[Chief of the 60's]

I was expecting it to be top news here but noticed there wasn't a single post.

I was with Arnie early Saturday and noticed he was down. I asked how he has been doing since we last talked on the phone and that is when he told me that there was a bad fire on his property the previous day. I think we all should take a moment and put him in our thoughts because this one is bothering him. Fortunately there was no one hurt but cars were lost and as of our conversation, not even Arnie knew how bad it was or how much was lost.

If anyone has anymore info or an update please post.

[433lemans]

Terrible. I hadn't heard. I feel bad for Arnie.

[Kennybill]

Fire is the worse. Think of all the work it took to build it back in the day,.

[ponchjoe]

I was quite surprised to see him there Saturday. I also heard many conflicting reports of what was lost but someone said it was hay and not his collection.

[sdbob]

I was standing next to Arnie,Friday -Norwalk when he was talking about fire,seemed very troubled. Ins co.!! He had I think he said 69 GP he bought new. Wife also in our prayers.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by sdbob

I was standing next to Arnie,Friday -Norwalk when he was talking about fire,seemed very troubled. Ins co.!! He had I think he said 69 GP he bought new. Wife also in our prayers.

Yeah, the more I think about it, it may have been Friday morning when I was with him. Honestly, I cannot remember which day but it was right after the fire. Doesn't matter, its a sad deal. Fire just seems to follow him. Sad.

[sdbob]

Could have been Sat,days run together anymore.

[scott70]

Hate to hear of stuff like that. Sucks.

[GT182]

I sat and chatted with Arnie at the next to the last PY show in Hatfield. It was a pleasure and now I really feel bad for him. I hope he didn't lose any of his cars but you never know. If one of you talk to him soon give him my regards. I know he won't remember me but he might remember my red 66 GTO. He asked which one was mine and I told him. He said he had walked by it and said he like the airbrushed flames on it. Too bad it was so hot that day as I know it bothered him being out in the hot sun. You guys know why, but I won't say it here.

[Rocco Testa]

Didn't he loose cars like that back in the 70's and then he stopped racing? At least no one was hurt.

[GT182]

I believe he stopped racing due to a very bad injury.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by Rocco Testa

Didn't he loose cars like that back in the 70's and then he stopped racing? At least no one was hurt.

If I recall, it was 1972. Not a lot of people know or remember that one, only the nitrous fire that almost killed him. That is why I said "fire seems to follow him.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by GT182

I believe he stopped racing due to a very bad injury.

It did not stop him from running his car. I was with him in 2011 at Bowling Green and he had 2 cars there. That was post nitrous fire.

[Firedup6975]

Oh man that’s not good! Hopefully no one was hurt, and I hope the cars were not destroyed.

[mgarblik]

Eric and I talk to Arnie regularly. As the pictures show, the barn was fully engulfed. I want to give him about a week to get home and look everything over. Then I will post whatever he feels he wants to share. I will respect his wishes. I am sure thoughts and prayers for his entire situation and his wife's health battles will be appreciated. He is one tough, tough guy. He has been through this before, unfortunately.

[400 4spd.]

Very, very nice guy. He and I spent a little time talking at a P.I.T.P. event years ago. We had just come out of the tower and hung out at the fence near staging. I remember that while we were talking, Jim Wangers was on the mike in the booth, and he was not being kind to the then current Pontiac management. I think this was in '06. I also remember the two of them accommodating me for a group picture at the tree later in the day, just before Dave Anderson took the Tiger down the track.
I'm sorry to hear about the fire and wishing him the best.

[Elarson]

We heard about the fire right away and spoke to Arnie very briefly. He was super upset so we made a conscious decision not to bug him for details. Several of his old street cars were stored in there. The '69 GP that was mentioned affected him the worst.

He stopped racing in 1971-72 due to the shop fire that destroyed all of his racing operation (including original Boss Bird) and all of his farm equipment. He was in financial survival mode until somewhere around 1990 when he dipped his toe back in the growing nostalgia racing trend.

The 2003 Tameless Tiger nitrous fire hurt him badly but he recovered and got back in the drivers seat again.

Details will emerge.

Eric

[thepontiacman]

Very Sorry to hear about the fire. Thoughts and Prayers to the Beswick Family.

I have talked to Arnie several times over the years and he always takes time to talk. Great guy and a survivor.

[unruhjonny]

I saw the facebook post, but didn't know what to make of it;
I feel for the guy, he seems to have some really bad luck...

I saw him years ago, but he always seemed to have a crowd around him, so I chose to respectfully let him be;
I can empathize for people in the public eye... someone always wanting to bother them.
(At that same show, I did talk to Jim Wangers, and bought his book - because I happened to walk by his booth one time when he wasn't swarmed with people - he seemed happy to talk to me, and personalized his signature in the book.)

Although you can't put a price on memories, I hope Mr Beswick had sufficient insurance, because that should hopefully serve to soften the blow...

Please keep us posted

[Tim Younker]

Very Bad News Indeed. Arnie is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. I've had a few brief conversations with him in the past. I witnessed his terrible fire accident at MAR in Wentzville, Mo a few years ago. Arnie seems to have the worst luck. Hope he comes through this one and things will look up for him in the future.