JAN GABRIEL TRIBUTE KANKAKEE , IL 7/16/10
Photo Credit Lu MounceOur Jan Gabriel Tribute was held 7/16/10 at Kankakee in conjunction with their Old Timer’s event. The weather was dry & warm and the sky was clear and blue. 12 distinct Vintage cars were pitted and ready to race. Nick Fratt, a former Santa Fe driver, unveiled his awesome ’70 Chevelle and promptly won he “Best Appearing” Vintage car award. It was as if time reversed itself and we were once again at Santa Fe.
Our heat races were fast competitive and caution free. Hometown favorite “Wild Bill” Stevenson’s ’57 Chevy won the 1st Heat beating 2 time Santa Fe Champion Bill Knippenberg to the finish line.
Donnie Harmonn Jr. squeaked by Brian Stevenson in an old fashion shootout to the checkered flag to win the 2nd Heat.
During the intermission Bill Yonka introduced the many Kankakee Veterans attending the Old Timer’s event. It was great to see Al Johnson, Roger Long, Ron Van Allen, Butch Kistner, Billy Kuhn, Wayne Etzel, Larry Robb, Butch Slaegar, Garrett Slaeger, Don Waldvogel, Freddy Lofgran, Mick Roach, Bob Novy, Brian Dunaway, Owen Johnson & Chuck Dixon. Again time seemed to reverse as we gazed once again at these famous drivers.
As a tribute to Jan Gabriel, Art “Fireball” Fehrman introduced the feature starting line up just the way Jan taught him. Starting at the rear of the field each driver was introduced and their racing accomplishments were recognized. Each and Every driver drew applause from the audience. Jan was famous for his driver introductions and wealth of knowledge about hundreds of drivers. Art was totally honored to welcome all of the Old Timers and introduce the Vintage drivers, especially at the rear of the field. The 1st car introduced had a last minute driver change in the Larry Robb ’69 Championship Oldsmobile. Driving the race would be 77 year old Kenny Kuehn, behind the wheel for the first time in over 40 years. He was a full time competitor for many years at Kankakee in the 60’s.
It was an emotional task for Art but he made it through the introductions and a short heartfelt tribute to Jan’s career without skipping a beat. Unfortunately a malfunction in the pres box prevented the fans from hearing a recording of Jan’s famous “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday” introduction. But just like Jan taught him, Art improvised and saved the day when he encouraged the fans to recite the introduction in Jan’s memory.
The Feature pace lap had all the fans standing and cheering as the drivers waved to them bringing back memories of yesteryear for all the older fans and new excitement and thrills for the younger ones. The green flag dropped and veteran Hales Corners driver Pat Heaney from Milwaukee, Wisconsin took the early lead.
Meanwhile, Brian Stevenson and his Dad “Wild Bill” were moving up through the field. T.J. Markham was passing cars weaving in and out and coming like a freight train to the head of the field. The fans were treated to a Father & Son duel between Brian and “Wild Bill” it looked as though it would be a Stevenson family victory but T.J. got to the front and took the win with Brian coming in 2nd, Wild Bill 3rd and Donnie Harmonn 4th. Jan’s widow Teresa and daughter Amanda presented the Feature trophy to T.J.
1st Heat Race
1. Bill Stevenson
2.Bill Knippenberg
3.TJ Markham
4. Mike Fratt
5. Mike Marden
2nd Heat Race
1. Donnie Harmon Jr.
2. Brian Stevenson
3. Wayne Huffman
4. Pat Heaney
5. Denny Falkos
Feature
1. T J Markham 70 Nova
2. Brian Stevenson 72 Camaro
3. Bill Stevenson 57 Chevy
4. Donnie Harmon Jr 55 Chevy
5. Wayne Huffman 70 Mustang
6. Denny Falkos 57 Chevy
7. Pat Heaney 66 Chevelle
8 Mike Marden 72 Plymouth
9. Mike Fratt 70 Chevelle
10. Tom Knippenberg 62 Chevy
11.. Pat Echlin 56 Ford
12. Kenny Kuehn
Our next event will be at Fairbury Speedway in Fairbury Illinois on Saturday August 7th. Hope to see you all there.
