REMARKABLY COOL CARS WHOSE LIGHT BURNED BRIGHTLY BUT BRIEFLY

            The Studebaker company started out, like many others in the early days, as a good carriage- making outfit. There isn't much point in getting into big detail about early cars it made because we are concerned primarily with post WWII stock car racing here. Suffice it to say, Studebaker always came up with unique - looking cars and Studebaker enthusiasts just adore them. When NASCAR was fielding just about every brand of car imaginable in its early days, there were Studies representing their brand, too.

          I have seen pre - WWII Studebaker bodies used on modified and sportsman cars, as well as Studebakers from right around the time of the war. They were certainly in a minority - whether in the new showroon stock world of early NASCAR or whether they were heavily modified for other stock car action. Except for that limited number of pre - war bodies, the liffe of the Studebaker as a race car seemed to go from the very early 1950's to around the time of the Lark, whenever that was [1964ish, I'm guessing]

One of the biggest uses of [paticularly mid fifties] Studebakers was as Permatex cars, in those years when that race was part of Speedweeks at Daytona. The nice aerodynamic lines of the bodies lent well to the superspeedway.

THE EARLY NASCAR STUDEBAKERS

Fanatics.com Photo
A Studebaker takes to the outside on a dirt track with a field that includes Herb Thomas.

ebay Photo An early Studebaker GN driver.	Studebaker Racer.com Photo A mid '50's Studebaker finishes a race.	Studebaker Racer .com Photo What appears to be a local driver in the famed Mexican road race.	Pinterest Photo Midwestern driver Mike Klapak throwsn early Studebaker through its paces.
Fanatics.com Photo Mike Klapak again, on the outside pole beside the Hudson of Herb Thomas.	Studebaker Racing.com Photo Studebakers seemed to spend a lot of time running on the outside of Hudsons !	ebay.com Photo A little later model.	CCKHIstoric.com Photo A mid fifties Studie in action.

NASCAR DAYTONA PERMATEX STUDEBAKERS

Merrittville Speedway Photo
 The Lockport, NY - based Studebaker of Gil Cramer and Cam Gagliardi was a Permatex fixture for years.

Pinterest Photo Red Farmer's Permatex entry.	Photo via Tom Schmeh Gus Linder's 1962 entry.	Mike Shaub Photo via Chas Hertica More Gus Linder.	Source Unknown Montreal's Jean - Guy Chartrand.
John Grady Photo One of Rene Charland's Permatex entries- during his four - year reign as NASCAR National SPortsman Champion..	Photo From Edward Brown III Studebaker Permatex entry #86.	Photo From Jack Peterson Visiting Daytona at Speedweeks, driver Jackie Peterson snapped this Studebaker of Les Farley, from NJ.	Photo From HAMB Site Another Charland Studebaker Permatex car.
Photo From Edward Brown III Ted and Bob Lowery Studebaker Permatex entry #56 - for Les Farley.	Photo From Old 8MM Footage Source Unknown Studebaker 42, which was involved in the "big one" in 1960. - maybe Joe Hatcher.	Photo From Richard Chartrand Studebaker Permatex entry #86 - Another look at a Jean Guy Chartrand Permatex Studie.	From Susan Dombrfowski via EdFlemke.com Ed Flemke's Daytona Studebaker, on the way to Daytona in 1960. It would be involved, right off in the big crash.
Photo From Walmart.com The aforementioned Flemke Studebaker is pointed out [behind #7] as it was one of the first cars in the big wreck at Daytona in 1960.	Photo From Norwood Arena Site Bill Slater [23] chases whoever is in the Gil Cramer/Cam Gagliardi 70 in the 1963 Permatex race.	Photo From Getty Images That same Cramer/Gagliardi Studebaker makes a pit stop - year unknown.	Photo From RicK Parry This time, Bill WImble tried a Studebaker in his annul trip to Daytona.
Photo From FloridaStockCars.com The 45 is said to be Jim Bray, from Port Credit, Ontario - who spent a few years toying with NASCAR races. I actually think he is 56 and the 45 is the team Perk Brown drove for.	Photo From Alan McDonald The Permatex lineup with the Cramer/ Gagliardi car on the pole and Bill WImble's Studebakerin the fourth row.	Bob Mackey Photo From Mike Watts, Sr. The Charland entry, up lose and personal.	Photo From Tom Ormsby Lincoln powered Studebaker; don't know who.

