Friday, March 28, 2008

Still More Random Snaps

All taken from the old Nor-Way Pines, circa late '80's or early '90's. Maybe even mid-70's actually. Man, I can't believe I haven't put anything up here since December of '07! Got to busy, I guess. Well, I'll try and make up for it.

And, once again, I would ask that you please leave comments. Especially if I got something wrong, but mainly so that the other people who check this page would be able to communicate with each other. After all, that's the whole point, isn't it?
There were two Bill Moses'; one, Big Bill, I've already done an extended piece on with plenty of pictures. He was Buck's son. This one is Dusty's son, Billy "Geetar" Moses. Dusty was one of the best-loved country musicians in New England back in the day, and Billy inherited Dusty's musical talent as well as his talent behind the wheel. Above is his late-model, which he won the track championship with back in the early '90's. Warren Emery was part owner of the car. I actually drove this car to a victory in the annual Official's Race one year, but don't have a trophy to show for it. Ah, well.

Below is the coupe that Billy ran in the early '80's. I spoke with him about this car recently, and he said it was one of his favorites. I remember it being rather heavy, but very well built. Tough as nails, and he won quite a few races with it. If you know Billy, you know the car had to be tough.


Below is a picture of one of my favorite dirt cars ever. This is Bunky "Grizzly" Adams, from somewhere in Vermont. Just look at the lines on that thing. Low, narrow, all business. Man, that's a pretty race car. As for the driver, well . . . MAN, that's a pretty race car. In the early days of the Nor-Way Pines there was a Modified 6-cylinder class and a stock V8 "hobby" class. After four or five years the sixes got upgraded to coupes. In the first year of the coupe class Butch Clogston and Ed Smith shared the title. The second year it went to Bunky Adams. After he won the championship he vanished, and never returned to the Pines. I don't know if he ever raced anywhere else, but while he was around he was the one to beat.
The sharp-eyed among you have spotted the car sitting next to Bunky's # 42. Yep, that's Franny Comeau's old 89. More on him at a later date, I promise.


This is just one of the late, great Larry Welch's race cars. He raced in the coupe division toward the end of his career, but this was the car he won the Late Model (formerly Hobby) class with one year. Larry tragically died in an off-season accident, but his memory lives on. He was a great driver, and one helluva guy in general.


The last two seasons the Legion Speedway has featured a Sprint car division. Alan Nichols showed up in this Sprinter back in the early nineties and ran with the coupes. A couple other fellows tried the same things, but Sprint cars are just too fragile to run with the heavier coupes. They sure put on a great show when you've got a full field of them, though. All the Sprint car fans at the Speedway have Alan Nichols to thank for breaking the ground.


That's about it for now. In the news, the Legion Speedway had it's second annual March Madness Enduro in the snow. It was a bit of a cluster, uh, ahem, well, let's just say it could have gone off better. Still had fun, though, and I met several of you readers there. I'm gratified that the word is getting around about this page. Please, leave comments here, especially so that others can see what a dope I really am about all this stuff. Really, the only thing that makes me anywhere near an expert is that fact that I know all of you. So keep checking in, and don't forget you promised to send me pictures.

ps - Billy, I forgot to pick up that CD you said you were going to leave me in the eating shack. And, if you leave a comment, be sure to leave the link to your music site. Folks, Billy "Geetar" Moses has given up racing to spend more time doing music, and you've just got to hear it. It's great. Bill, you've got to leave a link now!

See you all Memorial Day weekend in Rumney.




1 comment:

Jason Welch said...

The white 33 car actually belonged to Larry's brother Mike. I have been looking for some pics of my dad's (Welchie) blue and white #33s and will share if I can find them.