Spooky #21x

Rounder, yes that was my dad that ran the #21x. Jackie Fleming was his boss at the time and got him into racing back in 1967. Bobby

Mike, Thanks for the response. Unfortunately, i was really way too young ( 2,3,4 years old) back then to remember any memories firsthand when my dad raced with your Grandfather as i have been going by what my mom told me. But, my mom did keep a couple of racing scrapbooks of my dads racing career and since she kept everything related to it, there is a story ( with picture of your Grandfather looking over his race car in it too. ) about your Grandfather in it from the Lubbock Avalanche Journal newspaper. Unfortunately, right now i do not have any way to download it into the computer and then upload it here. It was a nice story on both your Grandparents which told how they got interested in racing, who they helped get into racing ( if i remember correctly mentioned my dads name too as shortly there developed sort of a racing rivalry between the two but that is a story in and of itself too !! LOL ), etc.. My mom kept a lot of the programs back then and i think remember seeing a few pictures of your dads race car in them. Wish i could of gave you some more information but i was a little too young back then and definitely would of wished i was older back then as those were some wild and crazy times !! Bobby

I wish it would happen again too. But unfortunately, they, just like all the tv stations are obsessed with Texas Tech sports and continue to fail to see that Lubbock does not revolve only around Texas Tech sports. Ironically, channels 28/13 were at West Texas Raceway this past Friday night doing some filming there but i have yet to see anything about it on either station so far. Both the Lubbock AJ and all 4 tv stations are missing out on a lot of stories coming from there that would be perfect filler material for their sports and sportscasts that could be used anytime during the week and would be a win-win situation for everyone involved. Bobby

The racing here West Texas Raceway has been great so far this year!! totally remodeled racing facility looks great and my favorite improvement was they widen the racetrack another 15 feet all the way around the racetrack which has improved the quality of the racing !! Because of the wider track now the "big" wrecks have reduced down to only 3 or 4 car pileups so far this season !! It has helped the Sprint Cars out also as there have been no "rollovers" so far this season (the Sprints ran last night-May 12th-but due to health problems i was not able to go to last nights program for the first time this season unfortunately so , if there were no "rollovers" last night that would mean last night would be the 3rd straight program the Sprints have run so far this season where everyone was able to stay on there roofs which probally would of not happen had the track not been widen another 15 feet.) along with some exciting racing thruout all the classes ( The USMTS "Main" Event was definitely a thrill to watch as an example!! I can hardly wait till the ASCS National Tour for the Sprint Cars come back to West Texas Raceway in June as there will will be another "exciting" show to say the least !! ) including the rebirth of the Street Stock class. There were many other improvements made to West Texas Raceway and you can tell there is a different "vibe" there full of excitement and hope for the future there too!! So far this season, the size of the weekly crowds in the spectator grandstands has tripled from years past and the spectator parking lot almost has been completely full every single week so far this season which is something to see also !! And that is not even including the "excitement" on the racetrack too !! 2017 definitely has been an "exciting" season so far at West Texas Raceway for many reasons !! Bobby

Going back thru the scrapbook i seen some pictures of those cars you are talking about now. I do not really know why they were called "B" modifieds here unfortunately. I am curious on how many of these different built cars were Lubbock/ area cars and how many were out-of-region built cars. Bobby

I had never heard the supermodifieds called B modifieds before. I always thought the word supermodified was used before the word of Sprint car came around as i thought both basically meant the same thing anyway. Bobby

Nice list Flatblack 84 !! It is amazing how many of those drivers on that list i can still remembering watching since i started going back out there regularly back in 1983. Ted Howard's car number was # 90. I do not know the car numbers of the other drivers though. Bobby

