The Flagman

The Flagman

God. Well, god with a small g, but god none the less. That’s what the flagman is on the racetrack, or at least what they should be. Of course, this is the 21st century, so that could easily be the Flag Person, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that somebody has to be in charge on the race track, and that’s the flagman.

I believe I’ve already written a piece on the man I consider to be one of the best, if not THE best, flagman ever; Ted Winot. Ted was an artist, a showman. He was also aware of every single thing that happened on HIS racetrack, and was very fair. And those are the most important things for a flagman to be.

The modern-day flagman doesn’t ever really get to be a showman. They’re stuck in a flagstand mounted up on high. About all they can do now is wave the flags. Not like the old days in which Ted and his ilk could come down onto the track and mingle with the cars and drivers. Leaping about, running around with the green flag in their hands, shaking the black flag in some driver’s window and giving them what for. No, we’re . . . well, fortunately, a lot more safety conscious now. Flagmen used to get hurt. Chub Walker used to stand in the middle of the track at the start and let the cars go around him.

The flagman’s REAL job is not just to stop and start the race. It is also to pass judgement on the events taking place thereupon. The Checkers (or Scorers) keep an eye on who is first, second, and so forth. The flagman’s job is to enforce the rules of the road. To make sure that traffic can flow freely, and if it can’t to stop it and see to the removal of any obstacles. Then, they are to ejucidate who is at fault for the stoppage and deal with them appropriately.

Traditionally, whoever causes the caution flag to be waved goes to the rear of the field for the restart. Sometimes this is a complicated decision. One car may have spun out and stalled in the middle of the track, causing a safety hazard that brings out the yellow flag. But that person may have spun out because of the actions of another. It is up to the flagman to determine who was at fault, and if he feels that the spun car was wronged he could even get back his original position on the track while the person who hooked them goes back.

This is not always an easy decision to make. A good flagman has plenty of help around to help him make it, and in this day of portable radios that has gotten a little easier to do. You will note that there are usually a number of people on the infield or at the pit entrance carrying walkie-talkies with them. They act as assistants to the flagman, because nobody – not even Ted Winot – could see all the way around a racetrack all the time.

One thing that makes the flagman’s job difficult is the fact that he’s doing it in front of the entire crowd. And don’t forget that most of that crowd has their own opinion on what happened, especially if they have an interest in any car involved. Let’s be honest, fans; your favorite driver can do any damned thing they want and it’s justified. Consequently, the more honest a flagman is, the more fans hate them.

Think about this for a moment. I know I’m in dangerous waters here, but bear with me. Do you remember a NASCAR star whose nickname was “The Intimidator?” How do you get a nickname like that, anyway? I’ll tell you how; by using your bumper to advance your position on the racetrack. That’s been one of my long-standing complaints about NASCAR. They look the other way for drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, and Bobby Allison because they’re popular.

There is a variety of opinions on such drivers. I believe their aggressive tactics are unfair, others feel it gives a race color. Where opinions vary the widest is among the drivers. If you use those tactics, you think they’re great. On the other hand, if you’re the poor schmuck who has to repair their car every week while a less talented, but more aggressive, driver goes by after spinning you, you’re probably not so enamored of the style.

In major-league racing, with multi-million dollar budgets supplied by multi-national corporations, this is an intellectual discussion. On the local level, when your spouse is wondering if that replacement front clip is really more important than your kids getting to go to camp, it’s a very real issue. When the family’s butter-and-egg money is on the line and you’ve already spent a lot more than you can ever win back, is bumping and grinding your way to the front fair?

That’s the question the flagman has to consider. He has to think more about what’s fair, about what’s right, than about what the fans or drivers are going to think of him. One of the great flagmen I ever saw was Wayne Weeks, former owner of the Nor-Way Pines Speedway, now known as Big Daddy’s Speedbowl. Wayne wasn’t the showman that Ted Winot was, but outside of that was every bit as good a flagman. And as track owner, he didn’t have to worry about being overruled, which in my opinion happens all too often.

The funny think about Wayne is how people’s opinion of him has changed over the years. When he was at the job, a lot of people really hated him. Most of those same people now miss him sorely, because he tried his best to be uncompromisingly fair. Maybe he had his biases, but they were based on his own observations. He wasn’t above nailing somebody because of all the times they got away with bad stuff.

Nowadays, in the Major Leagues, the Chief Starter has all kinds of help. More people, and technology, than was available in Ted Winot or Wayne Weeks’ day, or even now to our own Chief Starters. But the same reality comes down at the end of the day; there’s a decision to be made, and it’s up to that person in the flagstand to make it. When will the race start? When will it stop? Why did it stop? What will be done about it? Others may get to decide who wins and loses, but it starts and stops at the whim of one person. The Flagman.

The Checkers

Checkers

Not the game involving little red and black disks on a board divided up into squares. And also not the flag that gets waved at the end of a race. No, the checkers I’m referring to are the ones who sit up in the judge’s stand and keep track of who’s leading the race.

I’m going to try and write a series of pieces that give some insight into how a racetrack runs, and maybe even the differences between how it ran fifty years ago and today. It’s surprising how some things have changed, and how some have not.

