HIRED GUNS
It seems like
some guys never preferred to own the car they were racing [or maybe they
couldn't afford it]. At any rate, there has been a number of hired guns who had
particularly long careers driving for car owners; and, maybe that was because
they didn't burn nearly the midnight oil that their counterparts did who were
preparing their own cars weekly. I can bring to mind a few of these guys now,
but I could always listen to suggestions for others. My limited travel schedule,
especially in my younger years, does not allow me to know a ton of such drivers.
THE SHOE
Photo From Cavalcade of Auto Racing
I
don't know if Ken Shoemaker ever bothered to drive his own equipment. His book
notwithstanding, I cannot possibly show all his rides here, and I won't even
try. It is arguable that Shoemaker was the poster child for Northeastern drivers
- for - hire. Something about that name... Schumacher in drag racing and in
Formula One; it's all the same name.
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Fonda Book
Corey, Jr. Collection
Supposedly
Pete Corey
and Kenny shared this,
their first car. |
Shoemaker Family
Ken and
Cliff LaRose,
with Cliff's "Fire1" -
out of Whitehall, NY. |
Vogel Family
Ken , at Pico Raceway
in Rutland, VT in 1951.
This is his first stint
with
Ted Vogel.
|
Vogel Family
Ken and owner/driver
Ted Vogel, Sr.
made up
a potent 1950's team for
a few years. |
Vogel Family Photos
Ken went on to
Ted Vogel's 95 coupe before Ted decided he
was too hard on the equipment, as evidenced
by the Fonda wreck below.
|
Courtesy of Dan Ody
Ken took the ordinarily -
pokey Red Knoblauch
13NY for a few good
rides in the mid '50's. |
Courtesy of Jo Towns
via Otto Graham
Ken spent some time
in the Sam Kittler/Gibby Wolfe
37. Here he wins
at Fonda. |
Ladabouche Collection
Ken, with the same
number 37 - now owned
by A.C. Caprara. |
Source Unknown
Ken drove a bit
for
Allie Swears
of Glens Falls. I have only this little photo. |
Vintage Modified Site
Id'd as 1956; but it
looks ,more like the
Chris
Drellos or Henry Caputo years 1959-63. He started with the unique Hudson Falls
owner, Henry Caputo.
|
Ladabouche Collection
Shoe's first Caputo car,
the 3 window 111a. This one was never as good
as his eventual, familiar
111NY.
|
John Grady Photo
The newly - built
111.This car would
carry Ken to dozens
of wins with Caputo and, later, Drellos. |
Courtesy of Jo Towns
via Otto Graham
The 111. Note the
Caputo "innovations":
roof flaps for Lebanon
Valley and a brake light. |
Bob Mackey Photo
via Mike Watts, Sr.
The Caputo 111 -
fresh and new. |
Bob Mackey Photo
via John Rock
Ken chats with Charlie
Trombley behind the trailered Caputo 111 -
at Airborne. |
Ladabouche Collection
The Caputo team was sold to
Chris Drellos, of Smith's Basin, NY. Here Ken and the familiar 111 strike
a jaunty pose as another Fonda feature is won.
|
Ladabouche Photo
The Drellos 111 -
after a win at
Otter Creek Speedway,
Waltham, VT. |
|Ladabouche Collection
One of many Fonda wins
in the Drellos 111. |
John Grady Photo
As did everyone else
in the Fonda racing world,
Shoe raced the Frank
Trinkhaus 62. |
John Grady Photo
via Dan Ody
Arguably Ken's best
ride was the Cliff Wright
/
Ron Zautner 24 NY. This
was
the first version, taking over from Don Wayman. |
Courtesy of Jo Towns
via Otto Graham
The most potent Wright car
was this pavement version, later driven by Don MacTavish. |
Glen Eckel Photo
HAMB Website
Rival and friend,
Pete Corey,
occasionally got
Ken into one of his potent modifieds. |
Bob MackeyPhoto
via Mike Watts, Sr.
