Big Car Racing Association & Hall of Fame, LLC BCRA ESTABLISHED 1958, COLORADO SPRINGS CO BIG CAR RACING CHRONICLES

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Big Car Racing Association & Hall of Fame, LLC BCRA ESTABLISHED 1958, COLORADO SPRINGS CO (50 th Anniversary 1958-2008 ) BIG CAR RACING CHRONICLES January-February-March 2016 Bcra Staff: Dave

the 14 th year of the revived Historical Club. The last year brought some new challenges and new enthusiasm toward the years to come in celebrating the history of the BCRA.

. California Icon Al Sherman and the stretched Jewell Box.

Curly Doggett and his Purple People Eater Kurtis as he stormed the BCRA in 59 after nearly burning to death in a fire on the Wakeeney Kansas track in September 58, and winning the 59 Owners

1 Big Car Racing Association & Hall of Fame, LLC BCRA ESTABLISHED 1958, COLORADO SPRINGS CO (50 th Anniversary ) BIG CAR RACING CHRONICLES January-February-March 2016 Bcra Staff: Dave Tyson(Mo) Ray Cunningham(Ks), Boyd Adams(Tx), Bruce Budy(C0), Gerry Miller(Tx), Tom Davey(Co), Wayne Panter(Tx), Gary Wolfe(Ne) Welcome to the first Big Car Racing Association Newsletter for 2016, the 14 th year of the revived Historical Club. The last year brought some new challenges and new enthusiasm toward the years to come in celebrating the history of the BCRA. What a journey it has been as we continue to bring to light new things about the organization and the people who made its history. Oh, to have been there for the Hahn -Herring match ups.. California Icon Al Sherman and the stretched Jewell Box. Midget great Wayne Wieler and his Fike Plumbing creation, Grier Manning and his Revised 348 truck motor outrunning the competition at Englewood, not once but twice. Curly Doggett and his Purple People Eater Kurtis as he stormed the BCRA in 59 after nearly burning to death in a fire on the Wakeeney Kansas track in September 58, and winning the 59 Owners Championship. Harold Leep and Chet Wilson had a profound affect on the BCRA at Norton Ks in 60 as the club left Colorado for the first time to compete and enjoyed some of the best ever competition with the Kansans in Dale Reed, Red and Pete Forshee, and the great Roy Bryant included in a host of top drivers and owners to come. Many of the BCRA competitors continued at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and making history on the Race to the Clouds course and would run the fast, quick handling Midgets, throughout the Colorado region. 50 photo of future CRA& BCRA Fire& Safety Director, Bob Armstrong Gene and Velie Novotny in a photo at the start of a six decade career (see more at bcrasprints.com) New officers would command the club as Art Myers, Billy Mytan and Glen Majors moved on with Don Budy becoming the President of the BCRA. Don was there in the beginning and would remain involved throughout the tenure of the Midwest Sprint club. Karl Mismach, Andy Anderson, Bob Armstrong, Charlie Gottschalk and Mearle Holbrook were also part of a core group of officials. Tom Davey 1959

(the only father son Feature winners in the clubs history).

The 1960 s brought some Kansas greats with Reed, Bryant, Pete and Red Forshee, including Pius Selenke, Davey Ross, Grady Wade and many others.

membership also included Jerry and Greg Weld of Kansas City. Speedways Speedy Bill Smith would bring the 4X and drivers like Lloyd Beckman and Jan Opperman to events and won two championships.

Rapid City South Dakota, Holyoke Co and the newly constructed track at Erie Colorado where the last race of the BCRA would be held in 1977 with Sammy Swindell the final Champion.

competitor in ten years. 2006 was the first year of the BCRA Hall of Fame housed at the Speedway Motors complex in Lincoln Ne.

