The Reason Why...

Instead of telling the story in detail, you
can click on the picture and read it right
from part of the poster I used when the
car was put in a local show. Off to the
right you can see how rough the body
really was. It was great fun, but it's over
now.

Bye Bye

It broke my heart to see it go, but
it went to a good home and is being
raced which is was meant to do.
Paul, who purchased the car is a
great guy and is having a ball with
it now. It would have been over a 200
mile plus trip for us to run it anywhere else around this area.
I also had to make room in my
shop for another project, my '28 Ford
Sedan....Oh Well!...and on we go!

Down and Dirty

Here is photo proof that I did
race it, and shortly thereafter
they closed the only dirt track
left in these parts, ending nearly 75
years of racing here in Thunder Bay.
The car went on to a very deserving
owner in Syracuse, New York, and
he still races it to this day. They
are very lucky to have a number of
tracks in his area that support
vintage dirt track racing.

Looks Fast standing still.....

Here is the first photo of #67
just before it hit the track a few
years ago. It was such a fun
project and something I had
to get out of my system for
years.

Canadian Lakehead Exhibition Track circa 1958

Here's an aerial view of our track which was in mid-town(Intercity). It gave way in later years to a huge golf dome and a Cineplex movie theatre. It was a half mile track with turn 2 bordering on a street and turn 3 and 4 along a river. Many jalopies climbed the street side ripping out yards of wooden fences and many others ended up in the drink at the other end. The fence was put up to stop onlookers from saving their 50 cents but the fence was never high enough as people would view the races from roof tops or their pickup trucks for free. Cheapskates or what!! The present city of Thunder Bay was actually 2 cities( Port Arthur and Fort William). They amalgamated in 1970 to form the new one larger city. To this day a 2 city rivalry still exists.

Typical #19 controversy

Here's another photo of one of my favorite drivers of the era #19 Louis Tocheri. Louis is the only one with a white drivers helmet in the picture. There was always some kind dispute with the judges, some staged for entertainment value and some for real, which consequently would cause a huge gathering at the spectators fence. Note the hundreds of fans that came out every Wednesday night for the incredibly great entertainment for about 50 cents for adults and two bits for kids. I rarely missed a race back then, with or without my Dad.

Dirt Track Jalopy

Here is a rare colour photo of Barry Kettering, a local driver taken in the mid 1950's. He was one of my personal favorites. He drove #47 for a few years then changed his number to #57. Barry was a great guy that went on to fame in the sprint car world in the US. Sadly he was killed in his sprint racer years ago. These guys were daredevils in their own right and as a kid I remember going to the local exhibition track to view all the excitement with my dad. My love of dirt track racing in the late '60's brought me to do a little racing myself and also to restore a vintage '32 Ford Modified dirt track car a few years ago....more photos to come.