Bob Markos Historical Scrapbook
A magical Speedweeks journey more than 40 years ago
By Bob Markos
Special to DirtonDirt
Editor's note: Racing historian and DirtonDirt contributor Bob Markos remembers a trip to Florida Speedweeks from 1981 when he saw racing at multiple Sunshine State speedplants and witnessed some of Dirt Late Model racing's best drivers.
Back in the day, while living in northwest Indiana as an avid race fan, each winter season left me feeling the non-racing blues. | Slideshow
When racing season wrapped up in October and the checkered flag dropped on the last lap, the longing for another race season began. Fans lingered about the grounds talking and watching the cars being loaded for one final time while trying to capture enough memories to carry them through the long winter ahead.
Back at home, that feeling of emptiness followed, and during the first few months, my only salvation was a large dose of my weekly racing periodicals.
January is always brutal and non-racing rigor mortis begins to set in with Midwest racing not scheduled for nearly another three months.
But in recent times like a sign from above, my prayers have been answered by just a couple of words: Florida Speedweeks.
Like a blessing from above, with a few phone calls for reservations along with two weeks furlough from the plant, the blood begins to circulate again.
Hitting the road
When D-Day — in this case Departure Day — finally arrived, Dad and myself loaded the van, although judging by the weather, a sled and a team of huskies would have been a more suitable means of transportation. Snow and a Southern ice storm tried to hamper our progress, but nothing could ever interrupt such serious-minded race fans from completing their mission.
When we crossed the Georgia-Florida border, a surge of anticipation rose, as quickly checking through a recent issue of Southern Auto Racing News we ran across an advertisement which would only whet our appetites. Before we continued further on to our final destination in Daytona, we made an overnight stop off I-75 in Ellisville, Fla., and the Columbia County Speedway. Our objective that evening: watching nearly 60 Dirt Late Model battle for 60 laps on the half-mile clay oval.
As we grabbed a seat in the grandstands, we knew we were in for a royal treat with most of the Dirt Late Model racing's best on hand from all parts of the country ready to duke it out aboard spit-shiny new equipment loaded up with cow-catchers and huge Lexan spoilers — for the christening of the aero revolution had arrived upon the sport.
As cars rolled out for time trials, the newfound speed quickly showed as five racers broke the existing track record of 19.33 seconds led by Ohio-to-Florida transplant Larry Moore at 19 seconds flat.
As the program swiftly moved along, four heats were lined up with those on hand just itching for racing action smack dab in the of middle of winter. The first heat was dominated by Grayson, Ky., entrant Jack Boggs, a relative unknown to the Dirt Late Model community whose arrived required fans to sit up and take notice. In only his second year in Late Model competition Boggs, in his recently purchased Rayburn Race Car, had everyone abuzz following his big victory just a few nights earlier over some of the best mudslinging talent in the business in Jacksonville for a Florida Speedweeks special.
Missouri's Kevin Gundaker, coming off a 29-victory season, Chattanooga, Tenn.’s Ronnie Johnson and the Southern Gentleman Freddy Smith from Kings Mountain, N.C., joined Boggs as heat winners. Hoosier veteran Ray Godsey, in his Rayburn ride, won the consolation race.
A Columbian exposition
Following a 15-lap Limited Late Model feature, the top 24 late models lined up, loaded for bear, ready to battle for the 60-lap main. At the drop of the green Moore's Tri-City Aluminum Camaro took off from the pole like he was shot out of a cannon. While Moore motored away, a battle supreme ensued behind him among Boggs, Smith, Georgia’s Buck Simmons and Pennsylvania’s Kenny Brightbill, a big-block modified start who joined the Late Model division.
While Moore rode along comfortably the first half of the feature, near-disaster struck as on lap 31 when he tangled and spun with Buck Cadwell on the frontstretch as he tried to put the Oklahoma standout a lap in arrears. But it must have been the 20-year race veteran's lucky day, for just before the altercation the yellow was displayed for debris on the track, allowing Moore to reclaim his top spot for the restart.
