can you remember when

[ronabneysr]

twenty years ago how much it cost to build a first class late model and there was allways over 25 cars or more that showed up and how much it payed to win heat and feature and same way with sprint cars ..

how about next two classes down limited lates or tornadoes and super sixes how much to build first class car and allways full field and fast cars started in rear allways do you remember how much they paid for 25 laps or 30 laps

how about bombers one big ole tire on right front three smaller tires rest way round , and thunder cars they had so many of them most time had park cars out side pits do you remember how much it cost to build one of them and how much they paid to win 15 lap race

do you ever wonder if back in day you could build a race car for what and open trailer cost today and they paid more to win early model feature then
than they do now to win a 100 lap super late model race .

today and open wheel modified cost 25.000 and up with just a good engine then trailer enclosed 28foot to 53 foot or toter 20,000 250,000

and you get 600.00 to win tires last two weeks thats 480.00 15 gallon fuel 120.00 4 people get in another 100.00 now got register car 25.00 more dollars now got between 75.00 100,00 get friends family in grand stands did i leave any thing out yes hauler filled it up diesel another 100.00 or more and ain't even bought water - pepsi - gator aid - and root beer -bolagna mustard or bread .. wait driver has have 20.00 chewing tobacca and two mechanics 40.00 for marlboro .. heck i need to win four features in modifieds an three in sportsman tonight just to break even --- why did'nt i learn how to hit a golf ball i should have never went to that first race do they have rehab center for old racers or patch you can put on your chest

[AJ14]

Yep , those were the days . Back when racers built their own cars and engines . Back when the local tavern or a gas station was your only sponsor .
Back when the majority of any race car came from the local salvage yards . Races didn't pay all that much ( though not bad for the time ) but you could still break even , or maybe make a little bit .
No carbon fiber , very little aluminum , no Toter Haulers , rules that made sense , no NASCAR running over the local Saturday night show , a stock car in front of every gas station in town .
Damn , what have we done to stock car racing ?

[flvideo]

How bout car and all parts come from salvage yard. Trailer whats that, try a tow bar on front of race car with a cord running back to the rear for lights maybe if you had the money to give your buddy a little money for gas. Yep, them was the days. Actually it seemed more fun then. I don't remember ever having a hassle in tech. No body forced me to buy tires, or gas or slab. I can't remember how much it was to get car and driver in, but it couldn't have been much. I worked at a gas station pumping gas and changing oil, I think I made $1 an hour. Gas was $.19 or $.20 a gallon. I rode a motorcycle and had to bum a ride to the track. Ain't that special. I loved every minute of it. Bob...

[AJ14]

A tow bar would have been nice . We used a 10 foot long chain and taped a flashlight with red cellophane on the trunk lid for almost a year . We sure wanted to race awfull bad .

[ronabneysr]

must be lot of drivers passed on

or don't want any one to know how old they are i would have thought there would have been more drivers still around .. probably some don't know how to turn on computer

man if we had od had computers - shock dynoes - real scales ' and shocks and springs and access to tecnology we have today we would have been hot stuff back then ...

[georgep]

Glad there are Reunions so that others can SEE what we are talking about. My modfied is considered HI TECH and If only $8,500.00 in it with SPARES

[ronabneysr]

georgep were do you race

do i know you do you travel whats your # would like to see how 8500,00 mod runs sounds like you must have already had lot stuff to begin with

new jimmy cope car and motor starting new you can spend a few dollars now our sportsman we have three of them and lot stuff so we ain't spent much and built our own motor

maybee we will see you at citrus or bronson -auburndale - or charlotte see ya i will say this you do have some good answeres and sounds like you have been around a little

[Frasson118]

Ron... George is into the Vintage Mod stuff. For a reasonable price, these Vintage racers (and there are hundreds of them in this country) seem to have a BLAST with their involvement.

