econoLM15 Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 I think he came to Buffalo a few times in the early 80s. I was at boot Hill a few times and saw him. I noticed recently that a Billy Melton won the modified feature at the Motorplex in Tyler. There is a Alan Melton running there too. Is this Billy Jr running Tyler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted June 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Yeah , Billy is kin to Ronnie Bagley , I'm pretty sure they ar brother-in-laws . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted June 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 I was watching an ASCS race from earlier this year , I think it was on Vs. , and there was a Billy Melton in the feild . Billy had I know two , maybe three sons , so it might be one of them , I don't remember if any were named Billy . Billy would be on in his 50's now , I can't see him starting in the Sprints . I don't know what Billy and his bunch is up to now . A friend of mine knew Al Bagley well , and used to stop and talk to him to catch up on the local racing news , but Al died several years ago , so I don't hear anything anymore . Econo15 , what's this motorplex in Tyler ? I haven't heard of it . I wonder if it's the old Rosebowl . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econoLM15 Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Yeap, there calling it Texas D.I.R.T. Motorplex now. One of the ole boys that I used to race with, Ricky Braddock, is runnin' over there. Looks like Billy is still winning races. Thats good for the over 50 crowd. Show them young guns how its done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted June 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Ha ! Hell yeah . Old age and treachery wins out over youthful enthusiasm . I didn't even know if it was still open . A friend of mine has been running the IMCA mod class there , but it's been about 3 years or so since I've been out there or seen him . They keep it a secret , that's always been that tracks problem . They don't promote it enough , or at all . It could draw a good crowd if they did , Lonestar used to . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econoLM15 Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Heres the link to there site http://www.texasdmotorplex.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted June 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 I just googled it up myself , thanks anyway though . I noticed the Ark-La-Tex winged mods are gonna be there Sept. 6th . I'm gonna have to try and get out there . They have even had the Southern Thunder Sprints there . Those SOB's ! It's right here in my home town and I haven't seen a single ad about it . That could have been a great track . It was first built as a big half-mile (it's been cut down at least twice that I know of ), they were intending on running the USAC champ dirt cars there . Guys like AJ and Mario were still running them then . It's a damn shame it never saw it's potential , kinda like Lonestar . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garrettracecars(grc) Posted June 30, 2009 Report Share Posted June 30, 2009 in post #36, the boady lanier picture, does anybody remember if this is an a-fram or streight axle car? the picture looks like it is an a-fram car. wood like to know for sure cause i`m going to build a model of it for my collection. had hearded it was a 340c.i. motor, was this the right motor? any help wood sure help out an does anyone have any other pictures of any other mods he drove? thanks guys grc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97car Posted July 1, 2009 Report Share Posted July 1, 2009 I am pretty sure it was a a-frame car, I think it was a smiley car, and I am not sure, but I think JB Cook wound up with it for a while after Boadie died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted July 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 My guess is it was an A-frame car . Some more photo's of old modifieds . All from Boothill . Don't know who this is , but I'm guessing John Bankston . He's the only one other that Pop Ingals that I remember running number 8 at Boothill , and I'm pretty sure it's not Pops . Not sure about this one either , but I think it's Henry Robinson . I'm pretty sure this is Johnny Vaught . Don't know who these are . But this might be Burt Chandler . I can't remember what number he ran . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97car Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Have to love the old grooved drag slicks. I wonder how long they held up before replacing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garrettracecars(grc) Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 the 8x is the late joe sturdivent. this car was one of the last cars he drove. his back was giving him trouble by now after many years of driving. he builted a few cars an sold them to a few people then he an paul white got together an built the #1 car an won many track champ. here at h.o.t. until the wing cars disapered. a picture of the 1 car is in the first part of this topic. the 1 car was sold to chuck daniel. his dad, the late tom daniel an chuck were going to run the car at bellmead speedway as the wings were trying to make a come back when tom pasted away. car is setting in there shop wasting away. it is just down the road from my house. a fine pice of equment there just setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
econoLM15 Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 97, Mike Hathcock had some of those old tires that never did wear out. They finally dry rotted layin' around outside the shop in the sun. Dzu, that 8x could possibly be Joe Sturdivant out of Waco. These are great pics man, I love these old cars. How about the nose on the 18 car. I don't remember seeing one like that before. Is that an exclusive East Texas modified nose? The 1 car, an old Vega body would probably be harder to find than a Camero body. The Ark-La-Tex Winged Modifieds will be at Boot hill this Fri. and Sat. That ought to be some good racin'. We are running tonight at 85 Speedway. I'm not completely recovered from last Sat. but I'm goin'. Like ole Ben Johnson said " The worst part of gettin' old is GETTIN' OLD". econo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakdad Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree........................... His dad was the best ever........................