ME, in 1957. It had a bad ending. As you can see, the headers held up better than that square roll bar when it crashed. It was not on the strip, but on the road when the hitch-ball crystallized, and the trailer detached. From COOL CARS SQUARE ROLL BARS: Photos and Recollections of Fifties Hot Rodding in New England, edited by Bernie Shuman

#3659 - A decade or so ago John Force and Dario Franchitti were among the finalists to win the ESPN Racing Driver of the Year award. Franchitti writes that Force told him, "'I don’t know why I bother coming [to these events]. It’s always won by a NASCAR driver." Without pausing for breath, he added 'Jesus, does Bernie [Ecclestone, Formula 1 CEO] have a farm where he grows racing drivers in Europe? You’re all quick with model looks and tiny butts. I wouldn't have a chance over there!'" From ROMANCE OF RACING, by Dario Franchitti. (Robert Kerian Photo)

#3658 - That's Ed Otto (right), old-time NASCAR promoter, signing year-end point checks with Bill France. Racer Ralph Liguori spoke about what he remembered most about him. "We were finishing up [an Otto race] at a fairgrounds in New Jersey, and this group of acrobats came up to him. They had been performing at the fair. They asked him for money to help get them to the Carolinas where they had another show. Otto pulled out a big map, pointed to North Carolina, and said, 'Look, it’s all downhill. You don’t need any money for gas. You can just coast all the way there.' He was a carnie, 100 percent." Quote and Photo from ED OTTO: NASCAR’S SILENT PARTNER, by Joann Biondi. (NASCAR Photo used with permission)

#3657 - Paul Goldsmith, who passed away at 98 last week, is pictured here being interviewed by emcee Pat Sullivan during USAC's Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in 2018. The much-admired Goldsmith was one of those few drivers who could compete at the perfect interface of high speed, precision, and focus. Remarkably, he won on the sands of Daytona Beach in both a motorcycle and a stock car, just as he did on the circular dirt at Langhorne. He ended up with 26 USAC stock car wins, 9 in NASCAR. He had six starts on the Brickyard, taking a third in 1960 and became Indy's oldest surviving veteran. He was never far away from the sport after retiring in 1970 and was instrumental in early work on the development of cool suits. (Don Figler Photo)

#3656 - "Mariah Ede throwing dirt at Angell Park. The ladies have come a long way since the days they weren't allowed in the pits. So good to see." Quote and photo by outstanding lensman John DaDalt.

#3655 - Guess who? From ASCOT - Where the Harbor, the San Diego, and 91 Freeways Collide, by Dave Wolin. (Check at #3653 for the answer.)

#3654 - The IMCA Winter Nationals Sprint Car program at the Florida State Fair was one enduring tradition. Operating from 1921 to 1975, it drew the top open-wheelers from across the nation to the half-mile dirt at Plant Field and the Florida sun. Wishful thinking, 2025 would have been its 104th rendition. Ohio's Daryl Harrison, two-time Little 500 champion, was the 1969 winner in the Schemer-Weyant Special. (Doug Haack Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

(#3655 - Rick Mears)

#3653 - The Northern California Roadster Racing Association was hot in 1948 and drew all comers. A state-of-the-art '25 'T' was campaigned by Romeo Palamides. But the real extreme of the NCRRA styling was Tommy Morrow's rear-engine "Weiner Mobile." In any case, however, the helmet was the roll bar. Photo from ROARING ROADSTERS: The Road to Indy, by Dick Wallen. (Ray Hiatt Photo)

#3652 - This year's 250 at Maine's Oxford Plains Speedway was one classic barn-burner. It came down to a thrilling shootout, where Jeff Taylor, a highly respected local, ultimately outdueled invader Bubba Wallace, the national king of high-paying Super Late Model contests. Over the years Taylor, 57, racked up a nine Oxford track titles and had entered 28 previous 250s, but he saved the win for this year. The fans went absolutely crazy, and Norm Marx, our esteemed webmaster, says, “I could barely shoot the images as the laps wound down, shaking and cheering Jeff on to the checkers.” And, if you wonder what that win meant to Taylor and his wife, Norm smiles and says, “that hugging in Victory Lane lasted a VERY long time.”

#3651 - If you had wanted to go to a race in August of 1953, this would have been a good one. Five of the most accomplished in the nation, Bill Holland, followed by Mike Nazaruk, Tommy Hinnershitz, Eddie Russo, and Jimmy Davies work things out on the dirt at Milwaukee. (Photo Armin Krueger, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#3650 - He was popular and racy. Oregon's Art Pollard was in a hydroplane on the Umpqua River as a teeny-bopper, by 1960 became the Northwestern Supermodified champion, and was USAC-bound by 1965, winning at both Dover and Milwaukee. Though impressively smooth and fast at Indy, he died there in a fiery crash off Turn 1 while practicing. Quite remarkably the Pacific Racing Association wrote, "Our promise to the family, Claudine, Mike and Judy, who all knew him best, is as long as there is a Pacific Racing Association, Art Pollard will never be forgotten, both for the kind of guy he was and for his contributions to the sport we all love so much." From ART POLLARD: The Gentleman Racer, by Bob Kehoe. (Ralph Hunt Collection)

#3649 - In her book STILL RACING! with Ken Schrader, Joyce Standridge describes the winner of the Speedway Illustrated/Schrader Real Racer Award at PRI in 2015. "A race driver who ran full racing seasons for 25 years with one - yes, one - feature event win in that time was Robert Bell. We all especially liked that he built his car inside his mobile home and then took out the side off the trailer to get the car out. Happily he's won some more since then."

#3648 - Rhode Island may be our smallest state, but it hosted Lonsdale Sports Park, one stately racing facility that seemed to have a promising future. Built in 1947, the 1/3-mile packed ’em in to its wrap-around grandstands with Midgets and Stock Cars before being destroyed by the Hurricane of ’55. The track groomed such champions as Bob Harper (holding trophy on right), Hop Harrington, Red Bolduc, and Freddie Luchesi, who would motor on to define New England's racing history. Its most famous graduate, though, was Ralph Moody (in leather jacket on left) who went south to Holman and Moody, the legendary Cup car factory. (Photos courtesy New England's racing historian, R.A. Silvia)

#3647 - "Steve Howard was attending Temple University as a dental student when career as a Sprint Car driver took off. Howard, however, never got to show how great he could have been. On the opening lap of a feature at Lincoln Speedway, five cars running up front crashed together. Howard went over the rear wheel of one of them and flipped the George Moscat No 71 Sprinter several times and it caught fire. The crash took Howard's life at age 23 in August of 1975." From LEGENDARY RACES, PLACES, AND FACES: Photos from the Lens of Lenny H. Sammons

#3646 - Back in the 1960s, a wildly popular class of racing in Wisconsin became known as the Milwaukee Modifieds. They were headlined by a group of colorful, curiously named drivers, Fuzzy "The Hound" Fassbender, Miles "The Mouse" Melius, and Kenny "Tweety Bird" Tlougan among their number. The cars evolved unusually as well. Just check out those chassis heights. (Doug Haack Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

#3645 - Wichita's legendary Frankie Lies began his remarkable racing journey in this rather modest looking hot rod in 1948. Mercifully, he didn’t flip. He upgraded quickly and the next year was the Southwestern Kansas Champion. He became successful in stock cars, Supers, and open-wheelers, competing in over 2,000 shows before retiring in 1984. It is interesting to consider that all the while he was a victim of motion sickness, so advanced that he was unable to ride in a car unless he was driving. He couldn't even rock his kids in a chair. Photo from EARLY SUPERMODIFIEDS, by Gerald Hodges. (Lies Family Collection)

#3644 - Hmmm. Mike Feltenberger in Reading, PA, sends along this info about the newest starter class. "They are called Juice Box Racers, and many small car and karting class tracks have started making them a part of their regular program. Shellhammer Dirt Track in Leesport, PA, has an average weekly car count of 7 entries. They even have forward and reverse shifting. They are awarded a trophy after their four-lap feature. The drivers range from 2 to 5."

#3643 - 'In 1968 'Sneaky Pete' Robinson showed up at a meet with a Top Fuel dragster that used suction from the engine's supercharger to ty to improve traction. The results were problematic.” From TEXAS LEGEND Jim Hall and his Chaparrals, by Geroge Levy. (Jim Hill Photo)

#3642 - "USAC bid goodbye to traditional stock cars in 1984, but the club was not ready to get out of the fendered business just yet. In 1985 the Late Model National Championship was instituted, featuring the brash machinery that was overrunning the short track world. It worked for a few years, but these cars quickly became a 'go big or go home' class that didn't quite fit the world of the shield. Billy Moyer, son of former USAC car owner Bill Moore, became a prominent force in dirt late model racing for years to come and captured USAC titles in 1986-87.” From FENDERED FURY: The Complete History of USAC Stock Car Racing, by Bob Mays, Richie Murray, Pat Sullivan, Steve Zautke. (Lee Johnson Photo)

#3641 - You hear it from all corners - Indiana Sprint Week, THE time to see open-wheel racing. Connecticut lensman extraordinaire, John DaDalt, sends us this shot of Logan Seavey at Lincoln Park Speedway on his way to his 11th win of the season. John says, "You can’t beat USAC Sprint Cars!"

#3640 - "After I took this photo, A.J. grinned. And, that’s why I am a writer instead of a photographer." From everyone’s favorite Joyce Standridge in her book AUTO RACING: I Gave You the Best Years of My Life.