Art “Fireball” Fehrman
ROCKFORD ILLINOIS VINTAGE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE
Jim Ambruoso PhotosA Day of Returns at Rockford Speedway: Jerry Gille Returns to Victory Lane in a 1962 Convertible, “Jumpin Jack” Heiman Returns to the Flag Stand and former USAC Star Sal Tovella returned to be the Grand Marshall with his 1970 USAC Plymouth Superbird .The last time Jack & Sal were together was in Victory lane with a Feature win in Sal’s 64 Mercury in the late sixties. Long time pit crew member Jimmy Bielarz and artist icon Art Dexter joined in on the celebration.
Weekly regulars at Rockford know Jerry Gille (Roscoe, IL) as driver of the #99 Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Model and two time defending Late Model Champion, Gille can now add another title to his resume, Vintage State Champion, Gille piloted the #01 1962 Chevy Impala Convertible, built by Bill’s Speed shop, Joliet,Il.
Sunday afternoon kicked off with plenty of awards after Qualifying. John Forteman of Lou’s Jeep Geneva, Il. Sponsored and presented the fast time award to Billy Knippenberg Jr and his Dale Earnhardt 64 Asphalt Chevelle Tribute car. The Arrow Transmissions Most popular award was presented to Butch Dunn’s Pink 1955 Ford Dale Earnhardt tribute car. The Ken’s Auto Center best appearing award was presented to Bill Lessings Susan G.Comen Cancer awareness Chevelle, in memory of his late wife Deborah. The Marshall Towing award was presented to Jeff Fritz who towed the furthest from Friendship ,Wis. The Oldest Vintage car Sponsored by Joe’s Flaming Sauces went to Donnie Harmon’s 55 Chevy.
Our 1st event of the day was the Nortown Automotive Trophy dash, Gille and Pat Echlin started out front, the caution was brought out on the first lap due to a car that spun. Echlin took the lead on lap three and went on to win the 6 lap dash, with Gille in at a close second.
“Jumpin” Jack Heiman took to the flag stand for the Jessup Automotive Race of Champions, a 15 lap shoot out .Gille had hood problems with his convertible on the first lap. Lil John Provenzano (Streator, IL) took the lead on lap two with the 1972 Joe Shear Tribute Camaro piloted by Tom Knippenberg in second. Provenzano dirt tracked it through several turns, almost hitting the wall in turn two on lap six which sent him to the garage area with a flat rear tire. Billy Knippenberg was able to make it to the lead on lap 6 and stayed there taking the checker on lap 15.
The Vintage heat race was loaded with action, the 15 lap heat race started with eight competitors. Donnie Harmon Jr. took the lead at the green and battled with Pat Heaney until lap 3 when Heaney took the lead, Frank “The KID” Slabenak Jr. was hot on their heels. By lap four Slabenak had moved to the second position, while Harmon fell back to third, and Heaney was leading. With four laps to go Sam Redman hit the wall on the front stretch bringing out the caution .The racing action went back to green with four laps to go, The Kid and Heaney were racing hard when the two cars touched causing Heaney to spin bringing out a caution. Heaney headed into the garage area with a flat tire, while Slabenak was sent to the back of the pack. It was back to green with four laps to go, again, with Harmon in the lead, “Fast” Freddie Pitner in second and Butch Dunn in third. With two laps to go Harmon was still in the lead and Slabenak had moved up to second place, they battled door to door for two laps, when Slabenak took the checker and Harmon finished second. Sal Tovella gave the command to start the engines for our Feature event and #8 USAC Superbird and Gregg Riblet’s 1961 modified paced the field, Donnie Harmon’s 55 Chevy and Frank Slabenak’s 68 chevelle were on the front row. Slabenak pulled away from Harmon, and lead until lap 15 when Gille took the lead. Gille was leading the second place car of Josh Nelms in the Ralph Earnhardt Tribute car by a quarter of the track. Gille was pushing hard through lap traffic, dirt trackin’ it in turns and straightaway’s alike to get around those a lap or more down. The car that Gille was driving had won many features on the Dirt at Crown Pt. Speedway in Indiana.
