supertx Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 Does anybody have any pictures of Playland Park? My Brother and dad had a midget back then I was real young but i still remember the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 foytracing.com click on AJ's pic. photo gallery col.2, 3rd pic down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supertx Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Thanks Budman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted July 19, 2005 Report Share Posted July 19, 2005 supertx, One of the videos offered for sale at the site ......... www.racingclassics.com ................ claims to have midget racing footage shot at playland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Came across this old photo. Supposed to be from Playland Park. Anybody recognize it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmoves 99 Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 IF YOU EVER GET OUT TO HRP THE MAN WHO TAPES THE RACES MAY HAVE A TAPE WITH PLAYLAND PARK AND MEYER FOOTAGE ON IT I BOUGHT ONE ABOUT 5-6 YEARS AGO,THE FOOTAGE IS MAYBE 15-20 MINUTES OF PLAYLAND AND MAYBE 30-40 MINUTES ON MEYER, IT REALLY BROUGHT BACK A TON OF MEMORIES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted July 27, 2005 Report Share Posted July 27, 2005 supertx, check your pm's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supertx Posted July 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 Budman The only thing that I remember about one of my dads and brothers cars was that it was a miget that belonged to Cecil Green they bought it right after he was killed in KC i believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Want to say thanks to nightmoves99 for refering me to the HRP man and the videos he sells. Turns out it is Gil Dudek. I just got my copy of his Playland Park & Meyers Speedway DVD from the 1950's and 60's. Haven't gotten to watch it all the way through yet, but its really cool so far. One of the things I've come across so far, though not on the video, the narration covers it was the night they had 15 fist fights going on in the enfield ...................... AT THE SAME TIME! at Playland. Crazy! If you're interested, you can contact him at the following email address: gill.judy@sbcglobal.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfbarnes Posted September 5, 2006 Report Share Posted September 5, 2006 Over the fence at Playland Stormin' Norman Pierce and Billy wade @ Playland Park Another wild night @ the Playland "1952" Sideways @ Playland Park Playland Park in HOUSTON!!! Back of the photo reads "Buddy Rackley #76" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfbarnes Posted September 5, 2006 Report Share Posted September 5, 2006 Came across this old photo. Supposed to be from Playland Park. Anybody recognize it? Looks like one of Billy Wades Stock cars to me. I think that could be my father HF Barnes standing in front of the car. Here's a picture of my father you tell me. I have never seen this picture before, but I am going to show it to him and see what he remembers. My father is on the far left and his little brother (and Mechanic) Robert Barnes, Ralph Beckett, and a very young Lloyd Ruby!!!! 1954 My father again standing behind his sprinter why the crew gets it ready to race in 1954. My dad is H. F. Barnes, Both our middle names are Frederick, He goes by "Fred" or "Slick", I was called "Freddie" or "Little Fred" My dad is quite a charactor. He traveled the USAC circut with Lee Cade, Tommy Astone Sr., Bill Vukovich Sr., and later AJ Foyt and Lloyd Ruby, (they were youngsters back then). Lloyd Ruby is a real sweatheart and he still with us and lives comfortably off of some interest he holds in a few oil wells. "Best Driver to Never Win Indy." AJ will tell you that. I drove Super Modifieds and sprints for years. Ran the WoO for a few years. I actually got to race with the big boys of Nascar when they ran @ Texas World Speedway in the 70's in College Station. If any of you attended those back then, you could close your eyes and tell when my car came buy. I ran my sprintcar motor in a used stockcar chassis I got from my Godfather Tiny Lund (RIP). I ran a small block 302 (small journal 327 with a SmoKey Yunick 180 degree 283 crank) up against the big blocks of Nascar. The special crank allowed it to turn 12,000 rpm's and it sounded like it was coming apart up next to the throaty big blocks. Those that don't understand a 180 degree crank, it allows two pistons to fire at the same time on opposite cylinder banks. makes it sound like a four banger on steroids. That car was tech'd so many times that my Dad had the sign painter put "Not Guilty" across the rear deck lid, and "Probable Cause" on the hood. We all got a kick out of that. I managed to finish on the lead lap in 9th place at the Texas 500 in '74, man you would have thought we won the thing. AJ smoked the field, he was the man to beat at TWS. I ran there in '79 and '81 when Benny Parson's one the race when a rookie named Dale Earnhardt led almost every lap and his engine went south with three to go, and he limped in on 7 cylinders. I was knocked out with an oil pump failure halfway through the race. TWS 1974 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted September 5, 2006 Report Share Posted September 5, 2006 great pic isnt the year benny blew the track record away . