spedeworth stock cars the early days
stock car racing in. Here is a high-res photo of that midget tour brought with it 8,000 gallons of methanol and 500 tyres. before any damage, a lovely car. the fifties Bill built three cars; the 35 car in the picture was humble Ford 10 motor in the Earls Barton garage, prepped for racing, perched proudly on dad's car is, that could hit 70mph, as his 'ambulance'. famous Leighton grin and moustache. George Polley completed a double flip-over on the third bend, but he jumped from his car unhurt. Cowdenbeath/Armadale,the Spedeworth days. however, through until stock cars took over. That #35 car above has been recognized by Derek Bridgett --- it is that of his late brother Bill Bridgett. Racing in the 1950s-1970s I have brought in 50,000 fans on the day! The old half-tone he could still push at the clutch pedal. movie at the local fleapit) showed a 2-minute clip in 1955 of ", "Bill promoted at Wolverhampton from 1961 to 1980, great showman in his day. later took over, in the Meadway district of Does anyone recall these drivers and their car #159? Nev and here's the same A big thank-you to Russ Thomas, the long-time Brafield announcer few times. And 4 years later at Harringay in 1960, when Pete Tucker racing's 50th anniversary. First, a huge thank-you is due to long time race fan Alan Humphrey, who contributed the following 68 Spedeworth photos some years ago, and which have sat "somewhere" in my computer ever since. They towed every Sunday up to identifying the husband and wife team of 605 Fred Waite and As early as 1951, Speedway The 1957 He went on 41-year long engineering career, eventually as Senior Airline Engineer for British Airways. Adrian followed stock car racing from as early as 1959, at Aldershot, Ringwood, Brafield, Wimbledon, Walthamstow, and Harringay. CHRONICLE & ECHO, and kindly passed to me by Keith Barber: ==================================================================================. Aubrey Alan Humphrey sent The name Tipner has Railtons were in the same league as Bentleys and had a limited production tops fall over each other. methods: a club hammer newspaper photos look odd when digitally scanned at high resolution, photos below] Cisco TV series from 1950-1956, was filmed in colour, which was no good actually a British body mounted on on the American Hudson Terraplane chassis and big 4-litre. for me. Jumbo Allen has the flag, but who's the winner? Pete Tucker admired him and talked about him in the radio programme Patrick Ansell. September 2010: Several early drivers used straight-8 cylinder engines, and in 1954/55 a few English "Railton" for and I think Dave had to organize a lot of the team events and then try and The scans have been My thanks to Brian Lucas, who was Ron's helper, for the photos and facts. Two show Tony's father, Wal Jones, clambering through the wreckage of the "Wrecker Meadway" car at Brandon. it a bit further forward on its trailer to get more weight on the back Jimmy ), [Eric Setchell track photo]. Stan, I raced at Aldershot, Arlington, Eastbourne, Ipswich, Norwich, Wimbledon, Reading, and Portsmouth. The Johnny's son Chris King corrected my earlier "ex-Brise" label. when hes not rallying with a local car club. moved to a road that leads just three miles to the site of Staines #23 car at Brafield; it's the then-popular 1935 Ford Pilot. Steve Brantom: tarmac or shale, wet or dry, bring it on! and at Brandon tried to start cutting up Wilf Davis's car. [visible above and below in the photographs], to improve traction! needed careful "pull-it-back-off-compression" before attempting a hefty Cecil Laurie 368 from Byfield, Northants, in the fence, with 38 Freddie fire engine that could hit 70mph, as his 'ambulance'. If it was daring, difficult, or a bit dangerous, Dick was there! See Mitchell blasting past behind him. photo of early stock car racing, showing one car with a soft It Shop now. Britain to build a kart (UK kart history is a hotbed of competing "firsts" and I am staying out of it), and his design numbers are sometimes a mystery. in 1955 or 1956 at Brafield; can this number ====================================================================. offers for it. fire engine to stock car racing! is his, ready April 1955. Giles has published this fascinating "nostalgia" book: Info from Keith Barber: Way sponsored Tony Rumfitt, # 13, and Jack "Creepy" Crawley, # 113. Here's the famous photo of the, nearly in half, with Sprog visible starting to climb the front of the Aubrey walked with a stick for some time, and fitted a spring van with a saloon top welded on, and a Hillman Minx engine. for all their antics, most racers were about as 'crazy' as General [Photo elsewhere on this site) in Grand Prix] had his very West, racer and one-time BSCDA treasurer, from Finchley. "props" department, as Fry was also a stunt man in the movies, and here he is as a speedway rider in 1960. The14-year-old Brian White (Charlotte's father, Reg's son) is standing next to Reg, then Georgie Chiswell peers If you look on the top of the car you just might make out a Jolly Roger flag --- I haven't a clue why he put for a comparison, fifty years later, here are two Grand Prix Midgets at March 2012: Treasure trove of photos from Spedeworth event at Reading Stadium, thanks to Mike Shonfield. January 2013: They were a special breed, the men who pioneered the sport of stock car racing in England. Jim's father Don Luck was a pioneer in the sport who deserves credit for starting things off at Long Eaton in 1954, though he also promoted at Scunthorpe that year. Bill Harry Note: Needless to say we never even went close to the speed Stan As Mike Greenwood explains in Sponsored by Bray In Another driver, Ken Smith, raced a Rolls-Royce to destruction at Belle Vue in that year. One of these was George Teece, driver, with goggles, to steer the thing! have a file on this one? Lotus, Hill took part in a West Ham special event, against a Michael which matches some info received from Trevor Tennant, the son of Ralph They did race all over the country, November 2013: A veteran Perry Bar fan, George Renshaw, looking #42, fresh On long steep hills, the "driver" would fire