At lap 25 there was an old school pit stop, the cars pulled to a stop in the infield and crews came out to service the cars. The race resumed with 25 laps to go, but a caution was brought out for debris in turn one. The race went green with Gille in the lead, Nelms in second driving the Ralph Earnhardt 57 Olds, Billy Knippenberg in third. With 23 to go Billy Knippenberg had gotten around Nelms and was on Gille’s tail. Third through sixth place were packed tight as they fought hard against each other and against lap traffic. Tom Knippenberg tried to make a move on Slabenak with 13 to go, but Slabenak slammed the door shut. The second generation driver Slabenak was on a roll this weekend, Friday night at Grundy Co speedway he won his heat race and recorded his 1st ever Feature win in his 2nd year of Mid Am Racing. He won his heat and finished 4th in the feature this afternoon in a car and track that he had never seen before until this morning, Meanwhile Gille and Billy Knippenberg pulled ahead of the field and battled till the end, with Gille taking the checker and Billy Knippenberg 2nd. 3rd was NSTC Champion Josh Nelms, 4th Frank “The Kid” Slabenak, 5th Tom Knippenberg, 6th Mike Marden, 7th Lil John Provenzano, 8th Pat “Hacksaw” Heaney, 9th Denny “ Batman” Falkos, 10th Freddy Pitner
“Fast” Freddy Pitner Flew in from Knoxville Tenn. To drive the Ray Young Golden Hawk Studebaker, despite driving thru various liguids during the 50Lapper he brought it home to a respectable top 10 finish, Not one scratch on the “HAWK”. Later in the afternoon, a few cold ones and rechecking the score sheets, he was convinced he was several positions higher.
Bill’s Speed Shop should be Commended for the extra effort in getting Gillies car repaired in time for the Feature. During practice a freak Flash fire swept thru the engine compartment destroying all the wiring. It’s a miracle it was repaired in time for the start of the feature. Congratulations also are in order to Bill’s Speed Shop in fielding a record 5 cars . Bill Knippenberg’s car won the race and the others finished 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th quite an accomplishment for one afternoon.
Sal Tovella was all smiles ,Mike Mardens 6th place car was a tribute to one of his Trailer Train 72 Plymouth USAC cars. He said it was absolutely beautiful and brought back so many neat memories.
Race Results:
Nortown Automotive Trophy Dash
1. Pat Echlin #88 57 Chevy
2. Jerry Gille #01 62 Impala
3. Billy Knippenberg # 8 64 Chevelle
Jessup Race Of Champions
1. Billy Knippenberg Jr. # 8
2. Pat Echlin # 88
3. Josh Nelms # 188 57 Oldsmobile
Heat
1. Frank Slabenak Jr. # 3 68 Chevelle
2. Donnie Harmonn Jr. # 6 55 Chevy
3. Freddy Pitner # 99 68 Chevelle
50 Lap Feature
1. Jerry Gille # 01
2. Billy Knippenberg Jr. # 8
3. Josh Nelms # 188
4. Frank Slabenak # 3
5. Tom Knippenberg # 36
6. Mike Marden # 7.
7. John Provenzano #25
8.Pat “Hacksaw” Heaney #13
9.Denny Falkos #22
10.Freddy Pitner #99
Art “Fireball” Fehrman
Grundy Co Speedway May 30Th 2010
All the pictures are Chuck Gonzalez (More Photos) - Joe Shear #36 Picture Stan KalwasinskiOur 2010 season opener saw 12 vintage cars ready to race in the pits. Mike Marden’s 72 Trailer Train Plymouth won best Appearing Vintage car. This was an exact replica of the car he drove in the 70’s on the USAC & ARCA circuit. Art Dexter who lettered the original car, did a great job recreating the Special Tribute in memory of Mikes Dad, Bob “Flip” Marden who sponsored the car for many years.
The 1st heat was fast. Pat Echlin unveiled his beautiful #88 57 Chevy. He led from the pole position, and never looked back, winning over Billy knippenberg Jr. in the Dale Earnhardt Tribute Chevelle. Tom Knippenberg was third in the Joe Shear Camaro.
