Moody Mile Mayhem: The 1970 USAC Stock Car Race at Syracuse

The USAC Stock Car Series was a classic tour throughout the 1970s, and was a great series for those who didn’t have the finances for Winston Cup. It mostly ran in the midwest, with frequent races at Milwaukee, Springfield, and DuQuoin. Despite its love of milers, the series only ran at Syracuse once – and the one time it did, it was a mess.

The Moody Mile, as the New York State Fairgrounds track was called, opened in 1893 and saw motor racing very early on. The Syracuse, New York miler saw a plethora of series through its controversial closure and demolition in 2015, including several early NASCAR Grand National races. The USAC Stock Cars ventured up to the snowiest city in the states in 1970, ready to provide New York State with a pony car showdown. Don White, who mostly stayed in the USAC Stock Cars during his career, won the pole for the 100-mile showdown, to be held June 13.

Credit to Racer’s Reunion

Phoenix native Roger McCluskey, usually a high qualifier and one of a couple USAC Stock Car drivers who ran in the open wheel Champ Car division, did not show for time trials, as he was busy racing in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Team owner Norm Nelson qualified McCluskey’s car, and was on standby in case McCluskey didn’t make it to the Fairgrounds – qualifying was held just a few hours before the stock car race – however McCluskey’s plane arrived in time for the race, right as White was being presented with his award for the best time. He was forced to start at the back.

The race actually went pretty cleanly, with only one known caution period, for Eldon Rasmussen breaking down and having to drop out of the race. Don White’s day also didn’t go too well, as distributor issues plagued his car and eventually forced his retirement. Butch Hartman of South Zanesville, Ohio led much of the race before things started to get interesting. McCluskey was approaching fast.

On lap 68, McCluskey finished his charge to the front and finally got by Hartman in turns one and two. As he did this, Dale Koehler, Sr. of Kiel, Wisconsin, who was running off the lead lap, spun his car on the backstretch. Koehler, Sr.’s #33 Downtown Auto Body ’69 Chevy Chevelle stalled on the straight, and while he tried to get the car re-fired, he was struck hard in the door by McCluskey’s Plymouth Roadrunner, then immediately after by Hartman’s Dodge Charger. Several more cars spun all over the place, and third place Verlin Eaker’s car piled into the mess, as did the cars of local legend Jim Shampine, newcomer Les Heikkila, and Ross Smith. Officials threw the red flag for the crash, and marshals ran to assist the drivers from their cars.

Source unknown

The crash was devastating, writing off several cars, including Koehler’s (seen above). USAC officials quickly chose to end the race, and while Roger McCluskey had been leading at the time, officials reverted to the results of the last completed lap, as required by the USAC rulebook. Butch Hartman was given the win, with McCluskey in 2nd and Verlin Eaker in 3rd. Koehler finished 8th. So many cars were badly damaged that a USAC late model event at the Lancaster National Speedway planned for June 14 had to be canceled due to too few cars being available.

AP Photo

As for the drivers, Roger McCluskey suffered a broken nose and damaged cheekbone in the accident. His team owner, Norm Nelson, drove in his stead for a couple of weeks before Roger made his return in early July. This crash was merely a roadbump in what was otherwise a dominating year for McCluskey, who despite being out for a few rounds still won the 1970 title, his second and final. He would race in the series on and off through 1979. Koehler, Sr., a part-timer in the series, was out for the rest of the year with neck injuries. He later recovered and returned to the series. Race winner Butch Hartman, who was uninjured, raced through 1981, winning five championships. Despite the USAC Stock Car Series’ love for the mile long dirt tracks, they never again returned to Syracuse.

It’s unfortunate that the physical legacy of this memorable accident, along with many more, disappeared into the ether when the Moody Mile was demolished by the state government in 2015.