Accurate scoring is essential to a good race. Nobody really thinks about it, but you need to know who wins, who comes in second, seventh, last. It helps you accurately distribute points and prize money, for one thing. And the whole point of the race is to find out who’s faster.

The actual task of scoring a race isn’t exactly difficult. It isn’t exactly easy, either, but the preferred system is relatively easy to grasp. You need a piece of paper and, preferably, a pencil. You’re best off if you place the paper the long way on the writing surface in front of you, and draw vertical lines down the face. Try and divide your paper into ten segments, and it helps to number them.

Focus your attention on the start/finish line and rest your hand on the page, pencil ready to write in the first column. When a car passes the line, write down the number and move your hand down slightly. Write the next one, and the next one, and so forth. When the first car comes back around, move your hand one column to the right and repeat the procedure.

And that’s about it.

The advantage of this system is, it gets every car, every lap. That way, if you’re wondering if someone is down a lap, you simply look through all the laps for their number. Any lap the number is missing, they weren’t there. It even makes it easy to see how many multiple laps the backmarkers are. Preferably, you should have at least two checkers, and it’s even better to have three. That way, if there’s a disagreement at any point, best two out of three wins.

The reason they’re called checkers is simple; they check where the cars are, and then check with each other to make sure they got it right. Nowadays they’re usually called Scorers, but back in my day they were Checkers.

The first Checkers I ever saw were my mom, Marjorie, and grandmother, Pearl Clogston. They developed the system described above, and it’s logical that they weren’t the first. I learned it at a very young age and have taught it to many people since. Anyone can do it, and if you don’t believe me grab a yellow legal pad and a pencil next time you leave for the races. You can do it, too.

One important task for the Checkers is to get the lineup to the flagman any time there’s a caution period requiring a restart. Most small tracks go back to the last completed lap and line up in that order, excepting whoever it was that caused the caution. That person, or those people, go to the rear. One thing the Checkers are NOT responsible for is figuring out who was at fault. That’s the job of the flagman and their helpers. But more on that another day. The Checkers should have their eyes on the start/finish line, and nowhere else. Don’t ask them what happened in turn one, because they’re supposed to be busy checking the running order at the flag stand.

This is one job that has not gone through a lot of changes over the years. At the big tracks like Daytona and Indianapolis, and NHMS, there are electronic scoring systems that put strips in the track under the asphalt and transponders in the cars. You can tell who is in what position at any point on the track. If you don’t have a million dollars to invest in such a system, the old way works just fine.

The more cars, and the faster the cars, the harder the job. For most races the Checkers have plenty of down time between laps. They actually get to see some of the race. If you want to see what their worst-case scenario is, try checking a Mini-Sprint feature with twenty or more cars. If you can keep up with that, you’re good.

The really cool part about checking is, anyone can do it. So here’s a challenge. Bring a pad of paper and a pencil, and try your hand. You’ll be surprised how easy it is, and how much concentration it requires. And it might even give you a little respect for the people that do it every race.

Git-Tar's website

. . . AND ANOTHER!

There I was, raving on about George Hill's new webpage on local racing, and then couldn't find the glowing review I wrote on Billy "Git-tar" Moses' page. And no wonder . . . I hadn't written it yet! Heck, it's been around for months now, and I really, really meant to tell you about it . . . so now I will. Sorry, Bill.

First, the link, which I'll also put on the side:

http://geetarsjalopyjunkies.weebly.com/

Bill's nickname comes, of course, from the fact that he is 1) one of the finer Country/Rock pickers in these parts, and 2) he is the son of the late, great Dusty Moses, who was another one. And of course, they both raced stock cars, too.

Billy's page centers around the Rumney track and its various incarnations, but that in itself means it's connected to everything else past and present in the area. No track is an island, after all. And, he carries a lot of news as well as a lot of history. Like George Hill, Billy has done a lot of work on this page and you're really going to enjoy it.

He gets his photos mostly from his own massive archive dating back through the decades. Although I'm sure he'd be most happy to take a look at anything you want to share with the World Wide Web. (For that matter, so would I.)

He does regular updates and has features like a Driver of the Month article (this month is Bobby Webber, the new flagman at Big Daddy's, who also used to race) and racing families.

So check out the Gee-tar man's Jalopy Junkie nostalgia report at your earliest convenience. You'll be glad you did.

Another Link

ANOTHER NEW BLOG

Tickled to death to see another new webpage on local racing. This one is put together by no less than George Hill, who used to drive the 38 Special at the Nor-Way Pines, and was a teammate of Royal Moses. It's called NH Short Track Heroes, and the link to it is over there on the side. Just in case:

http://nhshorttrackheroes.weebly.com/index.html

There. Don't say you couldn't find it.

It's a good one, too. George has taken the time and done the legwork, and it really shows. It's an impressive effort, of the type I wish I could have done here. I am so glad that so many people have gone to the trouble to preserve the history of racing in the Northeast and in New Hampshire in particular. Thanks from the bottom of my heart to George, Billy Moses, and everybody who has opened their hearts, their memories, and their photo albums to each of us.

Which reminds me; Ralph Stygles loaned his photos to George, so you're going to start seeing those on his website soon if not already. And I'm sure he'd be grateful to anyone who can identify some of the people, cars, and places that he's having trouble with.

