Can a Lowered Car Go Through a Carwash

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#2940  - Dave Darland #2 and Sammy Swindell #11 at the SCRA-sanctioned Ultimate Challenge at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on August 10, 2004. Dave was fifth; Sammy tenth. (Photo and Caption by our friend photographer Bill Taylor)

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#2940  -  "58-year old Kenny Wallace raced 88 times in 2021, competing at tracks from coast-to-coast and north-to-south. It was a grueling schedule as Wallace raced his DIRT/UMP car night after night, consuming hamburgers and cola as his main diet. Crew help traveling with him is small in number but large in their desire to make the car the best it can be. Wallace is clearly the team leader as he calls out how he wants the pit set up for the feature event for the year's final race on November 20 at the Volusia, FL, half-mile dirt track. Wallace says 2022 will be as intense as 2021, but next year will be his last racing a grueling schedule. 'I'm tired,' says Wallace who drove to nine NASCAR second-division wins before becoming a TV broadcaster, then a dirt track team owner and driver. When next year is done, he'll keep racing but only locally at tracks near his home in St Louis. He finished a strong third in a group of hopefuls that numbered nearly 50 in his final race of 2021." (Photo and caption by Dick Berggren)

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#2939  -  Lloyd Ruby (left) and Ken Miles, one seriously dynamic duo, celebrate back in 1966 after winning the inaugural Daytona 24-Hour. Driving for the Shelby team, they were eight laps ahead of second-place Dan Gurney and Jerry Grant. Photo from KEN MILES: The Shelby American Years, by Dave Friedman.

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#2938  -   "In the retro #22 Pennzoil paint is Jac Haudenschild who is racing alongside his car owner #24 Rico Abreu. Abreu surprised Haudenschild with the sponsor and the historic colors that have long been associated with "The Wild Child" during his heyday. Another 'retro' fact is that it had been a couple of decades without Sprint Cars at Bristol Motor Speedway." Photo from PAUL OXMAN SPRINT CAR RACING 2022 CALENDAR, (Tim Aylwin Photo)

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#2937  -   It was right about the time the pop song "Poetry in Motion" hit the charts, and here Bobby Grim was preforming his own rendition. He dances the Hector Honore "Black Deuce" into turn one at the 1956 Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln before quite the crowd. According to historian Bob Mays, "The combination of Grim and the Deuce was as close to unbeatable as any in the long history of the Husker Fair. Grim won nine times (including six in a row) from 1953 through 1958." Quote and Photo from NEBRASKA DIRT: A Century of Racing in the Cornhusker State 1900-1999, by Bob Mays. (Harold Mauck Photo)

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#2936  -  "Uncle Bobby was probably explaining what I was doing wrong at Indianapolis. He was never shy about expressing his opinion, even if you didn't always want to hear it." From the popular new book AL UNSER JR.: A Checkered Past, as told to Jade Gurss. (Dan Boyd Photo)

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#2935  - That's Chatsworth, Georgia's Jody Ridley, the ex-Winston Cup Rookie of the Year and dirt-tracker extraordinaire. In his book RED CLAY AND DUST, The Evolution of Southern Dirt Racing, Gary Parker describes a curious lap Ridley put down at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta in late 1968. "If you remember the track had a first turn that actually was the first 'corner' (a city street came up to this part of the track and it was cut into a corner to allow for the street). On this race day, Jody and Joe Lee Johnson started on the pole. As the cars came down the long front straightaway under green, neither Jody or Joe Lee backed off, and the result was both wrecked, taking several rows of race cars behind them out also." (Jody Ridley Collection)

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#2934  - The calm confidence of a winner. "A.J. Foyt poses with trophy queen Ms. Detroit after picking up a win on October 7, 1962 in the 150-lap USAC event at the Detroit Fairgrounds (MI). Pictured third from his left is the longtime MARC/ARCA Public Relations Director Howard Williams." (Quote and Photo from Jim Hehl)

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#2933  - That's Ken Tremont Sr. and Jr. at Lebanon Valley, NY. Kenny Jr., who had become his dad's newest Modified chauffeur, recalls, "I just can't remember a race car not being in our shop. No one would ever question why we raced. It wasn't like, 'Do what you want to do.' My dad always assumed I would be working at his side - in the garage in the day and on the race cars at night. You know the drill: 'You really need to go to the prom? I need you!' Well, it all must have worked out. As of this fall, the pair has accumulated a stunning total of 344 wins together. Has any other father/son team beat that?  Quote from MODIFIEDS OF THE VALLEY: A History of Racing at Lebanon Valley Speedway, by Lew Boyd (Mike Adaskaveg Photo)

