Who's The Best?

[ancrdave]

I believe Tim Miller drove mostly the 80X cars... won a bunch of races at Golden Gate...

[flvideo]

Yes Dave you are right about the 80x at the gate. I had forgotten about that. I remembered the Miller Insulation #10 he drove at Desoto for years. I idenified the 80x as Billy Torqsdorf. I am getting to the age my memory needs a jump start. Bob...

[Jane]

When he was driving, it was Mike Fritts. Loved to watch him race. He would drive the wheels off that car. Loved watching Barry Willoughby in his modified. He was a joy along with Aric Amirola in his modified. You did say regular guys on a regular basis and they did drive when they lived here. Rich Clouser is someone I love today because he can drive anything from a street stock, late model, super late model, and now modified. That guy can drive.

I did enjoy seeing Dickie drive again last Friday at SpeedWorld, I loved him in the Hooter's Cup years ago and Joe Winchell, well, I love my Joe.

Basically I was new to dirt but loved to watch Rob Underwood, Richard Ferry, Lloyd of course, Dillon Wood, and a few others. Racin Jason Davis is a thrill because he never has more than 3 wheels on the track in the corner, he flies.

[egspeedway]

Who is the best short track driver you ever had a chance to watch? I don't mean someone you saw once or twice a year at a special race I mean someone you got to see regularly. I think I was pretty lucky I saw Jimmy Crowe and Dick Crowe, Billy Taylor, Gene Johnson (boy could he drive, he made anything he got in faster) and many more I can't remember but the best I would have to say was Balough too bad he had so many other problems. I'm sure you guys can come up with many more and better ones lets see who you think.

PAVEMENT Bobby Allison DIRT Harvey Jones

[Jane]

Alex asked me to add Tony Laporta to the list. He really enjoyed watching Tony last year come from the back and go to the front. He also liked Dalton Strehle and Casey Feaster. In Sportsman he said he liked Aaron Barsness and Daugharty. Of course he loved Rob Underwood because he knew Rob when he was on asphalt and a few others he knew before. He also really liked the #OK Kent Corbin and enjoyed talking to him one night during the Winter Nationals. But I promised Alex I would do this.

[Rick B.]

A bunch of good ones but a couple stand out to me !

In NY as I grew up I go to see the likes of Buzzie Reutimann, Will Cagle, Chuck Akulis, Maynard Troyer, Bob McCreadie and man more but a man than could wheel a modified and beat many of the high dollar guys and was a real gentleman was Pete Cordes.

When I moved to Florida and began attending the tracks, I saw some great racers around here like Dick Anderson, Dave Scarborough, David Russell but the man that I thought was a great racer, great person and more was Pete Orr. He was so much like my child hood hero Pete Cordes, and I have had the honor to be called his friend and get to know and love his family.

There are so many great drivers I have left off but these in my opinion are the best in my book.

[83earnhardt]

Who's The Best

Okay, appreciate all of the above, however when we are discussing local Florida drivers I put three drivers in this category for different reasons
DAVE SCARBOROUGH, does anyone remember when he dominated Sunshine with over 60 wins in the InterBay Marine 69 and the #1 (I think) Sprinter. And he was almost as good at Golden Gate on Friday nights except for my next choice of driver LEROY PORTER. Leroy is Mr Greens #7 would always have to start at the back because he always was leading in points. During practice he would always be in the second groove (by the way The Gate didn't have a 2nd groove) Leroy made it work. As far as legendary I would have to put DICK ANDERSON at the top. For the number of years he raced and has started racing again and winning, he has accomplished the most in Florida. The beauty of all this was that when the big boys, Ed Howe, Mike Eddy, Dick Trickle, Butch Lindley, Butch Miller, Red Farmer, Rusty Wallace etc etc etc, came down for the Triple Crown races at The Gate on Friday night, Saturday at Sunshine and Sunday at Desoto these three racers could run with them and beat them. Guys like Rogers could only compete at New Smyrna and Orlando and be competitive.

[tccaz]

Thanks

Thanks for all the replies it is great to remember all the greats. I noticed most didn't mention todays drivers I guess everyone thinks cubic dollars make them good. I am afraid to see the answer to the same question a few years from now I'm afraid it will be SHORT TRACK RACING what's that?

[TINYTIMDSS]

what about Steel

[oneoff]

Orlando Raceway (Taft) late 60's - early 70's: Late Models; Harry Pullen, Jack Cart, Don'L Burkhalder, Billy Meyers, Randy Tissot, and for a short time Marty Spangler. Early Models; Bill Enters, Bob Warring(sp), Henry Pullen, and Frank Woods.

[Jimmy McKinley]

DAVE SCARBOROUGH, does anyone remember when he dominated Sunshine with over 60 wins in the InterBay Marine 69 and the #1 (I think) Sprinter.

We fought tooth and nail with Scarborough and Stanford when we had Childers in our car. This was in '81 and '82, when we had our two best years at Tampa and St. Pete. We ran second in the points both years, I believe, to that #69 car. And when Dave was in the #1L Sprinter, Childers was in Norm Huntley's #48 car.

I still say Childers was the best driver we ever had in our car. I remember one night in '81, at Golden Gate, they had had a rained out Sprint car feature from the previous week; the regular Late Model feature; and then a Super Six feature. Back then, the Sprints and the Super Sixes alternated weeks at the 'Gate. Childers went out in that #48 Sprinter, and won the feature. Climbed into our Late Model, won the feature. Then went out and won the Super Six feature - all in the same night, and with a track curfew at that. Three feature wins, three totally different types of cars, all in one night. There were no slouches in any of them fields of cars, either. We're talkin' back when Keene, Dunkin, Yoakum, Bontrager, Scarborough, Pletcher, Yow, Coffin, Porter, and many others were all tough to beat. And in the Sprint cars, you had Maddox, Scarborough again, Riddle, Reutimann, Hartley, Sport Allen when he was runnin' pavement...again, no bad fields of cars. AND - a great field of Super Sixes - the Abneys, Purcell, Berg, Alexander, Varnadore, and a ton more.

In 1981 and 1982, Childers won something like 30 features for us between two tracks, and second in the points both years.

[flvideo]

Jimmy I had forgotten Jimmy Childers but he has won a bunch of feature races for sure. I have sold him a ton of videos over the years. Bob....

[Rick Coody]

Wow Guy's, How do you decide what era, dirt, asphault? Mid 60's on the dirt at Lake City, Jacksonville, Valdosta Ga., Sam MaQuagg and LeRoy Yarbrough put on a show every Friday and Sat. night. The most exciting driver I have ever seen on Sat.night asphault was Steve Gainey, in any kind of stock car, open wheel mod., or late model. You sure got your moneys worth watching drivers like that!! Rick

[Winger]

I won't give you my opinion because it's not a Florida driver. Funny thing is, I've seen this same question asked on the 4M board about the best Dirt LM driver in the country. One name that seems to pop up often is Wayne Shugart. I haven't seen anyone here mention him.

[Trash Inturn4]

Dirt - As a kid growing up watching DIRT MODIFIEDS in the northeast "The Crescent Hillbilly".....Pete Corey

Asphalt - Pound for Pound, its got to be Dave Scarborough, he was one bad little 'son of a bitch' behind the wheel. The man could drive anything with wheels.