For example, there's a photo on the Legion Bowl page of a purple five-window coupe, number 574? That is Tommy Richardson of Canaan, NH. You're welcome. I might have a couple more for ya, too.

So with another racing season beginning, and me being involved at the Big Daddy Speedbowl in Wentworth, I'm going to try real hard to post more stuff here. I think I've about used up all the decent pictures that I've got, so I'll let Billy and George take care of that end and just share my boring stories.

Rumney Changes Hands

Hi.

First of all, let me say thanks to everybody who’s told me they wish I’d add something to this page more often. Sorry that I’ve been so busy of late, but that’s the way it is I guess.

Next, I would like to confirm some rumors you’ve probably heard. The Rumney racetrack, still known to many as the Nor-Way Pines, has changed management once again. Mike Rivers will be taking over, and the name has changed to Big Daddy’s Speedbowl. I will be adding the link (bigdaddysspeedbowl.com) to the sidebar soon. In fact, looky looky! There it is! And, yes, I will be returning as your humble announcer, but please come check it out anyway.

Anyway, thanks for keeping in touch, and I’ll really try and get some more on this page in the near future. I at least owe you part 2 of the early Groveton story.

Rick

Riverside Speedway

Riverside Speedway

This has got to be the Northernmost racetrack in New Hampshire. In this day and age it's an asphalt track, sanctioned by PASS with the occasional ACT tour race. But this blog is not about the present, is it? And to tell the truth, I haven't been to a race there since before the surface became asphalt.

The track opened in 1965. It was the brainchild of two brothers, Doc and Chet McLain. I'm not sure how the name was spelled, and I hope I'm right about the date, but it was around then by them. In the beginning it was sanctioned and officiated by some long-gone, shadowy and much-maligned group known then as The Association. No, not the rock group that did "Along Comes Mary."

It soon became obvious that associating with The Association was a big mistake. Somehow, the McLanes/McLains/McClaynes got in contact with my parents and off to Groveton we went. Dad was Pit Steward, Mom and my grandmother, Pearl Clogston were the checkers, and family friend Ted Winot from St. Johnsbury, VT was flagman. Also joining us was a young man named Donny, whose last name escapes me right now, who worked as Dad's assistant pit steward.

For the next several years I spent my Sunday mornings and evenings sitting in the middle of the back seat with four chain smokers, none of whom seemed able to roll down a window. I was nine years old when this began. How I made it to fourteen without lung cancer, God only knows. My favorite memory of the trip was a little diner a few miles south of Groveton that made great cheeseburgers and had Buck Owens on their jukebox.

The original racing surface at Riverside was some of the worst clay ever laid down. It was mostly sand, really. To hold it down the McLanes chose to add a lot of old drain oil. It didn't work. But it did make a lasting impression. Racing on this track turned that oil-soaked sand into a fine, black talcum powder that covered everything and slipped through every crack and crevice. The cars in the parking lot looked like they'd all been dipped in coal dust.

But the one who really got it was Ted. The officials all wore white shirts and pants, and on top of that Ted added a really nice top hat. He would come off the flag stand, the uniform stained a dark grey by the dust, his face caked in the stuff, and then he'd take the hat off. The top half of his forehead and his hair would be perfectly clean.

One of the other people who worked there was somewhat of an electronics whiz. He owned a reel-to-reel tape recorder, and had a CB radio in his car a decade before anyone else did. This radio also included a bullhorn mounted behind the grille. Sometimes on the way home, while we were passing through Groveton, he would follow us shouting "Look at that dirty car!" over the bullhorn.

The facility was way ahead of its time, once you got past the racing surface. It was the first banked track I ever saw, and it was big, too. This meant the cars went like bats out of hell. The grandstand area was also beautifully thought out. Instead of bleachers, you had seating for probably 1500-2000 people that stretched the length of the front straight. At the top was the concession stand, which had plenty of room and they had it set up so you could have two lines in and out. And, they could all see the racing while they ordered their food!

Above the concessions was a further floor with more or less a VIP lounge, and atop that a big, roomy judges stand. At the bottom of the stands was a cement retaining wall topped with an excellent chain-link fence. Built into that cement wall was an alcove that served as the flag stand, with a set of steps actually built into the wall for ingress and egress. The only mistake they made with this was that the door in and out of the flagstand was on the turn-4 side of the alcove. This meant that if a car went up the wall, the flagman had to go toward it to get out and into the seating area.

I'm going to leave it there for now. Next time, I'll talk a little bit about the actual racing. If you have any memories of Riverside, especially back when it was dirt, let's hear it.

Wayne Weeks Update

First of all, you probably already heard that Wayne Weeks, long-time operator of the Nor-Way Pines Speedway, passed away around the new year. A lot of you read the piece I wrote on him, and contacted him. Word is that he really appreciated hearing from you, as has the family. JJ Sanville and his family went down last fall for a visit, and they sent me some pictures. Here's a good one.
The other news, which you probably also know, is that the Legion Speedway did in fact find a new lessor. I forget the gentleman's name, but the track is now known as the Rattlesnake Motordrome. When I feel ambitious I'll add the link, and remove the probably-dead link for the Legion Speedway.

And now, the point. The point, of this blog, is for communication. Instead, what it's been is me telling a bunch of stories and running some pictures. Don't get me wrong, it's been fun, but I know for a fact that I am not the only one who's got a story or two to tell about dirt track racing in the Northern New England area.