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#2932  - Guess who won the Sportsman title at Lake Hill Speedway in Valley Park, Missouri, back in 1971 at age 16?  Yup, Ken Schrader. He wrote, "My first season, and not only was I the track champion in the Sportsman division, I got to share the stage with Dean Roper. I was walking on air." Guess he still is. He just might be running at a track near you this weekend. (Quote from GOTTA RACE, by Ken Schrader with Joyce Standridge. Ken Schrader Collection)

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#2931  -  Here's Brad Doty at Grandview, PA, back in 1984. He was looking pretty sporty, especially with no rock screen. We asked Kevin Olson what he thought about that. He said it was common back then, and that he himself only ran a screen when the track was especially rocky. But he admits to being hit once at Kokomo. He says he was almost knocked out, but did finish the race a bit bloodied up. Upon reflection, he thinks it might have been a beer bottle. Wouldn't you know.... (Mike Feltenberger Photo)

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#2930 - It was a Sunday afternoon in Toledo in 1963, and Gordie Johncock had just won the feature. The Supers ran the weekly program on the lightning-fast, high-banked half-mile before the Late Models took over. (Photo and Caption from Jim Hehl)

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#2929  - Last weekend's 11/7/21 "Legends Day" at the North East Motor Sports Museum in Loudon, New Hampshire, focused on Midgets, and, as usual, it was great fun. It was open competition in the story-telling, and Drew Fornoro, pictured here beneath the banner that honors him, told a good one. Back in 1982 Fornoro, NEMA's winningest driver, had just been offered the seat in Gene Angelillo's Midget, but the situation seemed a little shaky. The first two races did not go that well, and Drew was concerned. Then came the third show, at Hudson Speedway in New Hampshire. Drew got out to a commanding lead, but the race was halted when his brother Nokie waltzed off the third turn and into the woods. Drew pulled up to the scene, checking on things, while they hauled Nokie's car back to civilization. That's when someone noticed that Drew's right rear tire was hissing. A quick-thinking crew guy with very big arms picked up the back of Drew's car, Drew still aboard, and they replaced the right rear with Nokie's. Drew then motored off to the win, and an incredibly successful relationship with Gene that lasted into the next decade. (Norm Marx Photo) (More "Legends Day" photos at www.nemaracing.com)

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#2928  -   A little mix-up at the old Brookline Speedway, a unpretentious, banked quarter-miler in the countryside of southern New Hampshire at the turn of the 1960s. On that night, as usual, Pete "The All American Boy" Salvatore was in the seat for owner Bob Bouchard's #2. Not long afterwards, though, Pete missed a date, and, completely unbeknownst to his parents, their son, 14-year old Ronnie Bouchard, snuck behind the wheel - and won the feature. Though there was fire and fury at the Bouchard household that night, it was the dawn of one of the most stellar New England racing careers ever. Ron Bouchard starred in East Coast Modifieds, winning from New England to Florida before moving on to NASCAR as Cup Rookie of the Year and gunning to a stunning victory in the 1981 Talladega 500. (Coastal 181 Collection)

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#2927  -   When Danny Sullivan won his "Spin and Win" 1985 Indy 500, the media called it the "Luck of the Irish." Or, "When it's your day, it's your day." Nevertheless, what a thrill it was. This was lap 120 of the 200 when Danny passed Mario Andretti for the lead only to lose control. He caused his own caution flag to fly, pitted for some new tires, and would later once again pass Mario in the same first-turn area and motor on to win. (Photo and caption by Don Figler)

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#2926  -  Jeff Hardifer sent us this neat shot of two old friends. To the left is Lenny Sammons, the non-stop principal of the robust Area Auto Racing News. He's taping Frank Cozze, the 66-year-old youngster from Jutland, NJ. Frank's first rides came at the treacherous "square" half-miler in Flemington, NJ, where in 1974 he emerged as a winner and Rookie of the Year. He never got off the gas. And just over a week ago, on October 23rd, he thrilled the crowd at New Egypt, NJ, with a last-lap pass to take the "Legends of the Fall" special.