#3639 - There’s been a recent rash of race track closings in increasingly urban New England. One state, Rhode Island, has not had an operating facility since the once stately Lonsdale Sports Arena closed after the 1956 hurricane. Neighboring Massachusetts has just one, Seekonk Speedway. But of late, an enterprising farmer from Rhode Island named Ed Marceau has made a major move to arouse the latent enthusiasm of the area's racing community. He carved out a small oval on his land in Chepachet named Barnyard Raceway. Then on June 29, he held a racers' reunion with exhibition runs and all kinds of attractions. Overwhelmed with both cars and fans, Ed is already planning next summer's event. With no guard rails and grandstands in place, it could be a while before the 410 sprinters come to town, but the spark is appreciated by all. (Ed Marceau Photo)

#3638 - "October of 1981; Charlotte: Gary Balough won an intense 300-mile Late Model Sportsman race - "Maybe the biggest win of my career. The two guys I battled with the hardest were Dale Earnhardt and Jody Ridley. We went at it like it was the last race we would ever run....I got ping-ponged all over the track. It almost felt like Jody and Dale had teamed up against me, except they are both so independent they’d never have been able to agree on something like that." Quote from HOT SHOE: A Checkered Past - My Story, by Gary Balough with Bones Bourcier. [credit]

#3637 - "Elfrieda Mais, shown here in a bobtail, was a well-known and obviously capable driver who graced promotions from Alabama to Massachusetts to Montana and Canada. She started her career in 1910 and won her title as 'World's Fastest Woman' in 1915. Among her accomplishments was defeating Louis Disbrow in a match race in Toronto in 1924. She was killed at Birmingham, Alabama, in 1934 when a flaming wall stunt, complete with dynamite, went awry.” Quote from DIRT TRACK AUTO RACING 1919-1941, by Don Radbruch.

#3636 - "Lenny Boehler changing a spring on his #3 Modified at the 1990 Spring Sizzler at Stafford Springs, CT. It may or may not have been the exact spring he told driver Doug Heveron he was putting on." From THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED: Lenny Boehler's Ole Blue, by Lew Boyd. (New England Racing Museum Collection)

#3635 - In the 1965 Formula 1 season, in which only a driver's six best finishes counted, Jimmy Clark (5) came to Mexico having won six of the first seven races and long since clinched the title. The exception was Monaco which he skipped to win the Indy 500. Rookie sensation Jackie Stewart said, “Three times that first year I finished second to Jim Clark. That was an enormous achievement for me, for two Scotsmen to be on the podium, and there were all the jokes going around that it was Batman and Robin - and there was no doubt who was Robin." From F1 MAVERICKS: The Men and Machines that Revolutionized Formula 1 Racing, by Pete Biro and George Levy.

#3634 - Switching from a roadster to a rear-engine car dressed in Lotus green but sporting J.C. Agajanian's trademark 98, Parnelli Jones romped to victory at Milwaukee in August of '64. He broke the track record in qualifying and lapped the field twice. From AS A MATTER OF FACT, I AM PARNELLI JONES, by Bones Bourcier. (Harry Goode Photo, Gene Crucean Collection)

#3633 - Alex Friesen, the young and dynamic promoter of New York's Utica-Rome Speedway back in 1996, dabbled with a Sportsman car and he had the goods. He won on September 1 but promptly disqualified himself to avoid any sense of favoritism. When he died on a snowmobile that December 5, the entire racing community mourned. From THE HOME OF HEROES: 50 Years of Racing at Utica-Rome Speedway, by Bones Bourcier. (Don Edds Photo)

mmm

#3632 - Back in 1987, two-time National USAC Midget champ Kevin Olson won a thrilling duel at Springfield, IL, his first victory on a mile. He recalled, "It meant so much to me. I had just passed Rich Vogler. I was trying really hard to keep my car straight. You can see how Rich and Terry Wente are a little sideways. That's how I could pull away from them." Quote from CAGES ARE FOR MONKEYS: Unleashed with Kevin Olson, Racing’s Zaniest Hall of Famer, by Kevin Olson with Lew Boyd. (John Mahoney Photo)

#3631 - Al Unser Jr. # 3, shown here leading the eventual winner, former Formula 1 Driving Champion Englishman Nigel Mansell at the Milwaukee Mile during the running of the CART-sanctioned 1993 Miller Genuine Draft 200. Nigel had qualified for the fourth row with a speed of 160.414, compared to Al Unser Jr.'s 152.292, back in row nine. This was Nigel's second of the season and first win on an oval; he would go on to win three more races that year, earning him the National Championship and Rookie of the Year honors. Because the F1 title for 1993 had not yet been decided in Alain Prost's favor, Mansell had the unique feat of holding both the F1 World Champion title and Indy Car champion title simultaneously. (Photo and Caption by Don Figler)

#3630 - When the Midgets pulled into New Hampshire's Monadnock Speedway on 7/20/24, NEMA star Avery Stoehr brought his A Team with him. Son Keegan and daughter Noa dialed him right in, and he hustled to a strong runner-up finish. (Photo from our friend John DaDalt)

#3628 - A pensive Bill Vukovich waits to go out to practice at Indy in 1953. Time would tell he had little to worry about. True, race day was one of the hottest 500s ever, with track temperatures spiking above 130 degrees, but he set fast time driving in the pouring rain and led all but five laps to win it. Photo from THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE INDIANAPOLIS 500, 1911-1994, by Jack C. Fox.

#3628 - "Things weren't always great. I’m burning up the track at Lernerville - literally - in 1980." Quote and Photo from STILL WIDE OPEN, by Brad Doty with Dave Argabright. (Orren Zook Photo)

#3627 - That's the inventive Jim Hall talking with reigning Formula 1 champion Jackie Stewart at Watkins Glen in 1970. Hill had persuaded Stewart to drive his radical new vacuum Chapparal. The adventure only lasted a few laps with multiple engine and brake problems, but along the way Stewart posted the fastest lap of the race - with a full load of fuel. Afterwards, Stewart expressed his enthusiasm for the car: "There aren't race cars you can get high on these days." The car was banned by the end of the season. Photo and Quote from George Levy's extraordinary new book TEXAS LEGEND: Jim Hall and His Chaparrals, by George Levy. Getty Images)

#3626 - "According to the newspaper that ran this photo, there was a 14-year-old in the cockpit for nearly 20 seconds. Some observers say he froze in fear, as one would expect from a youngster; his family contended he was pinned by the steering wheel. However, an adult stopped his car and pulled the boy out. There were only minor burns on both, but you need to think about the value of maturity and quick thinking at times like this." From STILL RACING, by Ken Schrader with Joyce Standridge

#3625 - Little question why Tommy Ivo was nicknamed "TV Tommy." From THE AMERICAN SPEED SHOP: Birth and Evolution of Hot Rodding, by Bob McClurg. (Tommy Ivo Collection)

#3624 - Track roadsters piled onto the paved half-mile of Portland (OR) Speedway after the war in 1946. The hot dog was Frankie McGowan, shown aboard George "Pop" Koch's high-altitude flyweight powered by a V-12 Lincoln. From Portland Speedway, by Jeff Zurschmeide. (Koch Collection)

#3623 - Top: “My grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, lived by this motto 'Go or blow.'" (Don Hunter/Smyle Media) Bottom: "Third-generation racers; me, my brother, Kerry, and my sister, Kelly in 1994.” (Earnhardt Family Collection) From RACING TO THE FINISH: My Story, by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

#3622 - It was Du Quoin on October 10, 1948, and pre-race a number of competitors gathered on the front stretch to discuss the wisdom of magnafluxing spindles. Someone asked Ted Horn if he had done so recently. "No, I haven't. Not since spring, but I have new ones on order... I figured these would last another race or two." The field was soon off for the feature. Then, coming off turn 2, "DUST – although the track was hard and damp – MORE DUST AND A CAR IN THE AIR. It's white with a blue tail – it's Horn.... He lay there where his car Beauty had tossed him. Three feet from the outside rail, lying on his back… One boot was off, but there were no cuts or abrasions… On his chest were the words 'Ted Horn – National Champion 1946-1947.'" From THE LIFE OF TED HORN: American Racing Champion, by Russ Catlin. (Originally published 1949; reprinted 2024)

#3621 - Parker Bohn was restless in 1959 and 1960, driving 11 different cars those seasons at New Jersey's Old Bridge Stadium alone. Then in 1960, he was approached by a rather reserved car owner, Tom Skinner, with a black and white coupe. Not much about the car was ordinary, especially the engine. The GMC six would whine distinctively at a high pitch down the chutes. Skinner had spent countless hours forming molds for the head and injectors. Everything was gear-driven except the fan, which required a belt, part number 659. The first year they were runners-up in the New Jersey State Sportsman Championship and went on to win five titles at Wall Stadium. From PAVED TRACK DIRT TRACK: Racing at Old Bridge Stadium and Nazareth Raceway, by Lew Boyd. (Danny Rhein Photo

#3620 - In February of 1971 upstate New York Modified stalwart Maynard Troyer raced to an impressive eighth in his 125 qualifier at Daytona in a Ford owned by Nagle Ford in Rochester. In Sunday's 500 it was a different story. After starting 18th, he ran well until coming off turn 2 when he started flipping – 18 or 19 times at an estimated 176 mph. He was taken to Halifax Hospital unconscious, but was released the next day. Dave Nagle acquired a new car, and Maynard entered nine more Cup races, a fourth at Michigan being his best finish. At season’s end Dave Nagle sold the car to Gene DeWitt, and Richie Evans used it occasionally in LMS events. From GATER Racing News 1979 Auto Racing Yearbook. (Daytona International Speedway Photo)