In the second Heat Mike Marden worked his way to the front and easily won his heat over former Sycamore Speedway champion T J Markham. T J was making his 1st appearance on Asphalt and put on a show for the fans, Dirt tracking thru the turns. Fast Freddy Pitner from Knoxville Tennessee driving the Bob Pronger car was 3rd.
The Feature unfolded real quick, Pat Echlin moved thru traffic and took the lead. It looked like he was headed for another checkered flag for the night until Billy Knippenberg Jr. caught him and passed him for the lead, Shortly afterward Echlin’s car coasted into the infield with electrical problems. Meanwhile Gary Mitidiero and Tom Knippenberg steadily moved thru the field from their last starting position to the Checkered Flag. Billy Knippenberg easily won with Mitidiero 2nd and Tom Knippenberg 3rd, Mike Marden 4th, and T J Markham rounding out the top 5.
Our next big event is Sunday Afternoon June 27th at Rockford Speedway. The Illinois Vintage State Championship 50 Lapper.
Gates open at 11a.m. Qualifying 1130 a.m. 1st big Race at 1p.m.
1st Heat
Pat Echlin 57 Chevy # 88
Billy Knippenberg Jr. 64 Chevelle # 8
Tom Knippenberg 72 Camaro # 36
2nd Heat
Mike Marden 72 Plymouth # 7
T J Markham 70 Nova # 20
Freddy Pitner # 3
Feature
Billy Knippenberg Jr. – Dale Earnhardt Chevelle
Gary Mitidiero – Remax Camaro
Tom Knippenberg – Joe Shear Camaro
Mike Marden – Trailer Train Plymouth
T J Markham – Chevy Nova
Thanks Art
World of Wheels March 5, 6, & 7, 2010
Due to a change in venue the 2010 World of Wheels event was held at the Rosemont Convention Center. The display accommodations, atmosphere and space were far superior to the previous site. The parking was less expensive and there was food and beer available at 4 different locations within the display area.
Illinois Vintage Racing had 3 displays this year. Our first display was Larry Robb and Keith Grantland’s fabulous 1971 Ford Torino which was waxed to a perfect shine by Keith as it sat in it’s prime corner display site. Larry and Keith’s car was chosen as “Outstanding in class” and they were presented with a plaque. We are proud and honored to have this car in our club representing old school vintage stock car racing. Thanks go out to Marty Hail and Bill Aichest who manned this display greeting spectators and providing information regarding our 2010 schedule of events.
The second display featured an automotive piece of Hot Rod History. Bill Knippenberg of Bill’s Speed Shop out of Joliet, Illinois recently acquired the legendary “Gold Rush” Hot Rod. The car was displayed with the many awards it won in 1979 & 1980. The original owner found out that the car was going to be on display and he brought the awards and trophies to lend some documentation to the cars famous achievements. Bill found the car in a barn and with time consuming precision and attention to detail restored it to its original spectacular beauty. He will be putting the car up for sale and hopefully it will be purchased by someone who will value the historic significance. Details about the car can be obtained by contacting Bill at 815-744-2019.
Our Feature attraction for the Brushmasters Charity Auction event was to replicate Sal Tovella’s 1970 USAC Stock Car Superbird. Bill’s Speed Shop and his team of fabricators again produced an outstanding tribute car for this event. The paint colors were researched and reproduced using the exact original formula then Bill Knippenberg, Jr. magically applied the paint in accurate detail. The paint was supplied by Ketone Automotive. Our thanks to Rich Buegel for mixing the paint and for arranging this donation.
When Sal Tovella and his family arrived for the first autograph session on Friday, he was all smiles. He couldn’t believe the expert detail applied to the body, the interior and the paint scheme which exactly duplicated his original Superbird which he drove on the USAC circuit. His brother Fred was the Crew Chief on this car. Special recognition should be given to Bill Knippenberg , Tom Knippenberg, Bill Knippenberg, Jr., Matt Prodehl, Jon Peterson, Scott Hicks and Mike Hillmer for creating a superb vintage stock car specimen. They turned a 1970 Roadrunner into the fabulous Superbird. The Superbird was fitted with the original “Rich Clement” wheels which were donated by Rick Clement of Bart Wheels.