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#2425  -   That's Joy Fair, the legendary Michigan speedster, pictured alongside ARCA founder and President John Marcum at the Flat Rock Speedway (MI) in 1976. Stunningly, Fair raced to over 800 feature wins in his illustrious career, starting in Supermodifieds, then into Late Models in a career spanning from the 1950s into the early 1990s.  (Photo and caption from Jim Hehl)

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#2924  -   "At the Golden State 400 at Riverside, Ken Miles (one of America's ultra-road racers) was invited to drive a factory 1963 Ford for the Holman-Moody Racing Team. Since it was a true learning experience, Ken said it was a very different animal compared to what he was used to driving. Those qualities showed during practice, as he rolled his Ford but climbed out with nary a scratch on his body. A backup car was unloaded for the race, but Ken did not push his luck and stayed in a safe position. Even by doing that, he went on a few off-course excursions. By the race's end, he finished in 11th overall position, several laps back. And so ended Ken's NASCAR adventure." (Quote and Photo from KEN MILES: the Shelby American Years, by Dave Friedman)

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#2923  -  This is a photo I took at Du Quoin back in 1972. A.J. Foyt was leading the feature Silver Crown race, when he pulled into his pit for a splash of fuel. Upon leaving, some spilled on the headers and ignited. A.J. was on fire. The photo shows A.J.'s father chasing after the car with his fire extinguisher. A.J. managed to jump out of the car right in front of me. He suffered slight burns to his face and neck and a broken ankle from a wheel that ran over his foot as he was exiting. (Photo and caption by Don Figler)

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#2922  We received this note and accompanying photos from our friend Don Figler in St. Louis, who produces the cool Midget Calendars we sell. "I just returned from a long weekend in Speedway, Indiana, where I was scheduled Sunday for a 4-lap ride in the IndyCar two-seater at the advertised speed of 180 mph. However the whole day was a wash. Saturday was a historic day at the Speedway, with the "Autonomous Challenge" going on. It was strange, yet interesting, to see IndyCars turning laps at speed (top speed was 140+ mph) with no drivers. The overall winner was a team from Germany (see attached photo), which was paid $1 million dollars. The other photo is from the cockpit where the driver would have been; instead the space is filled with sensors, which are the cars eyes, so to speak." (Caption and Photo, Don Figler)

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#2921  -  Those IMCA Sprint Car races at Tampa's Plant Field back in the day must have really been something. Wheelmen from all over the country pulled in for some warm weather - and heady racing. But they had to contend with some serious locals, a CRX railroad engineer Frank Riddle most certainly among them. He's shown here buckling up in the early 1960s. Riddle had won his very first race there on the half mile in 1951, setting a new track record. He was aces across the Southeast for years on dirt, and his expertise on asphalt made him a Little 500 legend, winning in both 1964 and 1965. (Doug Haack Photo, Bradley Poulsen Collection)

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#2920  -  A young Benny Parsons slides on the dirt at the Mt. Clemens Racetrack (MI) in 1963, having just started out his racing career. Nobody could have imagined that Parsons would work his way from the short tracks of Michigan into a legendary racing career, winning both the ARCA and NASCAR championships before transferring to the broadcasting booth and becoming one of the best in the business. (Photo and caption thanks to Jim Hehl)

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#2919  -  It was worth the wait. Johnny Clark in his #54 is shown leading with one lap to go of the PASS Super Late Model race at Seekonk, MA, Speedway on Saturday, October 23. He had just passed Angelo Belisto #8 who's still tight on his bumper, while DJ Shaw #60 looms in third place. It was not only an impressive win but it also delivered Clark and his family and friends their 7th (and first in 10 years) PASS North SLM Championship. (Photo by our esteemed Webmaster, Norm Marx)

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#2918  -  "A tearful A.J. Foyt tells announcer Tom Carnegie in 1993 that he's made his last lap at Indianapolis.... He had become the oldest man to ever qualify for an Indianapolis 500, limping and hurting and feeling every day of those 56 years.... Very early in the race a wheel (from a Cogan and Guerrero wreck), bouncing erratically, seemed intent on hitting Foyt's black Lola....He knew he was done before the crowd or even the broadcasters. He toured the track slowly, his visor open and his hands up - the right, the left, the right, waving to the crowd. And as the fans in the Speedway's huge grandstands began to comprehend what they were seeing, a standing ovation began to sing A.J. Foyt home.... That morning ABC had aired a wonderful pre-race piece on him, focusing on this being his final 500. It ended with Foyt saying he wanted to be remembered 'as just A.J.; you know, nothing special.' Sure. He was officially classified in 28th position, yet he had come close to upstaging one of the best battles for victory Indianapolis had ever seen. Nothing special, huh?" Quote and Photo from FOYT ANDRETTI PETTY - America's Racing Trinity, by Bones Bourcier (IMS Photo)

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#2917  - How about those Hirschmans of Northampton, Pennsylvania.  Tony (left) has racked up five NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Championships, while his son Matt, winner of the ROC Race of Champions on eight occasions, has deservedly been branded "Money Matt." Along the way, both served time aboard the Boehler Family's legendary "Ole Blue."   Photo from THE SOUL OF A MODIFIED: Lenny Boehler's Ole Blue, by Lew Boyd. (Dick Ayers Photo)

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#2916  - Here's a spiffy little number, though completely unidentified. Sure would like to know who, where, what, and when.  (Bradley Poulsen Collection) NOTE: On this Photo of the Day (#2916), we said we wished we knew who the driver was. We got a quick answer from readers Kyle James and Bobby Marshall, who tell us that the driver of the Blue Max #72 in this photo was Eldon Dotson, a major player in short-track racing in the Dallas area. The car was owned by drag racer Raymond Beadle. Dotson is said to have died at age 52 after climbing out of a race car at Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, TX.