#3619 - Did anything ever bother Jim Hurtubise? Doubtful, if you consider what went down on the high banks of Dayton Speedway in July of 1960. Don Branson had just set a new half-mile world record of 105 mph. "Jim wasn’t as fortunate in his qualifying run. On his first lap the car bottomed out and he lost control. Looping into a half spin, the car slid toward the metal guard rail at an alarming rate. Whomping into the fence, the rear end of the car bound into the air, hurdled backwards over the rail, and began a thirty-five foot plunge to the ground below. An eerie silence permeated the grounds, as everyone there was certain the crash had been fatal... After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, a roar went up from the crowd as 'Hercules' was spotted climbing the embankment, a big grin on his face, waving to the fans. Tom Hoffman, of the well-known Cincinnati Hoffman racing family...dashed toward the scene just as Jim stuck his crew cut head over the guard rail. 'Heh, heh, heh!' came the distinctive Hurtubise laugh. 'How’d you like that, Tom?'" From HERK Hurtubise, by Bob Gates. (Hurtubise Family Collection)

#3618 - Bill Schindler was unquestionably among the most proficient and popular of all the early East Coast open-wheelers, but his journey was star-crossed. On September 26, 1936 he crashed through a fence at Mineola, NY, hitting a tree. His Sprinter flipped, rebounded back on the track and was struck by two more cars. The impact threw him clear, but several large splinters from the guard rail pierced his left leg. Three days later gangrene set in, and the leg had to be amputated. He continued racing and won prodigiously after the War before dying at Allentown, PA, after crashing through a fence once again and tumbling down an embankment. Photo from EARLY SPEED KINGS, by Gerald Hodges. (New England Tractor Company Collection)

#3617 - Ray Evernham had always liked those Chevy coaches, and when he built "the Ghost" in 2017 after leaving NASCAR, he considered it his "best effort in race car design." How cool that he decided to test it himself during the perilous Pikes Peak climb; despite encountering a snow squall near the top, he won the Exhibition Class. From: RAY EVERNHAM: Trophies and Scars, by Ray Evernham with Joe Garner. (Ray Evernham Enterprises Archive Photo)

#3616 - In his inspirational book about life on the autism spectrum, Aaron Likens describes trying to find a job outside of his weekend activities as a flagger with a karting group. He applied for a full-time position at a new indoor kart track in St. Louis, only to be told he was exceptionally qualified but all they could give him was a corner position at minimum wage. "I wondered if it would be easier to just accept what I thought was my fate, give up racing, and live in my father's basement for the rest of time." He decided to keep pushing. Today he is the chief starter of the Indy 500 and has been referred to as the "best flagman in the world." Quote and Photo from PLAYING IN TRAFFIC, by Aaron Likens. (Likens Family Photo)

#3615 - The NDRA and its good-timing promoter Robert Smawley were really something. On September 24, 1982, the gang pulled into Rocky Mount, VA, for the Schlitz Super 100 at Log Cabin Raceway. Buddy Duke was in the main ticket booth. He recalls, "Fans (13,756 strong) were actually throwing money as they rushed by, and I was standing up to my knees in it. Robert’s staff would come by every few minutes and put it all in pillow cases." The purse of $106,620 was a record for the time, and one happy twenty-year-old named Donnie Moran waltzed away from Victory Lane with $35,000 of it. From THE ROCK-EM, SOCK-EM, TRAVELIN’ SIDEWAYS DIRT SHOW: A History of Robert Smawley’s NDRA, by Gary L. Parker. (Robert Smawley Collection)

#3614 - "Kevin Cogan got a big break in 1982 when he was hired by Roger Penske to replace the retiring Bobby Unser. He began the year well, taking third behind teammate Mears at Phoenix in March. But it all went wrong when Cogan got sideways at the start at Indy and crashed into Mario Andretti causing an infamous incident. It was a cloud he never seemed to shake." From SECOND TO ONE: All But for Indy, by Joe Freeman and Gordon Kirby.

#3613 - It was March 30, 1980, the Williams Grove opener, and Lynn Paxton had the 'flu. But he also had a new Lloyd sprinter with a Davey Brown big block. Here he's shown powering by Keith Kauffman in the Weikert #29 to the win. From LYNN PAXTON: My Way, by Don Robinson. (Paxton Family Collection)

#3612 - In October of 1964 the incomparable Ken Miles led Ronnie Bucknum and Richie Ginther out of Riverside's Turn 6 during the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, once considered one of the greatest sports car races in the world. From KEN MILES: The Shelby American Years, by David Friedman.

#3611 - Playing to the photographers, Dario Franchitti and Paul Tracy clowned around with fists up when they were teammates for Barry Green's TEAM COOL GREEN for a couple of seasons around year 2000. Sometimes it wasn't play. Franchitti recalls, " we crashed together with Paul a number of times. PT and I kept score and we crashed together six times. Three of them were Paul's fault and three were mine. Both of us got a few 'Got a minute' moments with Barry. The biggest of those was in Chicago. Paul and I crashed, and unfortunately for us Nick Brooks was there. He was the big boss of British American Tobacco at that point, and he told Barry to sort us out or find someone else to drive for him." From THE GREEN FLAG: Just a Bloke's Story, by Barry Green with Gordon Kirby

#3610 - Can you imagine the complexity of running NASCAR Cup races on foreign soil - like in Japan? That's what NASCAR did in the mid-nineties, running four events on two tracks owned by Honda. Mix all the logistics of getting the show and all its players and kit over, the language difficulties, international business issues - and politics. NASCAR's VP, Californian Ken Clapp, did much of the organizational work, crossing the Pacific on 17 different occasions. Here Ken (second from right), along with US Ambassador Walter Mondale and his wife Joan where the two held the podium for an hour talking up the race and the strong relationship between our very different countries. Photo from SEA TO SHINING SEA: Racing from the Wild West to Daytona, by Ken Clapp with Bones Bourcier.

#3609 - "Deaf people can do anything," Kitty Lynn O'Neil once told reporters and proved it repeatedly over the years. The highlight came in 1976 when the five-foot-three inch, 97-pound half-Cherokee, half-Irish deaf gal out of Corpus Christi, Texas, drove a rocket car at Bonneville that used hydrogen peroxide the way Niagara Falls uses water. Tempered by adversity and for no monetary reward, she easily erased Lee Breedlove's 310 mark while restricted to sixty percent of the available throttle. Quote and Photo from BONNEVILLE'S WOMEN OF LAND SPEED RACING, by Louise Ann Noeth. (Photo
Courtesy George Callaway)

#3608 - "Randy Bethea didn't set out to be a pioneer; he just wanted to race. But along the way, the man his competitors named 'Snowball' helped desegregate a lily-white Southern sport in the turbulent 1960s and '70s. Bethea was the first and possibly only African American to compete in the old NASCAR Late Model Sportsman division. His only outing in 1968 produced one of the few examples of overt racism he can recall. "I went to Rogersville on July 4. When I got to the track and asked someone where to draw for positions, the guy wanted to know who was driving the car. He said, "We’ve already drawn for you." So I asked where I started, and he said 'last.'" From A HISTORY OF EAST TENNESSEE AUTO RACING, by David McGee. (Roy Taylor Photo)

#3607 - On July 14, 1956, Pee Wee Jones outran a field of 20 in NASCAR's Short Track Race #25, at an average speed of 46.83 before an enormous crowd at Winston-Salem. He was aboard this Corvette. Check out the curious roll-over protection—a lonely bar secured by four bolts. Photo from SHORT TRACK SHOOT-OUTS: Grand National Short Track Circuit 1951-1959, by Greg Fielden. (David R. Bartush Collection)

#3606 - Bobby Brack took an untenable off-course excursion during the 1971 Grand American Series Citrus 250 at Daytona. The Florida-based, short-track master gathered it back up to place eighth in the 44-car field, a slot above Richard Childress. From UNDENIABLY UNWANTED: Grand Touring and GN East 1968-1973, by Greg Fielden. (Dozier Mobley Photo)

#3605 - Artist David Carl Peters did this remarkable rendition of the 1972 Ramchargers' Demon Funny Car in burn-out mode. The next year they achieved the sport’s first 230mph run. From WE WERE THE RAMCHARGERS: Inside Drag Racing’s Legendary Team, Second Edition, by Dave Rockwell.

#3604 - Several years back Parnelli Jones came cross country to New Hampshire Motor Speedway to try out an East Coast modified built by his buddy and former crew chief, Jimmy Dilamarter. There he encountered some of New England's remarkable characters, such as supermodified stalwart Eddie West. Hope Parnelli was ready for the "Golden Bear." (Photo – Karl Fredrickson)

#3603 - Former starring roadster era champion, Bakersfield's Rose Roussel was in the thick of things at Ascot in the 1950s and '60s, shown here with one of J.C. Agajanian's numerous guests. Rosie had quite the sense of humor. Using one eye, he had it replaced with a protheses with crossed checkered flags. It was his "tuxedo eye." From ASCOT: Where the Harbor, the San Diego, and the 91 Freeways Collide, by Dave Wolin.

#3602 - "Nothing could keep Gene Nolen out of victory lane in 2019. Having acquired the services of four time (Silver Crown) champ Kody Swanson for the season meant the rest of the team would have to step up and they did. Swanson won his fifth Silver Crown Driver's Championship and Nolen just missed the owner's crown.” From ROLLING THUNDER, by Bob Mays, Richie Murray, Patrick Sullivan, John Mahoney. (John Mahoney Photo)

#3601 - How about the do on Evernham - and that 'stash! From LEGENDARY RACES, PLACES, AND FACES: Photos From the Lens of Lenny H. Sammons.