Right after the 24,
Ken spent some time
in
Bill Fowler's
27Jr -
towards the end of that
team's life.
|
Courtesy of Jo Towns
via Otto Graham
Ken did a cameo
appearance in one
of the Joe Romano
97's. |
Courtesy of Dan Ody
Shoe did a stint
in Jeff McWalker's
81A. It might have
been an old Romano
car.
|
Courtesy of
Arnie Ainsworth
Ken drove modifieds for
this Massachusetts team.
The car were always called
"Little Susie" but I can't
recall the owner. |
Courtesy of
Arnie Ainsworth
Different car; same
team. |
Courtesy of Otto Graham
The first Leto ride -
at the Valley. |
Courtesy of
Arnie Ainsworth
Ken drove modifieds for
Joe Leto,
definitely his
most flamboyant owner.
A very successful team. |
Courtesy of
Arnie Ainsworth
Ken in Vic Lane with
Joe Leto. |
Found on the Web
Ken drove the famous
Bob Judkins
2X -
after Ed Flemke.
|
Courtesy of
Dave Roode
This is what that
first Judkins car
looked like. |
Source Unknown
A brief stint in the
Broderick
Jay Lin 40.
His future
Leto ride is in the
background. |
From the Shoe Book
Ken drove a number
of other cars,. too many
for me to deal with. I
consider Alan
Kugler's Gremlin
to be the most
significant of the other rides. |
Ladabouche Photo
His plaque at the Hall of
fame in Weedsport, NY |
BEAVER DRAGON
Dragon Family Collection
Harmon "Beaver"
Dragon drove almost every type of stock car there was to try. As far as I can
tell, he did not directly own any of them. he may have chipped in on some of his
earlier rides; but there was always someone with deeper pockets to help out.
Beaver is a good friend and a great driver, coming from that era where all it
takes is some tlent and arich father to become a big star.
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Bourgeois Family Collection
Beaver had
Johnny Bourgeois
as a second
father, of sorts and an early car owner. Here is Beaver's
first [highly illegal] race car, and Bourgeois daughter, Jackie.
|
Dragon Family
The next car, an
equally - tricked - up
54 Ford, still had a
lot of Johnny's
support. |
Dragon Family
Beaver's first sportsman
coupe, still owned largely by Bourgeois. He upset a field of prominent
modifieds with this car
in 1966.
|
Dragon Family
Ernie Preiss built this
Falcon sportsman for Beaver and Johnny. It lasted until he ran it at
Lebanon Valley. |
Dragon Family Photo
Beaver drove a Flying Tiger
division car for the ownership team of
George Blake
and Ray Devarney.
|
Ladabouche Collection
After a falling out with
Catamount management, Beaver went down to Devil's Bowl and drove this
sportsman for
Ray
Richards.
The body came off Beaver's
first Catamount coupe. |
Courtesy of Rich Palmer
Another version of the
Blake/Devarney Ford. |
Catamount Program Photo
Upon returning to Catamount
from the D Bowl exile, he tried this potent, but heavy Ford for a few
weeks. Owner:
Paul Norton. |
Dragon Family
When D Bowl paved, he
ran another Richards
coupe for a season.
|
Dragon Family
At Airborne. |
Catamount Program Photo
Milton neighbors and
friends, Paul Robar and
Herb Everest
bought the
Pelletier & Falzarano 51NH to put Beaver in a competitive ride. It didn't
bear much fruit.
|
Dragon Family
When the bought car did not
work out, the same Milton group built Beaver this Chevelle, which was
dynamite. |
Dragon Family
When the 1964 Chevelle began
to show age, the same Milton group bought Beaver this Chevelle from Bobby
Allison. |
Dragon Family
When the Northern NASCAR
circuit began to really up the technology, the Robar/Everest group
went out and bought
a Mike Laughlin chassis
car. |
Dragon Family
Beaver's made a cameo
appearance in Bobby
Giroux's back-up car,
his old '57 Chevy.
|
Dragon Family Photos
Beaver's drove 2
stints for Maine's
Dick Bahre - with
the superspeedway
Dodge.
|
Dragon Family
Beaver's relationship
with the Milton owners
ended with the sale of the Laughlin car to Pete Silva.