Sources:

“Wreck Stops USAC Stocks”, Dayton Daily News, June 14, 1970

“Hartman Wins USAC Test”, Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY), June 14, 1970

Grand National To Grandpa: R.C. Zimmerman’s Racing Career

Some people just really love to race, and will do so as long as they can. But it’s rare that you see a driver continue on into their 70s and when they do it’s for historic racing. For one driver, however, racing simply never got tiresome, and his love of racing lasted seven decades. And no I’m not talking about Hershel McGriff, though he’s amazing, too. Today we’re looking at R.C. Zimmerman, who was still an active race car driver at 94 years old.

Credit to ESPN

Richard Cyril Zimmerman was born on December 17, 1918 in Michigan. Not much is available about his early life, but when World War II started, he entered the military and was shipped off to Italy, where he saw combat for some time before returning to the States. After a brief jaunt on the West Coast, Zimmerman decided to join the burgeoning midget racing scene and purchased a car. By this point, he was living in Milwaukee, and had taken up work as a mechanic, a position he’d maintain his entire life. His racing ventures brought him out to Langhorne, where he entered a 200-mile NASCAR Strictly Stock race to be held September 11, 1949. Running a car for Don Gallagher, Dick Zimmerman, as he was called, set a lap of 73.224mph. He lined up 26th, and brought his #14 ’47 Mercury home 13th, 22 laps behind the winner.

Zimmerman mostly ran midgets in the early 50s, though he occasionally ran stock cars. At one point, he hopped behind the wheel of Rodger Ward’s car at Soldier Field, not to race it unfortunately, just to warm it up. Ward was there in time for the race, and Zimmerman wasn’t able to actually compete against Ward. He did later recall an instance where he raced against Troy Ruttman at the Pomona Fairgrounds. He was even able to overtake Ruttman, but mostly credited that on Ruttman not having a great car, a Plymouth Coupe to Zimmerman’s memory, compared to Zimmerman’s relatively new Ford.

Zimmerman next headed back out west to Los Angeles (this time for good) and joined the AAA Stock Car Series for a few rounds. In 1953, Zimmerman found himself caught up in one of several massive accidents at the Carrell Speedway. His 1953 Ford turned over with four to go in the 200 lap jaunt while running up front. He was unhurt, but several drivers weren’t so fortunate. Andy Linden left the speedway on a backboard with several broken ribs, and Harold Morse was killed when his roof collapsed. Six cars in all flipped during the race.

Zimmerman’s final four Grand National starts came the next year, in 1954 and 1955. Piloting Mercurys for Les Brand, Zimmerman ran eight NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model races, four of which counted for Grand National points. His best finish in the Grand National races was 12th. Of course, he wasn’t about to retire.

Credit to the Van Nuys News; Zimmerman (far right) successfully passes a spinner during a race at Ascot in 1968

According to Zimmerman in a later interview, he should have focused his talents elsewhere. A 1950 Milwaukee Voice article called him “a driving threat in stock cars”, yet Dick decided to run midgets. Nothing was ever mentioned of his efforts to advance to Indycar. His racing career continued through the years, mostly in midgets, and he still ran up front often. He raced at tracks such as Orange Show and Ascot regularly, occasionally doing special events at big speedways like Phoenix, where he ran against Mel Kenyon, Stan Fox and Rich Vogler. He even took part in the infamously tragic 1970 U.S. Open Championship for Sprint Cars and Super Modifieds, the final race at the old Sacramento Fairgrounds. Two drivers were killed in a violent accident during the first semi-final, and one more perished during the main event, which was stopped on lap 35 of 100 by promoter J.C. Agajanian. Zimmerman, against opponents like Bob Cleberg and Joe Saldana, started 12th and came home 11th, last car on the lead lap.

Credit to Gary Thornhill

Zimmerman found himself on the front pages in early 1992. Five laps into the Formula Vee season opener at Saugus Speedway that year, Zimmerman vaulted over someone’s wheels, tipped all the way forward, and crashed down onto its roll hoop. The crowd of 5,000 was stunned to see the 73-year-old on his roof, but Zimmerman gingerly crawled out of his car unhurt.