2 (the only father son Feature winners in the clubs history). Famed Pueblo Colorado State Fair 62 Ralph Pappy Parkinson, Junior Parkinson and KC s Dave Tyson Fabricator, Don Maxwell of New Mexico would build cars and race with the BCRA. The 1960 s brought some Kansas greats with Reed, Bryant, Pete and Red Forshee, including Pius Selenke, Davey Ross, Grady Wade and many others. Cotton Farmer, Gordon Woolley, Indy s Don Brown, Jack Rounds, Hector Honore and Jimmy Moughan would run BCRA sanctioned races and Dale Reed in the first Pius Selenke, Parker Oil Sprinter the membership also included Jerry and Greg Weld of Kansas City. Speedways Speedy Bill Smith would bring the 4X and drivers like Lloyd Beckman and Jan Opperman to events and won two championships. Bill s good friend and top driver from Texas, Ralph Parkinson Sr who started in the 40 s would run BCRA as did son Junior Parkinson New venues at Bethany Mo, Gurnsey Wy, Oklahoma City, Hutchinson Ks, Rapid City South Dakota, Holyoke Co and the newly constructed track at Erie Colorado where the last race of the BCRA would be held in 1977 with Sammy Swindell the final Champion. The last race on Asphalt was held at Century 21 Speedway in Denver in 1972 with Colorado s Leo Tucker, out running the field in a Malloy built Roadster, the first Feature win for a Colorado competitor in ten years was the first year of the BCRA Hall of Fame housed at the Speedway Motors complex in Lincoln Ne. The Speedway Motors crew were invaluable in the formation of the Hall of Fame as was Jim Mcneil and Joe Haag both of Lincoln. Ten inductees were honored that first year as we became more aware of the age of the nominees from that Golden Age era of Sprint car racing. In the past ten years, 93 BCRA Hall of Fame inductees have been honored at the Smith Collection of American Speed Museum in Lincoln Nebraska. This years induction ceremony is scheduled for September 8 th at the Museum with meeting and lunch at The South Folsom Speed Shop and on track at the 360 Sprints show at Eagle.GW 2

3 Good Ol Trip, Sure makes that hat look good, Don t He!! Mike Davey and BCRA Hall of Fame Father Tom with Ray Cunningham BCRA Champions and Hall of Fame Inductees Jon Backlund and Lonnie Jensen at Lincoln Ne Tom and Gerry at Belleville 2011 Bob Finney on his way up the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in a Frenzel. 54 3

Thad in the R and H Farms Chevy Harry Ivers Frenzel (Previous Finney driven Frenzel) at Pueblo 62 "Carolina Jayhawk" a True Racing Legend!

Every year the top drivers from the IMCA Big Car ranks would venture to the Mid America Fairgrounds for some of the best sprint car races of the summer.

What Topeka didn't have was a star driver of their own in the sprint car ranks.