Beaver went on to drive
fro NH owner
Quint Boisvert. |
Ladabouche Collection
Boisvert fielded one
of Beaver's most famed
rides, the Black Magic. |
Beaver tries out
Alan
Kugler's Gremlin
on the dirt. |
Dragon Family
Boisvert ended up
dropping Beaver in favor
of Chuck Bown, who
came in with a huge
Skoal sponsorship. Beaver tried driving this car for
Canadian Roger Chadore.
the car was dreadful.
|
Dragon Family
Beaver finally
landed back on hnis feet when the
Maine - based Deering brothers
hired him to drive their cars. Here, he has a strong
sponsorship from
Barre, VT's Rossi Buick. |
Dragon Family
Bobby Miller
came along
and lured Beaver away
from the Deerings. His New England Air Systems
cars were also top
notch. |
Dragon Family
Miller eventually sold
his team to Skip Farrell,
the area's big Pepsi
bottler. This would be arguably the best deal Beaver ever had. |
Dragon Family
Farrell provided Beaver with
every imaginable
means of winning,
including the hot item
of the mid 80's - the six banger. |
Courtesy of Mike Cain
Beaver's most infamous crash
came in a Farrell - owned "plastic car" at
Catamount's final race. |
Dragon Family
After Farrell, I no longer know all his car owners, despite writing the
book. The first new owner to step forward was VT contractor
Dick Kingsbury,
who bought his team a Port City car that Beaver says is one of the best he
ever had.
|
Dragon Family
The Kingsbury car had
many sponsor
arrangements. Here,
the next owner,
Harrison
Concrete, appears as
a co-sponsor in the Kingsbury era. |
Dragon Family
The Harrison Concrete deal
became the
Harrison /
Fielding Team, which
spared few expenses to
support their hero. |
Dragon Family
When Harrison wanted
out of the sport, Beaver
was saved by a
surprising person. he
claims Tom Curley
bought the car and
called the team
MGM Racing. |
Dragon Family
After Farrell, I no longer know all his car owners, despite writing the
book. One of his post - Port City owners was Peru, NY's
Dick Nephew. |
Dragon Family
Beaver spent a
somewhat frustrating
season in the Busch Grand National North circuit
with Tom Pease. |
Dragon Family
Somewhere, along
the line, Beaver spent
an enjoyable season
running in Quebec
with this car, for
promoter Denis LaChance. |
Dragon Family
Rodney Weed,
a
former crew chief
of Beaver's, was one
of Dragon's last
car owners. |
Dragon Family
Beaver's last car owner was his son,
Brent Dragon.
He ran a LM at Airborne and
ended up wrecking. |
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DON WAYMAN
Photo From Conde & Parry Site
Don
Wayman started out racing near his native Cobleskill, NY at tracks such as
Richfield Springs and Sharon Speedways. He raced at the fairgrounds in Morris,
as well. I did not see him until I went to Fonda, and he was driving one of the
Cliff Wright cars, along with Howie Westervelt. Wayman did own his own car, at
first, but that car was demolished in one of Fonda's worst wrecks [also
involving Jerry Jerome and Doc Blanchard]. Wayman, like Shoemaker, drove for
more owners than I care to keep track of - but that sheer number is testiment to
the respect with which he was regarded.
