NEWS

NEWS & UPDATES

July, 2005

July 2 - Thanks to Andy Boright for the first contribution of a racing picture. Please remember the guest book page won't operate until my son [and techie] can show how it is linked up.

July 3 - Thanks to Dave Moody for information on one of my unknown drivers in the Hurricane Division.

July 4 - Happy Independence Day. Thanks to website master Otto Graham for trying to tell me how to fix the problems I am having with the addition of new thumbnail pictures to the site. Unfortunately, I am too technologically stupid to understand him. It will get rectified in time. Thanks to John Neveu for offers of support. Andy Boright has sent me a new batch, as well. Thanks, Andy. A links page will be in the offing for this week, hopefully.

I went to Devils Bowl last night and renewed several old acquaintances, including Mike Richards and crew, with driver Gene Munger; Butch Jelley; Butch Elms; Mike Perrotte; David McMahon: and Barb Frye. With material from this visit, I will be getting an article to Mark Thomas of "Racin' Paper" soon.

I have received more material from Andy Boright and from Mark Osborne. Thanks again !

July 5 - I would like to publicly thank Tom Haley, a former schoolmate and the Assistant Sports Editor of the Rutland Herald for the wonderful article he wrote about me and the web site.

The big news is that I have figured out what was wrong with my thumbnail files. I will have things in order shortly.

Apparently, I also got a call from Rodney Tinker, in Milton. Rodney, I will get in touch as soon as I can. Suddenly, I have a long line of correspondence to do.... and I still have to get down to do some more work with Beaver, as well. Thanks.

July 6 - The links page is updated to include the web site Les Pistes et Les Pilotes, out of Quebec City. I have discovered that I don't have the late model sportsman pictures in very good order. Some of the shots on the "early" page are newer than the ones on the "later" page. Oh well, I must have two pages anyway just to fit 'em all in.

July 7 - Thanks to David Turner, Jr. for pictures of dad's street stock. I acquired a large number of pix from Cho Lee yesterday evening, with help from his dog, Frank. Some of these include a few rare Malletts Bay shots from a Catamount yearbook.

July 10 - With due time spent on some other work I have to do [I still have a life] I will be adding a few more sections to the site shortly. I can't add too many more pictures until figure out how much space I have left with the service provider. It was good talking to Darrell Tucker yesterday. I got to meet his dad, Lee Tucker, who was a car owner in the '60's and a partner in the Otter Creek Speedway. I must get back down there and talk more with Mr. Tucker. I have added a page for racing art. CLICK HERE to go there. Right now, Mark Osborne has some work there.

Also nice to hear from Andre Chausse, son of Canadian racing legend Francois Chausse. We agreed on the need to preserve all of the racing history we can before it is gone. There are many pictures of Francois Chausse on the Magnum site. [See my links]

July 11 - Additions and corrections made to Malletts Bay Speedway page and Fairmont Speedway page. I don't know if I have mentioned Mike Leach yet, but thanks for the photos you have been sending.

July 13 - Thanks to Cris DaBica, a fellow site master, for pointing out an erroneous photo on the Otter Creek Speedway site. The terraserver satellite company mistakenly labeled a horse track in Ferrisburg as Otter Creek. I have since found the real satellite photo and it is on my Otter Creek page. But, Cris, thinking he was at the right track, had photographed a barn there. The real site does have a barn in the middle, so we thought nothing of it.

July 14 - Thanks to Ron Shappy for his kind words about the site. I am working on a page about drivers from the region who tried the big time during active careers in the Saturday night cars.

July 17 - I had a wonderful time at the vintage racing meet at Swanzey Center, NH. Thanks to Terry Marks, Eileen Longe, and anyone else who was involved in setting the event up. I talked to a ton of old race drivers, I found the site of the old West Brattleboro race track, and I had several of my mistaken facts set straight by those who lived them. A few of the people I talked to for the first time included Don Rounds and his brother, Harold, Sonny Rabideau, Bruce Carmen, and a bunch of vintage racing supporters like Terry Marks, Paul Zampieri, the Davis boys, the original Mrs. Ted Brown, and many, many more.

I hope I can maintain contact with Bill Rounds, Terry, and - of course - Buddy Bardwell, the ageless wonder. I know I forgot names of people I met there today, but it was a long drive home and I'm not getting any younger - so please forgive me. I will link to Mike Cain's website, out of Fairfax, Vermont. Check that out. Thanks, Mike.

July 21 - I made it back to Barre, and took the little woman with me. Ken Schrader night, and the place was packed. I hit a jackpot of people "from the day" up there: Kevin Boutin, Sr., Eddie Companion, the McRae brothers, Mike Barry, Del Thompson, Kevin Scott, Billy Tower, Steve McKnight, Brian LaTuche, and list goes on... I may have finally made a connection with two guys who may furnish links to some material on the old Malletts Bay speedway out by the drive - in. Now there is some debate over whether or not the Barcomb family ran the track or not. I am hoping to catch up with Ron Barcomb soon - and get some of that sorted out.

I will get some more done on this site soon. Unfortunately, having one of these, along with a racing column and an actual life makes it hard to do as much as you'd like. I now know what Otto Graham has been going through with his in New York for so long. We almost lost Otto this past week when he [a photographer] barely avoided being squashed by an out-of-control modified at Utica - Rome.

July 26 - There are changes to the Airborne Speedway page and the Early Flying Tigers competitors page.

July 27 - I ended up in Milton today. I have gotten more photos. Thanks to Norm and Louise Cyr. I will be adding Norm shots to the early Tiger page and to the Hurricane Competitors page. I got a ton of program and regular photos from the Dragon family. Some are theirs and some have come from the generosity of Mark Austin, the pit gate guy at T Road. Thanks to all.

July 28 - Thunder Road was another good show. Cooper McRitchie has come a long way since I stopped going the races in the late '80's. Then he was just beginning his career in the street stocks. He showed tremendous determination and a good knack for running on the outside Thursday night in winning the newly-revived Governor's Cup.

This is getting to be an enormous website, and it is going to become too costly for me to maintain by myself. I am hoping to attract some businesses who might consider advertising and being linked up from this site. I don't have any idea yet of what the rates might be, but one business, Four Seasons Realty of Milton, is already interested in coming on board. Thanks Lloyd and Gregg.

The Barre Town celebration is tomorrow and I will be the fire station to display my albums and meet some of the old drivers from local racing. Come join us !

July 29 - Thunder Road reunion at Barre Old Home Days was unbelievable ! Actually the whole day was unbelievable because I went over to Airborne Speedway from Barre and met several more legends [and a number of good friends from when I lived in Milton]. Particularly rich sources of information were Bob Dragon, Harold [one N in the name] Hanaford, and Charlie Trombley. Hana gave such good information on the famous 1959 Pontiac that so many Northeasterners drove at Daytona in the 1960's that I think I will have enough for another column.

Speaking of columns, I don't know where the heck my Butch Jelley column has gone. Hopefully it will make it into this week's issue of Racin' Paper. I may not have seen Butch this week, but I did see a number of legends and other vintage racing figures on Saturday: Dick Blake, Harold Hanaford, Johnny Gammell, Bob Dragon, Spade Cooley, Lloyd Hutchins, George Barber, Bill Wimble, Jackie Peterson, Charlie Trombley, Jim Hoyt, and Wes Moody. Lordy, the info I could have gleaned if I could have cloned myself ! I will put up some photos from these reunions and vintage meets when I can get to it. I wish they had held the one at Shelburne Museum this year, as well.

July 30 - Additions to the race art page. Check them out by CLICKING HERE.

Back to the Main News and Update Page