Howdy, Bobby! And you're right, you did give me those programs several years ago, and I still take them out and look at them occasionally. Thank you again for that generous gift. Those programs are important to me. And I certainly remember your dad. Was his nickname Spooky? I could have sworn Spooky was one of the Norvells and that he drove a white No. 26. Man, that was a long time ago, and my memory ain't what it used to be !! Thanks, no problem !! Here is the story on how my dad and "Spooky" came about. Back in 1966 my dad was working for Jackie Flemons at Southwest Wheels here in Lubbock and had already started racing at Arena Park Raceway that year. During that year he took my dad ( David) to the races and my dad was immediately hooked !! So, in 1967 my dad started racing too. His boss, Jackie Flemins was racing a white-colored dodge ( car # 20 ) with a Casper the friendly ghost cartoon on it. So, my dad got a 51 or 52 white-colored Ford and used the number 21x and decided to put a Spooky cartoon on it ( because of the comic books LOL !! ) and every thing was going good till my dad started beating his own boos on the racetrack a little too much !! LOL They would end up being friends again !! Not related to the Norvells but it would not be hard to get confused back in those days as a lot of those cars were painted white and real similar ( perfect example would of been my dads car and his boss's car as they only way you could tell them apart was the cartoon characters on their cars !! ) especially in the Junker class !! LOL Bobby Thanks, Bobby. Lots of fascinating stuff there. Is your pappy still into racing? Also, do you remember who drove a white, No. 16 B-modified back in the early- and mid-seventies? Outside of Wolfman, that may have been my favorite car out there. And do you recall those great duels between Marvin Fillip, Don Burke, Johnnie Foster and J.D. Hughes? When those guys got together it was a friggin show! I doubt there's ever been more entertaining racing anywhere. Unfortunately, my dad passed away from lung cancer back in 1984 ( had he not more than likely today i would been on the racetrack instead of sitting up in the spectator grandstands all these years ! LOL ). Due to me being that young back in the early to mid-1970's i do not remember too much about other drivers or their car numbers back then unfortunately cause today i wish i did !! I would of loved to remember those drivers you mentioned raced ( Although i think i might of seen JD Hughes race there if he was still racing back in the 1984 to 1986 period in the semi-late class but not sure of it though ) the racetrack has produced tremendous racing over the years and i would of love to seen them and a lot of the other drivers back then race too !! Bobby

Thank you Nick for this forum and keeping it clean and moderated as i follow other racing forums that are not moderated and they have been going downhill due to personal attacks, agendas, etc.. Bobby

Howdy, Bobby! And you're right, you did give me those programs several years ago, and I still take them out and look at them occasionally. Thank you again for that generous gift. Those programs are important to me. And I certainly remember your dad. Was his nickname Spooky? I could have sworn Spooky was one of the Norvells and that he drove a white No. 26. Man, that was a long time ago, and my memory ain't what it used to be !! Thanks, no problem !! Here is the story on how my dad and "Spooky" came about. Back in 1966 my dad was working for Jackie Flemons at Southwest Wheels here in Lubbock and had already started racing at Arena Park Raceway that year. During that year he took my dad ( David) to the races and my dad was immediately hooked !! So, in 1967 my dad started racing too. His boss, Jackie Flemins was racing a white-colored dodge ( car # 20 ) with a Casper the friendly ghost cartoon on it. So, my dad got a 51 or 52 white-colored Ford and used the number 21x and decided to put a Spooky cartoon on it ( because of the comic books LOL !! ) and every thing was going good till my dad started beating his own boos on the racetrack a little too much !! LOL They would end up being friends again !! Not related to the Norvells but it would not be hard to get confused back in those days as a lot of those cars were painted white and real similar ( perfect example would of been my dads car and his boss's car as they only way you could tell them apart was the cartoon characters on their cars !! ) especially in the Junker class !! LOL Bobby