From there he was home free, cruising under the checkers 10 lengths ahead of Tri-City teammates Simmons and Robbie Purvis, who ironically was in the seat of Moore's ex-NDRA Championship winning Rayburn machine. Boggs, Brightbill and Smith followed the trio of Jim Erp-owned cars to the checkers.
Afterward, the jubilant victor explained his good fortune.
“The car was just about perfect. You just couldn't ask for anymore.” said Moore, who had made an offseason move. “After departing from C.J. Rayburn at the end of last season, Florida racer Robbie Purvis contacted me about joining a new team being formed by Floridian businessman Jim Erp of Tri-City Aluminum in Ocala. Jim was willing to spend whatever it would take to win and would also be bringing on Buck Simmons to partner with myself to compete on the road nationally. For me it was a team made in heaven. Yet we would only have a couple of months in order to build everything from scratch and be ready for Florida in February.”
As we exited Columbia County following our maiden visit, we realized that not only another dirt track was scratched off our bucket list, but we had just witnessed some of the greatest dirt racers ever in the sport compete — yet there was so much more ahead to look forward to.
On to Volusia
Come Tuesday, we set sail for the opening of the five-night Southeastern Winter Nationals sanctioned by the the All-Star Circuit of Champions Late Model Series on the sandy-clayed half-mile layout at Volusia County Speedway in Barberville.
With our motel headquarters located south in New Smyrna Beach, it would be a nearly 50-mile jaunt north up to Barberville and with heavily congested I-95 traffic standing in our way, we elected to take Florida backroads through the citrus fields to meet our objective.
While navigating unfamiliar territory, we became a bit disoriented until we came upon a race trailer with Iowa plates heading northbound. Realizing any Hawkeye racer's destination must be a dirt track, we jumped in tow, and after a frantic 75 mph run, we found ourselves at Volusia's front gates.
Arriving in the early afternoon the spectator parking lot was a scene of splendor for any dirt fan as winged Late Models sat in various stages of undress preparing for the night's racing activities. The entry belonging to “Alabama Gang” member Red Farmer was stripped to the bone and being completely refurbished. As the crew scurried about the twisted wreck, one crewman stopped long enough to inform us that Farmer had taken a trip out of the Jacksonville Raceway at their 75-lap special a few nights earlier. His racer had flipped into the woods and was wedged in between trees in which a crane was summoned to extract it from its awkward position. From the car's appearance the crew definitely had more than their share of work cut out for them.
When registration began, the haulers and cars slowly rolled into the infield, and as practice commenced, the pits were congested with more than 125 cars from 25 states and Canada. Among the huge field we spotted Dickie Potts, Pauley Shafer, Bill Davis and Roger Matthews, who all towed down from our home region, readying their equipment for the night's action. In preparation for tonight's show we parked the van to spectate between two motorhomes just outside the first turn fence. It proved to be an ideal vantage point.
Once the track was worked in, time trials began, and with such an immense field, we'd already figured we were in for one helluva of a very long night. Boggs, at the wheel of his B-4 Rayburn in his initial Sunshine State visit, once again had everyone talking by setting fast time, turning the half mile clay in 19.79 seconds. “Chargin” Charlie Swartz out of Lucasville, Ohio, and Columbia County winner Larry Moore were second and third fastest, also locking themselves into the 50-lap finale. The balance of the field would go through six 20-car heats with the top three from each gaining a spot in the 50-lap main event.
With every top Late Model in the country on hand (minus Rodney Combs, who was racing in Australia), the heats were knockdown, drag-out affairs with wins going to Missouri's Ken Essary, Hawkeye Tom Hearst, Badger State top gun Pete Parker, Hoosier Farmer Tommy Helfrich, Michigan's Tom Rosebrough and South Carolina ace Mike Duvall. The third qualifying heat, with its five restarts because of multicar crashes, didn't help whatsoever to get us back to the motel before curfew.