By this point, Zimmerman was mostly racing for enjoyment. His winning days were over, though fans still loved seeing him show up. They didn’t call him Dick anymore, however – Zimmerman had started going by R.C. in the early 90s.

Zimmerman switched to stock cars at some point in the mid-90s and started mostly running at Orange Show Speedway in the Pony Stock Division.

Credit to Larry Rose

In 1997, 78-year-old Zimmerman was still competing every chance he could. His ’74 Pinto was fairly quick, it never got him a main event win, but he was able to win a few heat races. Zimmerman often showed up to the speedway on his own, he worked on his own cars, and served as his own crew chief. In fact, he’d gone the past two years without a crew chief. He retired at the end of the year.

Credit to Larry Rose

In 2008, Zimmerman picked up racing again in the NASCAR Mini Stock Division at Irwindale. By this point, he was approaching 90. Zimmerman simply showed up to the speedway to race, in fact, he didn’t even sign autographs before the race, as it was too difficult to get in and out of the car. He was mostly at the back, but the fact that someone his age was racing at all amazed his younger competitors and fans alike. Zimmerman made the headlines one more time when ESPN did an editorial in 2010. He’d also switched his name again by this point. He went by Richie, in tribute to Richie Evans. It’s not very well documented how many races he ran, but he was still going as late as 2013, when he was 94. It appears Zimmerman retired after 2013, as this is where reference to him stops.

R.C. Zimmerman’s long, storied life never really stopped being eventful. Even when he was 94, he was still racing. The father of five, occasional school bus driver, and longtime mechanic passed away on December 17, 2016, one day before he was to turn 98, but even though he’s not as well known as Hershel McGriff, Zimmerman’s passion for his hobby is amazing.

Sources:

“Fonty Flock Breaks Record In Qualifying At Langhorne”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sept. 11, 1949

“Driver Killed At Carrell Speedway”, The Colton Courier, Feb. 23, 1953

“Quite A Scare”, The Los Angeles Times, July 25, 1992

“Saturday Night Drivin’ – At 79”, The San Bernardino County Sun, July 22, 1997

“He’s 91 and still a race car driver – really”, ESPN, May 12, 2010

10 Extra Unknown NASCAR Flips

This will likely be the last time I do this article, because I don’t expect to find much else to write about, and writing about flips from the 50s doesn’t really interest me much. This one will contain both NASCAR Cup and the lower series. Here we go.

1. J.T. PUTNEY (1965 ATLANTA 500: NASCAR CUP @ ATLANTA)

Arden, North Carolina’s J.T. Putney found himself going for a ride during a Grand National race at Atlanta in 1965. The #19 Latimer-Looney Chevrolet 1965 Chevy Chevelle swung right in front of leader and eventual winner Marvin Panch and was gently guided into the backstretch wall. Putney vaulted the guardrail and tumbled over a few times down the embankment. Putney suffered a broken nose but was back behind the wheel within a few days.

AP Photo

2. BOB TULLIUS (1969 BULLDOG 400: NASCAR GRAND TOURING @ GRESHAM)

Bob Tullius of Falls Church, Virginia holds the distinction of the only known flip in NASCAR’s old Grand Touring Division. Early in a race at what’s now Gresham Motorsports Park in 1969, Tullius received a small bump from the back, and the #94 Tullius Racing 1969 AMC Javelin flew over the turn 3 wall and went somersaulting side over side outside the speedway. Tullius was unscathed.

3. DAVID PEARSON (1970 TEST SESSION: NASCAR CUP @ TALLADEGA)

Not much is available on this one, but it comes from Forty Years of Stock Car Racing.

About a month before the 1970 Talladega 500, David Pearson and Charlie Glotzbach took part in a Goodyear tire test. During the test, Pearson’s #17 Holman-Moody Racing 1969 Ford Torino blew both right side wheels in turn 3, spun out of control, and lifted up and onto its side. The car slammed back down to earth without flipping all the way over, skidded backwards into the wall, and Pearson got out of there okay. The blowouts reportedly happened at 192mph, and Pearson was coming to finish his third lap, so clearly those tires needed some work…

4. FRED LORENZEN (1971 SOUTHERN 500: NASCAR CUP @ DARLINGTON)

This was a violent, violent crash.

