torquetube Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 i was just a kid when i saw this car get spun , i saw a trail of fuel spew out from the back of the car and it lite up and burned back to it. I think it was 73?? It was just like in the movies, Wayne climbed out the top of the cage and ran as it went up. After it burned down a tow truck was able to get a the hook on it , they pulled it down the front straight away and off the track by where the cars and tow riggs come in, and let it burn out there. i was 13 then, i moved to iowa that fall , came back in 74,to see my relatives, and saw this car now #22, being driven by Tommy Johnson. He won the Heat and trophy. Corky Harris was the flagman, Johnson junmped on the start of the feature and Corky put him in the back. Tommy drove all the way to the lead, and won it, Corky came down and congratulated him......it was so cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txracinfireman Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 Sydney Clark also drove the car, I think after Tommy Johnson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 It appears to be the same car Waldo Harper was driving at Meyer Speedway in Houston, around '70 and '71. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byron Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 To add to this story; Louis Wusterhausen also owned and drove this car before his untimely death in an ARCA race at Texas World Speedway, this was before Clark and Johnson raced it. I think Clark had the car before Tommy Johnson, Tommy Raced it several years on dirt and asphalt. When the car was recovered it was still painted in Tommy's colors and is being restored to it's original condition as Kenny Weld's #91. I had a cousin that worked for Western Electric here in Houston and he and some of his coworkers were sent to Dallas for training, my cousin stayed over one Friday just so he could go to The Bowl and see what all the hoopla was about. It was on this night that he was in attendance, he thought it was a terrible shame that they weren't able to put out the fire. thanks; Byron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGB911 Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Those lines are unmistakable! The car in the pictures is a copy of the Mechanical Rabbit roadster built by Don Brown "The Prince of Darkness". Don built 3 cars, One for "Little Joe" Saldana, one for Greg Weld and one for himself. Little Joe dominated midwest racing with his and Greg went onto winning the USAC Championship with his and Don won a few features with his although driving was really not his cup of tea, He was not bad but compared to Joe & Greg he came in second. I know somebody pulled some moulds off of Greg's body and Grant King made some copies that were very sucessfull. The Original Sprint Car power steering originated on these beautiful cars and Tommy Lee ,You know "Lee Power Steering" worked with Don on the original units which he would latter mas produce. What a beautifull race car. Dan Ruth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 I was told several years ago Waldo bought the car from Kenny Weld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGB911 Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 I was told several years ago Waldo bought the car from Kenny Weld. The car in the pics is most likely the #91 car Greg and Kenny built. The three original cars that Don Brown built in North Hollywood California were all the same as far as the chassis main rails and the nose was the only fiberglass part. The roll bars and subsiquent cages were all different and set each car apart from the other. I was a teenager when these cars were built in a shop shared with my father and I swept the floors every Saturday. These cars were works of art and the people whom called Don Brown a friend witnessed a "Master" Long live the "Prince of Darkness" Dan Ruth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliottfan Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 i was just a kid when i saw this car get spun , i saw a trail of fuel spew out from the back of the car and it lite up and burned back to it. I think it was 73?? It was just like in the movies, Wayne climbed out the top of the cage and ran as it went up. After it burned down a tow truck was able to get a the hook on it , they pulled it down the front straight away and off the track by where the cars and tow riggs come in, and let it burn out there. i was 13 then, i moved to iowa that fall , came back in 74,to see my relatives, and saw this car now #22, being driven by Tommy Johnson. He won the Heat and trophy. Corky Harris was the flagman, Johnson junmped on the start of the feature and Corky put him in the back. Tommy drove all the way to the lead, and won it, Corky came down and congratulated him......it was so cool Saw Wayne driving this roadster as late as 98 at Dev Bowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadster22 Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 I saw this picture and saw the signature, but actually that's my dad, Sidney Clark, driving the Weld roadster in 1971, my dad always wore a open face helmet, Wayne wore a full helmet. My dad was let go toward the end of 1971 and Wayne McNally took over driving. Wayne was driving the car when it caught fire. Rueben Brunson bought the car in 1972 and rehired my dad to drive it in 1972 and 1973. Rueben sold the car to Tommy Johnson during the 1974 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadster22 Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 I posted a picture of my Dad, Sidney Clark in the Weld roadster in 1971, that's my older brother Richard next to the car. You can also see that he was 9th in points on May 1, 1971 in the roadster. Ten to one there were probably some left over pictures of Dad in the #10 roadster that the photographer was still selling since it was still in the same season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadster22 Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Here's a picture of Dad, Sidney Clark, in the Weld roadster in 1973. The number changed to #22 in 1972, it was still white but in 1973 it was orange. It is my understanding that yes it was one of three "Mechanical Rabbits" that Don Brown, Greg Weld and Joe Saldana built. This one was Greg Weld's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadster22 Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Wayne McNally driving the Weld roadster at the end of the 1971 season on an asphalt track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Love the 1st-hand information, Roadster22! Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97car Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 That's my dad 11th in points. Lot of names I remember any could win on a given night those were racers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.