Who the devil ARE these Crazy Characters

[Budman]

Junior,

 

Sounds like maybe you were playing fast and loose with the rules with that fuel additive. It'd be ashame if you had to give all that money back!

 

 

I don't remember the track at Round Rock. I do remember one that ran for a year or two off the corner of Allred Lane (now Ben White) and S. Lamar. Remember that one?

[supertx]

Budman

 

What a great picture of Billy. Look me up at the SCS race at thunderhill i have a pretty good story about Billy just not a good enough typer to put it on here .

[shracey]

By the way I am Buddy Yantis Sr's grandaughter, and it looks like my Papa (Buddy Yantis) to me.

 

Tracey Teer ss #2 thr bt sis

[Budman]

Tracey,

 

I'm sure Buddy was there that night, just not in the picture. I watched your grand-dad drive for so many, many years. What a great one he was!

[shracey]

ok Budman, I am wrong. My Nana (Millie Yantis) just saw the picture and said that it does kinda look like papa, but its not. She told me who it was and I don't remember who she said, but it was the same name you said it was. Dang, working for Yantis Automotive will make anyone forget stuff. Now I know why my papa would forget stuff.

 

tracey teer/thr /#2 /ss/ bt sis

[Budman]

A merry, happy and safe holiday season to the Yantis/Teer family from all of us. Please pass it along to them.

[jakdad]

REPLY TO ALL:

 

Car #2 - - - (the rest of the story)

 

The car was built in Houston in the late fifties I think. It was built by Tony Foyt for his son ..... some kid nobody ever heard of who went by the initials A.J., for when he was in town in Houston to drive at Meyers Speedway. By 1960 the kid was driving full time up in the midwest somewhere, so Tony sold the car to Billy Wade.

I think Billy made up the story about Tony building that car and AJ financing it. Mr. white said Danny Burke built it and it was financed by Joseph Meyer of Meyer Speedway. I believe it because Meyer Speedway was built for Billy Wade. Mr. Meyer wanted to promote Billy to the big time. Billy made the big time and sadly lost his life all to soon.

[jakdad]

Ricci Ware in the 3 ???????????????????

[Budman]

That's the wonderful part about these magic boxes we are now able to sit in front of. A lot of those old false rumors that got turned to "fact" over the many decades can finally be corrected. That's a big part of what I love about this History Section.

 

The only part left to the puzzle about that famous 2 car is to get a picture of it on here with Billy in it in Houston.

 

Another false rumor that got told as fact in Austin, and I thought for decades the flagman in Houston had gotten killed around '62. I didn't find out until recently as you know, that was not the case, I'm glad to hear that, even if its 45 years later!

[jakdad]

Yes, I would like to see the pics when Billy still had the car.

The car was complete then, prior to BW adjusting it .

I'll go out on a limb here and guess that Mr. White won more races in it than Billy Wade.

[texastracker]

I spent some time with Bill White last night. Keith won the 40 lap Sport-Mod race @ Cowtown Speedway. The Full Modified (IMCA type) ran a 100 lap race. It's an annual event there, called the "Topless 100". It's not that the drivers take the top half of their driving suits off, but they remove the roof!! Just in case someone might misunderstand about the meaning of "Topless". Some are sicker than others you know? Just Kidding!! The 100 lap-per was the best I have seen. Troy Taylor led lap 1-92, then Gorge White (Geo) took over. 4 cars were on the lead lap and White and Taylor were closing on them at the checkered.

 

But best of all was the time spend with the Great Bill White. I was in question about a Super-modified that he ran for a short time in the mid 70"s. The old car didn't look like much and he wasn't too sure where it came from, but when he and Joe Smith put a L-88 427 in that puppy, the left front rarely touched the ground. I have one pic of the car but it is too poor to post. It's a Polaroid and was taken at night without good lighting.

[RETrott]

Yes, I would like to see the pics when Billy still had the car.

The car was complete then, prior to BW adjusting it .

I'll go out on a limb here and guess that Mr. White won more races in it than Billy Wade.