During practice for the 1971 Southern 500, Fred Lorenzen lost control of the #21 Purolator 1971 Mercury Cyclone and piled into the turn four wall. According to other drivers, he had spent most of the lap attempting to save the car, as it was suffering some sort of major failure, and he just couldn’t hold it anymore. Lorenzen climbed on top of the wall, shot into the sky, and did a single barrel roll in the air before landing on its wheels. Lorenzen’s car then suffered a stuck throttle and, without slowing much, knocked a massive hole in the frontstretch wall. The hit was so hard that Lorenzen actually turned over again, lifting up onto its side and spinning around several times on its window before slamming back down. It was an absolutely horrifying crash, one of the biggest hits seen up to that point, but Lorenzen survived. He required surgery and was back behind the wheel within a few weeks.

5. DICK BOWN (1973 PORTLAND 200: NASCAR WEST @ PORTLAND)

During a 1973 West race at the Portland Speedway, city local Dick Bown, father of Jim and Chuck, spun his #02 Ober Logging 1973 Dodge Challenger into the wall in a simple crash that seemingly collected no other cars. The car lifted up and turned over twice. Bown climbed out of his car with cracked ribs, which for him was nothing too serious. This was his last full time run in the #02, as Bown, a local racing legend, failed to qualify for the season finale (the next race) and had to buy a ride.

6. JOE YOUNG (1977 UNNAMED RACE: NASCAR DASH @ ROCKINGHAM)

Not too much is known about this one, and most of the few details are lost to the hands of newspaperarchive, but the family of Richmond, Virginia’s Joe Young probably haven’t forgotten. The practice session leading into an 83-lap Baby Grand race at Rockingham was chockful of accidents, and Young found his #05 Young Racing Chevy Vega on its roof during a pileup in one of the corners. He wasn’t hurt.

7. BUTCH LINDLEY (1983 HAMPTON CHEVY 200: NASCAR XFINITY @ LANGLEY)

Credit to Daily Press

Early on in the Late Model Sportsman race at Langley in 1983, Tommy Ellis and Butch Lindley were dueling for the lead when Wayne Broome returned to the track from an extended time in the pits, which were on the outside. Broome swung down the track, and entering turn one, he started to drift back up. Broome collided with Ellis, Ellis collided with Lindley, and the two leaders shot up and into the outside wall in turn two. Both cars pierced the guardrail, and Lindley’s brand new #76 Loven Racing Pontiac Ventura took to the air. It went over the top of Ellis’ car, flipped twice, and came to rest on its side in the pit area, nose facing the speedway. No bystanders were injured.

Ellis climbed out of his car unhurt, and Lindley was extricated through the windshield and was taken to the hospital with minor undisclosed injuries. Wayne Broome was also taken out of the race. Despite the crash seemingly being on Broome, NASCAR ruled the incident a racing deal. According to Late Model Sportsman director Lance Childress, the marshal manning the pit exit was not allowed to prevent cars from leaving the pits under green (he could only signal that faster traffic was coming, which he did) and could only hold cars under caution.

8. MARK DAY (1987 RAINBO BREAD 200: NASCAR ALL-AM @ BRISTOL)

Credit to the Kingsport Times-News

Clarksville, Tennessee short track ace Mark Day entered the Rainbo Bread 200, a race combining the ARTGO Challenge Series and the NASCAR Winston All-American Challenge, in 1987. The All-American Challenge was a short track series that lasted a few years in the 80s, seemingly discarded when NASCAR purchased the All-Pro Series in 1991. Day’s entry didn’t even make it to the green flag, however. The #15 Day Enterprises Chevy Camaro slammed the turn 4 wall during his qualifying run and flipped over, skidding on its roof in front of a flagman who was no doubt confused. Day climbed out of his car unhurt. He withdrew from the race.

