THE AGELESS BUDDY BARDWELL
    

McIver Portrait Photo Courtesy of Cho Lee

Buddy Bardwell, in mid career - around 1969.

Chip Cormie Collection

An earlier version of the 13 - at Rhythm Inn Speedway

Buddy told me he had been racing for a number of years before I first saw him at Fairmont Speedway in 1962. I apparently saw him at Pico Raceway in Rutland, VT around 1951 but was too young to absorb or remember that. He also ran such places as Rhythm Inn Speedway, Millers Falls, MA; the Cheshire County Fairgrounds near Keene, NH; Brattleboro Speedway in West Brattleboro, VT;
and perhaps Claremont Speedway, Claremont, NH. This table below is what I can find from that era.

Courtesy of JamesHoward Keene Sentinel Photo At speed, on the track at Cheshire Fairgrounds. Very poor quality.	Courtesy of Joe Crowley In the pits at Brattleboro.	Courtesy of Joe Crowley Also in the pits at Brattleboro.	Courtesy of 176 Racing.com I am told this is a 1949 season car. I don't know what track that would be.	Courtesy of Davis Family With Brattleboro championship trophy, in mid 1950's.	Courtesy of Cho Lee At Safford Park, Keene, NH circa 1954.
Courtesy of Cho Lee On the inside at Safford Park, Cheshire fairgrounds.	From the Claremont Program At Claremont Speedway. Might that same 1949 car, repainted.	Bardwell Family Photo The familiar bullhorns, but still a Ford. The 176 racing site says this car was built to race on pavement and then used on dirt	Courtesy of Cho Lee At Safford Park, Keene, NH circa 1954.	Teator Photo Keene Sentinel Photo At work on the 13 at the garage with the Brayley brothers.	From Dan Ody's 8MM Old Speedways DVD's Very blurry 8MM frame from Brattleboro Speedway. Buddy is far left.
		From Crystal Snape At speed, at Brattleboro Speedway leading Lionel Arel in the Snape 26.	From Dan Ody's 8MM Old Speedways DVD's Joe Ryan [X] chases Buddy at Brattleboro.

From the Bardwell Collection
This would be the car Buddy would run at Pico Speedway in 1951.    

The first time I had ever heard of Buddy Bardwell, he came in - somewhat unheralded - and stole the first Fairmont Speedway feature win in history away from some much more publicized rivals on Memorial Day, 1962. Buddy had outpaced the likes of Butch Jelley, Frank Hatch, Sonny Rabideau, Ed Baker, and Art Cody that day to win in his little yellow and white #13 Ford coupe.

Bob Frazier Photo Courtesy of CJ Richards The first Fairmont victory.

Bob Frazier Photo Courtesy of CJ Richards The first Fairmont victory lane.

Bill LadabouchePhoto The Ford at Otter Creek. Buddy hardly remembers this car.

Courtesy of Dan Ody's 8MM Old Speedways DVD's At Fairmont Speedway, early in 1962 season before switching over to the Hudson.

      This would turn out to be deceiving for a number of reasons. First, Buddy was no underdog, as his career would bear out. Second, he would not run Fords much longer, and third, he would lose the yellow on the car in favor of an all-white color scheme - on Hudsons -for the remainder of his career. Before Buddy was done, he would be winning for two more decades.

 
Courtesy of C.J. Richards

      Little did I know then that I had seen him at Pico in 1951, and that he was already a ten - year veteran of tracks like Claremont, Cheshire County, Rhythm Inn, Stateline, and West Brattleboro by the time he came in and knocked off the field at Fairmont in '62. The last of his Fords sported the all-white paint and his now-legendary bullhorns on the roof. SO highly regarded at Fairmont by 1964 was Buddy, that "The Unbeatable Lennie Wood", a hobby division legend in his own right, placed bullhorns on the roof of his 1955 Chevy in the midst of his unbeaten streak that year.

Bill Ladabouche Photo Arriving at the Rutland Fairgrounds open race in 1962.	Courtesy of Norm Vadnais The Hudson being loaded to Buddy's Hydraulic Jack Service truck. Wife looks on.	Courtesy of CJ Richards Running against Howard Stevens at Fairmont in 1965. [Very large photo]	Courtesy of Racers Bored Site Featured as a legend at the Claremont Speedway.
From Dan Ody's 8MM Old Speedways DVD's At speed, at Devil's Bowl in 1967, running against overhead V-8's.	Courtesy of 176 Racing.com With his sons, during an obviously successful season.	Courtesy of 176 Racing.com Arriving somewhere in the '60s.	Courtesy of 176 Racing.com The rabbit was always for the kids.
From Dan Ody's 8MM Old Speedways DVD's At speed, at Devil's Bowl in 1967, running against overhead V-8's.	Courtesy of the LaFond Family A Bob Frazier shot shows the pits at the  1962 races at the Vermont State Fair. Buddy is to the right.	L.A. West Photo On the track at Fairmont during the 1962 season.	Ladabouche Photo In a high handicap heat lineup at Fairmont in 1962. Ahead is fellow Granite Stater Art Cody and Red Smith, in another Hudson [33 1/3] is on the pole.
Courtesy of Phil Chastenay A local newspaper photo.	Courtesy of Ed Fabian At speed, at Fairmont chasing the radical Chevy of Chet Doaner.	Wayne Carter Photo via Ernie Bodreau Another Claremont -related newspaper photo.	Source Unknown Bardwell arriving at Fairmont in 1963.

      Bardwell saw the end of the flathead era, but he continued to challenge and sometimes beat overhead V-8's at places like the 1966 Fairmont track and Devils Bowl until he finally moved his operation to the flathead-friendly Bear Ridge Speedway. After his formal career was over, Buddy took his familiar little Hudson "Zip Zapper" on the vintage circuit, actively campaigning the car with NEAR and the Midstate Club. He still travels around and displays the Hudson, which is original - not restored, save for a little better restraint system and a thermostatically-controlled engine fan.

Courtesy Chastenay Coll via RacerBored.com A late career win at Claremont in a sedan.

Courtesy Chastenay Coll via RacerBored.com Son, Gary, could drive, as well.

Courtesy of Lew Boyd
On the track at the old West Brattleboro Speedway in the 1950's. [far left]

BARDWELL PHOTOS AFTER THE PROFESSIONAL RACING WAS OVER

Photographer Unknown At Thunder Road, in the 1990's..	Photographer Unknown At Lebanon Valley, with the Hornet engine.	Bardwell Collection The familiar Bugs Bunny on the trunk.	176 Racing.com Buddy showed u One of Buddy's most current photos.
Ladabouche Photos Buddy showed up at the Northeastern Speedway Reunion in 2009.	Ladabouche Photos A more recent shot.	Brattleboro with sons Gary and Buddy, Jr.	Ladabouche Photos Buddy showed up at Ron Bouchard's 2007 old timer reunion in Fitchburg, MA
Bill Ladabouche Photo Displaying the car at Swanzey in 2005.	Ladabouche Photos Buddy at Bouchard's in 2007 with Ernie Gahan, Don Rounds, and another man.	Zampieri Collection His most familiarr post career photo.	Bill Ladabouche Photo Displaying the car at Barre in 2005.
Bill Ladabouche Coll. Buddy in later years.	Ladabouche Photo Showing the car at the 2003 NEAR show at Claremont.	A and A Ward Photo Canadian Yvon "Bullet" Bedard crashes out of an ACT race at Claremont in the 1980's. Note the 13 on display above in the pit area.

Return to the Main Page
Return to the New Hampshire Drivers Link Page
Return to the New Hampshire Boys Page