4 Thad in the R and H Farms Chevy Harry Ivers Frenzel (Previous Finney driven Frenzel) at Pueblo 62 "Carolina Jayhawk" a True Racing Legend! Ray Cunningham In the 1950's big car racing was a top attraction at several fairgrounds across the nation. Topeka, Kansas, had one of the best half-mile dirt tracks around. Every year the top drivers from the IMCA Big Car ranks would venture to the Mid America Fairgrounds for some of the best sprint car races of the summer. Drivers that included Bobby Grim, Jud Larson, Bob Slater, Buzz Barton, and Don Hutchinson were just a few of the stars that raced at Topeka in the 1950's. What Topeka didn't have was a star driver of their own in the sprint car ranks. That would change over the next two decades as one of the best of the era, Thad Dosher, would emerge from the rough and tumble super modified division. And when his career ended after twenty plus years, he would be known across the nation for his racing prowess. Thad Dosher was born in 1935 in Southport, North Carolina. In 1953 he came to Topeka, Kansas, where he was stationed at the Forbes Field Air Force Base South of town. After he was done with his tour of duty he decided to stay in the Capitol City. The Tar Heel turned Jayhawk started his racing career in 1956 with a 1936 Plymouth he bought for a whooping $12.50! He first raced at Windy Hill Raceway, in Maple Hill, Kansas. Those early races resulted in his car upside down about as much time as it was right side up, according to Thad. Besides Windy Hill, the young racer would cut his teeth at other tracks, including Shawnee Speedway, East of Topeka, Riverside Speedway, in North KC, and Savannah Speedway, in Savannah, Missouri where Thad would take his first track title in I In 1961 the jalopies of the 1950's had turned into the sleeker super modifieds of the 1960's. The purpose built racing machines had taken over the Heartland region as the top attraction at many venues.the Topeka Fairgrounds had joined in the fun as well racing every Friday night during the summer. The first big race to be run at the dirt track was named the "Jayhawk Nationals". This race would become one of the top attractions in the Midwest for several years to come. Dosher, driving for Duane Vobach in his #15 super would win the inaugural event that season. During Thad's career there were many highs and lows, and for several years after this first big win, Dosher remained in relative obscurity.in 1967 that would change in a monumental way! Luther Brewer was one of the top builders and owners of super modifieds in the Heartland. Brewer's relationship with driver Ray Lee Goodwin, led to multiple track championships and several feature wins during the 1960's. In 1967 the race team of Goodwin and Brewer were having another outstanding campaign. At the mid-point of the season Luther decided to build a new super for Goodwin. Brewer in turn sold his old car to veteran midget owner Jack Cunningham. Thad Dosher, became the new driver for Cunningham's car for the Knoxville Nationals in August. The biggest super modified race of the year was the Knoxville Nationals in Little Joe Saldana of Lincoln was the favorite to win the race in his version of the "Mechanical Rabbit" roadster. Saldana set the bar early by 4

posting a new track record in qualifying. Dosher meanwhile adapted quickly to his new ride, winning the Thursday night qualifier.

unfortunately for Saldana he lost a wheel on the 14Th lap of the feature. Dosher went on to lead the rest of the race and earned almost 3,000 dollars for the victory.

Thad also drove his white racer with Lavender trim in BCRA and IMCA races without the cage required for super modified competition.

5 posting a new track record in qualifying. Dosher meanwhile adapted quickly to his new ride, winning the Thursday night qualifier. On Saturday Saldana was the class of the field, leading the feature while Dosher dueled with "Tiger" Bob Williams for second place.unfortunately for Saldana he lost a wheel on the 14Th lap of the feature. Dosher went on to lead the rest of the race and earned almost 3,000 dollars for the victory. In 1968 Thad continued his momentum from 1967 by tying with Dick Sutcliffe for the track title in his #74 Super Modified/Sprinter at Topeka. Thad also drove his white racer with Lavender trim in BCRA and IMCA races without the cage required for super modified competition. Dosher, picked the number #74, because it was the number of his winning ride at Knoxville in His new mount had already had a great pedigree in the sprint car ranks, winning races across America. Originally built by Willie Davis in California for owner Clem Tebow, the racer was used in the early 1960's in USAC as the C&T Automotive Special. Tebow then sold it to Kansas City racer Greg Weld in Williams. This car also happened to be the former super modified that Thad raced to his Knoxville Nationals win in Reunited with his old car, Thad won the Topeka track title and the "Jayhawk Nationals" both for the second time that summer. The one thing missing from Thad's career was a major sprint car championship. In 1972 Dosher teamed up with the R&H Farms team, and mechanic Wayne House. In "72" the race team finished in 5Th place in the final standings of IMCA. That season included Thad's first IMCA win at Lincoln, Nebraska on September 2. The day was a special one for Thad as he was reunited with the singing "Sausage King" Jimmy Dean who was there to perform that night at the Nebraska State Fair. Thad first met the crooner turned Breakfast Sausage Magnet in 1962 at a sprint car race in Hutchinson. Before the start of the feature, the country superstar called Thad out, saying he was rooting for him in the main event, but also that he had bet the house, the car, the wife, and dog on him to win, or he would lose it all! The crowd was delighted to hear Dean's declaration, and Dosher didn't disappoint, winning the race in a tough battle with long time rival Sutcliffe once again. With his new ride Weld took USAC by storm that season, almost winning the sprint title before losing it by a mere 2.5 points to Johnny Rutherford. In 1966 it was sold to another KC area owner Bill Hoback. The Claycomo, Missouri, owner would win a BCRA feature with it when Gordon Woolley came home first at the KSF in Hutchinson during a three day show in September. Later another BCRA legend Jon Backlund would drive it to a top 10 points finish in IMCA points in 1967 for Hoback, before Dosher bought it in Thad also drove for other prestigious owners during this time, including the Nebraska tandem of Swenson & Williams in their #24 super/sprint in Driving for the BCRA HOF owners the Topeka racer would win at Eagle Raceway outside of Lincoln was one of the best years of Thad's career. Gary Hanna, long time owner for Dick Sutcliffe, who drove his black #29 sprinter for many years was without a car or driver in 1970 after selling his car and losing his driver to the R&H Farms team out of Williams, Iowa. Gary in turn bought the Jack Cunningham owned #14 sprinter that had won 46 races and three track championships in 1969 with "Tiger" Bob Chris Economaki, Jimmy Dean, Thad Dosher and unkn official 5