#3600 - "...around Wisconsin and the Midwest we were still using the bread truck. It was comfortable for what it was...There was a helluva lot of partying that went on in the back of that truck. On 1987 I got a 'big' sponsorship deal from Miller Beer. It was through a distributor in Milwaukee and the deal was for $4500 for the whole year. Man, that was nothing, but it did come with all the beer we could load into the bread truck. I think we drove over to Milwaukee three times that season and packed it with at least three hundred cases of beer each time. Needless to say, the bread truck was always a popular place to be after the races." From BARNYARD TO BRICKYARD: The Rich Bickle Story, by Rich Bickle with John Close. (John Close Photo)

#3599 - "Tommy Ivo’s Video Liner rode on an RCS chassis and was designed by Tommy and Steve Swaja. The Video Liner ran right around 200mph in the high sevens but was aerodynamically wrong. As Ivo described, 'It was like we were running a teardrop backwards, and it wanted to turn around in the lights.' Ivo abandoned the car in short order and RCS had him a new car six days later.” From DRAG RACING IN THE SIXTIES, by Doug Boyce. (Forrest Bond Photo)

#3598 - Joining in on Chase Elliott's 2013 Pocono ARCA win was his dad Bill. It was early in Chase's career. Looks like he had to pin on a few series sponsors for the victory lane photos. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3597 - "Herschel McGriff (Oregon) and Frankie Schneider (New Jersey) running side-by-side for the lead before a packed house at Baltimore's Westport Stadium in August of 1954. The Jags were the only two foreign entries in the race, both owned by promoter Ed Otto. McGriff became the first driver to win in a foreign car in the Short Track Division." Photo and Caption from SHORT TRACK SHOOT-OUTS, Grand National Short Track Circuit 1951-1959, by Greg Fielden. (Greg Fielden Collection)

#3596 - Here was Tiny Lund at Augusta International Raceway on September 14, 1968. He was red hot on NASCAR's Grand Touring races and sure seemed to enjoy winning them. Do you think he could have had an eye for NASCAR Victory Lane receptionist Winky Louise? From UNDENIABLY UNWANTED: Grand Touring and GN East 1968-1973, by Greg Fielden. (Don Hunter Photo)

#3595 - Art Pollard aboard the Ken's Martinizing Special at Meridian Speedway, Boise, Idaho. In 1961 he started 28 features and, remarkably, won 22 of them. He had one second and the others fell to various mechanical failures. The biggest romp came in Fresno, California where he dominated the two day Kearney Bowl. From EARLY SUPERMODIFIEDS, by Gerald Hodges. (Clyde Sullivan Photo)

#3594 - "Afternoon congestion. The Target Chip Ganassi team drivers of #12 Kenny Brack and #4 Bruno Junqueia lead the CART FedEx Championship series drivers aboard their Toyota-powered Lolas into the first turn at the start of the 2002 Grand Prix of Monterey at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 300 mile race, which was won by Cristino de Matta of the Newman/Haas Team." Photo and Caption by our friend Don Figler.

#3593 - "....the last race Steve (Kinser) ever ran was an All Star Show at Lebanon Valley, NY, in the summer of 2016....It wasn't until I was back at our pit later, after all the victory lane stuff that someone said, 'You heard Steve quit, didn’t you?'... I might have said something, or patted him on the back, or shook his hand. But I really don’t know for sure. It's strange; we’re two different people and we've never been friends, yet each of us has been a big part of the other one's life." Shane Carson called in this background to this photo: “That’s a great shot from Oklahoma City Fairgrounds, an afternoon show put on by Mar-Car company. From SAMMY! Fifty Years of Winning, by Bones Bourcier with Bob Mays. (Joe Orth Photo)

#3592 - "Gary Bettenhausen being towed to the pits after leading the 500.... He had completed 183 laps of the 1972 Indianapolis 500 and broke all existing records along the way. As one spectator was leaving the track after Donohue's victory, he said in a Kentucky hills accent; "It's too bad about that Bettenhausen. He done had 'er won today. Why I saw him drive right past that Donahue character. But the best jockey in the world kaint win if his horse dies.” From GO! THE BETTENHAUSEN STORY, by Carl Hungness. (John Mahoney Photo)

#3591 - "After an on-track dustup at Kansas Speedway late in the 2015 season, the usually mild-mannered Matt Kenseth waited until a crucial moment two races later to exact revenge on Joey Logano. As Logano was trying for his fourth consecutive victory and leading on lap 453 of 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Kenseth plowed into him and took him out of both the lead and the race. The incident slowed Logano's momentum in the championship chase which Kyle Busch eventually won." Photo and Caption from NASCAR 75 YEARS, by Kelly Crandall, Jimmy Creed, Mike Hembree, Al Pearce.

#3590 - "Warming up for the 1961 International 150 at Portsmouth, Ohio, are four bad-to-the-bone-hombres with the big $1000 prize in mind. Out front is Gordon Johncock, who went on to two Indy 500 victories. Alongside is another Michigan ace, Nelson 'Nellie' Ward and the 'Bingo 5.' Close behind are local legends Wayne McGuire and Paul Spencer (in a former Bingo 5)." Photo and Caption from ECHOES OF THUNDER IN THE HILLS: Auto Racing in Southwestern Ohio and Adjoining West Virginia, by Tony Martin.

#3589 - Lance Reventlow, son of Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, contemplates his newly completed Scarab formula 1 In 1959. He had intended to take on the world of Grand Prix competition, but overweight and underpowered, the car proved a disaster. From SUNSHINE, SPEED, and A Surprise, The 1959 Grand Prix of the United States, by Joel E. Finn.

#3588 - Saturday, May 31, 2024 marked the day that Bones Bourcier, one of America's best motorsports writers, was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. We celebrated with him and his wife, Dori, proud to have published 11 of his titles – and counting!

#3587 - A dusty summer somewhere in New York, sometime in the 1950s, and the lead dog of the era, Steve Danish in his #61 Chevrolet, was on the move. (Frank Simek Photo)

#3586 - June 2003, Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the scene of NASCAR Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon and Formula One driver Juan Montoya participating in the one-time only "Trading Paint." Both drivers got the chance to drive each other's race car, very much to Jeff's delight. Each driver completed eight laps around the Indy road course. At the press conference after the event Juan Montoya was explaining how big the steering wheel seems to be in Jeff's Monte Carlo compared to his BMW-powered racer. Photo and caption from our pal Don Figler.

#3585 - Amiable, unpretentious, and sometimes at the edge of understated, Len Sutton was nonetheless a huge star in track roadsters in the upper West Coast before going Champ Car racing in 1955. Very focused on Indy, his best day came in 1962 when he was close runner-up to Rodger Ward. Somewhat unusually but certainly understandably, after the horrible frontstretch fire in 1964, followed by Mel Kenyan's burns at Langhorne the next year, Sutton walked away from the wheel. He was about to reach 40, and after 20 years in the cockpit, it was time to concentrate on his wife, Anita, and his two growing daughters. Photo from SECOND TO ONE: All but for Indy, by Joe Freeman and Gordon Kirby

#3584 - "Aaron's unique point-and-freeze at the end of an Indy 500 qualifying run has become his 'signature' in the eyes of many fans." From Coastal 181’s latest book, Playing in Traffic: My Journey from an Autism Diagnosis to the Indy 500 Flagstand, by Aaron Likens with Bones Bourcier. (Likens Family Collection)

#3583 - Hershel McGriff, the perpetually teenaged ironman, shown at Portland (Oregon) Speedway. He had raced there in 1946, the first show after the war. He went on to star in NASCAR, the Mexican Road Race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans - and any other available competition, and just kept going. Still busily racing in 2000, he was back in Portland for its final race on asphalt shortly before it closed. His own last outing came in NASCAR Pro Series West at Tucson, Arizona in 2018 at age 90. From PORTLAND SPEEDWAY, by Jeff Zurschmeide. (Jerry Boone Photo)

#3582 - "In the fall of 1977, Dick Tobias and Davey Brown sat down and began working on a design for a new Sprint Car...When the prototype came out of the shop, Toby was thrilled with it. His pride was almost a little uncharacteristic. He announced he was going on the road to show it off. After the New Year, Toby and Davey packed up and headed to Florida. Their new little blue and yellow number went like the wind. Toby won two in open competition combat [at East Bay] and was joined on the podium with the likes of Doug Wolfgang and Tom Corbin. Much encouraged, when spring followed, they ventured west, to the heartland and the epicenter of open wheel racing" - and USAC. From TOBY: The Star-crossed Story of an American Racing Family, by Lew Boyd. (Tobias Family Collection)

#3581 - "Daddy's little girl: Kyle Petty with Montgomery Lee at Charlotte in 1987." Photo and caption from SWERVE OR DIE: Life at My Speed in the First Family of NASCAR Racing, by Kyle Petty with Ellis Henican. (Charlotte Motor Speedway Photo)

#3580 - Good buds, Parnelli Jones and Jim Hurtubise, who traveled the sprint car circuit together hoping to get to the Brickyard. Jones, who was a spectator at Indy in 1960 when Hurtubise debuted as a rookie, recalls, "Jim set a one-lap record of 149.601 mile per hour and a four-lap average of 149.046, two miles an hour faster than the pole speed set by Eddie Sachs. It shocked the hell out of everyone. They interviewed Herk when he came back to the pits, and he told the crowd, 'If you think that was fast, just wait 'til next year. There's a buddy of mine named Parnelli Jones, and he'll really give you something to talk about." From As a Matter of Fact, I AM PARNELLI JONES, by Parnelli Jones with Bones Bourcier.

#3579 - "Before there were templates to follow, there was ingenuity. Junior Johnson, for example, built a Ford nicknamed the ‘Yellow Banana’ for Fred Lorenzen in 1966. With its nose slanted downward, its roofline was clearly altered, and its rear deck was higher than the front. Nevertheless, it passed tech inspection." From STOCK CAR RACING: The High-Speed History of America's Premier Motorsport, by Don Hunter and Al Pearce.

