Ocala Speedway - 1968

[ancrdave]

Photo from Ocala back in 1968 when the track was oiled dirt... Check out the SRO crowd ON A FRIDAY NIGHT!!!
Can anyone ID the drivers in this picture???

[oneoff]

Track use to be i/4 mile

.....and it ran 90% to how it is laid out now. We use to go watch Jimmy Stroud and Bill Jones run their modifies there. The #2 has an old cross buggy spring in the back with a new quick change rear end. The #39 looks like a Crosley body, very cool stuff, thankx Dave.

[BJ Cavin]

Wow. Mike Peters has a video of some old home movies from Ocala in 1963. Looks like a lot had changed between 1963 and 1968. For one thing, there was a fence and a wall along the front stretch! None of that was there in '63. The cars don't look like they changed too much, however.

[dent]

the 39 in the pic is jim bates from Ocala, he raced in the midwest before coming to Ocala. he was also the tech man for JH and buddy powell when they first got the track. jim was a mechanic at my dads garage for thirty years. anyone who knew him would know he didn't take any BS from anybody and was one of the old school racers. He passed away a few years back and is someone my dad and I miss everyday. Ivedent Lloyd Jr.

[oneoff]

Bates was a great racer

What I remember the most about Jim was his snow white hair and he was allways smiling. But if he wasn't smiling you better watch out. Jim seemed to allways be going forward when he was racing. Allways a great show!

[ancrdave]

It's really interesting to hear the ties between Jim Bates and the Lloyds... Never knew that... The #2, by the way, was Don Toothman...

[BJ Cavin]

The original post mentions that the track was oiled dirt. When we were reworking the bottom of turns 1 and 2 while putting in the new clay, we exposed some of that original track. It's still black and oily, but very sandy. The new stuff is a totally different animal.