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Earl Ross

posted by admin on August 25, 2011
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Earl Ross

Earl Ross is a former NASCAR race car driver who was born on the 4th of September 1941 in Fortune, Prince Edward Island, Canada. His claim to fame on the NASCAR circuit is that he was the only non-American race car driver and still the only Canadian to have done so) to have won a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race (Juan Pablo Montoya, a Columbian, became the second in 2007 having won the Toyota/Save Mart 350 in the Series on the 24th of June, 2007 at the Infineon Raceway). He is also the only Canadian to have won the “Rookie of the Year” honours, 1974.

His solitary NASCAR win came on the 29th of September, 1974 at Martinsville Speedway during the Old dominion 500 event. Earl started the race in eleventh position in a field of thirty cars and with care and determination he gradually moved up the field, slowly closing the gap between himself and Cale Yarborough, his team mate who was dominating the race by leading 288 laps until his engine gave up.

“When Cale blew up, he had already lapped me but at that time, you could race back to the flag,” Ross said. “When he blew up, he slowed down and I got by him and got my lap back. That put me in the lead of the race. The car was working real good and we ended up winning the race.”

Earl was now a lap up with eighty laps to go. He drove to the winning line, beating Buddy Baker and Donnie Allison by one lap on the way. Earl’s career started in NASCAR when Canadian based Carling O’Keefe Breweries were looking to open a brewery in South Eastern America. The company opened a brewery in Atlanta and were going to use the NASCAR Cup Series as its main marketing tool. In 1972 the company successfully sponsored Larry Smith who took the 1972 “Rookie of the Year” honours but, sadly, Larry was killed at the Talladega Superspeedway the following season and this left the company looking for a replacement and this is where Earl came in.

“I had been racing in Canada and was winning quite a bit,” Ross said from his welding and fabrication shop in his hometown of Ailsa Craig, Ontario.
“Carling O’Keefe Breweries wanted to race a couple of races in 1973. So they decided in 1974, they wanted to race a few more races. Halfway through the season, they decided to run the rest of the season, so I ended up running 21 races that year.”

He eventually made his debut in the Daytona 500 in 1973 after the team encountered problems with the engines used, he finished in 39th position. This year he also ran in events at Talladega Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway before running in twenty one of a possible thirty races in 1974. He had one win, five Top 5’s, ten Top 10’s and led 127 laps, 79 of these being at Martinsville Speedway and finished the season eight in the final point standings. Unfortunately, the brewery decided to shut down their brewery in Atlanta and withdrew their sponsorship, returning to Canada and leaving Earl with a quandary – should he leave NASCAR and return to racing in Canada or accept offers of rides by other teams. Earl decided to return to Canada with his team. He made just two more Cup races, finishing in 13th position driving a Ford owned by Junie Donlavey at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1975 and finished 39th in the 1976 Daytona 500 after his engine failed after twenty eight laps at Daytona International Speedway.

Earl’s driving career started in the 1960’s, driving regional races including the ASA (American Speed Association) circuit and the CASCAR (Canadian Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) Super Series. He competed in these series’ throughout the 1970’s , 1980’s and 1990’s and regularly took part in Friday night racing at Delaware Speedway before he finally retired in the late 1990’s, living in his current home in Alisa Craig. Earl Ross was inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

References:

www.nascar.com/2009/news/opinion/08/27/retro.racing.maumann.eross.canada/index.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Ross

www.wilsonsracereport.com/?p=1921

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“The Blown Grape” – 1939 Studebaker

posted by admin on August 24, 2011
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"The Blown Grape " - 1939 Studebaker (source : www.1939studebaker.com)

This is “Blown Grape” that is based on a 1939 Studebaker which was based on a Master Street Rods 1939 Studebaker created by Rick Hanson over 4 years. This is actually a based on fiber glass kit now offered by Kreative RodWerks and is uses an Chevrolet S-10 as the basis of the build.

At the front the ground-hugging appearance was created using a pair of 2 inch dropped spindles and at the rear a four link set-up was used with air bags to give an adjustable ride height. At the front are a set of 18 x 8 inch Twisted Vista billet wheels wrapped in Dunlop P235/40ZR18 tires and at the rear are two massive 20 x 10 inch Twisted Vista billet wheels with P295/40ZR20 Dunlop tires.