For many years, Sal was a top USAC/ARCA driver. He raced all over the circuit including Daytona, Trenton N.J., Springfield, Duquoin as well as at the Milwaukee Mile. He accomplished wins at all of these tracks. For those of you who don’t know his short track days, here are a few pictures and stats. Sal won his first feature event in 1952 at Soldier’s Field. He was the 1963 Soldier’s Field Champion. He holds the distinction of winning the last feature event held in 1968 at Soldiers Field just before they turned the track into a football field for Da Bears.
This year’s event was extra special for us and all of the spectators and fans because Sal attended all three days and greeted all who stopped by. He shared stories and memories of the old days. Hundreds of spectators and fans came by our display. Sal’s Daughters, Son in Law and grandsons, some of his closest friends and even a few of his old pit crew members came out to honor the Chicago Hero. Longtime pit crew member Jimmy Bielarz, owner of Northtown Automotive, brought his entire family to see the Superbird and to reminisce with Sal. As a teenager, Jimmy was a member of Sal’s pit crew when Sal drove his 1957 Chevy at Soldiers Field. He traveled with Sal through the years and accompanied him all the way to Daytona. They have a priceless friendship and a lifetime of great memories together.
One story that was told several times involves a very famous painter. Story has it that Sal asked Art Dexter to paint him a sign that would attract more customers to his car lot. So Art paints “Every day is Christmas at Sals” on a large outdoor sign. A couple of weeks later a guy was spotted across the street sitting in a chair painting on a canvas. He kept looking over at Sal’s Car lot. Sal went over and asked the guy what he was doing and his reply was “working on a painting”. Some years later, Sal was downtown and he saw a display of expensive paintings and low and behold one of them included a car lot in the scenery with a sign that said “Every day is Christmas at Sal’s”. The picture was painted by Norman Rockwell.
One family drove up from St. Louis to see Sal and his Superbird. They were close friends from when he drove at Springfield and Duquoin Fairgrounds. It was wonderful to see former Powder Puff driver Mary Penny and her Son Brian who drove in from Michigan. Mary and Brian went home with a Santa Fe Sign. Our youngest and prettiest fan Melanie was on hand to support our event.
The highlight of the weekend, of course, was the hand lettering of the Superbird. Art Dexter led a team of artists who perfectly duplicated original items and creatively came up with some new ones. They even lettered the famous “Every day is Christmas at Sal’s” on the rear of the car as well as the famous Road Runner Superbird insignia on the wing. These talented Brushmasters Artists were Art Dexter, T. G. Goyette, Jimmy Brando, John Morley, Tom Kelly and Bill Foust.
The completed Superbird was indeed spectacular eye candy and a tribute not only to Sal and the history of stock car racing but also to Bob Behonek and the Brushmaster’s organization. If you have never been to a Brushmasters charity event, you cannot fully appreciate their talent. For the first time, our 3 day event was included within their working area. All around us signs, mini cars, tool boxes, helmets and assorted items were embellished with art and pinstripes. We would like to share a few randomly selected items to show off their awe inspiring talent.
The stock car racing family recently lost one of its best known and brightest stars. Jan Gabriel was a legendary announcer at Santa F as well as a radio and television host. He is probably most famous for his catch phrase “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday at smoking US 30 drag strip”. Two signs auctioned off on Saturday were in honor of his memory. One was created by Bob Behonek and the other by Big Nick and Rick Bendi.
Art Dexter, legendary automotive artist, was presented with a lifetime achievement award. He was a pioneer in the art of lettering a race car and many techniques used today represent his signature style.
This years auction raised over $59,500.00 toward the building of a new high rise Ronald McDonald House for Chicago.
Those of you who couldn’t attend the World of Wheels show will be able to see the Superbird on display March 28th at the 19th annual Chicagoland Auto Racing Memorabilia and Collectibles show at the Will County Fairgrounds in Peotone, Illinois. Sal Tovella will be making an appearance to share racing stories. We hope to see everyone at the Memorabilia show where the 2011 World of Wheels Feature Attraction will be announced.