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#2915  - The big boys. Tony Bettenhausen at the DuQuoin Mile in 1949. From Don Figler's 2022 MIDGET RACING CALENDAR. (Photo Wally Hamant Collection)

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#2914  - " Janet Guthrie was a true pioneer in auto racing. She was the first woman to qualify for and complete in the Indianapolis 500 and in the Daytona 500, both in 1977. Janet never felt she got the equipment to win a race with, but she was the first woman ever to lead a NASCAR Cup race and she did have five top-tens during her brief career." Quote and photos from LEGENDARY RACES, PLACES, AND FACES, Photos from the Lens of Lenny H. Sammons.

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#2913  -   "In an attempt to lure local dirt racing fans to NASCAR Cup events at Pocono Raceway, a local driver was given chances to compete on that national circuit. In 1974, Kenny Brightbill was given a shot and drove the Ballard #30 to a tenth-place finish in his debut. In the next four years, Brightbill got six shots on NASCAR's then Winston Cup Series, driving to a very impressive fourth-place finish at Dover in 1974 in a second entry for noted car owner Junie Dunlavey. Dunlavey once said he thought Brightbill could have been one of the best ever if he could have secured the needed sponsorship.... His NASCAR career ended with him finishing in the top ten in 50 percent of the events he ran." Quote and Photo from LEGENDARY RACES, PLACES, AND FACES - Photos from the Lens of Lenny H. Sammons.

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#2912  -   " My wife, Shelley, was beautiful. She was so good for me...and so bad for me. She was a competitor and wanted to win as much as I did.  May 1990."  Quote and photo from the new book AL UNSER JR., A Checkered Past, as told to Jade Gurss. (Dan Boyd Photo)

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#2911  -   That was Joe Hawksby, Gary Morton, and Jim Paternoster battling it out on the "Cement Palace" in Oswego, NY, back in 1983. How about Paternoster's early AC/DC headers?  (Photo from Morabito Automotive Independence 150 Program, 1983)

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#2910  -  You have one guess about who showed up at Coastal 181 for a visit.  (Yup.  Kevin Olson.  New England will never be the same.)

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#2909  - Our friend Shane Carson sent along this photo and note: "Emmett Hahn and Lanny Edwards were putting together a 2-day indoor event in Tulsa in the winter of 1987. It, of course, became the Chili Bowl. Lanny was trying to get the Sprint Car Drivers to come and race, and he had asked me and said he'd get me a ride. He went on to ask if I wanted to be a partner as he and I had done joint promotions through the '80s. I declined and said I just wanted to race in it. I wasn't so sure the idea would work out too well - and that may have been the biggest mistake in my promoting career. But, as everyone knows, they have done fine without me. "Anyway, when it came time to race, it turned out that it was so smoky the visibility was very bad, especially after a lot of non-stop laps. Then with maybe 5 or 10 to go, we finally had a yellow. No one could see anything. So they opened all the doors and paced around for about ten minutes. After that we restarted and finished the race. My car, the #5H owned by Jerry Hatton, is the one leading on the outside of Johnny Parsons, Jr. I ended up fourth, which ended up my best finish at the Chili Bowl. Rich Vogler was the winner and he received a tremendous response in victory lane. Unfortunately, it was negative, following a recent incident of his at a USAC/NCRA show at the Fairgrounds Speedway in OKC." (Boyd Adams Photo)

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#2908  -   "Months behind schedule, the Scarab emerges from Relentlow's Culver City, California, shop, Chuck Daigh at the wheel. A laid-over Offenhauser has been fitted for testing until the Scarab motor is finished. With body panels removed, the car's beautiful workmanship is plainly evident, as it a front-engine design that will be almost two years out of date by the time the car runs a Grand Prix." Quote and Photo from AMERICAN GRAND PRIX RACING, by Tim Considine. (Cheryl Relentlow Post Collection)