When the consy cars hit the track, it was shortly after midnight, and an incredible field of talent battled for the final spot in the 50-lap main. Future Hall of Famers Kenny Brightbill, Fulmer Lance, Ed Sanger, Jerry Inmon and Freddy Smith went at it tooth and nail with “Fast Freddy” taking the win in the B&D Boilers No. 00.
“Sure can't remember the last time I had to win a consolation to get into a main event,” Smith would say later.
Swartz’s last stand
A so-called “short” intermission followed, and as Dad started his second pack of cigars, we both realized we'd been there far too long. But as dedicated race fans, we knew we wouldn't be able to sleep not knowing the night's outcome.
Finally the 28-car field hit the track. After a few warmup laps, the green flag flew and the mud began to fly. Boggs jumped in front, with Swartz and Moore glued to Black Jack's rear spoiler. The racing in the pack was wild and woolly lap after lap with passing in abundance and plenty of thrilling three-wide maneuvers. Swartz hounded Boggs each lap, and on lap 31, Swartz took over the point in lapped traffic with an amazing four-wide maneuver that took place right in front of us.
Now it was the young Kentuckian Boggs’s turn as the two speed demons ran all over each other trying to get the upper hand. On lap 39, the wild duel came to an abrupt halt as the lead pair tangled while attempting to lap back markers exiting turn two, which brought out a caution. Track officials decided both leaders should go to the tail and placed third running Moore — who barely missed the encounter himself — at the front.
“I figured something like that was going to happen, as Charlie ran me off the track a couple of times early in the race,” Moore said later. “My tires weren't working well at the time so I just let them have at it. I said to myself, ‘Man, those guys are going to crash each other and I'm gonna win this thing.’ Then they came up on some lapped cars and crashed into each other. I had to cut the wheel to the right to miss 'em”.
As they began lining up the field for the long-awaited remaining 11 laps, we sat back, more than anxious for the race's conclusion. But it wouldn’t happen immediately. Before we knew it, Swartz had stopped his car near the end of the frontchute, climbing up on the hood of his car, jack handle in hand, refusing to move in protest of the official's decision. Officials, wrecker crews and, in all likelihood, even a priest couldn't have changed his mind about the verdict. Now Dad and I were firm believers in the democratic process, but the van clock radio read 2 a.m., and we both agreed it was just way far too late for Charlie to argue the decision.
After lengthy negotiations, Swartz decided to withdraw, and his white No. 1 was towed back to the pits, ending this unusual racing rhubarb.
Years later in an interview, Swartz explained his side of the story.
“In the driver's meeting before the races that night, they stated if a lapped car causes the leader to have a problem, the leader will get his position back and that's the way it's going to be,” Swartz said. “So in the race it just happens I had passed Jack Boggs for the lead and we ran a couple of laps with Jack glued to my bumper. As we approached Buck Simmons to lap him, Buck decides to cut right down in front of me — he had a problem and was trying to head to the pits. So I lock it up and Jack nails me in the back and both of us go around.
“Now the officials tell the both of us to go to the tail. So I stopped on the track and told them ‘I'm not going to the rear, because a lapped car took me out,’ and they said, ‘Yes you will, because you spun by yourself.’ Even Jack argued with them that I should go back to the front, but they still insisted I go to the rear. Finally I said, ‘Well, let me tell you right now, I'm not getting off and if you guys want to run this race, figure out how you're gonna do it!’ ”
When we finally returned to green well into overtime, Moore dashed off and led the final 11 circuits to take the win. Duvall, the 1989 Winternationals kingpin who started ninth, caught a second wind late to move to the runner-up spot with eight laps to go, but lapped cars prevented him from challenging for the win. Trailing the lead duo under the checkers were Parker, in Gary Oliver's Tri-City Buggy house car, along with Iowans Tom Hearst and Kenny Walton, the 1978 World 100 winner.
At the conclusion, we took a deep breath and attempted to make a beeline for the motel. But as usual, being one of the first ones into the parking lot, you're always the last one out. As we pulled into the motel lot, light was starting to show over the Atlantic, it was 5 a.m.