Inside the car is finished in gray leather with raspberry carpets throughout and the seats were taken from a Honda Prelude. The doors and dashboard have all been sculptured to give a very cool contemporary look and the steering wheel has been replaced with a LeCarra one.


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"The Blown Grape " - 1939 Studebaker (source : theblowngrape.blogspot.com)

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"The Blown Grape " - 1939 Studebaker (source : theblowngrape.blogspot.com)


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"The Blown Grape " - 1939 Studebaker (source : theblowngrape.blogspot.com)

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"The Blown Grape " - 1939 Studebaker (source : theblowngrape.blogspot.com)


To complement the Blown Grapes appearance a powerful engine was a must and due to the restricted space a small-block Chevy was chosen. All the machine was carried out by Beck Racing Engines in Pheonix who balanced and blueprinted the engine. The internals of the engine where all upgraded to give extra power and then topped off with a 6-71 Blower from the The Blower Shop topped by 2 Holley 650 double-pumper carburetors.

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"The Blown Grape " - 1939 Studebaker (source : www.1939studebaker.com)

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"The Blown Grape " - 1939 Studebaker (source : celebrity-carslv.ebizautos.com)


If you would like to see more rides based on the 1939 Studebaker then I would recommend heading over to www.1939studebaker.com.

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Donnie Allison

posted by admin on August 23, 2011
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Donnie Allison (source : www.bobbyallison.com)

Dunkiny Allison, better known as Donnie, was born on the 7th of September 1939 in Miami, Florida. He is the younger brother of Bobby Allison, the 1983 NASCAR Champion. It was Bobby who persuaded Donnie and their friend, Red Farmer to leave Florida to look for richer pickings at the race tracks in Alabama where they later became known as the “Alabama Gang”.

In 1959 the three hopefuls moved to Hueytown, Alabama in search of fame and fortune. Donnie was a natural race car driver and during his career which spanned over the 1960’s, 1970’s and the 1980’s he drove in just about every type of race car ever created. He has had ten victories in the Grand National Series (now the Sprint Cup Series) including victories in the 1970 Firecracker 400 at Daytona and the 1978 Atlanta 500. Such is his ability to drive almost anything he is considered by many to be the best and most accomplished “crossover” drivers in history. Proof of his ability came in 1970 when he finished in fourth place in the 1970 Indy 500 driving an A.J. Foyt entry and took the Chase “Rookie of the Year” honours on the lead lap of the “500″ (this accomplishment was not achieved again for twenty three years) then, that same weekend he went to Charlotte Motor Speedway and won the NASCAR World 600 event.

“I’m not much into statistics or that kind of stuff,” said Donnie, “But a couple of people told me that, and you better check it to make sure.” Other well known NASCAR drivers, including his brother, Bobby, ran in the Indy 500 but Donnie was the most successful, running it twice and finishing sixth in 1971 in his second start. A.J. Foyt, every so often, went south to compete and was well-known among the Southern faithful. “I kept saying to Foyt: ‘When are you going to let me run an Indy car? When are you going to let me run an Indy car?” said Donnie.

“He kept saying, ‘Aw, you’re a taxi driver”. “In 1970, I talked to him at Daytona, and he said OK. ‘70 was quite an experience. I crashed in practice, and it took us seven days to fix the car. Once we got the car together, I ran faster than I had all month. I liked it. I enjoyed it. The Indy cars are quite a bit lighter, more acceleration and horsepower, but I thought they drove easier. I didn’t have a problem to adapt because I ran a lot of super-modifieds. It was the first time that I started three abreast, but that didn’t seem too awkward to me. I never even thought about it. In ‘71, I wanted to run the championship. I went to Ontario and it was terrible, went to Milwaukee and ran pretty good, then went to Pocono and ran really good but crashed.”

