[KT]

Here are some old racing pics, some of them from Spartan.

This is my dad's, Mert Thompson, last car. He ran the car like this at K-Zoo early in the 1991 season, he finished 3rd in the feature to Dan Bailey and Roger Wing.


Gary Fedewa


Bill Massuch


Butch Fedewa


Dick Crupp


Jerry Makara


My dad's, Mert "now the races can start" Thompson last super late model. This is the backstretch at Spartan.


Randy Sweet in the Sweetmobile. He travelled around to different tracks with this car to set different track and world records. I saw this car at K-Zoo, Winchester and Flat Rock. He hit the wall at Flat Rock. He had nitrous on it at Winchester. This pic is at Winchester in one of the turns.


Butch Miller in 1981.


I'll post more later.
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Keith

www.myspace.com/ktfor3

[lansingsportsrage.com]

Keith.. those are sweet !! thanks for sharing !

[gud_nawty]

You can just feel the history and story's behind each photo. They are awsome pictures. It's great that you posted em to share with everyone.
gud_nawty

[Sortabigg]

This was my wife's grampa Glenn Gokee in approx. 1955 or 56 at Capitol City Speedway.
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~~~~Steve "Big Daddy" Orta~~~~
She is gone but not forgotten.
And her sister is here!

[Sortabigg]

Glenn Gokee in May 1956 @ Owosso Speedway


Drivers meeting @ Owosso Speedway. My father in law can name most of these people, if you want to know names.