I'm not any sort of historian. I've just been around a while. Haven't you? Don't you have some stories to tell? Don't any of the things you've see here bring back any memories? Then fer cryin' out loud hit that comment button and share a little, will ya? I'll keep sticking my own stories on here, but I sure would like to hear from you. And put it here, where everybody can join in, not in an email to me.

So let's hear from you, all right?

The Rumney Racetrack

First, I want to say that I'm sorry about not getting more onto this page this summer. It's been very busy, and for once that very-busy-ness has not included racing. Also, I've been frustrated about not having pictures to go with the really old, boring stories that I'd like to post here. So, I'm just going to post them without the pictures.

But I didn't start this entry so you could listen to me whine. This is about a changing of the guard that I'm hearing about at what I proudly consider my home track, the Legion Speedway. In spite of the fact that it is actually located within the town of Wentworth, NH it is always referred to as The Rumney Racetrack. American Legion Post #66, the Lamont/Haley post, has been the owner of the land it rests on since right after the invention of dirt. My father was a member of that post when they cleared the land and opened the track in 1961, and he was the first track announcer. My mom was in the Ladies' Auxiliary and worked in the snack shack.

For the last three years the Post has taken over management of the facility once again under the leadership of their Commander, Bob Ayer, known affectionately to his friends as B. A. I have been hearing that BA is stepping down as managing director of the track, and I just want to take the opportunity to wish him and Post 66 well. I think they've done a great job of getting a great track back up and running. And they've done just about all of it with volunteer help!

They have tried very hard to be family-friendly, fan-friendly, and racer-friendly all at the same time. They've put a lot of hard work into improving the facility, and at the same time have managed to turn enough of a profit to be able to do some very good work in the community. Don't forget, this is the only racetrack around that is owned and operated by a non-profit organization. Like a church, or a grange, or an Elks lodge, they pour the money they make back back into their mission. In their case, it's to help local veterans and also doing things like Christmas baskets for underpriviliged families. Some organizations do these works with bake sales or suppers. Post 66 does it with car racing.

I don't know what the future of the track will be. I've heard a lot of rumors but I won't speculate on them here. I can understand why BA and the post might feel a little burnt out. For the last three years they've all busted their collective kiesters to give us a good show. I hope the good Lord will grant them wisdom as they contemplate their future.

Wayne Weeks

"Why the heck do they call this place the Nor-Way Pines Speedway?" the old race fan asked. "There ain't a doggone Norway pine on the place; just white pine."

Oh, ye of little mind. First, we need to discuss a little history.

The little dirt track on the Rumney / Wentworth town line began life around 1961 as the Legion Bowl. American Legion Post # 66 owned - and still owns - the land, and they also ran it in the early days, as they do now. It closed in the mid-60's and lay fallow for the better part of a decade. Finally, around 1974 or so, two enterprising racers leased the property from the Legion and re-opened the track. These two men were NORman Roulx and WAYne Weeks. Hence, NOR-WAY Pines. Get it now?

Wayne, giving Mike Vincellette the flag after a Qualifier victory.

According to legend, Wayne Weeks and his wife, Louella, came home one evening in 1958 and discovered a '54 Ford that hadn't been there before. The next day their nephew, Norm Roulx, showed up and announced that the Ford was their new race car. They raced the car, and its successors, at various tracks for the next ten years or so, centering their activities around Barre, VT's Thunder Road. They co-owned the car and hired drivers, the most prominent being the late, great Hank Montanden.

Finally, in 1968 Wayne became one of the ownership group that founded the Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT along with C. V. Elms and George Barber. Eventually, he and Norm broke away to re-open the old Bowl.

Wayne giving a trophy to 4-time Nor-Way Pines / Pines Speedway / Legion Speedway champion, Ray Heath, Jr.

Wayne was the flagman, and Norm served at the track announcer. Norm eventually moved on and Wayne ran the track by himself, continuing to operate the Speedway into the mid-1990's. Eventually, he found someone to take over the lease and he retired to Florida where he and Louella, and most of the kids, live today.

Wayne with the late, great Larry Welch

Everybody's got their favorite memories of Wayne Weeks. When he was frustrated with a driver, he would jump down from the flag stand and shake the black flag in their face. He took a lot of crap from a lot of people over the years, and all with stoic silence. His word was law. If he kicked you out for two weeks, you were out. Period.

He ticked off a lot of people by not changing his mind and ruling in their favor. Most of these people miss him badly now. Whatever else you want to say about Wayne Weeks, he was fair. His perspective was that of a race fan. He knew where the Nor-Way Pines sat on the racing food chain; at the bottom. And he liked it that way. He made his rules so that any half-decent shade-tree mechanic could put together a competitive car. And he ran his track so that anyone with their head screwed on straight would get a chance to do their stuff.

He will be happy to learn that the Legion post that owns the land is using him as a model now that they're running things again. They have bypassed a lot of avenues for increasing revenue, like making teams buy tires from the track or jacking up the prices at the consession stand. Instead, they're making it easy to race, and to go watch.

Wayne has been very ill recently, but his youngest daughter, Alicia, says he'd be thrilled to hear from race fans and anybody else from up North. You can leave comments here, or email Alicia at alicia13@tampabay.rr.com. Be sure to tell him I said hello.