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Courtesy of Otto Graham
Don Wayman
was his own first car owner. The car wrecked at Fonda was
much like this one. |
Fonda Book Fuez Collection
Don and Jerry Jerome
tangled in a feature,
bringing an end to
Wayman's car ownership
and Jerry's career. |
Dan Ody's 8MM DVDe
Don took his car
to Langhorne in
the 1950's. |
Conde & Parry Site
Don , at a local speedway
in the 1950's. The
owner is unknown.
|
Courtesy of Otto Graham
Early in the career. This
is the Harold Betts
{Bugs
Bunny] car. Betts was
a Cobleskill neighbor.
|
Courtesy of Dan Ody
Don could wreck a car when he
put his mind
to it. Here, he has
put an end to one of
his first owner's cars -
Cliff Wright.
|
John Grady Photo
As did almost everyone else,
Don spent time in the
Dick Bennett
71, the Bernie's
Liquor Shop car.
|
Courtesy of Mike Russo
Another Dick Bennett
shot. |
Mel Ogden Photo
Don spent some time in this
rig at Midstate Speedway, Morris, NY. I don't know who owned it. |
Ladabouche Collection
Happier days in the
Wright/
Zautner cars. A heat win
at Fonda. |
Ladabouche Collection
Happier days in the
Wright/ Zautner cars. This car
was a rocket. It ended
up as Ken Shoemaker's
highly - successful ride.
|
Conde & Parry Site
Don did a few stints
in
Frank Trinkhaus
cars. This was
the earliest. |
Courtesy of Otto Graham
A later version of
the 62. |
Conde & Parry Site
One of the last Trinkhaus
entries: a fuel - injected
mod. Soon after, Frank
gave up after a couple
of disastrous mishaps
with Lee Millington. |
Joe Cryan Photo
3 Wide Vault Site
Wayman, at Langhorne,
maybe. Another of
Frank's odd cage
configurations.
|
John Grady Photo
With the famed
Smith & Sons Jewelers
sedan - supposedly
Sam Smith's car. |
Conde & Parry Site
Wayman drove for
Godfrey Wentzel
in his sedans. |
Courtesy of Otto Graham
Wayman drove for
Russ Betz
. Here is the less
familiar Betz sedan. |
Courtesy of Steve Judd
Wayman briefly drove for Russ Betz
. Here is the more
familiar Betz coupe. |
Courtesy of Otto Graham
Somewhere, along this time,
Wayman drove for
Wally
Albro in the 9NH -
a car more famiiar in
my neck of the woods. |
Conde & Parry Site
Wayman probably drove for
Rene Charland.
This car, built by Charland and
Rosner, was
all over the asphalt racing
world in 1970 - or so. |
Courtesy of Otto Graham
Don with a Jay Lin
-supported, Paul
Brauer
- owned
car from Massachusetts. |
Conde & Parry Site
This one really looks
like a Jay-Lin car. The
team was associated
with Charland.
|
Conde & Parry Site
Maybe the same as
the 3 car above. |
John Grady Photo
Even Southern New
England's Sharkey
Gaudiosi gave Don
a try. |
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SONNY RABIDEAU
Photo From NEAR Website
Moran
"Sonny" Rabideau may not have often been his own car owner; but, he was a
consummate machinist, at Angell Automotive in his home town of Brattleboro, VT.
Getting started at the Brattleboro Speedway, in nearby West Brattleboro, VT,
Rabideau had his most famous moments driving a cutdown for Stroker Smith. He
did, however, manage a long career with multiple owners.
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Courtesy of Joe Crowley
His
brother,
Homer Rabideau was his first car owner. The car was an
evil - handling affair. In
this shot at Brattleboro,
he [Car 7] leads Smith's
311, in which he would
become legendary.
|
Courtesy of Ken Robertson
Another family car
#7, I assume. From the
four feature winner
stickers, I would say it was a better car. |
Ladabouche Collection
Sonny was noticed by
the prominent DN3
group out of North
Adams, MA. and drove
for them at Keene. |
Courtesy of Paul Zampieri
When Sonny teamed
up with
Frank "Stroker" Smith,
of Keene, NH, the
team became almost
unbeatable - for years.
|
Courtesy of Norm Vadnais
One of the most
familiar car / driver
combos in the history
of Northeast racing.
|
Cavalcade of Auto Racing
The next car owner was
Sonny Rabideau.