Donnie won more than 500 short-track races throughout his driving career. He was NASCAR’s 1967 “Rookie of the Year”, the 1970 Indy 500 “Rookie of the Year” and the 1970 Sportsman Series Most Popular Driver. Many NASCAR fans will remember Donnie’s clash with Cale Yarborough during the 1979 Daytona 500 when Donnie was leading in the final lap and Yarborough drafting him closely. Cale Yarborough attempted his signature slingshot pass at the end of the back stretch and Donnie tried to block him. Cale Yarborough refused to give ground and as they ran side by side the tyres on the left of Cale’s car went onto the muddy grass on the tracks infield, forcing him to lose control of his car, subsequently hitting Donnie’s car. With both drivers fighting to regain control the cars made contact several times more before finally becoming locked and crashed into the wall at turn three. Once the cars were on the grass and argument broke out between the men and at that point Bobby Allison who was lapped at this point, pulled over and began to defend his brother. This was the first NASCAR race to be televised on national television and in front of thousands of viewers a fight broke out, making headlines across America. The publicity was influential in the growth of NASCAR. Although Donnie never ran a full time schedule he took part in 242 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events, securing ten victories, 115 Top 10 finishes and seventeen poles over a career of twenty years.

When Donnie retired from racing he became a crew chief for Hut Stricklin, his son-in-law and for Joe Nemecheck. He also worked as a consultant for new up and coming teams. He worked an advisor to drivers including Bobby Hamilton, Ricky Craven and his nephew, Davey Allison. The Allison name continues in NASCAR with Donnie’s 17-year-old grandson Justin running Allison Legacy cars at places like Hickory, Rockingham and Orange County in North Carolina and Dillon, S.C. “He’s a good driver and with the right breaks, you’ll see an Allison right up there again,” Donnie said. “I’m the crew chief, chief mechanic and everything on the car. I still have my farm in Alabama, but my whole family is over here. I have two great-grandchildren.” As part owner of Allison Brothers Race Cars Inc., Donnie was active with his sons in the business of building race cars.

References:

www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/donnie_allison/biography.php

www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/history/43764/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_Allison

www.nascar.com/news/features/families.allison/index.html

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1932 Ford School Bus

posted by admin on August 22, 2011
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1932 Ford School Bus

Lou and Brenda Steiner call this their “1932 Ford 75th Anniversary Bus” and if had the chance to be taken to school everyday in this Hot Rod bus then it is very unlikely you would be late. It has won several awards including 2007 NSRA Louisville Nationals PPG Award winner for Outstanding Use of Color and was then invited to be displayed in the PPG booth for the 2008 Nationals. In the 2007 show in Las Vega it was also displayed as one of the 5 SEMA display vehicles and has featured in several magazines in the past too.

As you can see from the pictures the engine has been modified and now features a 454 big block with a 871 Blower Show blower pushing air though two 750cfm Edlebrock carburettors. Inside the engine it has a 4 bolt main block, competition roller cam and rockers, steel crank and Speed Pro pistons with the exhaust gasses leaving through a Sanderson and Flowmaster exhaust. The power is delivered to the road through a 9 inch rear-end and set of Mickey Thompson tires. The bus has Mickey Thompson wheels with 33×22 R20LT Mickey Thompson tires at the rear and 26×6.00 R18LT Mickey Thompson tires at the front.


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1932 Ford School Bus

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1932 Ford School Bus


Inside the bus it features monitors for the rear-view camera mounted in the license plate and bucket seats upholstered in Almond and Hot Suave ultra leather with a 75th Anniversay logo embroided into them and all seven windows are also electrically controlled

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1932 Ford School Bus

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1932 Ford School Bus


The chassis has also been extensively modified as you may expect and has been fully boxed to provide extra strength and was then powder coated. All the brake and fuel lines were replaced with stainless parts.