A Model Citizen

A Model Citizen

Neal Davis is a long-time race fan from New Hampshire who makes models. As you can see, he does a really good job of it, too. He even makes them to sell. He's already shown his work at Canaan USA Speedway, and we're hoping to have him at the Legion Speedway soon.

This is a model of Jim Fadden's old coupe that he used to run at the Nor-Way Pines. I think Jim finished second in the Coupe division one year. He also ran very successfully in the Late-Model class. This car dates back, I think, to the early '80's.

This is the car that Tyler Rich drove to the B-Coupe championship in 2007. Tyler comes from Lyme, and is one heck of a driver. I believe he's got a new car for '08, so this is already a piece of history.

This is Bill George's '34 Ford coupe, built from pictures shown on this very blog. I'm so happy . . . Bill was my hero, and this car was actually built by my uncle Jim Parris back in '63. Bill won the championship at the 106 Midway Raceway with this in '64. If the name of that track doesn't sound familiar, it later became Bryar Motorsport Park, and finally New Hampshire International Speedway.

If you want to know more about Neal and his models, drop him an email at:

Nealtameradavis@aol.com

Hope you don't mind, Neal. If he complains, I'll edit this post and take the addy off, but you really should drop him a line. He does great work.

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.

When emailing me . . .

Put "DIRT TRACK NH" in subject line of emails!

Hi.

This post is intended to address a possible problem. The biggest kick I get out of doing this blog is getting feedback from you readers. There hasn't been much, and yet I get the impression that the word is getting around. I hope you are enjoying seeing the history of the sport I love through my eyes, and be assured that it will continue.

I would like to ask one favor, if I may. If you email me at rclogston@hotmail.com, PLEASE mention Dirt Track NH in the subject line. The reason for this is that this account is set on 'exclusive,' so unless you are a regular contact of mine your message will go into my spam bucket. I do look through those, and if you put that in the subject, I'll fish it out and read it. I just read one that said 'blog,' and I took a chance, but I learned the hard way NOT to open emails from people I don't know unless I have good reason to believe that I should.

What I'm saying is, if you've emailed me, it probably got deleted. Supposedly, it is possible for anyone to leave a comment, and that is how I would prefer to hear from you, because I would also like everyone else to have a chance to see what you want to say as well. Still, there are indications that some people have found it difficult to leave a comment. That is something I have no control over.

But I do like getting emails from you, so feel free to write. Just remember; if you don't put Dirt Track NH in the subject line, it WILL be deleted. Don't get mad because you put 'blog' or 'race fan' or something, and you don't hear back from me. Twice I've been wormed and lost my whole hard drive, so I take NO chances. I've spent a lot of hours digging through old photos and scanning them into my computer. Yes, I've saved them to disk, but I'm still not risking a bad spam.

And please, leave a comment if you can.

Warren Randlett

Here's a couple of shots of Warren Randlett's '34 Ford, which raced around NH in the '50's and '60's. Warren is the gentleman standing beside the car, and these shots are only about 10 to 15 years old. The assumption is, this car is still around. Last I knew, Warren was living in Homosassa Springs, Florida. The pictures are by my father.

Promises Kept - More Random Snaps

Hi. I've been promising to post some more, and here it is. I've also been promising all summer to post some pictures just as soon as I could put my hands on them and get them scanned into the computer. Well, I finally found them, and here's some of them. These pictures show some of the family connections of NH dirt track racing.
Here's a shot of a pair of young men who would grow up to both be very good race car drivers. The big guy in the white t-shirt is Corey Avery, who became a very good Late Model driver. He got off to a slow start, but after a couple years became very fast indeed. The real shame of it was that he climbed out of the car just as he was getting good. The little guy on the left is his brother, Ryan, who just won the Mod title at Bear Ridge Speedway. And the car they're standing in front of? Why, that's one of the 01's that their dad, Jim, co-owned with driver Butch Clogston. Ryan and Corey have both carried on with that number since Butch's passing.

I kept getting requests for any other pictures I could find of "Sweet Lou" Ottati. Well, here's the only other one I've found so far. Lou was a very good driver and a really good guy.

Do you attend the races at the Legion Speedway in Rumney/Wentworth? Well, if so you've seen this big fella. That's Bob "BA" Ayer, the managing director, back when he was crewchief for Billy "Git-tar" Moses. The lady in red is Mary Emery, the wife of the car owner.

This is two of my favorite drivers, together as always. On the right, Donnie Sharp, Sr, one of the greats of the Late Model drivers. To his left is his son, Donnie Jr., who went on to star in Sprint Cars in New York state. They both came back to their roots this summer, taking turns racing the Sprint at the Legion Speedway. This is one of Donnie Jr's first Modifieds at the same track back when it was called the Nor-Way Pines.

I've been promising to post this one for a long time now, and couldn't find it until recently. If you remember the old 106 Midway Raceway in Loudon (now known as NHIS) then you probably remember Ernie Gilbert's #51. Well, this is Ernie Jr at the Pines.

Stay tuned. More coming when I get time.

Don't Keep Me In Suspense!

Okay, bad pun alert. This is a semi-technical piece, from somebody with little or no technical expertise. Feel free to comment, and correct. Here goes.