 

Jim, the way I remember, Joseph F. Meyer was a real race fan and started construction of the 1/2 mile track on Hwy 90 @ Blue Ridge Rd (S. Main @ Hillcroft) in about '56. I'm not sure when it was completed, but opened for a USAC Sprint Car race in late '59. Race won by A J Foyt Jr, with Parnelli Jones 2nd after qualifying on the pole. With the weekly Modified & Stock Car races being run on the 1/4 mile Playland Speedway, apparently the track started running Roadster Races for some weekly events on Thursday nights in '60. I understand that some/most of the local cars were coupes running at Playland Speedway without the tops for the Roadsters at Meyer Speedway. However many features were ran in the Roadster Class, it is my belief that they were all won by Car 2 driven by Billy Wade. To my knowledge, the Roadster Class was discontinued after the '60 season. Also, Playland Speedway discontinued weekly races after the '60 season. The Modified Stock Cars running at Playland Speeway were mostly '32-34' coupes with Chevy V8s. With the switch to weekly Modified Stock Car races at Meyer Speedway in '61, the rules required use of '37 or newer cars. This of course required many new cars being built with possibly a few cars just changing bodies. Most of the cars showed up with full bodies except possibly of Bud/Tim Cates 2 car driven the first 1/2 season by Billy Wade, and the 55 car owned/driven by Buddy Evans. At about mid season, the 55 car became the 53 car driven by Billy Wade, but I'm not sure of the new owner. The Cates 2 car was then driven by Charlie Schild. I think the 55/53 car was a new build, but the 2 car may have been an old Playland Speedway car with an updated ('36 ?) shortened & narrowed Ford body. The 55/53 car of course was a '37 chevy that was shortened and narrowed, and fast. By the '62 season, most of the cars, if not all were newly built '37/'38 chevy coupes with the shrunk bodies. The beauty of these cars was the maintaining of the original shape. The 5 car, owned and driven by M J Burton and the 25 car, owned by L S Garner and driven by Charlie Schild, were the cream of the crop in '62. After about '65, fewer and fewer new Modified Stocks as they were called, were being built. The trend was towards Stock Cars and Super Modified Cars. The Modified Stocks more or less faded away in the late 60s/early 70s.

[RETrott]

I was thinking that Billy Wade drove the orange #53 in Houston.

Being pretty young in the 50s, I'll try to post what I remember. Admittedly, I was a fan of a competitor of Billy Wade's in those days. From what I recall, Billy Wade drove a red Supermodified/Modified Stock Car #53 at Playland Speedway, 1/4 mile paved, in the mid/late 50s. In '59, the 1st race of the season, a beautiful green #53 Supermodified/Modified driven by Billy Wade won the feature. The next week, the #53 Modified was orange and stayed that way thru '59/'60. These Supermodified/Modified Stock Cars were mostly '32-'34 coupes, primarily Fords with Chevy V8s. In '60, Meyer Speedway, 1/2 mile paved, started a Roadster Modified Car class, and Billy Wade drove a yellow #2 Roadster Modified in these events, winning the championship in a fresh built car. The Meyer Speedway Roadster Modified class discontinued after the '60 season and a new/updated Modified Stock Car class was started at Meyer Speedway in '61 and Playland Speedway discontinued operations. The Modified driven at Playland by Billy was apparently not deemed compatible for the updated class at Meyer. That's my guess, but I'm not sure. Billy started the '61 season in a '37(?) Ford bodied red and white #2 Modified, owned by Bud/Tim Cates. About mid season, the owned/driven by Buddy Evans newly built body size reduced '37 Chevy Modified #55, painted orange and white was purchased for Billy Wade to drive and the # was changed to 53. Billy Wade was the '61 Meyer Speedway Modified Stock Car champion. Billy was very competitive in this car against a great field of cars/drivers in '62, but missed some races running NASCAR events and could not take the points lead away from M J Burton. Missing races or not, Billy Wade would have had a tough time with M J Burton in '62 for the season championship. Billy Wade was truly a great racecar driver, but so was M J Burton. As for the #2 Roadster Modified, I was unable to attend the '60 Roadster Modified races and never saw that car driven Billy Wade. In '63, Billy Wade was racing in NASCAR GN/CUP full time when Meyer Speedway held the 1st Liberty Bell 300 Super Modified Car race on July 4th. The #2 car that was raced as a Roadster Modified in '60 was entered as a Super Modified, but I don't recall the driver. Bill White was in the race and led several laps in an actual Sprint Car, but did not win due to mechanical problems, I believe. The # 2 car (Super Modified?) pictured at what appears to me to be the Austin Speedway (Speedorama?) and driven by Bill White appears to me to be the same as the #2 Roadster Modified Car.