Click on the link, then go to the "Vintage Racers On Their Way" button, and also on the "2009" logo on the front page. There are a few dozen examples of these cars that came to the Reunion the last 2 years.

www.modifiedreunion.homestead.com

Here is Georges car:

[Jimmy McKinley]

Ron...we ran with y'all at Tampa, St. Pete, Inverness, and Bradenton. I think you and I believe Don (Abney) were running the super sixes with guys like Purcell, John Berg in the #500 car, Jimmy Alvis I think was in the #21, Al Varnadore in his #21, Childers had his blue and yellow #07. Dennis (Abney) had his Street Stock/Thunder Car; I still got a pic of it somewheres on the frontstretch at the 'Gate. My dad was the crew chief on Bob Kirk's #12D Late Model car for years at them places. I remember when they would altrenate weeks with the Sprints and Super Sixes, and one week the Sixes got rained out, so they added them the following week. Childers went out and won the feature in our car (the Late Model), went out and won the Sprint Feature in Norm Huntley's #48, then went out and won the Super Six feature in his car! Three feature wins in one night - and that was with about eight classes running!

In the early to mid '80s, Tampa and St. Pete would WORK TOGETHER on Fridays at the Gate and Saturdays at St. Pete. 35+ Late Models, three heat races, start the fast guys in the back, 25 laps, $1,000 to win, $750 for second, $600 for third with a PACKED GRANDSTAND. Three- and sometimes four-wide racing on a 70' wide 1/4 mile, that was nearly a half mile around on the outside! Golden Gate, I think, was the BEST track ever for great racing; that place had two and three grooves every week. No walls around it except for the frontstretch. I remember Richard Coffin driving OVER THE ROOF of Daniel Keene one night when Keene spun down into the ditch, Coffin got up in the ensuing mess and had nowhere to go. We won a ton of races at both places. We can't compete on a weekly basis with the likes of Choquette, Russell, and the rest of them guys at Orlando - butcha know what? We're still havin' fun doin' it.

Hope to get over there one of the Friday nights and meet up with all y'all!

[andre]

I think that if you just take all these Hi Tech Late Model, and do the following, and you might all be back in business:

1- Cast iron, OEM, one piston brake caliper.

2- All steel, non ajustable, welded sealed shock. Any shock can be claimed for 75$.

3- 8 inches Imca type or similar treaded tire.

Run shorter feature and cut those &!*&%?$/& practices to the minimum.

Now, Mr Blue Collar Joe Blo from Chibougameau can join the party, because he doesn't need a 25,000$ motor, 45 gallon drum of fuel to practice and race at every event and truck loads of tires to keep up.

Any promoter that do this and hangs on to it would have a very very good chance to be successfull.

Just my idea

[flvideo]

AJ when you mentioned the chain I thought about something I had forgotten. A guy, I can't remember his name, used to come to the track towing with a chin in a 2" pipe and that was his tow bar. Last year when I was traveling with the UDLMCS, we were up at N fl Speedway and they had a pile of dirt in the middle of the pits. I wondered what that was for and I found out later. Several guys came in with dump trucks with their race car loaded in the back. They used the dirt pile to unload. Ain't that special? Bob...

[ronabneysr]

thanks ever one old days ain't gone

thanks for all info aj14 good idea's georgp fine looking car you got i need me one of them why should my son have all the fun i would like to have one just like yours . can you put any engine in it man that would be a blast with 434 cubic inch aluminum engine

frasson i remember you and all them cars yes i am don abneys older brother dennis abney uncle and that car junior purcell won all them races at gate and auburndale was my car when don nerone open the gate the last time we won a bunch of races

i have been going to races since i was 13 years old i refuse to tell any one how old i am i still work 7 days week 14 - 15 hours a day and there ain't much i love more than racing not my harley not my classic 66 corvette stingray that has been in storage 20 years with 2 fours on nitrous now if any body has nice toter or enclosed 48 foot or bigger trailer or one of them classic cars lets talk trade

[canedogs06]

Hey ron we run mods at a-dale. our car is ancient. 2000 eliis chassis we bought for 5,000 with a vortec head Dan O'connel 2 brl limited latemodel motor in it. a good pill draw and we run in the top 5 a bad pill draw and we are mid pack. we will be running at A-dale again next week.
Brian Hutcheson
HUTCHESON RACING # 06
Ocala, FL

[derf]

car count seems to go in waves,though most of us are impacted by the economic situation,there are other factors than money involved.Palm Beach had a point that there were no super lates and about 8-10 limited late models.

[ronabneysr]

will see you 06 at auburndale

next week looks like you got a nice looking car our open wheel modified is #35 white with flames tru number we usually park down in corner of turn 3 pull racer roll back and enclosed or repo truck

we don't ever have to worry about starting up front we allways draw pill around 200 or up been having trouble getting our car to hook up also have sportsman # 22 silver and black see ya