Suspension. Gotta have it. Keeps the car from resting on the wheels. Like any other part of a race car, it's gone through a lot of changes. Back in the day, when race cars were cars chopped down for racing, the original suspension usually kept on providing its original service. Leaf springs and shock absorbers.

A prime example of '60's era racing technology, as built by Jim Parris of Groton, NH. This car was soon given the number 30 by its next owner, "Hard-Luck" Harold Hannaford.

Out in New York and the midwest, where there were huge crowds and a lot more money, things progressed a lot quicker. I was fortunate enough to see the cars made out of pre-war coupes and sedans with their fenders removed. On tracks that allowed it, a Jeep or International Scout frame was a popular upgrade. Soon, the old steel bodies became the only link to the cars raced after World War II. Even they began to give way to fiberglass replicas. Eventually, the bodies completed their evolution to flat panels of steel or aluminum rivetted to the chassis.


During these final transitions we began to see a beast known as a "bar car," meaning torsion bar suspension. In an over-simplified nutshell, this is a suspension system based not on a bending spring, but on a twisting bar. Torsion bars have been around since the 1920's, and were part of Ferdinand Porsche's original ideas for the car that came to be known as the Volkswagen. Torsion bars have several advantages, including easy adjustments, relative simplicity, and they were cheap to boot.

Alan Larter in a late-80's "Bar Car."

Another suspension system that became popular around this time was known as the "four-poster," using coil-over springs. This is, as the name suggests, a coil spring with a shock absorber in the middle. This is the type of suspension used in Nextel Cup racecars. A variation can be found in Champ cars and Formula One. It's a bit more expensive and complex than torsion bars, but also appears to be superior.

Doug Murphy, of Center Harbor, NH with his "Four-poster."

Both systems are in common use these days in dirt track racing, all the way up the ladder. Still, that has not kept creativity from being expressed. In the late '80's and early '90's, Jack Cook of Moultonboro started using a single transverse leaf spring made of fiberglass. I recently found out that this probably came from a school bus. Not one of the regular types, but those square ones with the flat nose that look like a loaf of bread going down the road. It worked very well, but I've never seen it used by anyone else.

Another alternative was tried by Buck and Big Bill Moses on his #15 car about the same time. They tried using an independant rear suspension out of a Corvette. It worked very well, but was too fragile to be used on a dirt track. The funny part of that was that they were still running a flathead Ford V8 at this time.

All this was done in the name of keeping the wheels on the ground. If you watch a Strictly Street or 4-Cylinder race, especially if the track's a little rough, you can quickly see what a disadvantage leaf springs and shocks have. All the wheel bounce, especially on the rear-wheel-drive cars, is almost non-existent in a Modified or Sprint.

"Smiling" Bill George

 

This fellow was my hero when I was growing up. He was from Andover. I'm not sure what he did for a living, but he had oxen that he used to pull at the fairs, so I suspect he might have been a logger. His brother, Woofie, had a garage in Andover. Woofie - whose real name was Carleton, I believe - also raced a little, but Bill really had the gift.

He won a track championship at the old Legion Bowl, and another one at the 106 Midway Raceway in Loudon. He also raced at Claremont back when it was dirt, and probably a few other places as well.

This picture is from the Legion Bowl in Wentworth, circa 1963. On a historical note, that's Raymond Heath, Sr. in front of him in the original "Sweet 16."

Yeah, that's me about the same time. It's also me with Bill in the top picture. This is the first car I saw him in, and the one up above he picked up late in the '63 season. By the way, that one was built by my uncle, Jim Parris. More on him later.

From what I understand, Bill passed away just a couple of years ago; '04 or '05. He'd have been around 90.

As usual, anyone who has any more to say about Bill is more than welcome to leave comments.

Early Thunder Road

 

I've been getting requests for the real, real old pictures, so here's a few. I got these out of a 1972 Northern Nascar program that Wilbur Martin very graciously loaned me. There was a section of the program that referred back to "the old days" and had these pictures. Btw, I had always thought that Thunder Road in Barre, VT started in the fifties, or maybe even the late forties, but Bill Ladabouche's excellent site on the Catamount Speedway says the place started in 1960. This fellow is Tony Colluchio. At least, I think that's how you spell his name. I remember this car, but even moreso I remember its predecessor; a jet-black Hudson #0 that everybody called "The Big O." I also remember the night he destroyed it. We still rooted for him, but somehow it was different seeing him in a flathead Ford instead of the big Hudson.

Tony was my brother, Butch's hero. Everybody remembers Butch now as "the Duke" driving the # 01 patterned after the Dukes of Hazzard. Before that, his car always was #0 and black, after Tony's Hudson.

This is the great Paul Martell, in his most famous Thunder Road car. I saw him mostly at Keith Bryar's 106 Midway Raceway in Loudon, where he was all but unbeatable in the blue-and-white #444. To be honest, I can't tell you much about this car outside of the obvious, but mister-man could this ol' boy drive a racecar.

Ronnie Marvin was always Tony C's arch-enemy. We would boo him just as hard as we'd cheer Tony. In truth . . . well, Ronnie may have been a little rough, but he was a real nice guy, and a great driver. And that 13 car would really fly!