9. JOE KOSISKI (1989 ARCA 500K: ARCA @ TALLADEGA)

Dirt late model beast and Omaha native Joe Kosiski lost control of the #53 Kosiski Auto Parts Pontiac Grand Prix early in an ARCA race at Talladega in 1989 and skidded up into the turn two wall. He slammed the barrier, flipped over, and went spinning wildly like a top down the banking. He wasn’t hurt. Red Farmer needed an examination after he crashed trying to avoid Kosiski, and second place Grand Adcox had to call it quits when he, too, hit the wall in response. This is likely the most recent flip in either the top 3 series or ARCA that there are no videos or photos.

10. JOE BUFORD (1999 TOM JOHNSON/EASYCARE 100, NASCAR DASH @ CHARLOTTE)

During the Goody’s Dash days, Gary Moore’s team was often a revolving door for drivers, and Franklin, Tennessee’s Joe Buford was no exception, entering the 1999 Charlotte race. Buford, however, only lasted three laps in his one start in the Moore Racing car. He upended the #99 Five Brothers Produce / Torbert Trucking Pontiac Sunfire after being caught up in a major pileup in the middle of a corner on lap four, ending up on his roof on the apron. He was unhurt.

Sources:

“Forty Years Of Stock Car Racing Vol. 3”, book by Greg Fielden

“Lorenzen OK After Wreck”, The News and Observer (Raleigh), Sept. 3, 1971

“Langley Drivers Want Safer Guard Rail”, Daily Press (Newport News), May 12, 1983

“Leslie captures ARCA 500-kilometer”, Morning Call (Allentown), July 30, 1989

History Of The Marathon De La Route

Endurance races are exactly what they entail: endurances. They are made to be extremely long events that test drivers’ skill, patience, and stamina, along with cars’ speed and durability. The longest endurance race as of today is the Maxi Endurance 32 Hours at the Algarve circuit in Portugal, but it isn’t the longest endurance circuit race.

In 1931, the Liège – Rome – Liège was held for the first time. A road race from Belgium to Italy and back, this was a fairly standard road race from point to point. It usually started around 11pm on a Wednesday and the cars arrived back around 4pm on Sunday. The race was not held in 1936 due to a contestation of when to hold it, and was also not held between 1940 and 1949 for obvious reasons. It was a pretty average endurance race, there wasn’t much to it, it was another interesting challenge for drivers. Winners included Johnny Claes and Olivier Gendebien,

In 1961, the race’s destination moved from Rome to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, however the race was still out of and to Liège. This didn’t last much longer, however, as the race was going to move to a more permanent circuit. There was little particular reason behind the move, it was simply time to move on, and move on they did – to the Nordschleife at the Nurburgring – in 1965.

The 1965 race was an interesting one, lasting 82 hours, but the grid was surprisingly small. Despite being an endurance race and despite the old road races usually having massive grids, sometimes into the low hundreds, the 1965 Marathon De La Route only garnered 35 starters. The race was conducted with a little help from the Belgian military, who helped out with medical. The race itself was pretty quiet, won by Henri Greder and Johnny Rives in a Mustang. Rainer Ising and Bernd Degner were the GT class winners, in a Porsche. Their major competitor for said class fell out of the race due to a busted rear axle with less than an hour to go.

The race itself had some very strange rules. To be classified, teams had to complete the same amount of laps in the last twelve hours as they had in the first twelve. Also, the 14-mile course had to be lapped in 30 minutes in the first four hours, and 24 minutes in the proceeding hours. Refueling was done in a separate spot just before the pit lane proper, and tire changes were done in the pit lane. Most bizarrely, if a driver came across a part in the road, they were permitted to pull to the side, get out their tools from the toolbox each team carried, and use it to repair their car. Drivers could also do said repairs in an area a little beyond the pit lane, where they could receive verbal assistance from one of their crewmen (only verbal assistance though). Lastly, they could always just bring the part back to the pit lane and do repairs there, however any pit stops that lasted more than a minute would cause the team to lose a lap, though compared to the 1965 winner’s lap count of 310, one lap wasn’t an incredible amount. Additionally, every 75 laps, teams were given a five-lap window during which they could do up to 20 minutes worth of repairs in the pits without a penalty. Teams would be parked if they were stationary for more than 20 minutes in the pits.