He
found himself without a
ride in 1965; so, he
bought the #333 of
pal, Leo Vaillancourt.
|
Courtesy of Norm Vadnais
Rabideau drove cars
for
Leo
Vallancourt,
on
and off, for years.
|
John Grady Photo
Sonny, in Leo
V's pavement car
at Devil's Bowl 1970.
|
Ladabouche Collection
With a typical
Vallancourt dirt
car.
|
Courtesy of Ron Wetzler
Sonny, at some point,
returned to Claremont
to run a newer 311 - probably his.
|
Courtesy of Kristin F. King
This shot shows
that Frank Smith was
back as car owner. |
Ladabouche Photo
Sonny, in 2006,
with Terry Marks'
restoration of his
most famous car. |
Ladabouche Photo
Sonny, in 2006,
with fellow star
Don Rounds - at
Swanzey, NH. |
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JOHNNY
GAMMELL
Norman McIver Photo From Cho Lee
St
Johnsbury Center, Vermont's Johnny Gammell was not only a Champion on several
levels during his career, but he was a consummate gentleman and one of the most
popular men to ever walk the pits at tracks such as Northeastern Speedway,
Thunder Road, and Catamount Stadium. Gammell, who occasionally did field a car
of his own in the early days, drove for a large number of car owners. Perhaps
his best success was with the 32 of Gordon Fitzgerald, who was also a founder of
Catamount.
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Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
This marvel of race
engineering was his first car, built for him by
Ken Fenoff . It was likely run at such
places as Webster Flats, Lyndonville and other early '50's ovals.
|
Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
Reported
to be his 2nd car, I don't know who owned it. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
I have no idea whose car
this 54 is; but, it is one of his earlier cars. |
Courtesy
of Ken Paulsen
The 99 of
Phil Badger was his 1960 ride at
Northeastern.
|
Courtesy of
Mark Austin
On the starting grid at Northeastern beside
Ronnie Marvin with the
99 of Phil Badger. |
Courtesy of Cho
Lee
One of the most
familiar
cars
for John was the
Charles Ely 88,
shown here at Northeastern.
|
Courtesy of
Ken Paulsen
Another 88 of Chas. Ely.
|
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Another 88 of Chas. Ely
- hauled in on a U Haul transporter. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
With the
Charles Ely car. He had at least one title with this car. |
Bob Mackey Photo Courtesy of Mike
Watts, Sr.
With
the Charles Ely car at the Colchester
- Bayview Speedway in Colchester, VT. The flagger is Bucky Barlow.
|
Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
The
91 car. Unknown owner.
Courtesy of
Mark Austin
Under caution at Northeastern. |
Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
The
91 car in action at T Road. It is supposedly a
Plymouth.
Courtesy of
Mark Austin
Bad luck at Barre.
|
Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
Gammell also drove this
65 car. Not sure of the owner there either .
Johnny is leading brother, Dick, at Northeastern here. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
A win with this
65 car. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
With the
Gordon Fitzgerald 32 car. |
Courtesy of Ken Paulsen
The
Fitzgerald car. He had at its home base. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
With the
Gordon Fitzgerald 32 car. He had lot of success
with this car. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
With 32 owner
Gordon Fitzgerald in Victory Lane somewhere. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
With the departure of
Gordon Fitzgerald promoter
C.J. Richards is said to have provided
this 32 car. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
John would drive almost
anything if you asked him to. I think this was a B Class car -
probably at Northeastern. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
With the
Bill White 4 B Class Studebaker car. I think this after
White had had the wreck at T Road and decided racing wasn't for him
anymore.