6 In 1973 the race season started as it always did in those days with the IMCA Winternationals in Tampa, Florida. From the beginning the R&H Farms team showed they would be a contender for the championship. Over the five races contested at Plant Field, Thad finished second twice, third once, and fourth. The best in the nation always came to Florida during that time. And that season was no exception as Dosher raced against Kenny Weld, and Jan Opperman, among others when they were at the peek of their rivalry during the 5 race series. Thad got his first big win of the year at Wakeeney, Kansas in BCRA action besting Grady Wade in the Nance #1. In IMCA, Dosher won at 81 Speedway in Wichita, Kansas, Lincoln, Nebraska, once again, and Spencer, Iowa. In the 20 dirt races held by IMCA that year Thad finished in the top five eleven times! When the final standings were posted Dosher was the 1973 IMCA Champion over Gene Gennetten, Bill Utz, Ray Lee Goodwin, and Buzz Rose. This accomplishment was even more significant because only two other drivers would win both the Knoxville Nationals and the IMCA title during their careers. Minnesota's Jerry Richert was the first, and later Ray Lee Goodwin became the second. Over the next few years Thad cut back on his racing activities, but still had some great moments. In 1974 Thad raced in the USAC Dirt Car Division, finishing 7Th at Sedalia in the Don Duerst #56. Also in 1974, Thad won a IMCA feature at Oklahoma City in the R&H Farms Sprinter, and finished 7Th in the NCRA Winternationals at Enid, Oklahoma. In 1975 Thad started off the racing season running for Bobby Hillin in his Longhorn racing #48 sprinter in USAC competition. Dosher raced in 10 events in USAC, finishing in the top ten four times, while recording a high finish of seventh at Reading, and Terre Haute. After 1975 Dosher raced sparingly in the USAC Dirt Car Division, and the NCRA, finishing 6Th place at Dewey, Oklahoma in a NCRA Nationals for his best result. The long time sheet-metal worker was elected to the Knoxville Raceway HOF in 1979, The BCRA HOF in 2011, and the National Sprint Car HOF in Dosher, the 1967 Knoxville Nationals winner, and the 1973 IMCA Champ, is now retired and can be found fishing back in Carolina where he is happily retired today. Thad Dosher, the Carolina Jayhawk, a champions champion, and a super modified and sprint car racing legend out of Topeka, Kansas, during the heyday of the BCRA and IMCA. This year at Belleville will be the first time in 35 years that neither Tom Davey or Uncle Gerry Miller will be in Corner #1, shooting pictures. Ten years ago the masses were starving for a return of the Davey/ Miller stories once heralded in National Speed Sport, Open Wheel, Circle Track and Southwest Auto Racing News. A request was made for a return of the, Tom and Jerry Show, of which we were rewarded. For those of you who weren t able to enjoy the Tom(Davey) and Gerry(Miller) show in your young lives, here is a sample of the great humor, and ingenuity racers can produce, as told in the long ago tales of the dirt ovals of the country. The Show The Tom and Jerry Show You have no idea how flattered we are that BCRA &HOF wants us in their newsletter. They seem to think that we might have some memories to share, and we ll hope they re interesting. But you ll be the judges of that. They won t be in any chronological order either. Whatever our disordered minds come up with. We do have definite tastes we like dirt. We like our racecars without wings (or Hogsheds as Leroy Beyers calls them) but we ll accept the lunch counters if we must. We like Midgets. While we think we remember everything from 50 years ago with crystal clarity, we forget what we had for lunch; so we ll do the best we can, secure in the certain knowledge that, when we stray from the straight and narrow path, there are those of you out there that will waste no time in putting us right. Now then. We hear people today complain about dirt and dust at racetracks and we wonder where they saw their first races. In the old days. ( be prepared to hear a lot about the Old Days.) dirt was a part of the fun. If you didn t come home from an afternoon s racing covered in dirt, it wasn t a very good race.an example comes to mind. Greeley, Colorado. Fairgrounds. Sometime in the middle to late 60 s we think. It was one of those beautiful clear days that Colorado has in the summer time with a few puffy clouds in the sky and just enough wind to blow the dust away from the track so everybody could see what was going on. (The people in the pits had a small problem but the folks in the stands were fine with that.) It was a combined Sprint and Midget program and, while we don t remember all the participants, we do recall that the big duel of the day was between Cotton Farmer and Lloyd Axel. If memory serves Lloyd won, but Cotton pulled into the pits and bailed out of the car like a scalded cat which, it turns out, he was. Seems a water hose had broken and he was slowly boiling his right foot. There was a strange pair of guys sitting right in front of us that day. One was a younger feller, probably in his late 20 s, and the other 40-ish. The older one was, in his opinion, an expert on auto racing and was giving his young friend a thorough explanation of everything that was happening. At 6

