Bob Markos Historical Scrapbook
A teen's memorable first trip to dirt Speedweeks
By Bob Markos
Special to DirtonDirt.com
DeLand drew nearly 90 entrants at Speedweeks in 1972. (Doug Haack collection)
Longtime Dirt Late Model historian and DirtonDirt.com contributor Bob Markos shares a brief diary of his first-ever trip to Florida Speedweeks from 1972 (slideshow; Georgia-Florida Speedweeks history):
Monday, Feb. 7
It snowed again today, as we’re in the midst of another of our typical dastardly northwest Indiana winters. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for a high of 5 degrees. Dad arrived home from work today with that look — he had Florida Speedweeks racing tattooed all over his tired face.
It certainly didn’t take long to persuade me. My only drawback was a respite from school and in the process blowing off a biology exam in old Pappy Walton's class. Yet I fibbed, telling Dad I was way ahead in my subjects. Now I wasn’t accustomed to BSing anyone, especially the old man, but in this case I had no alternative.
Just imagine chasing winter’s woes away with some sun and fun on the beach, toss in race cars screaming around the big track at 180 mph, capped off by the best dirt racers in the world busting their hump every night on some fine Florida clay.
Thursday, Feb. 10
Traveling on a minimal budget, airline tickets weren’t an option. It was load up the Dodge, fill ‘er up with fuel (at 33 cents a gallon) and point her south.
Headquarters for the week was the Mar Del Motor Lodge in DeLand, Fla. Warm temps picked up our spirits, though Dad blew a fuse for paying $39.50 per night for what he referred to as nothing more than a fleabox among the palms.
Upon arrival, it seemed like old home week as we spotted fellow Hoosiers Jim Curry and his boss Claude Kern working on their sweet little Chevy racer in the Mar Del parking lot. Nearby was a fella by the name of Bobby Schnars, the he-bull at Stateline Speedway in western New York. His gang was massaging one bad-ass looking AMC Javelin they’d brought south for Schnars to pilot.
Sunday, Feb. 13
Our first night out sent us in search of the Volusia County Speedway. Back then, there was no “National Speedway Directory,” only an advertisement in the local gazette describing its locale as west of Ormond Beach as the crow flies on State Road 40. No problem though because Dad had an amazing nose for the sport. He could sniff out tracks buried deep in the brush.
Volusia was hosting its inaugural Southeastern Winternationals on a track recently reconfigured to a wider 4/10-mile layout from the original, tiny 3/8-mile look. Its sandy, crude-oiled surface was as hard as asphalt right from the get go. Pitside was a mix of more than 90 combatants from 20 states with a cross section of race cars of about every make, shape and size imaginable.
A squadron of Iowans towed in with the likes of Stan Stover, Doc Maynor, Pokey West, Bill Martin, Red Draille, Bob Shryock, Bill Zwanziger, Curt Hansen and “Fast” Eddie Sanger, scaring the pants off of everyone, all manning massive armament boldly dressed in nerf bar construction. Their iron sleds carried an almost archaic appearance, yet on closer examination of the beastly big-block power beneath the hoods, you just had to go hmmmm. No doubt they were well-fashioned for speed.
Their Southern counterparts, Georgia Ford Falcon pilot Jody Ridley, feature winner the nite before in the series opener, along with fellow Peach State running mates Doug Kenimer, Eddie McDonald, Buck Simmons and Rance Phillips, Mississippi tough guys Jerry Inmon and Don Hester, along with rookie Carolina clay sensations Charlie Powell and Freddy Smith were all on hand in equipment resembling kid’s toys in comparison — slick little souped up mousetraps assembled in trimmed down featherlight packages.
Early on each night the speedier, light-built racers were rocketships that would flat-out fly, but faltered as evening's activities progressed and the track's surface grew rough, while their rival's heavier, far sturdier constructed machines rambled on. Yet the creative diversity displayed between the various regions offered plenty of spice and made for a heap of outlandish competition.
Longtime Kentucky barnstormer Butterball Wooldridge in his famed Duncan’s Delight Chevelle cranked up his all-aluminum big block to romp to the checkers in the night’s finale ahead of Sunshine State modified legend Will Cagle and western Pennsylvania dirt stud Bill Rausch.
When the lights went out we headed back to our motel reeking of the smell of crude oil while shaking the sand out of our clothing — yet extremely satisfied.
Thursday, Feb. 17
We buzzed over to the big track at Daytona Beach, which was set to host NASCAR's 14th annual Daytona 500. While watching Cup racers Bobby Issac and Bobby Allison ride to Twin 125 victories was cool, seeing Friday Hassler crash to his death in a multicar, backstretch melee, which included Iowa dirt dobber Verlin Eaker, certainly wasn’t.
For a nightcap we made a beeline back to Jim Trickey's DeLand Drive-In Raceway for the second annual Florida National Dirt Track Classic, a four-night hootenanny shaved to three by Mother Nature. The DeLand circuit was a quaint third-mile oval layout that took a tad more than 19 seconds to cover, yet a Garden of Eden for followers of clay track racing.
Fifty-lap free-for-alls were on tap at the conclusion of each night's agenda, which brought in anywhere from 50 to 90 of the nation's best broad-sliding participants.
Another tidal wave of clay-slinging talent from all parts showed such as Tiny Lund, Floyd Gilbert, Don Bohlander, Ray Fanning, Eldon Yarborough, L.J. Dennis, Dave Noble and Roger Drake among them, with the home turf defended by colorful locals including Bob “Batman” Whitaker and Curtis “Crawfish” Crider.
But the Iowans adapted well with Ed Sanger in his trusty Monte Carlo and Curt Hansen’s big bad Ford Torino the pick of the litter, laying dibs on feature event victory lanes, while ending up sharing the overall miniseries points championship. Kentucky's Wooldridge grabbed the other main event victory with honorable mentions going to fellow Hawkeye State vets Ronnie Weedon and Bill Zwanziger, Kentucky top gun Fats Coffey and Pennsylvania runner Jim Irvine Jr. for their consistent top-fives at the payshack.
How interesting that Hansen and Sanger, after battling tooth and nail for supremacy back home at Iowa strongholds like Cedar Rapids, Tunis, Independence and Marshalltown the year prior, would travel more than 1,500 miles and wind up in a virtual tie for the DeLand Speedweeks crown.
Homeward bound
As we returned home, we were worn out, yet loaded with a ton of racing memories. I headed back to school with a sunburn and a crate of fresh oranges for my biology instructor. The citrus gift didn’t pay off as, to my disappointment, old Pappy still failed me.
More than 50 years later, the Florida Speedweeks continues with southern Georgia ovals joining the fray. The winter events still enticing racers and fans alike from all across our land, to witness Dirt Late Model racing at its finest down among the sunny palms.