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#2907  - "Shadow driver George Follmer at Watkins Glen, the last stop in his one-season Formula One stint. After a brilliant start, two points finishes in his first two World Championship Grand Prix and a podium finish in his third, Follmer's season was all downhill. A combination of car problems and conflicts with his teammate and effective team manager Jackie Oliver sealed his fate. 'Oh, sure, I would have liked to have stayed in it, but I wanted to be with a good team,' explained Follmer. 'I couldn't continue with Shadow because of the problem with Oliver, and I was 39 years old. You know, the Europeans like everybody to be 20 years old. I didn't fit that niche. Too old, too late.'" Quote and Photo from AMERICAN GRAND PRIX RACING by Tim Considine. (Pete Biro Photo)

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#2906  - How about that for a victory lane photo!?! Back in the 1980s, Ken Smith, Russ Conway, and Charlie Elliott tantalized East Coast fans with some truly spectacular shows. Some would say that the "Firecracker 10,000" at Hudson (NH) Speedway took the cake. It was comprised of two short Run-Whatcha-Brung features, paying $5,000 each. All you needed to do is to show up with a self-starting car. A local talent, Tom Quinney, hustled his Pro Stock to the checkers in one. In the other, it was popular veteran New England Hall-of-Famer Eddie West, aboard Vic Miller's Supermodified outfitted with a unique starter setup by John Halloran. On the final lap, the car had caught fire but Westie soldiered right on, contemplating that five grand. But, as if to make the scene ever more dramatic, everyone in the pits knew that the Westie was handicapped with severe arthritis even back then. He had had to be loaded into the car. Needless to say, everyone was in a rush to get him out the inferno afterwards, which, miraculously they did. And smilin' Westie would spin that tale many a time before he passed away in 2020. (Photo, Russ Conway Collection)

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#2905  -   Once again last Saturday the annual reunion of the old Pines Speedway in Groveland, MA, shuttered 50 years ago, was absolutely packed. One of the most popular displays was this one. That's retired New England Hall of Famer Dick Batchelder aside the Super he last ran 41 winters back. This summer, as a family tribute to him, the car -always very speedy but funded with nickels and dimes - was rebuilt. It was brought up to Star Speedway in New Hampshire for a trial run, and immediately cut laps in the mid-12s on the quarter-mile, even on ancient rubber. So, for kicks, they all updated the aero a bit, bought some fresh tires, and entered the ISMA Star Classic a couple weeks back. Things sure looked like a possible mid-pack finish until an on-track jingle forced it pit-side. A lot of folks were watching with interest, given that ISMA is struggling mightily to bring solid fields due to the outlandish costs of today's technology. (Coastal 181)

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#2904  -  "In the vein of 'less is more,' at Shenandoah Speedway, in the town of the same name, car designer/driver, French Grimes brought this unique car to run the Virginia Sprint Car Series." Photo and quote from Paul Oxman 2022 Sprint Car Calendar. (David Sink Photo)

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#2903  -  American racing icon and Indianapolis 500 legend Parnelli Jones has never been beyond getting his hands dirty. Even after giving up oval tracks in 1967, he often went off road racing and, of course, had considerable success. He has been close to Rick and Roger Mears even in their two-wheel days, and here he was helping Roger change a tire at the 1977 Colorado 500. Photo from RICK MEARS - THANKS: The Story of Rick Mears and the Mears Gang, by Gordon Kirby. (Terry Lamey Photo)

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#2902  - Manzanita Speedway may have been gritty and quasi-civilized, but it was the crown jewel of racing in Arizona. The Phoenix facility, originally an underperforming dog track, switched to Jalopies in 1951. By the next season, the place was really hoppin', as you can surmise by a peek at a competitor, the Arizona Sand and Rock Special. Over the years, Manzi became known for its gutsy Sprint Car shows, starring testosterone-laded locals such as Lealand McSpadden, with almost every national runner of merit dropping in from time to time. Sadly, in 2009, the facility closed, ground down by sagging attendance and non-stop complaints about noise, dust, and rowdy people. (Photo, Phoenix Magazine)

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#2901  -  "Barney Oldfield in J. Walter Christie's 1907 WC. Fittingly, America's first Grand Prix car was a big-banger. Christie had gone to the radical 30-degree V configuration specifically to permit larger-bore pistons than his in-line designs would allow. Both bore and stroke measure a whopping 7.3 inches, meaning the displacement of each of the four cylinders was not much less that of a modern Chevrolet Corvette engine. The WC-5 must have thumped like artillery barrage!" Quote and Photo from AMERICAN GRAND PRIX RACING by Tim Considine. (John B. Dodge Collection)

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Can a Lowered Car Go Through a Carwash

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