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Dick Trickle

posted by admin on
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Dick Trickle having a Cigarette before getting in the race car. (source : Wiki Commons)

Richard “Dick” Trickle is a retired race car driver who still manages to race on the odd occasion in the Slinger Nationals and in the ASA Midwest Tour in Wisconsin. Dick was born on the 27th of October, 1941 in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. While playing with his cousin, Verlon, in the rafters of a house that was under construction eight year old Dick fell through two floors to the basement, badly breaking his hip. The healing process was very slow and poor Dick was in a plaster from his waist to his foot for about three years and it was during this time that he was taken to his first races at Crown Speedway in Wisconsin Rapids. “When I got there I was flabbergasted,” Dick said,”I thought it was the neatest thing. Free shows were nothing compared to it. That race never left my mind until I was 16. I knew I was going to drive a race car when I was 16.” Money was tight for the family so Dick, from the age of thirteen, worked for farmers in the local area to earn some cash. He also worked part-time at the Blacksmith shop that his father was a partner in and it was here that he learned to weld.

“I worked part time at the shop to earn a nickel or dime,” Trickle said. “At that age, it was mostly sweeping the shop, but I started to play with the welder and soon I could make an arc and then weld. I started junking machinery. I save some things getting a head start for when I would go racing at 16. I didn’t have any money, but I had this pile of stuff to build a race car with. It was a hope chest.

When I turned 16, I let the farmer I was working for keep most the money I earned until fall. That fall I collected my money and went down Main Street wheeling and dealing. I finally bought a 1950 Ford in good condition for $100. It was going to be my street car, but the urge to race got too strong and I cut up and made a stock car out of it.

I did run the car a little bit before I cut it up and I ended up drag racing a classmate, Melvin Hunsinger, who had a 1949 Ford. He beat me. It seems kind of dumb when I already knew there was a car that could beat me. Eventually, I bought Hunsinger’s 1949 Ford for $32.50 and put the motor in my car”.

Dick was absolutely committed and determined to become a race car driver and what a driver he became. He raced that car through the latter part of the 1958 season and throughout the 1959 season before swapping to the 1956 Ford that he had built using the knowledge that he had gained. This paid off; he came second in his first race at Griffith Park, Wisconsin. Dick raced part time for a number of years before, after discussion with his wife, Darlene, who he married in 1961, going full time.

He raced in over 100 events each year for over fifteen years. His career took a turn for the better when, in 1966, at Rockford speedway he won the National Short Track Championship, pocketing $1,645. His short track career went from strength to strength when he won at the start of the 1967 season at State Park Speedway and by the end of the season he had amassed twenty five features victories. He toured the Central Wisconsin Racing Association tracks in 1971 where drivers were able to race on most nights of the week.

Dick held the track record at six tracks including Adams-Friendship, Capitol, Wausau, Wisconsin Dells and La Crosse. He won fifty eight feature events that year. 1972 saw Dick win sixty seven races that year, making him the “winningest” short track driver that year and ever. He had a total of fifty seven wins in 1973. The wins continue to come and Dick started to race out of his state more and more often and in 1983 he won the 1983 World Crown 300 in Georgia, giving him his biggest pay packet of his career to that date, £50,000. Although Dick had entered into a handful of events in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series it wasn’t until 1989 that Dick made his debut into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the ’84 Buick for Stavola Brothers and was awarded the “Rookie of the Year” honours, becoming the oldest driver (aged 48) in Winston Cup history to do so at that time.

He won the Winston Open in 1990, beating Rob Moroso by just eight inches to gain the victory and this gave him a starting position for the 1990 NASCAR Invitational event. This year he also won his only career Cup pole at Dover International Speedway. From 1970 to 2002, he started 303 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Events. He had 15 top five finishes, 36 top ten finishes, and one pole. In 1998, he scored second NASCAR Busch series win at Darlington Raceway.

He was voted 4th most popular driver by fans of the Winston Cup series. In the Nationwide Series he had two wins; forty two Top 10’s including twenty five Top 5 finishes and one pole. In more than an estimated 2,200 races, Trickle has logged one million laps and has won around 1,000 feature races. He was billed as the winningest short track driver in history. Trickle’s career highlights include racing to 67 wins in 1972, winning seven ARTGO Championships in nine years between 1979 to 1987, winning back to back ASA AC-Delco Challenge championships in 1984 and 1985, the 1968 USAC Stock Car rookie of the year. One of themore colourful characters in racing, Dick had a hole cut in his full-face helmet so that he could smoke during the caution laps.

References:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Trickle

www.legendsofnascar.com/Dick_Trickle.htm

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