| 1974 Avilla Speedway RoadRunner Track Champion. '67 Impala . This was the first "Strock car" I drove, owned by Keith Strock from Garrett, IN. This was the first stock car that Keith ever owned, he had sponsored a number of cars previously. |
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| In '75 Keith Strock and I again built a new car. We built this 67 Chevelle (Strock Car #2) to compete in the Sports Stock class at Avilla (we may have been called Pro Stocks). I took 3rd in the track championship with this car, while Don Pinkerton took 9th in my backup car, the '67 Impala (even with a late start to the season). Keith was very happy to have both cars in the top 10 in points. |
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| In '79 I ran this '72 Javelin AMX at Avilla Speedway, Bryan (OH) Speedway, Warsaw (IN) Speedway, and Oakshade (OH) Raceway. This is one of my feature wins at Bryan Speedway. |
| This is my all-time favorite pic. The Javelin at Oakshade Raceway in '79. This is a perfect action pic of dirt trackin'!! Powersliding thru the turns, wheels cranked right (turnin' right to turn left), the dust boilin' off the back tires!! I LOVE THIS PIC!! I want a copy of it buried with me! |
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| In '76 we upgraded the cars to the new "Semi Late Model" class at Avilla Speedway. I took the track championship again, Don Pinkerton took 5th. Both cars were feature winners. Keith was very proud as a car owner to have both "Strock cars" in the top 5 in points! Our consistency was incredible this year. I only had 2 dnf's (did not finish) the whole season, both of them due to blown tires. The 2nd dnf I blew a right rear tire while in 2nd place in the feature with a few laps to go. It threw the car sideways, sliding down toward the infield. When I slid into the dirt, the wheel dug in, causing a slow roll-over onto the roof. It was so slow going over, I thought the car was going to balance on the right side. There I was, laying on the roof, like a dog with all 4 paws in the air! 5 point harnesses don't release so easy when you're hangin' on 'em, but it didn't take me long to get them unlatched and get out of that car. All I could think was "what if it catches on fire?". If we could have had a few minutes to add oil and change the tire, we could have finished the race. |
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