Pictures Courtesy Of: Pat Cahill & Stan Kalwasinski
Art “Fireball Fehrman”
The Dick Trickle #99 Mustang Finds a Home at Memory Lane Museum
It was an honor to deliver & drive the #99 Dick Trickle Mustang into the Hall Of Fame room at the Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville, North Carolina. Bill Knippenberg Sr., Art Fehrman Sr. and I proudly represented the Chicago BrushMasters, Bill’s Speed Shop, Illinois Vintage Racing, Ron Jelinek, Pat Finley, & Bill “Jive” Jarvis. It is a well deserving representation of Short Track History for the Fans to enjoy.
Here is the story of a project that started on a cold day in March 2007. We were in the infield at the annual Chicagoland Memorabilia Show at Chicagoland Speedway. Bob Behounek, representing the 1st annual Brushmasters Charity Auction, had an idea to construct a well known SantaFe Speedway Short Track car from the 70”s era. It would be hand lettered over 3 days at the World Of Wheels Show to help raise money for the Children’s Hospital Ronald McDonald House. We discussed several options. I suggested to Bob that if we constructed a Dick Trickle car then he would have a huge attraction because Trickle was nationally known. We then decided it would be the 1970 Purple Knight Fast back Ford Mustang. It was the most Famous car that Trickle drove. We approached Bill Knippenberg Sr. of Bill’s Speed Shop with our idea and he agreed to build it and have it race ready & painted by the 1st week in January 2008. During the summer months Bill found a Chassis which was just like the one Dick had used during that famous run in 1970. We had the 1st piece of the puzzle and work began on preparing the chassis for the body. It was just a matter of finding a fast back body. Bob & I spent the whole summer promoting the Charity Auction featuring the Dick Trickle Car. As the months slipped by the Chassis was completed but Bill couldn’t locate the exact Fast back Mustang that we needed .We were down to crunch time! With a mere 3 weeks left, Bill finally found one in Michigan. In 2 ½ weeks, Fabricator Tom Knippenberg did an outstanding job of assembling the body. With 2 days left Bill & Tom rolled the car out completed and sent it to Collision Revision Paint Shop where Richard Craven and staff completed the paint scheme on time. It was unbelievable the car was completed and Bill had kept his word.
The 1st annual Brushmasters Charity Auction was a huge success .Money was raised for the Children’s Hospital Ronald McDonald house. The 3 day event raised $52,000.00 for a great cause and brought together many talented Artists.
Our Dick Trickle Mustang was a huge hit at the booth. An enormous thank you to Bill & Tom Knippenberg of Bill’s Speed shop for building this awesome replica of the famous Purple Knight. The car was progressively lettered during the 3 day event. All original sponsor logos as well as the Knights emblem were reproduced by Will “Jive” Jarvis, Pat Finley and Ron Jelinek. Ron was one of the original artists who lettered Dick Trickle’s cars in the 70’s. These guys were amazing. All they had to refer to was old pictures and when it was finished, it was like looking at a ghost.
Lots of Fans, friends and well known racers, dirt and asphalt, stopped by to admire these talented artists at work as well as to share their stories and memories. One fan was emotionally moved to the point that he had tears in his eyes as he told his story of the Purple Knight. He was in attendance at the Dells Motor Speedway in the 70’s to watch a 100 lapper. Dick Trickle came rolling in 5 minutes before qualifying was over. He unloaded the Purple Knight and without any practice laps he went out and turned fast time then blew them off and won the 100 lapper.
After the World of Wheels Show was over, the Purple Knight was showcased at all of our Vintage Events. Everywhere we went, we drew crowds of people admiring the car. We then realized what a smart decision we had made and how popular the legendary Dick Trickle really was.
We displayed the Purple Knight at the Guglielmucci Drivers Benefit dinner and auction at Chicagoland Speedway. It was a great night. Sal Tovella, Paul Goldsmith and Sleepy Tripp stopped by our display and gazed at the car. Midget Champion Sleepy Tripp came in from California and enjoyed himself looking at the car and reflected about how many nights he was racing in Minnesota on the same night that the Midgets split a show with the stock cars and he watched Trickle win.