The Ingerson brothers used to race at the Legion Bowl and Loudon as well, although their cars were never this pretty after an evening of racing on dirt. As I recall, Doug was probably the better driver of the three. Russ was nicknamed "the Wild Child." I'll have to steal that for somebody at the Legion Speedway. The trouble is, there's so many it could apply to. ;>

Well, that's about all for now. More later, of course. Enjoy.

And, if anybody out there has any pictures, or wants to share a story, about any of these guys, go right ahead. I'm especially interested in anything you might have on Tony Colluchio, who seems to be the forgotten man of old-time racing.

Dynamite Dave and Old 97

This picture's from the late 1950's, from the pits at Claremont. I remember this car, or one just like it, from the Legion Bowl and 106 Midway Raceway in the early '60's. Note the bull horns on the roof. They were a recurring theme for Al.

See? This car was the one Al raced in the early 1980's. I always loved the look of this one. I don't know what kind of chassis this is but damn, that's a pretty car.

If I'm not mistaken, this was Al's last race car, Alf. The Sanville's always named their cars. I suppose it gave them personality, as if the driver didn't already do that. By this time, Al was in his early '60's and still winning races.

Eventually, he turned over the steering wheel to a succession of drivers, and the operation of the team to his sons. Wally Langlois was probably the best of the hired guns, winning a track championship one year at the Nor-Way Pines.

Eventually, Al's son Dave took over the driving chores. He quickly earned the nickname "Dynamite Dave," which sticks with him to this day. Over the years Dave has won many championships at several different tracks. The unsung hero of the Sanville team is Dave's brother, JJ. He's the engine and chassis guy, and Dave will be the first to tell you he's not really competitive if JJ's not turning wrenches for him. This car is the famous Miss Emily, which Dave raced (and won with) in many different forms for almost twenty years. Different bodies, six or eight cylinders, Miss Emily was a winner.

Thanks to JJ Sanville, and to Norm Roulx, for supplying some of these pictures. I took the other ones. I'll add more as I get them.

FYI: Dave's still racing, and JJ's still his crew chief. He and his new car, Sassy Theresa, can be found at Canaan Dirt Speedway and the Legion Speedway about any Friday or Saturday night.

Racing becomes an obsession, you know. I've seen it dozens - no, make that hundreds - of times. It becomes the center of your life. And your family's life, too. Even though it's never more than a hobby, everything revolves around it. And of course eventually the kids are going to take it up as well.

 

That's what it must have been like around the Sanville house. Like so many others. Y'know, I've been around the Sanville's for years, and I have no idea what any of them do for a living. They certainly don't race for a living. Nobody at this level does.

Except in a few, very rare, cases, it always costs more than it ever makes. And yet, come Friday and Saturday night, there you are again. And evenings during the week, either repairing or upgrading. And all winter, hitting swap meets, heating the garage so you can tweak things for next season.

Al Sanville was the dad, of course. And the Old 97 was at just about every track in the area. And, it was always one of the ones to beat. Some thought Al was a little rough sometimes, but the simple fact is that the front of the field is crowded. Sometimes, you've got to use your elbows a little bit.

Ted Winot

There are certain constants in the racing universe. For example, dirt track racing works best at night, because the track doesn't dry out as fast. I could go on and on, but the point is that one of those constants is this; you need a good flagman.

The flagman is the glue that holds a race together. He/she is the law out there on the track. You may not realize it, but they have a lot more to do than keep track of how many laps left to go. They have to see literally everything that is going on, which makes a couple of good assistants indispensable. Plus, once they've seen everything, they have to be able to execute the necessary authority to see justice done. And they have to do it quick!

It's a largely thankless job, because when you get it right, it's expected. But God Almighty help you if you get it wrong! Or, if anyone has the perception of your being wrong. And all you have to do for that to happen is make a decision. Guaranteed, whoever you rule against has a section of grandstands eager to tell the world what a rotten, blind, lousy S. O. B. you are. You've got to be able to take it all with a smile. IF you can do that, and be a born showman on top of it all, you're on your way to being nearly as good as Teddy Winot.

I first became familiar with Ted when he was flagman at the Legion Bowl in the early '60's, but he already had a widespread reputation before that. He had flair, that's for sure. At the beginning of a race he would take a green flag in one hand and a red one (later yellow) in the other. He walked down to the beginning of the first turn and waited. Coming from the other direction was the field of race cars, lined up two by two and moving slowly out of turn four. He would stand on the infield, wagging the flags at them, beckoning them to come on.

Suddenly, he would leap into the air, the green flag waving. Switching it to his left hand he ran up the infield toward the start/finish line as the cars roared past. He usually timed it so that he and the last car met right there. Then, he would sprint across the track and leap onto the flagstand. He would perform this same ritual every time he started, or re-started, a race. He must have run ten miles every race day.

After a couple of years at the Bowl Keith Bryar came calling, looking for officials for his new track in Loudon, and a team was born. Marge and Pearl Clogston (my mother and grandmother, respecively) were the checkers, Sonny Clogston (my dad) signed on as Pit Steward, and Ted Winot would handle the flags. It was a combination that would also work together at the Riverside Speedway in Groveton, and the Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT.