|
Courtesy of Doug Farrow
With the
Joey LaQuerre HAWAII 5-0 car. The former GT-1, this was the last
decent ride Johnny had. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Dick Blake's crew
delivering a wrecked Hawaii 5-0 to the LaQuerre pits. |
Courtesy of Doug Farrow
A happy moment with
the Joey LaQuerre Hawaii 5-0 gig. That's
Johnny and Joan, with a very young Cho Lee peeking over Joan's shoulder
to the left. |
Courtesy of Cho Lee
Somberly walking away after
dumping LaQuerre's Hawaii 5-0. he may
have suspected another quality ride was not inthe future.
|
Courtesy of Rich Palmer
With the
Gil Rhoades 25 Ford, at Barre. This began the substandard rides
in the Flying Tiger division at end of his career. |
Ladabouche Collection
Hancock,
Vt's
Paul Norton would this former Flying Tiger to try out as
Limited Sportsman in 1970. Johnny was his first driver. |
Courtesy of Rich Palmer
Paul Norton returned with a
newly - built Ford in 1971. The car was too high and drove like a tank.
Johnny gave up on it after a week or two. |
Ladabouche Photo
The
Paul Norton
team came back in 1972 with this sweet Fairlane 500, complete with Holman and Moody power. But it still didn't handle,
and Johnny had enough, retiring. |
Courtesy of Chris Companion
Johnny felt somewhat vimdicated when the
likes of Clem Despault [shown above], Beaver Dragon, Larry Demar, and Del
Thompson had no better luck. We're not dumping on Norton here, hey gave it
their all. |
The just
finished Paul Norton
Fairlane at Spring practice
in 1972 - high hopes ! |
Courtesy of
Andy Boright
John did race the Mini Stock of
Suzanne LeGault
[probably so he could race with son, Harry]. |
Courtesy of
Cho Lee
John got to share the podium in the minis with
Harry [center] and future VT Racing Commissioner Randy Therrien. |
Courtesy of
Cho Lee
Johnny was often seen at
Catamount and T Road. here he drives the pace car with Catamount employee
Neoma Paquette. Note the name of the track here. |
Ladabouche Photo
John never missed a chance to be at a racing
reunion, if he felt well enough at Barre. |
IRV TAYLOR
Frank Simek Photo
Irv Taylor, variously
from Crescent and Rexford, NY, was almost exclusively a driver for other car
owners during his long career. One of the few men allowed into the confidence
and team of Pete Corey, Taylor did occasionally produce a car [he certainly
could] but he spent most of his career as a driver for hire. Irv drove
mostly at places like Fonda Speedway, Victoria, and Albany - Saratoga; but, I
first saw him at Otter Creek Speedway in Vermont [when he was driving for
Richard Welch] and I know he did also drive that Welch car at
Stafford
Springs towards the end of that track's dirt era. My special connection with the
recently - passed Taylor is that we were inducted into the hall of fame at
Weedsport at the
same time, along with Doug Hoffman, Dick Cozze, Ron St.
Marie, and Jerry Cook.
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John Grady Photo
One of Irv's earlier
rides was this Tony Palutti
75A. It may have been a sort of team car to the Ray Vine 75.
|
Courtesy of Sam Barlow
The
Palutti
car. This is aid to be
at Langhorne. |
Courtesy of Otto Graham
A
confident pose in the Palutti car.
|
Courtesy of Dan Ody
A not - so confident
moment. |
Ed Feuz Collection Photo
Irv headed out towards
the canal at Fonda.
|
From Dan Ody's 8MM Old Speedways DVD's
Irv with the
Palutti
car at Stateline. |
Courtesy of Otto Graham
A
Langhorne shot in the Palutti car. |
Courtesy of Bill Fifield
Irv also drove the Mike
Michaels 10-10. This looks like a Fonda win. |
Courtesy of Otto Graham
Irv joined the many other drivers who took a
turn in the
Dick Bennett
Bernie's Liquor
Shop 71 car. |
Courtesy of WIllard Martin
Irv also drove for noted
'50's car owner
Henry Caputo
of Hudson Falls.he This is one of the rare times the 111 won when not
driven by Ken Shoemaker.