Those were some wild and crazy times back then as much as i can remember being so young at that time !! My dad drove either a 51 or 52 Ford with a modified Chrysler carburetor on it and ran on jet fuel. During the figure-8 races he ran a railroad tie as a front bumper till track officials made him take it off as every time he would come into contact in the intersection it would total the other car. From 1967 to 1972 he only ran with a single belt in his car. Thank god he put in a 4-point harness for 1973 as on opening day something on the right front of his car ( the ball joint is what i was told ) broke coming out of turn # 2 and went end-over-end on the back straightaway almost all the way to turn # 3 !! Fortunately, he was not injured but i bet my moms nerves were shot !! LOL Even though i was there i do not remember it as i was not quite 8 years old yet. Back around 2006 or 2007 waiting to get into the races at Lady Luck Speedway ( now known as West Texas Raceway ) , i was talking to a guy ( whose name i do not remember right now ) who also witnessed Johnny Huskeys wreck and told me that Johnny Huskey suffered a fatal heart attack before hitting the wall coming out of turn # 4. He also told me about Johnny Huskey slumping over in his car before hitting the wall. He also told me about the graphic details of the wreck. My mom and myself were in the east spectator grandstands when it happened ( my dad was in the pits getting ready to race.) and i was not quite 5 years old at the time when it happened and do not remember any of it is more than likely a good thing as it gave my mom nightmares just thinking about it every time the Super Modifieds would race. Years after my dad stopped racing i tried to get my mom to come back out to the races to at least see our cousins race and almost had her convinced till they started running Sprint Cars again back in 1991 and i did not have any luck after that as she would pass away just a few years later. Yeah, Sleepy Nelson passed away a few years ago i forgot when though. Speaking of Jim Culpepper i saw his son Jason race His modified here in Lubbock on a regular basis ( i remember this as he had that dog food sponser on his car which i can not remember at this time. If i remember correctly the last time Jason Culpepper raced here in Lubbock he ended up getting turned over out of turn # 2 over at the former Lubbock Motor Speedway ( as it was known back then ). Definitely plenty of exciting times back then that is for sure !! Bobby

First off, sorry to here what happened to your dad. My mom kept a scrapbook of my dads racing years and she did mention about what happen to your dad as 1970 was a very rough year here locally with Johnny Huskey being killed on the racetrack on opening day back in 1970 also. But there was plenty of good times there too !! During the Arena Park Raceway days, i can remember some of my dads racing ( the figure - 8 races mostly ), the pits still being on the west side of the racetrack, the Joey Chitwood Sr. show ( i still can remember a lot of that night !! LOL ), the $th of July fireworks shows, etc. !! Even after the racetrack changed promoters/owners, and briefly was a paved racetrack for a few seasons, we would still go out there every once in a while to watch the races. Who can forget Hershel Cook as ( until the very last time i remember him racing here was back in 2010. ) i think he was already into his 58th year of racing back in 2010. This is going back even before Arena Park Raceway first opened up back in 1966. With the exception of a few years ( 1979 to 1982 ) i have still been going back there regularly ( majority of the time as a spectator and a few times to help pit for my cousins on their race cars ) !! Bobby

FlatBlack84, i am not related to the Norvells ( Although Bobby Norvell is currently involed in helping getting the old Lady Luck Speedway up and running again in 2017 which is now known as West Texas Raceway. ) and my dad ( David Cagle ) raced at Arena Park Raceway ( Junkers class then later on briefly in the Sportsman class when the Junker class was dropped. ) from 1967 to 1973 on a regular basis and then on rare cases till 1978 when he retired for good. We have met before as i gave you some spare programs i had from those early days. I am excited that the track is opening back up this year after being closed for 4 too long seasons !! LOL Bobby

If i remember correctly, the track converted back to dirt ( i think ) for the start of the 1978 racing season and stayed dirt the rest of the way till Lady Luck Speedway closed for good after the 2012 racing season.

Unfortunately, Arena Park Raceway ( aka Lady Luck Speedway ) closed down for good after the 2012 racing season after 47 seasons or so. I hear there are mud drags being run there now as of last year and this year. The last year (2012) they were running Pure Stocks, Street Stocks, IMCA Stock cars, IMCA Sportsmods, IMCA Modifieds, and every other week (305) Sprint Cars. it is hard to believe it now has been almost 4 years already since Lady Luck Speedway shut down. I spent almost my entire life around the track watching my dad race there in the late 1960's - early 1970's all the way to the very end of the final season back in 2012 !! A lot of memories for myself from there !! Bobby