#3578 - Luckily some things have changed. From USAC Official Competition Rules 1978, Sprint Car Division

#3577 - "The Master of Going Faster," "Barefoot" Bob McCreadie, who starred among that often-warlike tribe of New York Modified champions, passed away this week. A colorful mixture of irreverence and funk though he was, he was highly respected by competitors and fans alike. Here's a photo he hung in his shop, a clear indication of where he was coming from. In the #12 was his good friend Jack Johnson on his way to a last lap pass and a win way down in Cowtown, Texas in 1989. Barefoot wrote on it "When you think you dive hard, when you think you’re trying hard, remember this picture and hope he is not behind you." (McCreadie Collection)

#3576 - "The brand new Corvette AA/FC out of Hyder's Garage was driven by "Nitro" Nick Harmon, who was another victim of the dreaded Corvette curse [in the early 1970s]. The first full pass on the new car (shown at Orange County International Raceway) was likely its last. After Harmon left off the line, the clutch exploded, and the car made an abrupt right into the guardrail that chucked off the body. The body-less car continued bouncing along the guardrail, tearing it up even more before coming to a complete stop. Harmon was not hurt, but the car was a total loss. Note the damaged mounting studs of the bellhousing and clutch can." From EARLY FUNNY CARS 1964 - 1975, by Lou Hart.

#3575 - It's in the genes. Back in the 1950s, a popular, gentlemanly Northeastern racer named Jerry Dolliver cleaned up whatever he raced, winning over 100 features with one single flathead engine. His son Brian was also an ultra-smoothie, seen especially in a dirt Sportsman in the '90s. Now Brian's son, "Mad Max," having worked his way through the street stock ranks, motored to an impressive victory in the 40-lap DIRT Series opener in the #29 at New Hampshire's Bear Ridge Speedway. (Alan Ward Photo)

#3574 - During the running of the 2002 Indianapolis 500-mile race, Greg Ray lost control and hit the wall exiting the first turn. The force of the impact tore the transmission from the car; the transmission flew across the track, over the guard rail and buried itself in the creek bed in front of the photographers. The second photo shows a track official removing the transmission after the race. (Caption and Photos by Don Figler)

#3573 - July 32, 1949 - and it was quite the day. It was the first time Indy cars had ever appeared on a half-mile track, Roy Richwine's Williams Grove Speedway. By all reports the atmosphere was as festive as at the Brickyard itself. The 50-lapper was taken by Joltin' Johnny Mantz, followed by Duane Carter and Rex Mays. Do you think they had a crowd? Over 38,000. Photo from INDY CARS ON SHORT TRACKS, by Buzz Rose and Joe Heisler. (Frank Smith Photo)

#3572 - On July 27, 2008 Doug Wolfgang was inducted into the Huset Speedway Hall of Fame in South Dakota. He decided to watch the 360 feature, and it was a good thing he did. His sixteen-year-old son Robby jumped out and won his first feature after racing for only a couple of weeks. Photo from WIN IT OR WEAR IT: All Time Great Sprint Car Tales, by Joyce Standridge. (Doug Johnson Photo)

#3571 - The 1972 Daytona started 40 cars and among the qualifiers was a 1972 Matador, owned by Roger Penske and driven by Mark Donohue. Donohue's time as a front runner was short lived as the American Motors engine lasted just 18 laps with push rod failure. Donohue was credited with a 35th-place finish, earning $1375.00. Race winner A. J. Foyt took home the $45,400.00 winner's payout. (Mike Feltenberger Photo and Caption)

#3570 - A grand man in a grand car - Al Unser aboard the No. 3, Vel's Parnelli Jones Silver Crown car. "The youngest of the racing Unser brothers started the '69 season on a promising note when he signed as the lead driver for the revamped Parnelli Jones/Vel Miletich team in 1969. With famed mechanic George Bignotti on board, the team began to gel together in practice for the Indianapolis 500. Al consistently posted fast speeds, but, while celebrating his birthday on the eve of qualifications and performing wheelies on the Speedway's infield, he suffered a broken leg. The doctor's prediction was that he would be out of competition for at least four months. Surprisingly Unser was driving a race car again in two weeks. On September 1 he hit victory lane in the Ted Horn Memorial at Du Quoin." Quote and Photo from THAT MAGIC MILE: The National Championship at Du Quoin 1948-1970, by Thomas Nasti. (Jim Pursell Photo)

#3569 - Last Saturday night (5/4/24) was the LOU LAZZARO Memorial at Fonda, New York, honoring one of the greatest ever in a Modified. Pictured are Melissa Lazarro, the late Lou's daughter, and Ron Moshier who wrote the Lou Lazzaro book for us. They’re holding the Coastal 181 Cup to be presented to the race winner. (George Biancosino Photo)

#3568 - How curious. Tommy Hinnershitz (in the Pfrommer Offy), the noted high-groove hustler, was almost always upstairs. But at Reading on April 17, 1960, he ran the low groove. Could that have had something to do with the guy in the #2 wearing the Bowes Seal Fast uniform? That was A.J. Foyt. From THE PFROMMER OFFY: A History of an Iconic Sprint Car, by Alan F. Gross. (Bruce Craig Photo, Courtesy Revs Institute)

#3567 - It was a long time ago and a very long race. "In 1908 Henry Ford's little Model T established itself as a cross-country endurance racer when it competed in and won the New York-to-Seattle race carrying drivers Bert Scott and C. J. Smith across the finish line to victory. Unfortunately, the team was disqualified because they stopped to replace a broken axle. Henry Ford nonetheless thought well enough of their effort to be there to congratulate them." Quote and Photo from THE AMERICN SPEED SHOP, by Bob McClurg. (Henry Ford Collection, Ford Motor Company)

#3566 - "Ralph Quarterson was a regular commuter from Hickory, Pennsylvania come championship time at Atomic [Speedway in Ohio.] He won his share and everyone knew he was there in those he didn't. Here Ralph celebrates his win in the 1968 Tri State Championship with his beehive haired wife standing by and future Sprint Car driver Tommy in his lap." From ECHOES OF THUNDER IN THE HILLS, by Tony Martin.

#3565 - Jimmy Owens' Late Model, thoroughly rearranged, is loaded after a savage crash at Knoxville in 2014. "Jason Feger was the car that tagged me in the corner and kept his foot in the gas. I don't know what Jason was thinking when that happened; years later I still can't figure it out. I believe he intended to wreck me, but I don't think he meant for the crash to be anywhere near that violent. Sometimes you do things and instantly realize 'Oops, that’s not how I thought it would go.' I’ve done that a few times myself ... We rolled out a backup car and forged on, and on Saturday night ran 7th in the championship feature. As far as me being dinged up, it probably looked worse than it really was. I was sore the next day, but that's about it. Feger and I talked later, but not specifically about the wreck. It is what it is, I reckon." From THE NEWPORT NIGHTMARE: Living the Dream by Jimmy Owens, with Dave Argabright. (Rick Schwallier Photo)

#3564 - The USAC Silver Crown cars were a memorable part of Super DIRT Week in the early years, with a return near the series' end. The surface on Syracuse's "Moody Mile" could be rock hard, not ordinarily conducive to a cushion. But when conditions were right and there was one, it was a show to behold. From LEGENDARY RACES, PLACES, and FACES: Photos from the Lens of Lenny H. Sammons.

#3563 - "Nineteen-year-old Lloyd Ruby took Ord, Nebraska, and the Valley County Fair by storm in 1947, sweeping the racing action in the Chet Wilson Ford V8-60. Years later 'Rube' became Ord's hometown hero as he became oh, so close to winning the Indy 500 on several occasions." From NEBRASKA DIRT, A Century of Racing in the Cornhusker State, by Bob Mays. (Donna Wilson Collection)

#3562 - "AJ Foyt manhandles Howard Linne's Midget during the 1975 running of the Hut Hundred, a premier event on the USAC circuit. Although Foyt's Midget racing activities were rare of late, he returned with a vengeance, setting fast time in qualifications and running with the leaders until his car gave out. This was Foyt's final USAC Midget race." Photo and Quote From FEARLESS: Dangerous Days in American Open Wheel Racing, by Gene Crucean.

#3561 - It was pretty tough sledding in the early seasons of the American Racing Series. This was the start of their launch in Phoenix in 1986, showing the entire 14-car field. The low point came at Mid-Ohio that year with just 12 entries, four of which wrecked before the first turn, leaving just eight for the 100-lapper. The Series was reinvigorated in 1991 under the mantle of the Firestone Indy Lights, later to be recast as IRL's Indy Pro Series. From BOOST!: Roger Bailey's Extraordinary Motor Racing Career, by Gordon Kirby. (Dennis Torres Photo)

#3560 - Whatever! "Tommy McNeely's Fugitive wheel-stander was an exhibition vehicle. It featured a rear-engine layout with the headers sticking out of the rear in cartoon fashion. McNeely is seated ahead of the windshield, and his helmet is outside the car." Quote and Photo from QUARTER-MILE CORVETTES 1953-1975: The History of Chevrolet’s Sports Car at the Drag Strip, by Steve Holmes. (John Foster Jr. Photo)

#3559 - "Ray Hendrick's last race after 45 years behind the wheel. Ray is in a Late Model owned by his son Roy in 1986. Not only was Hendrick popular, but he was also a sportsman as well. In 1961 at the Virginia State Fairgrounds in Richmond, he came to the rescue of fellow Richmond driver Emanuel Zervakis, who had flipped his Modified on its side squarely in front of the oncoming field. Without hesitation Hendrick wheeled his car to a stop, using it as a shield to protect the dazed Zervakis and his car from further harm. For that heroic action Hendrick received the 1961 Haughton Sportsmanship Award." Quote from SOUTH BOSTON: The First Fifty Years, (Roy Chandler Photo)

#3558 - Here's another view of an incident we showed you in Photo of the Day #2923. This shot, taken by Randy Crist, shows A.J. Foyt's father at a Silver Crown show at Du Quoin in 1972. A.J. had been leading, but his car caught fire during a pit stop. That's his father chasing A.J., fire extinguisher blasting away. A.J., on fire about his head, leapt from the vehicle but broke an ankle when the car ran over it before continuing solo down the track. Our friend and photographer Don Figler saw the whole thing. He was standing right there on the far left.

