Just Curious If They Racing Now

[SASPEEDRACER24]

Couldn't list all the drivers that I could have..Not Enough Space...If your driver is not up here tell me why. Also, what do you think about SAS having a race like that?

[Guest RandyBorlace]

put them on CC speedway with equal cars, and i would go with my uncle Buck Borlace.

[FryarFan]

Good poll!!

 

'Course ya know who I voted for.

 

I always thought this All-Star race was something that should have been done around the 25th anniversary last year.

 

And one other that would be a good bet would be Jimmy "Fireball" Finger.

 

 

Billy

[Tim]

I went with "Uncle" Slick!

[poorboy]

I would definitely have to go with "The Legend" Rick Rapp on this one. All those guys are great but there had to be a reason even Slick Yoemans had Rick Rapp working on his TIDA car the last couple years he drove it.

[NickHolt]

I gotta agree with poorboy. Rick Rapp did more with less car than anyone I have ever seen. When I was working with him on the 99 car, there wasn't a straight piece of roll cage in the car. It had been beat up pretty badly after several seassons running at CC and he took several hard licks at SAS too. But Rick worked on the suspension ALL the time. We tried lots of stuff and most of it worked. His engines were largely home built and rarely had a set of pistons that matched. Oh, they were all machined to perfection, but it was due to all his engine know-how and hard work that his engines ran so well.

 

But the true master of SAS will always be Freddy Fryar. Whenever he showed up, it was usually just a question of who was going to finish second..

 

Nick Holt

[SASPEEDRACER24]

Just curious does anyone remember who it was that broke the SAS track record in TIDA right after they repaved the track.. It was either in the early 90's or late 80's I think it was Slick Yeomans but cant be completely sure...

[racerjim2]

I think the actual track recoerd still stands back in the late 70's when the cars ran wider tires and any engine combonation times ranged in the high 17 second range .Steve Jung would know and Nic may remember what times were back then.After repaveing uner Frank Howell I think it was ether Tommy Grimes or Greg Davidson and the times were in the 18.2 or 18.3 range.

[Guest RandyBorlace]

SaSpeed, my grandpa thinks it was Greg Davidson.

[SASPEEDRACER24]

For some reason I remember it being a big race of some sort but I don't know if it was a TIDA race when that happened... I think I remember the car being red except for a all black or white hood? Does that help at all? It could be Davidson but I dunno?

[txtom]

As I remember, Jimmy Finger set the all time record at a 17.934 when he drove for Bierschwale. They also timed by hand held stop-watch, and at that time, a few eyebrows were raised about accuracy.

[HORSEPOWER]

I remember John O'Neal set a track record on the 3rd October fast with an 18.26 and John Kelly had an 18.27, times were some where in that area. The following year with ROMCO's new time responders or whatever they are called, T. Wade Welch had a fast time also. I think they also had more power. There was a #4 late model(looked like a dirt car) with an 18.18, but did not hang in during racing. Imagine if the track was repaved these times should be faster.

They should redo the back stretch, pull it out some with some banking, then there will be some top speeds.

[HoosierDaddy]

At the 3rd Octoberfast there was the #4 outlaw latemodel from Michigan, i think his name was Paul Jameson, who ran an 18.18. They inverted the top 6 that year, so he ran around sixth until the first yellow came out and then he pulled in was done for the night. That was a good race. John O'neal pitted for new tires with 50 to go, started at the back and was running second with 10 to go. Worked on Chris Davidson for all ten laps putting on a hell of a show if I remember right. Chris ended up holding on for the win.

[NickHolt]

txtom

 

I seem to recall that the 17.934 for Jimmy Finger was timed using the old timing light, not hand held watches. I may be wrong, but that's my recollection. I think there was some controversy since it was a Bierschwale car and it was Bierschwale's track.

 

And as I remember it, he was on the old gumball Firestones. Those tires stuck like glue until they got too hot..

