I loved going to stock car races when I was a kid. I had a few favorite drivers,
Terry Dickenson in the Hobby Class, Vic Parsons in the Late Model and most of all, Glen Schurr in the Super Modifieds. I would eventually take the #36 for my races cars after my hero Glen Schurr, although #9 was a thought because of my favorite hockey player Andy Bathgate who was #9 and so was Vic Parsons. I would use the number 9 twice in my career, in 1985 in the Hooby class when I painted my Coupe like Bill Elliotts, and in 2009 when I ran full time at both Delaware and Flamboro Speedway.
I used #9 on Friday nights, and of course #36 the rest of the season on my other car.
But about this picture.
Since I couldn’t race when I was 20 (no drivers license) I decided to try Demolition Derbys. I always enjoyed them. I was a bit rowdy at 20 and was determined not to sand bag. I hated to see guys stay out of the action until near the end. They would save their car and come in to clean up when everyone else was all but destroyed.
I had an impact on sandbagging by 1968 when I convinced promoters to give the win to the driver that put on the best show…..if 2 or 3 did and they were still bashing it out at the end, then give it to the last car running, not the driver with little damage who survived and won because he stayed out of the battle.
This 1955 Chev was bought for $50, it was rusted pretty bad. It had an inline six and ran quite well. I always used the name “Color Me First” on all my 20 demolition cars, winning 6 of the 20 shows I was in.
I literally beat this car to nothing and we got the win and $150. That was 2 weeks pay. The smile lasted for weeks.
I will post a few more Demo wins.
I will be posting a picture soon of my finished Pro Late Model for 2020.
Thank you for visiting our site. 🙂