LOCAL TRACK STUDEBAKERS

Russ Bergh Photo From Ladabouche Collection Pete Corey's short - lived experiment with the Studebaker is my favorite. The car ran well until the tracks got hard and dry; then he cut it up and went back to a coupe.	Bob Mackey Photo From John Rock Perhaps at no other no short track was the Studebaker as popular as it was at Airborne Park Speedway near Plattsburgh, NY. Here, is Norm Burl. The Burl brothers fielded a number of these Studebakers.	Bob Mackey Photo From Mike Watts, Sr. Don Burl, with a Lark he ran at both Airborne and Catamount.	Bob Mackey Photo From Mike Watts, Sr. Don Norm again.
Bob Mackey Photo From Mike Watts, Sr. Another, more well - known Norm Burl Studebaker - run at Airborne and Plattsburgh by Norm and by a young Bill Branham.	John Grady Photo Fonda late  model driver Bill Russell lettered his Studebaker with "The Burtonville Hillbilly" after his hero, Pete Corey.	Bob Mackey Photo From John Rock This 88A of Ernie Reid was a pre - WWII body Studebaker.	Photo From Wes Moody This 10-10 of Mike MIchaels [Suraske] is said to be a Studebaker. It was driven by Mike, as well as Irv Taylor and Cliff Kotary.
Bob Mackey Photo From John Rock Peru, NY's Dick Bruce lines up another Studebaker at Airborne.	Bob Mackey Photo From John Rock This 32 coupe of Rod Ritchie kinds looks like a Studebaker.	Bob Mackey Photo From John Rock This Studebaker Champion bodied car was built by Fran Kane for use both by Rod Ritchie [32] and Dick Nephew [6]. AgaIn, Airborne.	Photo From Gerard Major Canadian Bob Gatien had success with a number of cars including this Studebaker.

Photo From Rick Parry
The famed Corey Studebaker, towards the end of its run. The replacement coupe is
seen in the background.

Photo From Charlie Sheehan Peru, NY's Dick Bruce lines up another Ralph Spencer ran this one at Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine in the mid  '60's.	Photo From Rick Parry Looking a little similar to the Fran Kane 32/6, this Studebaker was run at Midstate Speedway [Morris, NY] by Maynard Smith.	Bob Doyle Photo From Cho Lee This Studebaker was run as a B Class car at Thunder Road by a young Clem Despault around 1961. He was still racing as recently as 2019.	Dave Innes Photo From GSVSCC This driver named Doggie ran this one at the fifth mile track in Weissglass Stadium on Staten Island.
Photo From Victor Phillips Dick Dunn ran this car at tracks in Massachusetts and Connecticut.	Photo From Glen Tavares Seekonk Speedway, in extreme southern Massachusetts had a year or two when everyone wanted to run a Lark body. This is Joe Rosenfield.	John Grady Photo From Ladabouche Coll. When John Danyow decided to help Mert "Socks" Hulbert through his 1967 championship season at Devil's Bowl, they also experimented with this Studie. It didn't work out  very well.	Photo From George Buzzie Bogart This Tighe Scott mod is supposedly sporting a Studebaker body portion.
Photo From Andy Boright Legendary Canadian champion Jean - paul Cabana shows up at Albany - Saratoga Speedway in NY with a Lark body.	Joe Cryan Photo From Joe Cryan Joe's caption says it all.	Photo From Ken Paulsen Popular Johnny Gammell drove Bill White's Studebaker at Northeastern Speedway after White had a bad wreck at Thunder Road and his wife made him quit driving.	Photo From Dan Ody The body off a Rene Charland Permatex car graced the sign at the track for years. Utica - Rome, Malta's sister track, had a car on its sign for years before.

Photo From Edward B. Brown III
While some Studebakers were running Lincoln power, Bob Holmberg's had a Corvette motor.