#3557 - Back in the day New England had the ovals tracks well covered with Modifieds, Late Models, Midgets, and Supers. There was also some serious road racing, and talented Paul Newman and Sam Posey brought depth to the field, along with a side of glamor. (Unknown Photographer)

#3556 Pretty racy! "The 2016 American Solar Challenge (ASC) was an intercollegiate solar car race from July 30 to August 6, 2016. This prestigious event featured university teams from around the world, each designing and building their own solar-powered cars. These innovative vehicles embarked on a remarkable 1,975-mile road course that spanned seven states, starting from Brecksville, Ohio, and concluding in Hot Springs, South Dakota. The University of Michigan won with a time of 48 hours, 26 minutes, 46 seconds. The Principia entry shown here placed fifth with a time of 64 hours, 32 minutes, 04 seconds. There were 13 entries." Caption and Photo by Don Figler

#3555 - George Weaver, a top wheelman and gentleman, is shown in his Maserati at the old challenging and dangerous street course at Watkins Glen. It was Weaver's idea to build a track exclusively for road racing right aside the 5/8-mile oval at Thompson, CT. It opened in 1952, the first in the country. Photo from A HISTORY OF RACING IN NEW ENGLAND – A Project of the New England Racing Museum.

#3554 - That's Esther Vukovich celebrating aside her husbands winning car at Indy in 1954. She told the media, "I’ve got a bull of a man, haven't I?" Bill almost seemed to agree when he commented, "I've met every piece of dust and every flying rock on the hamburger trail from Fresno to San Diego. I know every brand of oil just from the taste. Quotes and photo from VUKOVICH: The Man Who Wouldn’t Lift, by Angelo Angelopoulos

#3553 - Multi-talented wheelman Travis Pastrana took to the New Jersey Motorsports Park in 2010 for a Combo Surface Rally. Half of the track was dirt and the other half was asphalt. Travis was collected in an earlier incident that resulted in a right-rear tire rub. Being the competitor that he is, he continued to mash the gas of his Subaru and soldiered on for a top-5 finish. After the event was over, he loaded up his race car, pulled the rig to the fan parking area and signed autographs for about an hour. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3552 - Nope. It wasn’t something Lenny Boehler kept hidden under a canvas in his garage down near Cape Cod in Massachusetts. It's the Deidt/Offenhauser that Mauri Rose wheeled to victory at the Brickyard in 1947. Photo from EPIC DRAMA: The Winning Collection of the IMS Museum

#3551 - Quite unusually and sportingly, John Kozak began racing those unruly 1970s-era Modifieds at Reading, PA, Fairgrounds, having never been out of the grandstands before. Then, while beginning to crew for Kenny Brightbill, he cobbled together a sedan of his own. Four seasons later he bought Brightbill's famous Pinto, renumbered it 31, and raced up in the standings, winning the Kennedy Memorial in '78 by defeating Brightbill. Between the two drivers, the car won more than any other in Reading history. (Photo from READING FAIRGROUNDS MODIFIED MEMORIES, Vince Vicari Editor.)

WD-3550 - Ted Field, with Bill Whittington relieving, swept the six-hour Times/Toyota Grand Prix of Endurance at California’s Riverside Raceway on April 25, 1982. It was a surprising finish, given the start. Right at the green, John Paul Jr. gassed it, scattering the lineup. Field took a enforced detour through the gravel and had to pit to remove some of it from his throttle linkage. He rejoined the field a lap down just three laps into the race, He sliced through the field and won it in this amazing-looking Lola. (Photo from RIVERSIDE RACEWAY: Palace of Speed, by Dick Wallen. Frank Mormillo Photo)

#3549 - Earnhardt was Earnhardt personified at Charlotte on May 30, 1993. He was going to win and beware any obstacles that might appear along the way. One was Greg Sacks, who was suddenly redirected into the wall, across the track, and into the infield. Earnhardt's remarkable recollection post-event was: "I was close, but I didn't hit him. Maybe our bumpers touched, or I touched him a bit, but it wasn't like I rammed the hell out of him. I don't think I nudged him. (And then, with a smile): I might've been a-gin him." (Caption and Photo from DALE EARNHARDT: The Pass in the Grass, The Charlotte Observer.)

#3548 - Wally Dallenbach Jr. left his home in Basalt, Colorado, after school to embark on an successful, multidisciplined professional career in motorsports. He apparently liked going back home when he could. Here he was looking very racy in a hill climb car at Pike's Peak. (From WALLY DALLENBACH: Steward of the Sport, by Gordon Kirby.)

#3547 - Early Chicago racer Cliff Woodbury was in the chips in the 1920s, doing so well he landed the seat in the Boyle Valve Special. The team was looking pretty uptown when they pulled into Rockingham, New Hampshire's scary board track in October of 1928 and dominated the show. But by the next year, it was a different story. Woodbury started on the pole of the Indy 500 but crashed out after just three laps. On the 29th of October, 1929, the whole country crashed. (From HARD DRIVING MEN: Images of Speed 1895-1960, by Dick Wallen. Dick Wallen Collection)

#3546 - Richard Petty's #43 Pontiac erupts in flames following a crash on the 95th lap of the 1992 Hooters 500 in Atlanta. The King of NASCAR was competing in his 1184th and final NASCAR Winston Cup event. He got mixed up in an accident while trying to miss several spinning cars. "It broke the oil line and got on the headers," explained Petty. "It caught fire. I figured I better find me a fire truck, so I drove around the track until I could find one." Petty got back in the race and finished 39th in a field of 41. (Caption and Photo from NASCAR: The Complete History, by Greg Fielden)

#3545 - Early in the 2000s, Doug Wolfgang and aging Frankie Schnieder came to the Coastal 181 booth at Lenny Sammons's Motorsports Show to sign books and were pleased to meet one another. Everyone had a fine time, especially Frankie. As you can see, he was also pleased that the purveyor of adult beverages was right nearby. Late in the afternoon his daughter came by and said, "It's time to hit the road, Dad." Frankie’s response: "I think you're right. Run right along and I'll see you later." (From FRANKIE SCHNEIDER, The Old Master, by Dennis Keenan.)

#3544 - On a magic night Brad Doty, previously paralyzed in a grueling Sprint Car crash, returned to Eldora to pace the feature field of the 1998 King's Royal. (The car had a Honda four-wheeler hand-throttle setup). "As the truck pushed me away, everyone along the pit lane was giving me the thumbs up. As I drove around the track, people came to the fence and were waving, pressing against the fencing as if they were trying to touch me as I rolled by. Although thousands of people were waving at me, and maybe a million more were watching on television, at that moment I was all alone. It was me and the race car, alone on Eldora's steep banks. As I went through turn two, my mind flashed back 10 years to a night that shaped the lives of many people. A night that took me several years to fully deal with. In a way this moment was the closure I had been looking for. As that concrete wall swept past I felt a renewed sense of purpose, a euphoria I thought I had forgotten. For ten long years the dragon had trailed me, trying to steal my hopes, my dreams, my life. But now the dragon was dead, forever silenced and out of my heart." (Caption and Photo from STILL WIDE OPEN, by Brad Doty with Dave Argabright.)

#3543 - That's Ray Evernham, with his most careful touch, tuning recent bride Erin Crocker's 410 at Knoxville in 2010. Later that year, they both pulled into a 360 Sprint Car race in North Carolina. He recalls, "t was the only time Erin and I got to race together which was really cool. Even cooler was Erin won the race and I finished sixth. What wasn't so cool was on the last lap Erin was lapping me as she passed the start-finish line; she says she was giving me extra room, and I say she was waving at me. Either way, she hit the wall and her car tumbled into the air and out of the speedway. The racing headlines said 'Husband and Wife Crash at Start-Finish Line. Wife Wins.' We laugh about it now, but it wasn't very funny then." (Photo and Caption from RAY EVERNHAM: Trophies and Scars, by Ray Evernham with Joe Garner)

#3542 - Mission Bell 200 Trans-Am event, Riverside, 1970: "In a race Parnelli Jones regards as 'my best drive ever,' he clawed his way back through the field to victory. Fans and drivers alike recall the spectacular sight of Jones drifting through Riverside’s famous esses, clipping apexes at every turn, and intentionally striking the curbing to bounce his Boss 302 onto its outside wheels to turn it in for high-speed corners. Here Jones (15) prepares to pass Gurney (48). It was the last time either driver would race against each other." From TRANS-AM: The Golden Years in Photographs 1966-1972, by Daniel Lipetz.

#3541 - Herman Beam was another kind of smoke. The quiet engineer from Johnson City, TN, earned the nickname "Turtle" by going slowly in his early Grand National car. He attracted considerable attention at the 1960 Daytona 500 when he was black-flagged after eight laps for forgetting to don his helmet. Then, from 1961 and 1963 he set a remarkable record. He entered 86 races and finished every one of them. It ended on March 17, 1963, when he blew his clutch at the Atlanta 500. A HISTORY OF EAST TENNESSEE AUTO RACING, by David McGee. (Carl Moore Photo)

#3540 - "Boston Louie Seymour towed Sprint Cars from his home in Marlboro, MA, all over the country to compete in what was then USAC's Thunder and Lightning division. In one ten-year period he racked up a million miles pulling those cars. But Boston, (center) also competed in USAC's Silver Crown Series, where in 1976 with his sons Mike (left), Bobby (right) and driver Billy Cassella the family won the championship. This photo was taken at the final race of the series, Syracuse in October, on the day they earned the title. Caption from A HISTORY OF AUTO RACING IN NEW ENGLAND: A Project of the Northeast Racing Museum. (Dick Berggren Photo).