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted July 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 Dzu, that 8x could possibly be Joe Sturdivant out of Waco. These are great pics man, I love these old cars. How about the nose on the 18 car. I don't remember seeing one like that before. Is that an exclusive East Texas modified nose? The 1 car, an old Vega body would probably be harder to find than a Camero body. I'll take you and garrettracecars word on it that it's Joe Sturdivant . I was only guessing on it being Bankston , but come to think of it , every car I ever saw him in was red . I remember the name Joe Sturdivant . Wasn't he still running in the early 80's ? I don't know about the nose on that 18 car . I don't remember ever seeing one like it . I noticed it has some sort of extended hood scoop too . I wonder if it was an attempt to not only get some front wing , but some cool air to the carb . That's a pretty unique front wing thing on Sturdivants car too . And many a Vega gave it's all in the name of dirt track racing . I remember you used to see a lot of Corvairs , and some Mustangs too . At least around here . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97car Posted July 2, 2009 Report Share Posted July 2, 2009 The 8x even says Joe Sturdivant, he still raced in the 80's, he had a neat looking modified then also, I am not sure who built the car, but it looked like the same type of chassis that James Burrows had back then which I think was a chassis by Skip Walker, Joe still ran a late model a few times in the 80s also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfbarnes Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Here's some 8mm shots from Boot Hill from the early 70's, some old mods, winged and none, and some sprinters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted July 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Thanks . Some great footage . But those were Super Modifieds , not Modifieds . Was that a rear-engine car I saw right after the 6 minute mark ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfbarnes Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Actually back in those days we ran in an alphabet soup kinda deal. It was back before the skinny cars, as we called them, broke out in their own class. Boot Hill use to just throw us out on the track together and have at it. They didn't call it Boot Hill for nothing. It was like the shoot out at the OK Corral quite often. Those are just a series of short clips of home movies, that survived the years. Thousands of feet of footage perished years ago, before I had sense enough to get someone to digitize it. That little montage covers about ten years worth of stuff. All classes, but I am pretty sure those Deuces and sedans you see in the mixed group are Mods. That Hite Super (rear job) you see in the six minute mark is from around '73. That was a super race around May I think. I think that was Jimmy Pledger driving that Hite pavement Super with dirt tires on it. It had a BBC in it, and was bad fast, but had a severe push on the dirt tracks, Imagine that, running about 60% left side and close to 70% to the rear. It's a wonder it turned left at all. Made a lot of laps at that track, and it never failed to have that bump going into turn one, that always made you second guess your setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted July 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 OK , I could see it being an "open" class race . We were discussing Supers at another historic forum awhile back , and we agreed it's hard to tell a Super from a regular mod just by looking at it most of the time . The evolution of Super Mods is a pretty interesting story , along with the evolution of regular Modifieds . I came to the conclusion that modifieds were pretty much always there , coming out of the stock class , and the Supers sort of evolved out of them . Sort of a "modified modified" . So I wouldn't really say the modifieds broke off into a class of their own , but that the Supers did . Or that they just sort of seperated off after awhile . I remember at our local track a fellow showed up once with a Super , and wanted to run with the Modifieds . He was actually just there to shake down his new car . The track officials decided it was close enough to our mods that they would let him run , but he'd have to start on back of the A main . The Mod drivers threw a fit and said they'd load up and go home if they let him run . They ended up just letting him make some hot laps with it during intermission . That's all he really wanted anyway . Someone was wondering what happened to the dirt supers . What happened was they were just absorbed into the Sprint class . I think it was Ralph Capitani who said that the modern winged sprint is a combination of Super mods and Sprints . That's a Hite super huh ? Bill Hite built some good ones . Here's some photo's of an old Hite Mod being saved after years laying in the weeds . Pretty cool , I thought . I'd like to see that thing run . http://public.fotki.com/alabamaracingphoto..._supermodified/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakdad Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 What an awesome find!! Looks like it was parked in a vacant lot and look what happened in 35 to 40 years. How do you find stuff like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97car Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Watching the video clip, it looked like all of them were pretty competitive together or just that the other cars were giving it all they had. Like JOhnny Doyle told me bach in those days you brought all you had with you and hoped you had enough to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakdad Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 Yeah, they used to call it "Open Competition". We called it "Run What You Brung"................................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted July 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 I don't know where you find that kind of stuff , but I wish I could . Restoring something like that would be more fun than racing to me , at least now . I had a chance to get an old Nance Super just a couple of years ago . I stopped by my Uncles car lot , and sitting in the back was a Coupe style Nance super . I was stunned to see the old girl , and asked him where he found it . He's a wheeler dealer sort , and aquired it in some of his horse trading . He said the fellow told him they race them and someone would want to buy it . When I told him that car was at least 25 to 30 years past it's sell by date , he kinda got a funny look and said "Well , I'll do something with it" . I got to thinking about it later and figured I could get it cheap . But when I called him back that evening , he had already carried it to the auction and got rid of it . I'm still kicking myself for letting it get away . Here's some comments on that Hite super , including some history on it . Maybe someone remembers it . http://public.fotki.com/alabamaracingphoto...ewcomments.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dzu-Fast Posted July 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 Do they still run the Cheaters Day race ? It was an "open competition" . I think it was at Hussets Speedway in South Dakota . They say there used to be some crazy looking stuff show up there . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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