From Dan Ody's 8MM Old Speedways DVD's This grainy capture from old 8MM footage shows Don Shaw's Dare Devil class Studebaker at Devil's Bowl - first season.	From Milton Speedway Site While not a stock car, this Studebaker from Milton Speedway dragstrip looks pretty mean.	Photo From Cho Lee Ray Coffin Jr. [great racing name] with a B Class Studebaker at Thunder Road.	Bill Balser Photo From Bob Nelson Collection The body off a Rene Charland Permatex Chappy Chapman ran this cutdown Studebaker at the old West Peabody Speedway in Massachusetts.
From Dave Dykes Don DIonne ran this Lark at Westboro Speedway in Massachusetts in 1968.	8 MM Frame From Andre Chausse A Studebaker spins out at the very fast Quebec Moderne Speedway in the '60's.	From Corvette Reacttion Cemnter.com Site Shorty Michonski and a very sharp entry at Chicago's O'Hare Stadium in 1962.	From Corvette Reacttion Cemnter.com Site Nathan "Smokey" Boutwell at a track in Massachusetts. The Tewksbury 5 has a rich history in that area.
Bob Mackey Photo From John Rock Famed AIrborne Park Speedway car builder Vic Wolfe and driver Bob Bruno tried this Studebaker coupe for a while.	Bob Mackey Photo From John Rock More AIrborne Park Speedway Studebaker: Dick Bruce gives Charlie Trombley a run for his money around 1965.	Photo From Andrew Minney Alabama - based High Babb fielded this big 'ol Studie coupe for driver Gordon Bishop.	Bob Doyle Photo From Cho Lee Unidentified Thunder Road B Class driver wins one.

 
Photo From Studebaker Racing .co
While hardly a short track car, this Studebaker did run in the famed Mexican road races of the 1950's.

John Grady Photo Mike MIchaels [Suraske] with a later Studebaker coupe - at Fonda Speedway.	Lynch Photo Famed NY chauffeur Irish Jack Murphy with a Studebaker.	Photo by John Grady Troy. NY's Ed Brockett with an Albany - Saratoga Speedway semi late model car. I think this became Bill Russell's 03 a year or so later.	Shany Lorenzet Photo From Dave Dykes Lou Ruggierio with a Studebaker when Stafford Springs was still dirt.
From Dan Ody's 8MM Old Speedways DVD's Johnny Jones at the old Whites Beach Speedway in Ballston Lake, NY.	Photo from Cho Lee One of Norm Burl's cars finished high in the Flying Tiger standings in the first year at Catamount Stadium.	Photo From Jack Peterson Collection Ernie Reid's 88A, shown here at Jackie Peterson's garage in Plattsburgh, was supported by local Studbeaker dealer Bert Ratigan.	Photo from Cho Lee One of Don Burl's cars helps to show officials at early Catamount Stadium that the ARMCO barriers would have to be removed [and they were].
Mercury Photo Service Cavalcade of Auto Racing Eddie Hoyle with one of those Seekonk Larks.	Mercury Photo Service Cavalcade of Auto Racing Eddie Hoyle with one of those Seekonk Larks - different graphics.	Mercury Photo Service Cavalcade of Auto Racing Bob Anderson with one of those Seekonk Larks.	Mercury Photo Service Cavalcade of Auto Racing Les Andrews with one of those Seekonk Larks.

 
 Photo from Rick Parry
A fan examines one of Mike Suraske's cars.

Photo by Jean-Yves Michaud via Cavalcade of Auto Racing Phillip Pare, at Autodrome Ste-Therese, Beauport, Quebec.

David Lee Photo via Cavalcade of Auto Racing Bob Hockenberry, at Port Royal Speedway Port Royal, PA.

Oscar Achilli Photo via Cavalcade of Auto Racing Chuck Treichler at Ransomville [NY] Speedway. He must be the father or uncle of the racing Treichlers who followed.

Corey Stepek Photo via Cavalcade of Auto Racing Tex Kimbrel, at Cajon Speedway, El Cajon, CA.

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