The 1966 race was extended to 84 hours but was otherwise calm, being won by Julien Vernaeve and Andrew Hedges in an MG. Lucien Bianchi and Eric De Keyn had been the favorites to win, but their Ferrari was knocked out of the race by an accident caused by exhaustion.

Credit to Porsche Road & Race

The 1967 race was dominated by Porsche. Vic Elford, Hans Hermann, and Jochen Neerpasch brought the race home. Vic had come close to winning in 1966, but the car had blown up with 12 hours left. The race itself was marred by a fatal crash, when endurance racing veteran Georges Berger ran off the road and crashed his Porsche about a day into the race.

Credit to Porsche Road & Race

1968 saw a heated race, once again mostly dominated by Porsches. Once again, all of the Porsches’ major competitors had simply fallen off or had made major mistakes. Possibly the most interesting mistake was made by an MG C driven by Julien Vernaeve, Andrew Hedges and Tony Fall. During a late pit stop, they first overshot their stall, knocking over an official, then stopped to see what the problem was. It turned out to be blown brakes, and since cars could not reverse in the pit lane (they’d be disqualified if they did), had to do a lap before returning to the pits. The repairs lasted 18 minutes, costing them 17 laps.

The Porsche of Herbert Linge, Dieter Glemser and Willi Kauhsen won the race. They’d finished four laps ahead of their nearest opponent, but because they’d been docked four laps due to pit penalties, officially their margin of victory was less than a second.

Despite being a big road race, grids still weren’t picking up. 43 cars had started the 1967 race, and the 1968 race saw the same amount of starters. However things were about to change for 1969, 64 cars showing up for the race. For the 1969 race, a cavalry of Argentine IKA Torinos showed up, alongside a few Mercedes 220 Ds, which ran on diesel. These two cars ran in a special prototype class. In all, 21 different manufacturers were represented.

Credit to Racehistorie.nl

This iteration in particular was a little messy. The fastest two qualifiers, both Torinos, crashed out of the race, and Innes Ireland’s race ended with his Lancia Fulvia on its roof. The race, which was almost cancelled by local police due to one of the Torinos having a faulty exhaust, was eventually won by Harry Källström, Tony Fall, and Sergio Barbasio in a second Lancia Fulvia.

The 1970 race was extended slightly, to 86 hours, but the race itself was little different from how it had been. 64 cars showed up, however it was little contest after the first 24 hours. After their competition fell to the wayside, the Porsche 904 of Gérard Larrousse, Helmut Marko, and Claude Haldi led the whole way. Porsche had brought three 904s to the race, and they swept the top three. Their only real opponent was a works Rover that had dropped out after half a day.

Credit to Pinterest

The 1971 race was the beginning of the end. Only 39 entries showed to the track, none of the big Porsches or other works teams among them. Due to this, and the race being extended to an amazing 96 hours, few spectators showed up. Jacques Henry, Jean-Luc Thérier, and Maurice Nusbaumer won the race in an Alpine A110. Absolutely nothing notable happened, and the race as it was was not repeated.

The event isn’t dead, however. It is still going today, using the old Liège – Rome – Liège name, as a historical tour. The revival event itself runs through Belgium and France, lasting four days, though not without breaks of course. It has been very successful, and captures the spirit of the old event – well, partially, because there will likely never be something as wild as when they ran at the Green Hell, and with that, the Marathon De La Route will likely remain a thing of the past.

Source:

https://liege-rome-liege.org/en/

1967 – Marathon de la Route

https://touringcarracing.net

Porsche Road and Race