|
Courtesy of Racing one
A very rare
photo of Irv with another
Caputo
car. This is at Daytona. |
Courtesy of Racing One
A
familiar photo of Irv with the
Rollie Johnson - built
Richard Welch
car. |
Courtesy of Lew Boyd
An article about Irv and the
Welch car. |
Courtesy of Conde &
Parry Site
Irv also joined the many other drivers who took
a turn in the
Frank Trinkhaus
car. |
Courtesy of Andy Fusco
Another
Trinkhaus
car. Check out the roll
cage. |
Source Unknown
Another
shot of the
Trinkhaus
car with the strange
roll cage. |
John Grady Photo
When Pete Corey came out with
the famous Falcon,
Irv Taylor
tried running his own
for a while.
|
Frank Simek Photo
Another
shot of the Taylor
Falcon. |
Frank Simek Photo
The
Taylor
Falcon leads a former
ride of Irv's, the Welch 77. |
Ed Biitig Collection
Another
shot of the Taylor
Falcon. |
Courtesy of Rick Parry
This is just a theory: Irv may
have sold his Falcon to
John Cross.
Looks like Irv's car with the Cross colors and number.
|
Courtesy of Greg Rickes
Arguably his best - known ride, the
T & M
1NY, of which hje was part owner. |
$ Bill Photo via 3 Wide
Another
shot of the T
& M
car. |
Russ Bergh Photo
Irv at Victoria.
|
Source Unknown
Another
shot of the T
& M
car flying checkers. |
HAMB Message Board
Irv is back at Langhorne, this
time with his
T&M
car. |
Ed Biitig Collection
Another
win. |
Courtesy of Greg Rickes
The 1 at Victoria. |
HAMB Message Board
Irv is on the track at
Stafford. |
Bergh Photo, Cavalcade via Chas Hertica
Irv must have loved Victoria. |
Courtesy of Otto Graham
Irv sometimes drove the
Pete Corey
backup coupe. |
Courtesy of Conde &
Parry Site
Irv also had seat
time in a
variation of the Vince Barbuto
22. |
John Grady Photo
Irv ran the older
Godfrey Wenzel
03 for awhile. |
Gater Racing News Photo
Irv runs the older
Godfrey Wenzel
03 fn pursuit of Maynard Forrette in the team car.
|
Courtesy of Otto Graham
Irv in his own coupe. |
Courtesy of Rick Parry
Irv in a mod I know nothing
about - maybe the last ride he had.
|
Courtesy of Starrin Family
This is the article for the
111 win shown above. |
Courtesy of Lew Boyd
Irv with friends who include
Dave Lape, Lew Boyd, and Andy Fusco. |
Roxanne Ladabouche Photo
Irv during his Weedsport
HOF induction. |
Roxanne Ladabouche Photo
Irv during his Weedsport
HOF induction. |
Roxanne Ladabouche Photo
I was honored to have my
Weedsport HOF induction with Irv. That other guy was pretty
great, too. |
Source Unknown
Irv, with Lew Boyd at an
autograph session. |
VINCE QUENNEVILLE, Sr.
Courtesy of Mike Bruno
For
the first several years of his career, Vince
Quenneville, Sr. drove for two owners - both of whom were close neighbors in or
near his Whiting, VT home town. He began his career, for all practical purposes
with Norm Scarborough, spent soe yhears with Gael Dundon, and then returned to
Scarborough. Scarborough remained as the chief wrench when Austin Dickerman took
over the purse strings on the Quenneville team for a numer of season that saw
him start to branch out beyond Devil;s Bowl to places like Lebanon Valley,
Fonda, and Quebec. Vince would race for different owners in Canada. His last
ride seemed to be Jack Ryan's 28. He was killed by a drunk driver while working
as a tractor trailer driver.