 

Nick Holt

[HORSEPOWER]

I think that was the 4th October fast, O'Neal had a tire going down right b4 the break and had to pit, he won the 3rd October fast. He and John Kelly raced bumper to bumper, until lap traffic messed up that battle. I don't think he'll be here this year because they have the World Cup race on the same weekend at I-70.

 

Hey Nick, is that how "Fireball" got his name for setting that fast time?

[HORSEPOWER]

HOOSIERDADDY I think you were right, it was the 3rd, he won the 2nd October fast.

 

Just hope that race can attract more out of towners, but they need a purse.

[ups88john]

that kid in the #4 car was Paul James or something like that, he went to school in houston with me. That was an outlaw late model from up north, michigan or illinois somewhere up there. I believe the time was not official because of a rule violation. I remember when o'neal ran the 26 and kelly ran the 27, track seemed to be hooked up.

 

Big John

[txtom]

Hi Nick,

I seem to remember stop watches, but that was a long time ago. But you're right about the tires; do you remember all the crap they'd pick up just running through the pit area? I remember Freddy Fryar going out to the asphalt before putting on the qualifying rubber to keep them clean!

[HoosierDaddy]

yeah it was the 3rd octoberfast. Patrick Lawler won the first one in '97, Oneal won in '98 and C. Davidson in '99. Seems like Octoberfast aint the race it used to be when it started. Those first 3 years had about 35 super latemodels each year. And Big John your right, his name was Paul Jameson and that car ran with the outlaw latemodels up at Kalamazoo Speedway in michigan. I wish they could make Octoberfast as good as it was those first few years. If they had a $10,000 plus to win purse that would probably do it some good.

[top_shelf_12]

I thought Keith Riethmeyer (sp?) set the track record after the repaving in the early 90's. I thought he ran a 17.6. As far as the poll, is this a race now, or a race with all of these guys in their prime? The best I remember seeing in the past 23 years was probably Hagy. I was a little young to remember Rapp, memory starts about the time of Hagy and Yeoman, and Labonte was already in NASCAR and never saw Flyer race there. Also, Bean was in his twilight years when I can begin my memory span. So I guess I'll say George Hagy, but what about Brandon Bendele, how does he compare to this group or even Jason Oates, Audie Howe, and Pat Lane or even Steve Umscheid (I think his name was Steve)? Like I said, I'm a little young to remember most of these names, so I'm trying to compare them with the names I do know.

[FIRECREW32]

I don't know who would win they are all good drivers.If SAS would put on something like that I would do everything in my power to get up there to see it.

[Definitive]

George Hagy...hands down...he ran circles around the competition in the mid eighties...he ran a street stock in a latemodel 100 lapper one time...made it to second behind Brieten...ran the car so hard it blew a head gasket.

[NickHolt]

Yes, George was a very good shoe. Didn't he race Late Models at SAS in the early to mid 90's though?

 

However, the undisputed king of SAS was and is Freddy Fryar, the Beaumont Flyer. Unless he broke, he won.

 

Whenever he'd pull through the back gate every LM team in the place knew they'd be running for second place that night.

 

Nick Holt

[Definitive]

I heard his super series car in the mid-eighties was Robin McCall's old car...anyway...what Hagy did in the 90's was impressive yes but...watching him run around Kelly,Bean,Neal,Denman,Rapp,Riethmeyer,etc...in the 85-86 season's before he went off to Neil Bonnet's school was very impressive.I have a photo of his car being pushed from the winner's circle...it has no hood,left fender,right fender,nose piece,right door,right quarter panel...he wrecked,made up a lap,and beat Kelly to the line by half a car that night....and if I'm not mistaken,they were running 50 lappers counting yellow laps.I saw Rick Hagy last Saturday at SAS,he says George is still hanging panels on the Bill Davis cars...no racing though.

[Definitive]

Would any of you put Beaver Stelzig in that group of drivers?