[Budman]

That would be correct RETrott. In the photo below, look closely at the left rear upright of the cage, just to the left of the filler cap. There is a joint there. The cage on this car could be unbolted and replaced with a single rear roll bar, allowing it to be run as a roadster.

[RETrott]

REPLY TO GINGERBREADMAN:

 

#43 - No, not Ricky Ware. He drove #550 (of course), but that was a year or two later.

#3 - No, not Buddy Rackley, nor even Buddy Evins from Houston.

 

Funny, my first name is Buddy. These guys were my namesake. They started a feature one night with Buddy Jergins and Buddy Yantis from SA, Buddy Evans and Buddy Rackley from Houston, and Bud Simpson from Austin, all on the same starting grid.

 

Buddy Rackley went through the fence at the north end one night. Tore up his car, but he walked away. I think he landed about halfway to Bergstrom field. Heck, I think even came up as a blip on their radar.

Could you describe the cars being driven in the event by Buddy Rackley and Buddy Evans? I watched them both racing Modified Stock Cars in Houston during the 50s/60s.

[Budman]

Wow, this goes way back. I'm a little fuzzy on this one, but as best I can recall .......................

 

Seems like Buddy Evans drove a red #55. I think Rackley's was a red/white #5, but could be wrong on that one. Specific details about the cars ............. I don't remember, I saw lots and lots of those things. They came from all over, in all manner of configurations.

 

Some of those cars would be raced on asphalt on Friday night in Austin and be raced the next night on dirt somewhere else. Some would come from Abilene/San Angelo, a lot from San Antonio, some from Houston, and on occasion 1 or 2 from Waco.

 

Depending on what year, on a typical Friday night .........

 

Evans, Wade, Rackley, Starr from Houston

Niedecken, Charles Johnson, Clyde (Papa) Johnson, Robert Polk, Bubba Cowan, Marvin Fillip out of Abilene/ San Angelo.

 

Buddy Jerkins, Johnny Doyle, Don Fowler, Buddy Yantis ........ and several others out of San Antonio.

Waldo and Bud Simpson out of Austin.

 

Bill White out of Temple.

 

I'm sure there are plenty more I've left out, but this list should give you a pretty good idea.

[HiTech]

Wow, this goes way back. I'm a little fuzzy on this one, but as best I can recall .......................

 

Seems like Buddy Evans drove a red #55. I think Rackley's was a red/white #5, but could be wrong on that one. Specific details about the cars ............. I don't remember, I saw lots and lots of those things. They came from all over, in all manner of configurations.

 

Some of those cars would be raced on asphalt on Friday night in Austin and be raced the next night on dirt somewhere else. Some would come from Abilene/San Angelo, a lot from San Antonio, some from Houston, and on occasion 1 or 2 from Waco.

 

Depending on what year, on a typical Friday night .........

 

Evans, Wade, Rackley, Starr from Houston

Niedecken, Charles Johnson, Clyde (Papa) Johnson, Robert Polk, Bubba Cowan, Marvin Fillip out of Abilene/ San Angelo.

 

Buddy Jerkins, Johnny Doyle, Don Fowler, Buddy Yantis ........ and several others out of San Antonio.

Waldo and Bud Simpson out of Austin.

 

Bill White out of Temple.

 

I'm sure there are plenty more I've left out, but this list should give you a pretty good idea.

buddy you need to write a book ..before you forget more of this history ......not many poeple left that knows what you know ...

[Budman]

O/T,

 

Rodlea who gets on here from time to time has a far better memory of all that from that era than I do. Even better, he kept a scrap book of clippings and pictures from back then.

 

RETrot,

Here's a question for you from that early 60's era. I remember an orange and white car #10 super-mod that ran out of Houston. He would run Austin on Friday night and Meyer on Saturday nights. It was a good looking car. I can't remember the driver's name. Can you or Rodlea help me out?