It was a combination that would go a long way toward writing the book on how to run a race track, but to be perfectly frank the only irreplacable part of the machine was Ted. I've seen several good flagmen, and a bunch of mediocre ones, but there's never been one like him. He was easily as interesting as most of the races he presided over. As with anyone like that, the most memorable moments were the ones that went just a little wrong.

The 106 Midway Raceway in Loudon was a place where the best laid plans often went south. The reason was two-fold; the place attracted a ton of cars, and the track was tiny. About a fifth-mile, with an asphalt front straight, and I don't know where Keith Bryar got his clay but the rest of the track might as well have been paved also. Fast doesn't begin to describe it. Sometimes, too fast.

This was back when there was only one class. You brought a race car, and you raced. Sometimes fifty or sixty cars would show up, but that many cars simply wouldn't fit on the track. The max was 24, which meant a lot of racers watched the feature from their trailers. With that many cars, Dad and the Tech Inspector would come out to be infield flaggers.

So one night the feature's lined up, Ted's in turn one, the cars come out of turn 4, and up into the air he goes. He runs, the cars go, and he gets to the flagstand just as the last car goes past. He looks at turn 4, and here comes the leader. He hesitates. Big mistake. The field comes by, and there stands Ted on the wrong side of the track. Dad was laughing so hard he sat down in the infield. Eventually there was a wreck, the red flag came out, and a red-faced Ted flagged the rest of the race from the flagstand.


The Riverside Speedway in Groveton was a good track. It started about 1965 as a dirt track, but clay was hard to come by that first season. So, the owners used a mixture of fine sand and old drain oil. The picture here is of Ted in his trademark top hat after a hard afternoon. This was where he earned his nickname, "Rastus." If you think this is funny, you should have seen what he looked like after he took the hat off.

For its day, Riverside Speedway was one of the most well-thought-out facilities any of us had ever seen. Instead of a rickety set of bleachers, they built actual grandstands. The judges stand stood high above everything, and there was a VIP lounge below. At the back of the grandstands there was a large refreshment stand with a restaurant-quality kitchen, and under the stands was all the storage a track would ever need. There were even enough bathrooms.

The track was a large quarter-mile with steeply banked corners, and a solid concrete retaining wall. The flagstand was recessed into the wall, and a heavy-duty chain-link fence kept the fans and the track seperated. If you went up to the fence, there was a good three-foot drop to the track. Ted, of course, was athletic enough to be able to make the leap up to the flagstand. The only flaw in the design was that the door in the fence that allowed the flagman to bail out and into the grandstand area was on the turn 4 side of the stand, instead of the turn 1 side. This turned out to be an almost fatal flaw one day, as a car came out of 4, hit the wall, and went up into the air. It landed again right into the flagstand, and hung there. Ted dove for the door, and it's a good thing it opened easily because he actually went under the car to get away from the spot it came to rest.

It's odd how some things will make an impression on a kid. The thing that always amazed me about Ted when I was young was when we would leave the track at Loudon late on a Saturday night. There was a little place in downtown Laconia that would stay open until about 1 am called Mr. Sub's, that made the best toasted grinders you ever had. (Grinders? Oh, they call those subs now.) After the races the place would pack out with drivers, crews, fans, and of course the officials. The memory I will always have of Ted is him cruising from table to table in Mr. Sub's, holding the biggest, sloppiest meatball sandwich you ever saw in one hand, and never spilling a drop.

The team finally broke up in the early seventies. I don't know the reason, but I guess Ted just got tired of going to the races. His replacement wasn't very impressive, and he was the first in a long line who made us miss Ted all the more. I'm not even sure if Ted is still alive. If anyone knows, or has any more stories, feel free to post your comments.

By the way, the first photo is from the Legion Bowl, circa 1963. Both pictures were taken by Sonny Clogston.

Bear Ridge Speedway

Happy Birthday, Bear Ridge Speedway


I was recently told that Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT turns 40 this year. Boy, it doesn't seem like that long. I guess stock car racing really does keep you young, or at least allows you the delusion that you still are.


Now, I hope the friends I work with at the Legion Speedway won't mind me saying so, but if you get a chance you owe it to yourself to go some Saturday night this summer over to Bradford. Bear Ridge has been one of the premier dirt tracks in Northern New England these four decades. It started out as a state-of-the-art venue, and has kept up nicely with the times. Plenty of parking, good big pit area, and the food's even pretty good.


Oh, I guess I've got to share some boring memories of the early days, don't I? It's kind of expected, I suppose. Hmm . . . I guess I was about 13 when George Barber, one of the original owners, invited my folks up to his place for a visit. I remember that George restored old cars, and he had a particularly nice model-B Ford that he was working on.

At the time, Mom, Dad, my grandmother Pearl, and flagman Ted Winot were working Saturday nights at the 106 Midway Raceway in Loudon (now NHIS) and Sunday afternoons at the Riverside Speedway in Groveton. To make a long story short, George convinced Dad and Dad convinced the rest of the crew, and Sunday afternoons would now be spent in Bradford.


It was about that time that Loudon became Bryar Motorsport Park, and the little dirt track was gone, so we were down to one day a week. The four-person group had bounced around several tracks during the 1960's, so it wasn't a real big deal to drop Groveton for Bradford.

Still, there was something about George Barber and the whole thing that told us all that this one was here to stay. And, by george, it has!