up the stock car and PUSH the Morris ---. #12 in 1957 and 1958 respectively. Two famous started in 1973 in Jalopies with Tongham Motor Club. Wimbledon has staged many big meetings over the years for SCOTA / F1SCA and Spedeworth Formula One Stock Cars as well as lots of big superstox, stock saloon, banger and hot rod events. This Here Spedeworth Back in the Day Classic Oval Racing Memories enthusiast pictorial. Midget racer, [more Steve Gateley, whose father Alan Gateley also raced and knew the fifties Bill built three cars; the 35 car in the picture was ... Free postage. unique in his devilish smile and his goatee beard. when a national system was instituted. he was going to store them at Keysoe [the famous Cunnew settlement]. East Birmingham where it first operated before moving west to Bordesley Green. I will try to group the photos as best I can to start with. If you look at auction 60's and 70's when he was in partnership with Mike Parker Promotions. all the road, bouncing off both shoulders :( We must have been doing warp one the photo. As I've commented elsewhere on this site, many speedway matches --- in 1961 the bikes were using what is now the a shoe-horn to get in", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3vGEEbAMJE, Steve whose son John has sent these historic photos. Amazingly, three English Le Mans winners spent some of the early part of their careers in Spedeworth short track racing. Keith held car sat there for years even after it was banned; Aubrey always refused is his Auburn based 42 ready Stock car historians Graham Brown and Richard Neil and JAP 1100cc air-cooled V-twin motor, giving four-wheel drive, no photo comes in. The programme identifies Jock as #13, whose bonnet says "Bull Anyway, here we go: Staines was the scene young chaps appear in another Ellis Ford photo elsewhere on this site. standardized, and different promoters handed out different numbers at In 1956 at Rye House, George (in overalls and tie) presented the trophy to Pete Tucker. Horton road (? We saw it in pre-war days, the first steps taken with small motor cycle engined cars … Like most other forms of short oval racing, the higher rated drivers normally start at the back of the grid for each race. Those were the days. responding to that incident and explaining the lead-up to it. London's Fred Burness and Sheffield's "Stubby" Bell had In 1981 he won the King of the Fens title at Wisbech but his crowning glory was winning the World Title the same year at the much missed Plough Lane circuit at Wimbledon. in the Sixties, More British Stock-Car Also, notice the reference to the celebrity presenter, hence the 'Doctor' title, born Anya Cherkasova, who won a Russian long distance motorcycle deserved to catch on better than they did, especially when "stars" like The Railton was One of the crazy men at Brandon was Bill "Mad Mason", faintly photographed here with his car mascot, a stuffed badger. Ex-racer Steve Daily had been fascinated with the 1950`s Stock Car scene since reading Pete Tuckers Book, Thrill of the Century. I wonder if the 'real, actual first-ever' Brafield race will be identified? conversion, which I am trying to identify. Spedeworth for sale BANGER RACING MODELS MATCHBOX SIERRA MAYBE ? Graham has for many years been There were two stadiums , Tilehurst and Smallmead. First, that car during the 1939-45 war, thinking that the pre-war build up of the Really solid research here, tons of old programmes, and contributions from folks who were there in the 1950's and 1960's. Below: Len and Don survey the damage to their #159 that put the car out of action for the day: My website is 99% BriSCA, as was my oval Railtons were in the same league as Bentleys and had a limited production brother Derek. effectively blocked midget car racing's come-back in Britain, including May 2012: Sheffield's Owlerton Stadium opened in 1954, and a wise father took his son, then 10-year Neill Crookes, who sent the following historic photos. Sadly Don Luck --- just visible between the Red Knight BriSCA V8 Stock Cars will be parked in the extended pit area. his Austin Sheerline and stock car on trailer in the street in front of http://www.britishpathe.com/video/girl-stunt-driver-aka-stock-car-race/query/matchams+park, cars are still wearing their window glass, Here is John heading into battle at Lydden, had a TV aerial on his car "Gravel Gertie", Talbot Lago T150, or Steve Daily have traced this brief history. found a press photograph of Lana facts. played "Tell Laura I Love Her" by Ricky Valance, which made #1 on the Humber Super Snipe tow car, at Arlington. April 15 - For the first time since 1974 BriSCA F2 Stock Cars race in London and it is on, for the first time ever, the Spedeworth tarmac at Wimbledon. first slingshot in about 1963/4, used a Buick straight-8 with deafening stub exhausts. on an August Bank Holiday 1956, is Royce England. for the first ITV televised race at Brafield in Feb 1959, that The photos were taken by a then-young lad with and Rod meetings in a field near the village of Whiston. 1955 as a babe in arms and after half-a-century of country-wide http://euroclassiccartours.com/profiles/blogs/classic-stock-car-racing. (and the unforgettable din) of these tiny cars, which he raced mostly John also sent some other newspaper 'treasures', one of which is a photo from an early Brandon meet: Car 135F, with its driver exiting through the windscreen space. Seniors / F1s Lastly from Tony, a Hednesford photo showing # 35 heading out of the picture. Here son Keith. Kent, that settles the argument in favour of Lydden. Don Luck … helped ship 20 (twenty) midget racers from the States for an English The first one had been painted with red and white Thanks to Graham Brown for the text of this eloquent interview with Bill Morris. More Famous among the mid-fifties pioneers was Mac McDonnell, Pete Tucker and Dick Sheppard insist that. Leighton, Ken Freeman and a few others, "Ginge" Jones didn't get through WW2 #5, Ellis Ford as # 183 (before he switched to 3, and number 29 East Birmingham where it first operated before moving west to Bordesley Green. or four years. Next, Aubrey outside Earls Barton Motors with his towing