Another Moore victory
Wednesday, after soaking up some sun at the big track in Daytona while watching Cup practice, we made the trek back out to Volusia for night No. 2. Upon arrival, we got wind of Charlie Swartz's disqualification from the remainder of the series for his previous night's escapades, possibly parking the most potent threat to win the Winternationals title.
With Swartz's dismissal, Larry Moore continued to romp, taking his third Florida Speedweeks victory in a row. But this time out the lanky racer had his work cut out for him in the 50-lap finale. After starting seventh, the Ocala, Fla., resident worked his way carefully through traffic on a dusty surface to land in second place on the 11th lap, a number of car lengths behind fast qualifier Fulmer Lance, the driver of the Rick Mattson-owned POOLS entry, who was cruising out front. Within a few circuits, Moore poured the coals to his Tri-City Aluminum entry to latch on to the Washington, Ga., veteran's rear bumper. Following a few laps of cat and mouse, Moore took his red numbered 1-M to the bottom and blew past the leader. One circuit later Lance would retire with an oil leak.
From there on L-Mo pretty much had things his own way in outrunning Jack Boggs, who benefited from Lance's departure to finish second a good three seconds back. Parker grabbed another fine finish in third followed by Duvall and Illini hotshoe Roger Long. Once again a number of notables would fail to make the dazzling field, this time including famed sprint car star Sammy Swindell, who was behind the wheel of Alabama racer Buddy Boutwell's Camaro.
Boggs triumphs
Come Thursday, it was off to the Twin 125s at Daytona and, while being thrilled at the incredible speeds and witnessing legendary racers like Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip grab the gold, the death-defying aerobatic crashes by short-trackers John Anderson and Connie Saylor were almost too much to bear.
That evening back at Volusia, Boggs once again proved to everyone present he was no flash in the pan as the Bluegrass State driver took an immediate lead from his outside front-row starting spot and went flag-to-flag for his second Speedweeks triumph of the week. Parker and the Tri-City Buggy machine were again a strong challenger and came home second. Freddy Smith had his best run of the week in third after frustratingly losing two powerplants in previous night's runs. Walton and the miniseries points-leading Moore rounded out the top five.
On Friday, everyone took a breather as persistent Florida precipitation cancelled all racing activities around the Daytona area.
Moore captures finale
Saturday, we wound up our 1981 Florida excursion with the 100-lap Busch Race of Champions, the Volusia County finale. No time trials were held as the $7,000-to-win race for 28 starters would be lined up via points earned throughout the week's racing. Also on the agenda was a 30-lap consolation race, which was taken by Georgia hot dog Mike Head, along with a 20-lap Limited Late Model feature.
As the main event hit the track with a lineup featuring 21 future Hall of Famers, top points man Larry Moore and second-points earner Pete Parker brought the field down for the start. Moore grabbed the lead and never looked back, staying at the point for the entire run with Boggs shadowing him.
Behind the lead pair, the battle on back was fiercely competitive between top runners Walton and Helfrich along with Georgians Jack Pennington and Leon Archer, with positions changing just about every circuit. Freddy Smith, who’d had nothing but bad luck in his B&D Boilers ride, came to life coming from his 23rd starting spot, advancing to the top 10. Unfortunately, the North Carolinian tangled with Iowan Dick Schiltz while battling for seventh on lap 39 and retired to the pits.
Simmons, who also rallied by executing some great moves, broke into the top five. On lap 86 the Baldwin, Ga., speedster took third from Helfrich and finished the 100-lap grind on the back bumper of Boggs. Helfrich and Augusta, Ga.’s Pennington would wrap up the top five spots for yet another fantastic night of racing.
Heading home
Following Saturday's finale our mission was accomplished with the racing on the dirt truly incredible, while showcasing fields of cars hovering near the century mark the entire week. Our Florida Speedweeks diary was now complete, and so many fresh memories would carry us through the next month or so until our 1981 racing season back home commenced.
And what a memorable year of racing for Dirt Late Model fans 1981 would be!