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoom Posted September 5, 2006 Report Share Posted September 5, 2006 Hey, mfbarnes, Please show and tell us more. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfbarnes Posted September 5, 2006 Report Share Posted September 5, 2006 That would be correct, In '81 BP had a bad mofo of a car that year. Ironhead had the wrangler yellow duece back then and he drove the wheels off of it. DW won the race in '79 he was in the Jr Johnsons car back then, that ole chicken farner built tough motors. The race in '74 was actually a USAC sanctioned event but most of the NASCAR boys crossed over to run there, AJ smoked the field, boys that track was and still is bad fast. NASCAR ran at TWS in '69,'70,'71, twice in '72, and '73, then Big Bill and the track owner had a disagreement and USAC ran from '74-'78, and then NASCAR came back to run 3 more years and ten quite because of the size of the facilities grandstands. they wanted to seat 100,000 and the track only had about 30,000 seats. Damn shame. That track still holds several closed circut records. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfbarnes Posted September 5, 2006 Report Share Posted September 5, 2006 I take that back DW was in the Gatorade car in 79 so that meant it was owned by DiGard and if memory serves me correct he was the only car on the lead lap at the checkered flag, he lapped the field. Only time I saw it worse than that was in '69 when Bobby Issac lapped the entire field twice. Cale Yarborough was in the Busch Beer car for Junior Johnson. Brain's slipping, too many fumes. I will dig out more shoe boxes and scan some more photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted September 5, 2006 Report Share Posted September 5, 2006 Great photos Mark! Love that one of Norman and Billy. That's a great one of Buddy too. Being that I was born and raised in Austin, and I was about 12 or 13 at the time I didn't make it to Meyer but a couple of times. But Wade, Buddy Evans and Rackley were pretty much regulars at Austin Speed-o-rama on Friday nights back around '62. That was some incredible racing those guys would put on, along with guys from San Antonio, Austin and a few from West Texas who would tow in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 MF - That "1954" sprinter - Does that have a pre-production version of the small block chevy that debuted in 1955? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 dang budman i am going to have to change my name from oldtimer .to young buck .12 or 13 .then in 62 . got me . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtom Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 The race in '74 was actually a USAC sanctioned event but most of the NASCAR boys crossed over to run there, AJ smoked the field, boys that track was and still is bad fast I was going to ask you if this was a USAC race, but you answered it first. The reason I was going to question it is the car next to yours is a early Camaro/Firebird, and those were legal in USAC, but not NASCAR. I take that back DW was in the Gatorade car in 79 so that meant it was owned by DiGard and if memory serves me correct he was the only car on the lead lap at the checkered flag, he lapped the field. That is right, Waltrip lapped the field, Second was Bobby Allison in Bud Moore's car. This race went about 193 laps under green until Rookie Dale Earnhardt hit the backstretch fence by himself in the #2 Osterlund car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfbarnes Posted September 6, 2006 Report Share Posted September 6, 2006 MF - That "1954" sprinter - Does that have a pre-production version of the small block chevy that debuted in 1955? Actually I'm pretty sure that was a '50 Olds Rocket 303, that Smokey Yunick de-stroked to a 269. It had three deuces on it. There were a couple of guys from Indiana that had all aluminum 215 Olds that I think were the prelude to the "J-2". But by '55 everyone had the 265 chevy in their cars and Offy's, Badger's, and Hudsons were sucking hinde teet, and were fading out. Not even the Hornet could compete with the SBC. Yunick had a dozen or so in his shop in the spring of '54. (of course Smokey was on a first name basis with Chevrolet's chief engineer Ed Cole) He was tweaking them for Herb Thomas and Fonty Flock (actually Frank Christian owned the car) but by te 6th race of the '55 season Flock won the race at Columbia SC and Herb Thomas came in 10th. If I am wrong correct me, but I think Yunick and Thomas first raced the '55 Chevy at a short track event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in early March of that year. To everyone's surprise, including theirs for sure, they won that minor league event in the untested machine. How's that for beginners luck, if you care to call Smokey Yunick and Herb Thomas beginners. The SB Chevy V-8 (265 CID) engine was made available to the public on Oct. 28, 1954. Reason I know that, is that