During the summer we had a lot of fun displaying the car. At the Nascar Fanfest in downtown Joliet we had a real adventure getting the car back to the staging area due to the fact that the car had no engine or brakes. After our display at Chicagoland, Bill Knippenberg drove a Dale Earnhardt golf cart and we used a nylon strap to tow the car down a four lane highway to our parking area. I was perched on the drivers door and was leaning into the window opening steering with my right arm. For those you that don’t know, I’m a lefty. We had no brakes so we could not stop at any lights. We almost got ran over several times. Some fans did enjoy our escapade though as they honked their horns and cheered as they passed us.
It was good for my health when Bill installed a B&B Ford Motor and some brakes into the Purple Knight. It was an unforgettable feeling driving the Mustang thru the pit area toward the Track. Rockford & Grundy Speedway were really special, Trickle won so many races there, as I’d move thru the pits everyone just stopped what they were doing and just stared at the car for a moment, it took them back to the 70’s. At Rockford some of the officials even bowed as I drove past them. In August the car won best appearing Vintage car.
Traveling our Vintage series there were also some comical nights. We were at Grundy Co Speedway and it was preplanned that Tom Knippenberg would Pace the Feature in warm ups then pull off, as the cars circled the track one of the Gate Officials started yelling that they couldn’t start the feature because that guy in the #99 didn’t have a helmet on. Then later in the month we had the car on display at the Sycamore Speedway Dirt Track. I took the car out for the National Anthem, after it was over I couldn’t help it I dropped it into 4th gear and took it for some quick hot laps to the crowds delight. Everybody in the Vintage area was taking bets on which lap I was going to back it into the wall. It still had asphalt tires on it and my track record wasn’t very good. The last two times I hot lapped Vintage cars there I backed both of them into the wall, needless to say Bill & Tom were relieved when I brought it back unharmed.
During Octoberfest 2008 at Lacrosse Speedway in Wis. Dick Trickle himself climbed aboard the Famous Mustang one more time. It was an unforgettable moment for the Fans as he drove out on the Speedway for a 99 lap race named in his Honor.
As I look back at the last 2 summers of traveling with the #99 Rockford Speedway was the most fun. In August 2008 Joe Shear’s nephew Scott Lawver drove the #99 and Tom Knippenberg drove the #36 Joe Shear Tribute car at intermission. They ran side by side for many laps then parked on the high banks for pictures. If that didn’t take you back to the old days you’re not a vintage stockcar fan!
In the fall of 2009 our last appearance with the Trickle car was Labor Day at the annual Night Of Features at Grundy Co. Speedway. Former Raceway Park & Grundy Competitor old friend Kyle Harvey stopped by for the night. He was returning home to Mooresville N.C. from Iowa Speedway where he was crewing the night before on a Nascar Truck Team. We immediately put a deal together, Kyle climbed into the Mustang and gave the command to start engines then paced the Feature event for his close friend Dick Trickle. This would be the last time the legendary Mustang would grace an Illinois race track. It was only fitting because before Dick closed out his Nascar Career Kyle was his Bush Series spotter for many seasons.
October 2009 we went south to Darlington S.C. to participate & race at the 2nd annual Darlington Vintage Festival. On Sunday Afternoon just before the awards ceremony I met up with Alex Beam owner of Memory Lane Museum out of Mooresville N.C. We had a great time talking about the Dick Trickle car and all our events that we attended honoring the Famous Purple Night. The next thing I know the Dick Trickle car was headed to one of the biggest Stock Car Museums in the Country. It is only fitting that one of the most Famous short track cars of all time has been placed in it’s special display area. Its ironic Dick Trickle only lives 15 minutes from the museum. If you’re ever in the Charlotte area be sure and stop by. It’s just 1 mile west of I-77, Exit 36 769 River Hwy. Mooresville, North Carolina.
I would like to extend a special Thank You from Illinois Vintage Racing & Bill’s Speed Shop to Bob Behounek. It was truly a Fun project from start to finish and driving it into the Hall Of Fame Room at Memory Lane Museum is a day we’ll never forget!
Art Fehrman
Illinois Vintage Racing