) We don t remember who it was but it was one of the guys that ran Pike s Peak regularly and, of course, being a Hill Climb car, it had a transmission.

7 one point one of the Sprinters pulled in and drove right by his pit. This led to a speech by the expert on what a mistake the driver had made and how they were now going to have to push him back to his pit, etc. (There s a lot of you way ahead of us here aren t you.) We don t remember who it was but it was one of the guys that ran Pike s Peak regularly and, of course, being a Hill Climb car, it had a transmission. When he flipped it into reverse and backed into his pit the silence from the row in front was deafening. The high point, if you can call it that, of the Midget portion of the entertainment was when many times RMMRA champion Foster Campbell ran over a wheel and got on his head. Foss climbed out of the basement and out from under the car and gave it a look like a man that had just been bitten by his own dog. He walked away and, we were told, retired on the spot. They said that it was the first time he d ever been upside down and the last. It wasn t a National event, and it didn t decide any great Championships Lots of action and nobody got hurt. It was just a nice weekend of racing, and the best thing was that we could do that almost every weekend! We ended that one up with an impromptu drag race on the way home with Eddie Jackson that we won! Barely. Maybe Eddie had a slight handicap since he was towing the racecar, but, Hey! A win s a win! T&J With... the recent passing of Gerry Miller, requests went out for info on this Photo- Journalist and all round Midget fan, a short bio and notice of his passing was recieved. I knew Gerry was once a Cab driver, on occasion gave fans a tour of the Pike Peak Hill Climb road, and was a trucker for many years over the US byways from Colorado to Montana to California and the Southwest on occasion. In my travels to the west and north I would often give Gerry a call while on the road and the familiar, where you at today, began a conversation of his experience on many of the same roads and in all kinds of weather, before shifting gears to the Midgets or Sprints in the Midwest region. One story Gerry related was as a teen ager, and at a dance one night, he met a young lady and at her request left the dance for a stroll in the moonlight. They walked down the street and then into an alley and surprise, they were soon standing in Lloyd Axel s garage. The young lady thought he might like a look at the shop and she turned out to be related to Axel. Gerry s article in the High Banks Induction manual for 2006 when he and good friend, Tom Davey were inducted into the High Banks Hall of Fame, was used as a base for this story. Interesting to note that Tom and Gerry both got souped up on Midgets in 1951, Tom as an owner and Gerry, working at a gas station in Denver, got involved with the offer, Hey kid, wanna go to the races tonite? He was unable to resist and became The pit crew on a, V-8 60 S box Midget, sittin on a rattletrap trailer! As Gerry put it, the midget was the most decrepit assembly of Nuts and Bolts ever to take to the track. They ran with the Denver Midget Racing Club started by Ade Butler and BCRA Hall of Famer, Willie Hardman at Englewood Speedway. This Association was an attempt to ignite the Midgets again after a fall off of interest and money, in the sport in the early 50 s. It s reported they ran six race dates in its short history. Mike Davey, Tom Davey and Gerry Miller(80 s) 7