Glenn Gokee 1971


Glenn Gokee 1973


Glenn Gokee, 1956. snap shot taken from home movie clips.
_________________
~~~~Steve "Big Daddy" Orta~~~~
She is gone but not forgotten.
And her sister is here!

[gud_nawty]

OMG! thats a great shot!

[sorrowtim]

Great pics Guys! I realy love the shots from early Spartan and Owosso.
KT, That pic of yer dad in his late model on the backstretch of Spartan was the first pic ive ever seen of Spartan without the backstretch wall. It also brings up a question. Did your dad live on Aurelius Rd near the corner of Aurelius and Barns across from the Aurelius town hall? The reason I ask is becuzz when I was a kid we used to drive by there on the way to Holt/Lansing. (we lived in Onondaga at the time on Byrum Rd behind the Onondaga Speedway.) Anyway, I always loved going by there beekuzz in the driveway sat the most beautiful #34 latemodel parked on the flatbed of the most beautiful hauler. The hauler looked like an early ford and it had a tirerack mounted on the roof of the cab. It was a sweet truck. I think I remember the truck sporting the Blue/red colors of STP, While the latemodel was white. I was wondering if that was ol Mert. Let me know.thanks TIM
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nastyboi

[KT]

Yes, my parents live on Aurelius Rd. still. The hauler was red and blue but the car was never white. He sold the hauler to Phil Massuch in the mid eighties and I don't know who Phil sold it to.
_________________
Keith

www.myspace.com/ktfor3

[sorrowtim]

KT,
Im not sure why white came to mind for the car. I was very young at the time...maybe 3rd or 4th grade. I just remember that when i saw the car, I knew we were close to home. Lol. It was right around that age that I went to Spartan Speedway for the 1st time. For some reason I also remember a racecar around the corner from you on Barns rd. I wanna say #16 and I think it said "Back Hawk Special" on it? Long time ago so i may be way off on that one. I rode the bus to school with Richie Ryan at that time and he would give me racing programs from Spartan every time he went. I think he may have said that the #16 was driven by a man named Chuck Clark? Again not sure.
That first time at Spartan was pretty cool ( what I can remember)
I watched quietly and maybe a little scared at first cuza all the noise. Man they were loud! Anyway, I remember hearing names that you still hear today such as Chargin Charlie Ryan, Dave Mulder, Jim Aldridge and many others. Also that night they had a show in the infield featuring a jet powered car called "The Green Momba" they did a couple slow laps around the track blastin the burners a couple times. Then they chained a gutted stationwagon to the back of it and blew it to shreds with that burner. And thats all I remember. Man it would be cool to see pics from that night and have it all back in my memory again. Maybe one of you old timers was there that night?
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nastyboi

[schinde]

Sorrowtim,

Interesting that you would mention the Green Momba. I was working for the Fire Department at the time, we provided both fire and ambulance service at the track, and I can remember that night. Noisy, flame shooting attraction that thrilled the fans, and did a good job of cooking that car.

We actually did a special reconnoiter mission prior to that night trying to anticipate what may or may not happen, as it was, nothing but fun for the fans.

As I sit here, I can think of some of the hard wrecks that I saw, and drivers that we treated at the track duringthose times. If my memory serves me correctly though, we only had to transport three times in the six or so years that I did that service. At the time, if we had to leave the track to transport, Archie's Ambulance from Mason would come in to take over, mutual aid at its best.

Probably the most memorable wreck that we took care of was a precursor to the dwarf cars, powered back then by snowmobile engines. Two cars touched wheels, and one of them took off down the front stretch on a flipping craze, and it flipped side over side right into the first turn wall. As I remember, we had to extricate the driver, his bell was rung pretty good, but he did end up gathering himself back together after w while.

One cautionary note, I did treat a driver or a mechanic one night who had a car on a jack, working on front suspension and the jack let go. Of course, he did not have it on a jack stand and the fender cut a gash in his forearm that did require us to transport him. Deep and nasty, with the associated dirt and rubber in the wound.

Had a lot of good times at that track doing that service. Most of the time, we didn't have to do anything, and got to see the races for free, too!

have a good day,

schinde

(didn't mean to hijack this thread, but the Green Momba story got me to remembering)
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Short track racing is more fun than a human being ought to be allowed to have!

[Mopar93]

Speaking of seeing cars sitting at places in younger days... I always remember seeing Jim Aldrich's car at the gas station on the corner of Holmes Rd and Washington Ave in Lansing. Maybe someone will remember that time period a little better than me, but I believe it was late 60's. If memory is correct, it was the '64-'65 Chevelle, gold with #40.

I graduated from Everett High School in 1971, so I went past that gas station quite frequently. Am I remembering it right that Jim and his brother operated that station? I think they both had cars there.

Back then, they didn't have mufflers. It was pretty cool when they would fire them up and move them around, right in town.

Noise didn't seem to be such an issue back then. Remember how much more thrilling it was to hear the cars at Spartan Speedway without mufflers?

-Maurice

[goinincircles22]

Maurice,
Jim Aldrich's brother Lee ran that gas station on the corner of Washington and Holmes. I remember going there as a kid. my cousin lived just up the street and we would go there and hang out all day. I have some pictures from the early 60's of some racers . all I need to do is figure out how to get them on here !
John

[Mod88]

Nastyboi,

Yes the #16 was driven by Charlie Clark of Onondaga.
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Bill

[mmachamp99]

Hey guys,

Keep the old pics coming.. I love to look at the history. I don't have much else to do lately. LOL

[sorrowtim]

Thanks guys. Schinde, I didnt mean to call you an old timer, but im glad that you were there so you could confirm my story. That night was magical to me and it helped create the racing bug that i am now infected with.
Mod 88,
thank you for confirming the driver of the 16 car. I cant believe I remembered that after all these years. Actually I can becuz when I lived in the Leslie/onondaga area, everyone was into racing. With the Leslie folks, its like a way of life. VERY COOL!!
Wish I knew what ever happened to Richie Ryan, but he always filled me in on the winners of Friday night as we rode the bus to school. He was much older than me, but he was a very nice guy. Wish I still had some of the programs he gave me. I remember seeing pics of "Real Factoy Stocks" and thier drivers holding up the checkered flag. Also the Camaro type Late Models were always cool to see. Me and my friend (at the time) Kim Derfee would draw pictures of the Latemodels in class and talk racing all the time. Out side at recess, he was Bobby Allison and I was Donnie Allison and we would race all over the playground. I hated bein Donnie beekuzz he wasnt as famous as Bobby. LOL. Anyway thanks again guys. These memories are great. TIM
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nastyboi