Great Photo of Buzzie...

[ancrdave]

Got this from Ricky Smallwood (ModelCarMan)... From around 1964-65 at Golden Gate Speedway...

[Ted Kempgens]

Hey Dave I think this shot is Wayne. The name on the side is long time mechinic for Wayne, Bill Hale. Ted

[ancrdave]

Think you are right... just missing the "JR." on it!!

[Trash Inturn4]

Dave, are you sure this is at the Gate, I don't remember a white guard rail in the corners, it looks more like turn two at Sunshine

[ancrdave]

There was a guard rail at the Gate from '61 thru the 1966 season then it was removed....

[Old Sunshine Fan]

Good, because I can't for the life of me, remember tires sunk down except going in/out of the intersection at SSS. (doesn't mean there weren't any...I just can't remember that far back too well). I was there from late 61' (damn, I shouldn't have said that, now people will think I am old)

[flraceguy]

OSF... Age is a state of mind and you don't have to worry about us...

We already knew you were old and crusty... We never hold anything against you...

Have a great day and by the way... That is an awesome shot...

p.s. Happy new year to all...

[Jim Fenton]

For those keeping up with the guard rails and buried tires in the turns back in the day at GGS and SSS;


Shot #1:
1969 – Tornado cars in the turn at GGS (Sonny Kocsis - #13, Reutimann - #00, yours truly - #214).
The guard rail is not real legible in this shot but it’s there.



Shot #2:
September, 1970 – Cover of GGS program showing Jimmy Riddle coming out of turn 4 for the feature win the week before. Guard rail shows in the background.



Shot #3:
August 29, 1970 – Tornado cars (Jack Caffee - #20, yours truly - #39) in the turn at SSS.


BTW – Great shot of the double-zero car there Ricky!

[ModelCarMan]

Yeah I got a lot of these old pictures from the Gate from a friend of mind name Randy that builds model cars also. He makes great dioramas of old race cars that are weathered sitting out in fields or in old barns. He's going to try and be at the next Blast From The Past with them, I know everyone will be blown away with them, I sure am!!!

[flvideo]

Heres another of Buzzie. Bob..

[ancrdave]

Jim, that photo of you in '69 and the '70 sprint photo... the guard rail was long gone by then at the gate... I went there for the '65 Governor's Cup and it was the only race I ever saw there with the guard rail still up... We started going there regularly on Saturday nights in '67 and much of the rail had already been removed and it was totally gone in '68...

[Jim Fenton]

Hey I'm wit-cha there Dave.

Before I ran across these pics while looking for some SSS pics with the tires buried in the corners to help OSF with his memory on the matter I would've bet a hundred-dollar bill there was no outside guard rail at the Gate in the late 60's, early 70's.

The first lap I ever made at GGS was in 1967 in my brother-in-law's Late Model. I can say because it was my very first race I distinctly remember hitting Kevin Crooks and sending him into the toolies off the number one turn in the first heat. It took him so long to get back down to my pit area (point being had there been a fence he wouldn't have had to spend so much time with the wrecker guy getting his car back up the embankment) I was already laying under my car replacing the tie-rods when he walked up and kicked me in the foot.

Since I don't do Photoshop (in spite of what Andy thinks, LOL), I can't explain the appearence of the fence in the shot with the Tornado cars. However I am sure of the year and the place because I only drove the #214 in 1969 and I only drove it at the Gate because the owner drove it at St. Pete.

Nor can I explain the fence that's much clearer on the cover of the 1970 GGS program.

Again, not disputing anyone. In fact as I said, I would've bet against it. I just can't explain the appearance of the fence in the shots.

[ancrdave]

If you look at it, that's the outside fence that you would hit if you flew off there really fast and could get past the dirt piles... Hey Jim, didja ever hit the big tractor tire in turn four??

[Jim Fenton]

“If you look at it, that's the outside fence that you would hit if you flew off there really fast and could get past the dirt piles...”

Hey, wait a minute…you been talking to my wife? That’s exactly what she said after I showed her these pics.

Then of course it finally dawned on me especially after further review, and more digging into my archives, I would have to agree with you both.

As evidenced by this pic I found in the September, 1975, GGS program of Donnie Tanner upside down up against the fence off of Turn One in his #88 Sprint car.



If I recall correctly I believe this fence off of Turn One and Turn Two ran higher to keep the traffic out on Fowler Avenue as well as the traffic in the parking lot from seeing the track.


“Hey Jim, didja ever hit the big tractor tire in turn four??”

Just once, and kinda up close & personal too.

In March of 69’ when I bailed out of the window of the #14 Tornado car between turn 3 & 4 during the race when the car exploded inside from the raw gas coming thru the firewall.

I rolled across the track from the momentum and ended up against that tire.

The car continued on fully engulfed in flames, hit the grandstand wall just past turn 4 then turned into the infield where it ended up against a wrecker and burnt to the ground.

No one knew I was out of the car and up against that tire except for the drivers that were behind me. A few of them stopped immediately, got out and came to my aid.

Unfortunately my wife, who was in the stands with some friends about two rows down from the top stood up when she saw the car going thru the infield, screamed and accidentally dropped our 8-month son J.C. down thru the seats. Except for a few scratches he was unhurt.

The strange thing about all this, aside from the burns, I ended up with a very pronounced tire mark on my helmet. The track officials and the EMT later told me they thought it came from my head hitting that tractor tire, however I never thought so because by the time I rolled up to that tire I don’t think my body was going that fast to make a mark. I’m pretty sure it came from the left rear tire of the car I bailed out of.

[Old Sunshine Fan]

OK, back to my memory problem...

I "Proclaim" there were no sunk tires in the turns as I remember (prior to my going into the service), however, upon my return to the states, low and below, there were "Rumble Strips". How's that?
Another "However", I may just be full of crap and have a bad case of CRS (and we all know what that means).
I sure wouldn't bet on my memory being correct.