Were You 'Cool' In High School??

[ocalasp76]

This test is based on how cool you were in High School...

What crowd you ran with, what car you drove, who you dated, etc.

It's pretty accurate.

You may want to send it to your friends to see if they've changed.

COOL PERSON TEST

http://www.sailinganarchy.com/genera.../cool_test.htm


(Thanks for sending this to me Tim) :^)

[ModelCarMan]

Yeah, I'm still the sucker for a good joke!!!

[Nickel and Dime]

Still got it...

Yep, it's confirmed that I'm just as cool now as I was back then!!

[Jim Fenton]

Awe common guys, that ain’t cool in High School.

You want cool in High School?

First ya gotta crank up that 8-Track with John Kay…….

“Get ur motor runnin..da da..ta dat da…head out on the highway…..”

Here ya go………







Now for the racing trivia question of the day.

You old time Sunshine Speedway Figure Eight fans ought to
recognize the guy standing behind me in the striped shirt & hat.

He was one of the all time greats of the day at St. Pete
(mid-to-late 60’s) and one of my best buds at the time.

A terrible personal tragedy struck him and his family a
few years after this picture was taken.

[ocalasp76]

Hey Jim, I assume you are NOT the one with a pink bow in your hair...

You wuz 'cool' back in the day. Good choice of adult beverage too !!!!!
Don't have an answer to your question though. Maybe that old fart OSF will know when he gets out of the home today.

-JIM-

[Jim Fenton]

Ummmm...50 hits and no takers on this driver's ID yet huh?

Come on troops I know there's been some serious Figure Eight fans
checking in from time to time around here from the good-ol' Sunshine days.

OK there OSF you may have to pull this one out of the fire.

[Trash Inturn4]

my guess would be.......C.S.OLKS

[Jim Fenton]

Nope, all good guesses though.

Two more guesses, Aaron Coller and Butch Johnston,
actually came to me from another outstanding Karnac member via email.

All good Figure Eight drivers at the time.

The driver standing behind me in this shot taken at a Halloween Party
given by Sunshine Speedway’s GRA (Girls Racing Association)
in October, 1968 is none other than Gary Patnaude.
(My life’s partner, Linda, is on the left BTW.)

Gary was right at the top of the list of crazies which of course is
what it took to drive those things but also a good family man and
a lot of fun to be around.

Sadly Gary and his wife lost a young son in a freak accident with
their pickup while on a camping trip a few years after this.

Here is a shot of Gary in the unenviable position of being upside
down in the intersection at Sunshine Speedway in November, 1969,
that he caught a lot of flak about.

Following this Sunshine Speedway Program cover shot are short bios
on all the drivers mentioned taken from the Sunshine Speedway 1971 Yearbook.

[Old Sunshine Fan]

Wow... would never have guessed Gary Patnaude (who if I remember correctly went to DIXIE HOLLINS H.S. - the best in the land)....

Lots of great Fig 8 drivers at that time.... those mentioned, along with Lester Sloan (another World Champion), Millers, Daughtry, Myers and a bunch more that my old mind can't pull up right now.

[Trash Inturn4]

Gary was my other guess due to the tragedy clue. I am listed on Garys crew in the above picture. Thanks for the picture of Butch Johnston and the 112 Late Model, i have requested pictures of the car in the past on the board, it was built by my brother John Wachtel Sr, John was also the crew chief when Jack Arnold won the Fla State 200 in 1971 in the car ( I was the guy holding the pit board during the race) Thanks for the picture Big Jim, it brings back many great memories.

[Jim Fenton]

Wow, small world there Trash Inturn4.

I had no idea you were John Wachtel’s brother man!
I remember John very well.

One thing that sticks with me about John is no matter what
was going on, I remember he always had a smile on his face.
Always friendly too.

If you don’t mind my asking is John still around? Thanks for info.

Always pretty kewl to hear from folks that were around St. Pete
back in the day.

Here’s more shots, short bios, etc. of the Figure 8 drivers Bob mentioned;

This is a shot of the first Figure Eight race at Sunshine
back in March, 1964, followed by pics and a short bio
for Lester Sloan.

These are out of the 1971 Sunshine Speedway Yearbook.





Here’s some shots and short bios for both Daughtry
and Denny Meyer. Also out of the 1971 SS Yearbook.




Here’s a shot of Denny and Charlie Meyer in the
center of the cover of the May 22, 1976
Sunshine Speedway Program.

BTW that’s Kenny Alderman in the #27 Late Model
on the top left in the outside lane while Kevin Crooks
climbs up over Sam Sessa down on the inside.



Here’s a shot of Bill Miller after a feature on the top
left of the rear cover of the August 13, 1977,
Sunshine Speedway Program.

[Trash Inturn4]

We lost John around ten years ago, he was killed in a freak accident while working for All American Concrete. He was working late one evening on an old Mack cabover trying to locate a fuel leak, with the engine running he was unaware that the cab was slowly coming down, he was pinned in the engine compartment, he died from the exhaust fumes.

Thanks for the kind words about John, he loved racing and was always happy when he was at the track.

[Jim Fenton]

Yes, I had forgotten about John's accident over there. Part of my CRS lately.

Sorry to put you through the story again Doug.

No doubt if John was still around he'd likely be a part of the Stephen Nasse effort over there at AAC as much as he loved racing.

[Trash Inturn4]

You are probably right, one of the things I'll always remember about John was how much joy he got out of helping people, especially if it had anything to do with racing. My 86 year old uncle was at the funeral, and he was blown away by how many people attended, a testiment to how many friends he had.