 

Does the name Willis ring a bell?

[jakdad]

O/T,

 

Rodlea who gets on here from time to time has a far better memory of all that from that era than I do. Even better, he kept a scrap book of clippings and pictures from back then.

 

RETrot,

Here's a question for you from that early 60's era. I remember an orange and white car #10 super-mod that ran out of Houston. He would run Austin on Friday night and Meyer on Saturday nights. It was a good looking car. I can't remember the driver's name. Can you or Rodlea help me out?

 

Does the name Willis ring a bell?

That would be Jimmy Willis in the # 10 powered by a Nail Head Buick. That old Buick ran real good considering Jimmy never put a lot of money in the engine.

[Budman]

Well I'll be dang. Guess my old memory hasn't failed me completely after all!

[GINGERBREADMAN]

as a little kid at playland and meyer I was always fasinated at the size of Bill Whites arms. Was told he was a boxer at one point in his life.He was also the first guy I remember having tatoos. When this post originally started ,that's how I knew who was driving the #2. Things like that make impressions on little kids.I can remember after races at playland Bill and Curtis (Smitty) Smith ,#61 later on, drinking beer in the midway and seeing which one could ring the bell on the tower useing only one arm to swing the big sledge hammer.They were both very good at it and usually ended up as how many time they could ring the bell consecutively before missing decided the winner.....Budman do you hav e a copy of the program from the Houston Racing Legends Reunion (august 31,1991) ? It has lots of old pictures and articles from the papers here in houston from the 50's and 60's. If not pm me and I'll see if I can find the one my ex crew chief had .His wife gave it to me after he died in motorcycle accident last year.

[RETrott]

Wow, this goes way back. I'm a little fuzzy on this one, but as best I can recall .......................

 

Seems like Buddy Evans drove a red #55. I think Rackley's was a red/white #5, but could be wrong on that one. Specific details about the cars ............. I don't remember, I saw lots and lots of those things. They came from all over, in all manner of configurations.

 

Some of those cars would be raced on asphalt on Friday night in Austin and be raced the next night on dirt somewhere else. Some would come from Abilene/San Angelo, a lot from San Antonio, some from Houston, and on occasion 1 or 2 from Waco.

 

Depending on what year, on a typical Friday night .........

 

Evans, Wade, Rackley, Starr from Houston

Niedecken, Charles Johnson, Clyde (Papa) Johnson, Robert Polk, Bubba Cowan, Marvin Fillip out of Abilene/ San Angelo.

 

Buddy Jerkins, Johnny Doyle, Don Fowler, Buddy Yantis ........ and several others out of San Antonio.

Waldo and Bud Simpson out of Austin.

 

Bill White out of Temple.

 

I'm sure there are plenty more I've left out, but this list should give you a pretty good idea.

Sounds like '32-'34 coupes that raced as the Modified Stock Cars, aka Mighty Modifieds, at Playland Speedway in the late '50s and '60. Buddy Evans was the '60 Modified champion at Playland's 1/4 mile paved track that appeared somewhat similar to Austin's Speed O Rama that I visited once ('64). I do believe Buddy Evans did race a red # 55 car at that time. "Smiling" Buddy Rackley, as I recall, started driving the Bud/Tim Cates owned # 1 car about mid season '59 and all of '60. I remember the # 1 car being brown & tan as well as red & white. The color may have of changed after an incident involving another driver in the # 1 car and some fella from up around Temple. In '60, I believe the # 1 car top was removed on occasion to race at Meyer Speedway as a Roadster Modified. I have met David Starr, but I don't recall Ed Starr. Billy Wade was fast everywhere he went. Marvin Fillip and Chet Fillip have raced Super Modified Cars in Houston. Bill White, raced Modified Stock & Super Modified Cars here. I know Waldo Harper raced Modifieds/Super Modifieds here, and possibly Don Fowler as well. Buddy Jerkins name is familiar from San Antonio racing, and possibly elswhere. Wayne Niedecken ran Super Modifieds here, always strong. Some memories!

[jakdad]

Yes, I would like to see the pics when Billy still had the car.