Bob Mackey Photo via Norm Vadnais
This
Norm Scarborough GMC 6 Chevy was first
seen at Otter Creek Speedway in 1961 and later, at Fairmont Speedway, too.
|
Ladabouche Photo
The first
Scarborough
car is seen at far left at Otter Creek in 1962. |
Ladabouche Photo
The second Scarborough car, seen here at
Fairmont, was a car bought from Bob Hoffer of Argyle, NY. |
Courtesy of
Mike Dundon
The first Dundon
car. This one ran in 1964 at Fairmont and Otter
Creek. It was run two seasons and sold to Harry Duffany. |
Ladabouche Photo
Local kids around the first Dundon car,
after races at Fairmont, |
Ladabouche Photo
The second Dundon car, bought from
Chuck Grime and Bob Viviari in Connecticut, was a genuine overhead V-8
sportsman. From left - Vince, Gael, and one of the Beemans. |
Courtesy of Mike Watts, Sr.
The second Dundon car, seen here
winning at Saranac Lake, had been lowered by 1966. |
Ladabouche Collection
The second
Dundon
Chevy, once gorgeous, was pretty well used by the endo fthe 1966 season.
|
Courtesy of
Russ Farr
The next car purchsed [for the new Devil's Bowl] was this Dooger
Jones - owned coupe seen here at Catamolunt with Russ Shaw. |
Ladabouche Collection
The third Dundon
car [equipped with a Dutch Hoag - inspired
periscope roof mirror] started out with the number 38.
|
Ladabouche Collection
The third Dundon
car
as #3 later in 1967 at the Bowl. |
Mike Bruno Collection Photo
By 1968
VInce was back with
Scarborough, and they had this short -
bodied rocket ship that won the 1968 D Bowl title. I think it was the 1967
body, altered.
|
David Frazer Photo
A thrash with the
Scarborough
1968
car at the Bowl. Norm is center, bent over with white tee shirt and
Vince is behind him, kneeling with the black shirt.
|
Courtesy of Norm Vadnais
Around 1969, with Will Cagle dominating the Bow with a Rossell -
built sedan, VInce and Norm built this sedan which could compete with
Cagle. This was last Scarborough
car. After that he would be bought out by Austin
Dickerman and Norm would be the crew chief.
|
Bob Frazier Photo Courtesy of MIke Watts
The sedan, now in
Scarborough
colors and number.. |
Courtesy of Leb. Valley Classics
The
Dickerman -
owned sedan, now in Austin's colors. |
Bob Frazier Photo
The next phase for Vince was this Northern
NASCAR late model sportsman which was rumored to belong to
C.J. RIchards. I can't be sure.
|
Bob Frazier Photo Courtesy of Ed Fabian
The seond [and better]
RIchards
car. This one won a
feature at Airborne. |
Via Arnie Ainsworth
After the LMS period, I struggle with what
Vince had for cars. They were all dirt, that's for sure.
I have no idea who owned this one. |
Source Unknown
This dirt Gremlin appears to be a
DIckerman car. |
Courtesy of Quenneville
Family and Norm Vadnais
Vince drove a car in Quebec for
Roch LaVallee
as well as other owners. |
Courtesy of Quenneville
Family and Norm Vadnais
Vince
is said to be the owner
of this car. |
Courtesy of Christian
Genest
This car ran at Granby, in Quebec for an
unknown owner. |
Courtesy of John Lutz
Another Quebec for another unknown
owner. |
Courtesy of Jan Coburn
This was the last car I know of for Vince.
Second generation car
owner [and neighbor]
Jack Ryan's
Lazer chassis 28. Jack is at right. |
Sharon Richards Photo from Norm
Vadnais
Another
Jack Ryan
car - a Champ Car chassis 28 from Dave Lape. |
Sharon Richards Bob Frazier
from C.J. Richards
The combo of a top notch
Jack Ryan
team - and a hall of fame driver meant great success. |
Quenneville Family Photo from
Norm Vadnais
Vince had a cameo appearance in
the Norm
Scarborough Mustang around 1966 or 67. |
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