#3539 - Tough guy! "Dale Earnhardt had a pretty hairy wreck in the Bud Moore Wranglers Ford at Pocono in 1982. Tim Richmond was also involved. Dale is sitting on the track, off to the left." From FLORIDA MOTORSPORTS RETROSPECTIVE PICTORIAL, by Eddie Roche. (Roche Collection)

#3538 - On June 27, 1938, at the Iowa State Fair, Emory Collins showed a bit of wear sitting in his Offy/Miller Sprinter after winning a battle royale with Gus Schrader. Congratulating him in Victory Lane were Barney Oldfield and announcer Ronald Reagan. From SAFE AT ANY SPEED: The Great Double Career of Joie Chitwood, by Jim Russell and Ed Watson.

#3537 - In what might well be the best of all his terrific books, Bones Bourcier does a deep dive into the souls of FOYT, ANDRETTI, and PETTY, America’s Racing Trinity. He captions this image, “Few drivers have ever played hurt as often as NASCAR’s King.”

#3536 - In his rigorously researched book THE LAST LAP, author William Walker investigates the deaths of driver Pete Kreis and riding mechanic Bob Hahn at the Indy 500 in 1934. Considered to be one of the strangest incidents in racing history, there were no skid marks leading up to the wall, no signs whatsoever of any kind of mechanical failure after very thorough analysis. The whole issue remains unresolved, with a dark, lingering thought in the background - might this have been a suicide? From THE LAST LAP, by William Walker. (IMS Photo)

#3535 - "Quick Nick" Rescino was unquestionably among California's greatest. Shown here at San Jose Speedway in the mid-'70s in an asphalt Super, he won with everything he drove. Especially remarkable was when, wheeling a Supermodified, he whupped the World of Outlaws travelers at their own game. Over the years he racked up over 200 fast times. (Dennis Mattish Photo, from Sea to Shining Sea, by Ken Clapp)

#3534 - San Diego's Cole Whitt was in the karts when Team Red Bull took notice of him, putting him in Sprinters in 2004. He moved to Indiana, traveling the country with his helmet. On June 8, 2008, he pulled into Big Diamond Raceway in Minersville, Pennsylvania. As pictured in victory lane at age 17 with Dave Darland and Levi Jones, he knocked off the feature, becoming one of USAC’s youngest winners. He was on his way to NASCAR. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3533 - It was 30 years ago, before taking out the leader became commonplace...."Dale Earnhardt celebrates in Victory Lane after bumping Terry Labonte late in the race to win the 1999 Goody's Headache Powder 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The move was virtually a repeat of what Earnhardt had done to "rattle his cage" and beat Labonte in the 1995 Goody's 500. Earnhardt was booed heartily by fans in the stands for one of the few times in his long NASCAR career." From NASCAR 75 YEARS, by Kelly Crandall, Jimmy Creed, Mike Hembre and Al Pearce.

#3532 - It may have been ten years ago, but he was red hot already. Rico Abreu winning the inaugural Tribute to Gary Patterson, a Civil War Series race at Stockton, CA, in 2014. From GUIDE TO NORTHERN AND CENTRAL CALIFORNOIA RACEWAYS, by Saroyan Humphrey. (Humphrey Photo)

#3531 - On July 13, 1974, NASCAR's Grand National West pulled into Eugene, Oregon, for a 100-lapper on the 3.8-mile pavement. Red hot Jack McCoy was fast qualifier and swept the main. He recalls, "When you're right, you're right....And we used an air shock-a dummy with no valving but with the inflatable feature in place to raise the rear of the car to meet NASCAR's minimum roof-height standard. After going through inspection, we 'adjusted' the relief valve that lets the air out of the unit near the driver's seat, restoring the ride height we desired. On this hot evening I forgot to release the pressure on my qualifying run, but still set fast time. Was a crazy lap with all that weight jacked into the car." From RACING"S REAL McCOY, by Jack McCoy. (McCoy Collection)

#3530 - Iowa native Tiny Lund sure got it done fishing. He had a popular freshwater camp down in the low country of South Carolina, and he himself pulled in a 55-pound striped bass, a recordholder for 30 years. But with NASCAR Cup racing, he had but one superspeedway win, the '63 Daytona 500 in the Wood Bros #21. He was replacing their driver, Marvin Panch, who had been burned earlier in the week in a non-Cup event and Tiny had pulled him out of the wreckage. Over the subsequent years Tiny's real success came on the short tracks where he won big time. Nonetheless, he did decide to take a one-off Cup ride at Talladega in 1975, getting into the show after first alternate Grant Maddox dropped out. Tiny went only six laps before a huge backstretch melee claimed his life. He was 45, leaving his wife Wanda and son Christopher. (Photo from NASCAR The Complete History, by Greg Fielden)

#3529 Gutsy Ricky Wright was a winning Big Block Modified driver in the 1980s and '90s at Lebanon Valley, New York. It's an intimidating high-banked half mile, not a good place to have brake problems...One night he was hit hard from behind in traffic. The belly pan beneath the driver folded up from the rear, breaking Ricky's foot badly. As he was taken off to the hospital, the medics wanted to prepare him for arrival by cutting off his fire suit. Painful though the injury may have been, the loss of an expensive fire suit would be even worse. He made them wrestle it off whatever the consequence. Two years later, Ricky was riding a motorcycle right next to the track and he crashed. He hurt his leg again, this time really dramatically, with a femur penetrating his blue jeans. He made no complaints about any treatment of his outerwear when the helicopter came to take him for a ride. Maybe motorcycles are too dangerous for Big Block Modified drivers." From
MODIFIEDS OF THE VALLEY: A History of Modified Racing at Lebanon Valley Speedway, by Lew Boyd. (Mark Brown Photo)

#3528 - Don "the Snake" Prudhomme and Ed Pink occasionally clashed, but, boy, did they win drag races. From Ed Pink: The Old Master, by Ed Pink with Bones Bourcier. (Ed Pink Collection)

#3527 - In 2010 a record was established as four women qualified for the [Indy] 500. Danica Patrick (top) finished sixth while Simona Silvestra (2nd) was 14th and honored as the top rookie. Ana Beatriz (3rd) and Sarah Fisher (bottom) were both eliminated in accidents. Caption and photos from 500 on the (Indy) 500: Tales, Facts, and Figures on the Greatest Race in the World, by Rick Shaffer. (Simona, IMS Archive; balance, Dan Boyd)

#3526 - In 1963 Curtis Turner told Smokey Yunick that he was determined to run at the Brickyard. Yunick dusted off a car he called "the Python," and off they went. There was just a wee bit of women-and-song out there in Indiana, and with two days to go, Yunick pointed out that they needed 3 mph more to even qualify. So Turner went for it big time – and got the third-turn wall. He subsequently apologized and suggested they restart the party. Yunick recalls that somehow, "We were in Vegas two days later finishing that up, and I go back to Daytona with the remains in about a week. I think the Python was cremated. Its remains went to Japan and came back as a Honda motorcycle (probably two of them). We did extinguish any burning desire Curtis had to conquer Indy." From THE BEST DAMN GARAGE IN TOWN, by Smokey Yunick.

#3525 - With its twin tubular-steel side members joined by perforated webs, the Kurtis Kraft 2000 chassis was suitable for both dirt tracks and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was sprung by torsion bars. From INDY CARS OF THE 1950s, Ludvigsen Library Series.

#3524 - While it first appears that Holly Shelton has found a new way to pass POWRi Midget Series competitor Max Guilford by flying over the top of him, unfortunately for Holly, it's the beginning of a series of flips in between the first and second corners at the Belle-Clair Speedway, Belleville, Illinois, in 2018 at a POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League event. Holly suffered no injuries. Unfortunately Belle-Clair, a neat little track with that distinctive wooden fence, closed a couple of seasons back. (Photo and caption by Don Figler.)

#3523 - Former dirt track racer, ARCA star, multi-class NASCAR driver, and race director at Penn National Speedway, Lebanon, Pennsylvania's Bobby Gerhart Jr. was tabbed to qualify the Roush Racing #99 at Pocono in 2005 while regular driver Carl Edwards was in Colorado running the Salute to the Troops 250 at Pikes Peak International Speedway. Edwards finished fourth after starting 41st in the 43-car field. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3522 - The diminutive, star-crossed Cheryl Glass (#28) races to the outside of Lealand McSpadden at San Jose Speedway in 1981. "It takes a lot of me to run a night of practice, qualifying, heat races, and a sprint car main event," sprint car driver Tim Green said, "and I’m over six feet and 200 pounds. Then I look at this little, very lady-like woman, who drives a lot faster and smoother than some top male drivers, and I’m a little lost for words." From THE FIRST LADY OF DIRT: The Triumphs and Tragedy of Racing Pioneer Cheryl Glass, by Bill Poehler. (Shirley Glass Collection)

#3521 - In his brand new book, Lynn Paxton recalls a memorable 1968, both on the track with a new car as well as an unexpected encounter at the concessions stand. "This is 'the ‘Bathtub' at speed at the Grove, October 6, 1968. The car brought sixteen feature wins. Always at a disadvantage against the high-priced, custom-built sprinters, the Kenny Weld-built car with Paxton as the driver held its own to say the least. It was a tough machine, always taking abuse and coming back for more. Paxton flipped it five times that year." And then there was Barbara Deardorff. Barb's mom would make the introduction happen at the refreshment stand at Susquehanna where Barb was working. Barb says, "I thought he was a real geek." They married in 1972. From LYNN PAXTON: My Way, by Don Robinson. (Kings Photo)

#3520 - She's the voice that smiles when you call customer service at Speedway Illustrated magazine. Christine Worthington was also winner of the Eastern Motorsports Press Association's President’s award last month. She surely deserved it. She helps keep the publication timely and lively, with contributors countrywide focused on the goal of helping folks race "Faster, Safer, Wiser." But of all her talents, the one most relied upon is keeping the ground wires tight on her husband, Karl Fredrickson, the magazine's highly charged founder and mayordomo. (Speedway Illustrated Photo)

#3519 - Oh my! Robert Ballou at Ocala on February 16, 2024. (Photo John DaDalt, master lensman from the Nutmeg state)

#3518 - Even back when racing, Jeff Gordon has passionately supported pediatric-cancer research. Working with the Clinton Global Initiative and Paul Farmer's Partners in Health, he's supported the Butaro Cancer Center of Excellence in Rwanda. He is shown with his wife, Ingrid, visiting with kids near the Center. From JEFF GORDON: HIs Dream, Drive, & Destiny, by Joe Garner

#3517 Check out the faces. From Don Figler's MIDGET RACING CALENDAR 2024.