The car was complete then, prior to BW adjusting it .

I'll go out on a limb here and guess that Mr. White won more races in it than Billy Wade.

 

Jim, the way I remember, Joseph F. Meyer was a real race fan and started construction of the 1/2 mile track on Hwy 90 @ Blue Ridge Rd (S. Main @ Hillcroft) in about '56. I'm not sure when it was completed, but opened for a USAC Sprint Car race in late '59. Race won by A J Foyt Jr, with Parnelli Jones 2nd after qualifying on the pole. With the weekly Modified & Stock Car races being run on the 1/4 mile Playland Speedway, apparently the track started running Roadster Races for some weekly events on Thursday nights in '60. I understand that some/most of the local cars were coupes running at Playland Speedway without the tops for the Roadsters at Meyer Speedway. However many features were ran in the Roadster Class, it is my belief that they were all won by Car 2 driven by Billy Wade. To my knowledge, the Roadster Class was discontinued after the '60 season. Also, Playland Speedway discontinued weekly races after the '60 season. The Modified Stock Cars running at Playland Speeway were mostly '32-34' coupes with Chevy V8s. With the switch to weekly Modified Stock Car races at Meyer Speedway in '61, the rules required use of '37 or newer cars. This of course required many new cars being built with possibly a few cars just changing bodies. Most of the cars showed up with full bodies except possibly of Bud/Tim Cates 2 car driven the first 1/2 season by Billy Wade, and the 55 car owned/driven by Buddy Evans. At about mid season, the 55 car became the 53 car driven by Billy Wade, but I'm not sure of the new owner. The Cates 2 car was then driven by Charlie Schild. I think the 55/53 car was a new build, but the 2 car may have been an old Playland Speedway car with an updated ('36 ?) shortened & narrowed Ford body. The 55/53 car of course was a '37 chevy that was shortened and narrowed, and fast. By the '62 season, most of the cars, if not all were newly built '37/'38 chevy coupes with the shrunk bodies. The beauty of these cars was the maintaining of the original shape. The 5 car, owned and driven by M J Burton and the 25 car, owned by L S Garner and driven by Charlie Schild, were the cream of the crop in '62. After about '65, fewer and fewer new Modified Stocks as they were called, were being built. The trend was towards Stock Cars and Super Modified Cars. The Modified Stocks more or less faded away in the late 60s/early 70s.

Hey Larry,

That is correct. I was at the USAC Sprint Car race in 1959. Parnelli had a problem getting his car started at the begining of the race. He must have started a straightaway behind the scratch car. A.J. was driving an Offy powered sprinter and Parnelli had the Chevy powered # 51 Fike Plumbing Special. The Fike car didn't have a smooth place on the body anywhere, it had been dinged out so many times. It looked like Phil Cronin's old 62 Galaxie. But it ran like a bat out of hadees! Parnelli started passing cars every lap and finished second. He was closing on A.J. fast. I believe two more laps and Parnelli would have had the win. What a show!!!

[RETrott]

as a little kid at playland and meyer I was always fasinated at the size of Bill Whites arms. Was told he was a boxer at one point in his life.He was also the first guy I remember having tatoos. When this post originally started ,that's how I knew who was driving the #2. Things like that make impressions on little kids.I can remember after races at playland Bill and Curtis (Smitty) Smith ,#61 later on, drinking beer in the midway and seeing which one could ring the bell on the tower useing only one arm to swing the big sledge hammer.They were both very good at it and usually ended up as how many time they could ring the bell consecutively before missing decided the winner.....Budman do you hav e a copy of the program from the Houston Racing Legends Reunion (august 31,1991) ? It has lots of old pictures and articles from the papers here in houston from the 50's and 60's. If not pm me and I'll see if I can find the one my ex crew chief had .His wife gave it to me after he died in motorcycle accident last year.

Curtis Smith and Bill White? Those two could've had a heck of a "rasslin match"!

[Budman]

I'm not real sure about this, but I've gotten the impression somewhere that Ed Starr would often drive that 3 car in Austin on Friday nights and on Saturday nights it would be driven at Meyer by Blackie Lothringer. These sorts of arrangements weren't all that uncommon back during that era.