Gerry Miller(High Banks Hof and BCRA Don Budy Memorial Award) And BCRA and High Banks Hof er,tom Davey, always found in corner #1at Belleville Ks Gerry then went to the service for a couple of years

The two began, Chasing race cars all over the state of Colorado, from the local tracks to the far flung county fairgrounds (and Pikes Peak).

8 Gerry Miller(High Banks Hof and BCRA Don Budy Memorial Award) And BCRA and High Banks Hof er,tom Davey, always found in corner #1at Belleville Ks Gerry then went to the service for a couple of years and then back to Denver and the Yellow Cab Company where he met Tom Davey and Little Did he Know? The two began, Chasing race cars all over the state of Colorado, from the local tracks to the far flung county fairgrounds (and Pikes Peak). Gerry told of Tom Davey s last race in 61, driving the Holman-Moody Ford Falcon at Continental Divide Raceway at Castle Rock Colorado, which he won. In 1974 Gerry was transferred to Texas and Tom went to Omaha to manage the Yellow Cab company. Tom and Gerry would make a couple trips to the Speedway, until 1981 when Gerry started covering the racing for, Southwest Auto Racing News, and Tom began his Pit Notes From the Rockies, for NSSN. This rebirth of the dynamic duo was to last until In the Tom and Gerry Bio for the High Banks it is stated They ve visited a great many race tracks since then, from Ascot to Texas Motor Speedway Manzanita to Hussets to Knoxville and a whole lot in between but the one that really grabbed them was their first trip to the High Banks for the 1982 Nationals, and they haven t missed a race since. The team was able to do the write ups on the Nationals for a number of years, for Open Wheel magazine and pictures for Open Wheel and Circle Track.The last few years the duo cut back on their traveling. I remember the tales of month long pilgrimages to different parts of the country, different tracks and garages of some of the greatest in the sport, always to wind up at the Belleville Nationals in Kansas..Tom repaired cameras in Denver and Gerry continued hauling out of Dallas until his retirement and became instrumental in the handling of historic photos and correspondence for the BCRA&HOF. Miller received the prestigious Big Car Racing Assoc., Don Budy Memorial Award in 2014 for his, Obvious and Passionate Dedication to Dirt Track Racing and it s Competitors. Ray Cunningham, High Banks Hall of Famer Gerry Miller and Gary Wolfe, presenting the Don Budy Memorial Award to Gerry in 2014 Big Car Racing Assoc. and Hall of Fame. 306 Montrose Ave Bertrand Ne or bcrasprints.com 8

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Big Car Racing Association & Hall of Fame, LLC BCRA ESTABLISHED 1958, COLORADO SPRINGS CO BIG CAR RACING CHRONICLES

Big Car Racing Association & Hall of Fame, LLC BCRA ESTABLISHED 1958, COLORADO SPRINGS CO (50 th Anniversary 1958-2008 ) BIG CAR RACING CHRONICLES April May June 2011 Bcra Staff: Dave Tyson(Mo) Ray Cunningham(Ks),