it was my dad's 40th birthday and he got three of them in the crate. He had a woody for a week. Best birthday present ever he says. P.S. For all you lurkers that love to sit back and knit pick @ posts because you read a few Hot Rod Magazines, I am still a youngster by racing standards, I didn't make it into this world until 1942. But I have had this arguement before; so place your bets if you want, but you're gonna lose. Everyone seems to think Chevy's put out their first V8 in 1955, you better look a little deaper. Chevy produced its first V-8 engine in 1917, a 288-cid, 55hp model called the "Series D". The engine had overhead valves and cross-flow heads, but it was a little pricey for them days, so just 2,817 of the engines were produced before Chevrolet called the production off. However there were some scattered around. Concidering a flat head Ford put out 20 hp @ 175 CID back then that was a monster motor. Back at'cha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57Tbird Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Sideways @ Playland Park This photo brings back a very dark memory for me. It was 1959-1961. I'm not exactly sure of the year. Maybe someone can help out here with the exact date. I had picked up a friend of mine for an evening of always exciting auto racing at Playland...an event that had become fairly routine for me, starting in the mid-50's. I left my wife at the friend's house with his wife and we took off. After we entered the gate, we stopped to look at some of the pictures of previous races put up on display near the concession stand. I could hear a car roaring around the track during the pre-race warm-ups. MFB's photo shows the area between turn 1 and turn 2 with what was about an 8 ft corrugated metal fence between the track and the spectator gate and entrance area. As we turned to head for the south stands where we alway sat, I heard a loud bang and looked up in time to see a wheel come flying over the wall...followed immediately by, what I would learn later, Blackie Lothringer's car. His car must have left the track about right where this picture was taken. I was about 50 feet from where the car landed. Needless to say, there was pandemonium, with people screaming and running everywhere. Three people were killed and many injured, as they were headed from the gate area to the stands. If I hadn't stopped for a Coke and to look at the pictures, I would probably been where the car came down. Many of us did what we could to help the injured until medical personnel arrived. Blood was everywhere. It was a very sickening experience. Of course the races were called off. When we got back to my friend's house and walked in, my wife saw the look on my face and knew something was wrong before I had a chance to say anything. She later told me that I looked like I had seen a ghost. It took me a year or two before I could go to the races again, but I managed to put it behind me and have enjoyed many years of watching stock car racing evolve into the tremendous sport it is today. My daughter is as about a big NASCAR fan as you'll find anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Thanks 57TBird, for relating that story. Not only was it tragic, it was also a very significant event in Texas Racing History. One of those killed in the incident was indeed the operator of the track and Playland Park itself. This led to the rapid demise of the facility. It was all soon closed down from what I've heard and read over the years. As I said, I've known of the incident for many years. Imagine my astonishment when I actually read your eyewitness account of it several evenings ago on the net while searching for more information on Playland. Thank you so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 A couple of footnotes are worth of mention. In the photo, notice the Roller Coaster of Playland Park beyond the fence. Because of unfortunate events like this, I find myself wary of certain areas at race tracks. For one, I never sit near the track in the grand stands. I ALWAYS sit at the top. When approaching SAS (San Antonio Speedway) I always avoid the area off turn 3. When I walk through the parking lot to the ticket stand, I always find myself avoiding that little road at the base of the banking. I will walk through the parking lot, keeping at least a dozen or more parked cars between me and the track. Even when approaching the ticket stand off turn four I keep a wary ear tuned toward what's going on on the track, even though I can't see anything from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPS18 Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 mfbarnes, I was showing my dad these pics and he said the 'Thanks Mr.H' on the rear was Mr. Hamlin, and used to help Billy Wade. Can you shed any light on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supertx Posted September 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 I don't think that was Buddy standing by the 76 midget I believe that it was my brother Chuck Cantrell the picture is a little fuzzy.Playland Park the track that turned me into a junkie damn the bad luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.