[The Boss]

43 Jr car.

[MikeNoun]

These board racer pics may have been posted before. I always found this sort of surreal considering the environmental views we have today. This is the 1.125 mile Laurel Raceway track in 1925. This must have been quite a spectacle back then. There were about 24 board tracks around the country in the 1920's, all were gone by The Great Depression era. A couple them were 2.0 mile tracks.

It looks like a modern NASCAR superspeedway, but made entirely of wood boards.

[Keith Seymore]

The issue there, of course, is that the boards would occasionally come loose and pop up, impaling the car (and probably the driver).

K

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

The issue there, of course, is that the boards would occasionally come loose and pop up, impaling the car (and probably the driver).

K

Yessir, and would've been really if Mike'd posted the construction pix especially in the curves...

[MikeNoun]

Here's a nice pic from 1962-1963 showing the GM Tech Center. Lots of promotional pics were taken around that reflecting pool.



Mike

[The Boss]

....and from last May - thanks Keith!

[71GP76TA]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

The issue there, of course, is that the boards would occasionally come loose and pop up, impaling the car (and probably the driver).

K

I read some stories of boardtrack motorcycle racers being impaled and sometimes killed by shards of wood. I guess wiping out on a motorcycle doing 100mph on a wood track wasn't pretty either..

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by The Boss

43 Jr car.

Looks like ANOTHER perfect resurrection candidate for Graveyard Carz

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

"Blue" Race-car "Bits & Pieces"

Originally Posted by 400 4spd.

Take note of the old Barracuda in the center. That is the 43 JR that Petty was drag racing when he lost it and hit a 10 year old boy. The boy died and Petty never drag raced again. There were two of those cars, one with numbers on the door and this one. This picture is pretty rare because it shows the body before it was buried.
Years later it was dug up because of building expansion, and Maurice Petty let Billy West have the body. It had to be taken away and never sold or profited off of.
Billy West died in 2008, but he showed the car to me and relayed the story as I just told it. When I saw it the front frame rails were still intact.
Here is a link to a recent discussion about that car.
Billy's wife still has the car.
http://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopar-...rag-car.21780/

And that was not a GTX!

Originally Posted by Alvin

Thank you for "the catch" and the great back story...pretty 2 you caught the "GTX" misnomer

So, appears this is the same (below) Billy West car, yes? I'd forgotten there were 2 Cuda drag cars...

Bonus: Note the GTO in the far lane. Anyone care to ID that car and driver?



Edit: And the other car you mentioned with "King Richard" Petty photo op

Originally Posted by The Boss

43 Jr car.

Sorry for the repeat used for pulling together the "43 Jr" thread...you guys did recognize the different suspension and body stance setup on each of the two right?

[Alvin]

How many of you, as a kid, had a HO Scale Aurora A/FX version of this road race Camaro too?



Here's a Hemmings story link http://www.hemmings.com/mus/stories/...feature10.html

And a pic of same car into the wall as team car passes on track


Note the lack of front & rear spoilers below

[Alvin]

The McLaren race cars were also popular when I was a kid...the original "Autoworld" model supply company sponsored one...and also big w the Aurora AF/X HO hobbiests.

[Alvin]

Double stacked California Shaker 'Cuda drag cars



One on top has "California Shaker II" on its door

[Alvin]

Pit acton. What could happen?

[Alvin]

Landy Team Rig 1968

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Sorry for the repeat used for pulling together the "43 Jr" thread...you guys did recognize the different suspension and body stance setup on each of the two right?

This is the body stance as of about 11 AM today. I included the Pepsi machine in one shot.

[b-man]

Originally Posted by 400 4spd.

This is the body stance as of about 11 AM today. I included the Pepsi machine in one shot.

Okay, silly question (or is it?).

Are you going to save it?

[400 4spd.]

Originally Posted by b-man

Okay, silly question (or is it?).

Are you going to save it?

If I can find a rust free hood! Gotta start with something.
I was offered another Petty car while I was there, a wrecked Grand Prix that has been long garaged off the premises.

Sorry for the distraction.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Alvin

...the "43 Jr" thread...

[MikeNoun]