#3516 - Gutsy Ralph Liguori in Andy Granatelli's Novi at Indy in 1961, prepping for some practice. After a few refresher laps, Ralph went to pick up some speed, and the engine exploded, distributing hundreds of parts and pieces with the car sliding down the backstretch and pounding the wall. With blood-soaked gauze on his face and neck from burns, he hopped off his cot in the infield care center and announced he was ready to go again. But he never had the chance to try to qualify, losing his shot at a front-row start and possible track record, He lamented, "That was a low point in my career because I thought I had it made." Quote and Photo from RACERS IN THE SUN: The Story of Florida's Sprint Car Legends, by Richard Golardi. (IMS Photo)

#3515 - A white sport coat and a pink carnation. Who would have known this 1950s high-schooler at graduation in the San Francisco Bay area was already a professional motorcycle racer performing on AMA.s half-and mile ovals on the West Coast Flat Track circuit? His name was Jan Opperman. From Dialed In: The Jan Opperman Story, by Jon Sawyer. (Opperman Collection)

#3514 - World of Outlaw Late Models are enormously popular and this photo shows why. When the race looks as if fans could drive the cars, it's not as good as when the cars look really hard to drive. Outlaw Late Models are set up to hike the left front wheel up in the corners, while the left side of the car's rear end moves forward 6-8 inches. Called "roll steer," that shift forward of the left rear axle has a lot to do with the incredible speed these cars achieve in the dirt track's corners. This photo was taken of Ricky Thornton at Barberville, Florida's Volusia Speedway Park on a night that preceded the 2024 Daytona 500. Think you could drive wide open through a dirt track corner in a car that's this out of shape? (Caption and Photo by Dick Berggren)

#3513 - Donnie Beechler #14 had a rough landing exiting the fourth turn during the running of the Tony Bettenhausen 100-mile event in 2011 at the Springfield Illinois State Fair. That's Dave Darland, #56 pointing in the wrong direction. Also involved were Randy Bateman and Darren Hagar. No injuries. Bryan Tyler won the race after starting in the 14th position. (From our photographer friend Don Figler)

#3512 - "In 1942 leading race sanctioning group, the American Automobile Association (AAA), voted to wait until after the war was over before they would sanction again. To a degree the Central States Racing Association (CSRA) bridged the gap. Joie Chitwood edged out hot shots Tommy Hinnershitz and Dave Randolph at Batavia, NY, just before a national racing wartime ban was instituted on August 1, 1942." From DAREDEVILS OF THE FRONTIER, by Keith S. Herbst. (EMMR Collection)

#3511 - In Tulsa in 1973, "John Wiebe qualified number-one in the 32-car Top Fuel field with a 6.119 ET at 229 mph...Wiebe's weekend came to a quick end, as did that of 17th-qualifier Jeb Allen when the pair tangled in the first round. Wiebe's Ed Mabry-chassis car shook bad and took a hard turn into Allen, destroying both cars. Allen received burns in his face and hands, while Wiebe suffered a broken leg and ankle after riding the guardrail.” From DRAG RACING'S REBELS: How the AHRA Changed Quarter-mile Competition, by Doug Boyce. (Don Gillespie Photo)

#3510 - In 1981 Billy Pauch did something a little different. He accepted a ride up north on Friday nights, running the Ripley and Harbinger #24S Modified at Albany-Saratoga. He recalls, "We were running against Jack Johnson, C.D., Dave Lape, Chuck Ely, Butch Jelley - it was a pretty good field there. I drove all year for the 24S guys and never won a race for them. But it was still a good memory. That was a lot of fun. Get up there to race, then go to the bars - they didn't close until four in the morning. Sleep 'til noon. Then stagger back to Flemington and win about ten straight." From THE LAST COWBOY: The Life and Times of Billy Pauch, by Buffy Swanson. (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

#3509 - On January 27 and 28, 2024, the 62nd Rolex 24-hour race ran at the Daytona International Speedway 3.56-mile road course. Four divisions, each running together on the track at the same time, produced profoundly varied speeds, some over 200 MPH, and heart-pounding closing rates. The top divisions were as exotic as today's Indy cars. Cars had three or four drivers that shuffled in and out of the driver's seat during pit stops. The infield area not used for racing was filled with fans who visited the many displays (including historic Rolex cars) and rode on the full-size Ferris wheel. Most tickets allowed access to the stadium seats, fan zone and the garage. At the end, two cars in the top division were within one second of each other after 24-hours. The Roger Penske Porsche won with drivers (Indy 500 winner) Josef Newgarden, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell and Dane Cameron. The Whelen Engineering Cadillac shown here finished second. (Photo and caption by Dick Berggren)

#3508 - The kids were coming. Sixteen winters back, USAC Sprint Car Rookie of the Year, Chad Boat, age 16, waltzed the Billy Boat #30 to the youngest-ever race win at Hagerstown, MD. From MODERN THUNDER: The Illustrated History of USAC National Sprint Car Racing 1981-2019, by Dave Argabright, John Mahoney, Patrick Sullivan. (John Mahoney Photo)

#3507 - When Maine's Unity Raceway was reopened recently, it was met with great enthusiasm. Lots of fans showed up, especially when the SCONE Sprint cars were in town. At the same time some neat stuff appeared from out of the woods – and the past. How about this '40s truck cab on a narrowed truck frame from the early '60s? The Cutdown era had to be one of the coolest and most creative eras in American oval-track racing. In Maine, they ran at places like Unity, Exeter, Ellsworth, and Cherryfield before being largely replaced by Late Models. This one was driven by Keith Fuller, up-and-coming when he was killed in a highway crash in 1968. (Unity Raceway Photo)

#3506 - Wow. Practicing for the 1977 Gran Premio de la Argentina, Mario Andretti was rocketing by the pit area at 160mph in his Lotus when the fire bottle exploded. His visor was covered with oil, but he managed to ease it through an approaching turn and pull off. The car was a mess. Mario suffered only some bruising when the front bulkhead was blown back. From AUTOCOURSE 1977-78, Mike Kettlewell Editor

#3505 - It was 1990. "The Wood Brothers #21 Ford sits on pit road during the spring Talladega race week with Dale Jarrett at the wheel. Neil Bonnett, who had to give up the ride when he was injured at Darlington in April, made his trackside return to Talladega. Greeting him was Bobby Allison, who suffered near-fatal head injuries two years earlier. Bonnett broke the ice in the press conference when he described his first conversation with Allison, 'Me and Bobby were sitting there on the couch,' said Bonnett. 'Between Bobby trying to say what he was thinking and me trying to remember what he was saying, it was a helluva conversation.' Bonnett then told reporters he would not attempt to compete in NASCAR Winston Cup racing again in 1990." Quote and photo from NASCAR: The Complete History, by Greg Fielden.

#3504 - Geoff Bodine posts this eerie photo of the aftermath of his grisly Daytona truck crash in 2000. His caption reads, "Look closely, and you’ll see God's angels protecting me." From ALL OF IT: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story, by Geoff Bodine and Dominic Aragon. (Bodine Collection)

Our Webmaster, Norm Marx, was on the scene and his dramatic photo shows the violence of the incident. (Norm Marx Photo)

#3503 - Herbert Estes (nicknamed "Tootle" by an aunt because he was too little to be a Herbert) was a terror in the mountain of North Carolina, Northern Georgia, and Tennessee, whether hauling 'shine or grabbing checkers. One season he reportedly won 85 of 104 features. Some say he compiled a career total of 1500. One thing's for sure: He counted money not trophies. He won 17 in a row at Greenwood, Speedway in South Carolina, receiving the same trophy each week, promptly selling it back to the promoter. He passed away of a heart attack in 1982, on his way home from Bull's Gap, Tennessee, and a feature win at Volunteer Speedway. (Chris Corum Collection)

#3502 - Starting lineup: The Brickyard 1959. From MY HERO, MY FRIEND: Jimmy Bryan, by Len Gasper and Phil Sampaio. (Photo Courtesy IMS)

#3501 - Rhythm Inn Speedway in Millers Falls, Massachusetts, was a high-funk 1/3-mile, one of the many that operated for a short while in the 1950s. Rene Charland was track champ in ’54 and ’55 and, like so many of his compatriots, he responded to money, race cars and the ladies - in varying order. The speedway was connected to a sister business, a club also curiously named Rhythm Inn. That made for an inventive business model. Charland often complained, "They'd pay you for the races and take it all back at the barroom!" (Mike Ritter Collection)

All Previous Photos of the Day HERE