Even guys as-good as the aforementioned Ray Moran have an off-night on occasion, and on this evening at the Speedbowl, he probably wished that he’d stayed home. His Coupe captured “belly-up” in the lens of long-time Speedbowl lensman Shany Lorenzent, note that the “fuel tank” has become dislodged and is laying on the track. If you ever doubt that racing safety has made great-strides over the years, remember this photo. Moran’s “tank” is actually a beer keg. It was common-practice to use them back-then (along with GI-issue “Jerry Cans”). It’s simply amazing that more of our sport’s pioneers weren’t injured as a result of fire. (Shany Photo, Phillips collection).   

It’s the fall of 1953, and the legendary Melvin “Red” Foote is captured here at a trackside ceremony celebrating his Speedbowl Sportsman championship. It was a banner-year for the man who was known to the Waterford faithful as the “Crafty Redhead.” He won an amazing seventeen features on-route to the title, defeating a stellar crop of New England standouts that included guys like Red Bolduc, Dave Humphrey, Fred Luchesi, and Don Collins. Presenting Red with the hardware is Rex Records, president of the United Stock Car Racing Club. At the left is a young Harvey Tattersall Jr., then club secretary. During New England’s pre-NASCAR days, United (started by Harvey Jr.’s father), was hands-down the most-powerful sanctioning body in the region. Both Foote and Tattersall are members of the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame. (Shany Photo).

It didn’t take a genius to recognize the extraordinary talent possessed by Bob Potter when he entered the sport as a Speedbowl Bomber class rookie back in the early-sixties. Within a few seasons, he was in the Modifieds, and winning – a tradition continuing for decades. This shot captures our friend Bob posing with the Modified Coupe that served as a springboard for the many successes to follow. The car was a beauty; maroon trimmed in gold – clearly one of the shoreline oval’s finest-looking pieces. A New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame Member, Potter scored multiple championships (6 at Waterford-alone), and hundreds of victories at Waterford, Thompson and Stafford. (Shany Photo coutesy of Ginny Potter-Gayton). 

Here’s a real curiosity. Though the driver is recognizable as New England Auto Racing Hall of Famer Rene Charland during his days as a young Modified pilot, it’s the car that stands-out with its rather unorthodox design features (note the hood). Posing with his driver is innovative fifties-era car builder Arnold Delisle of Massachusetts. Rather than relying on conventional powerplants of the day, Delisle chose for his Coupe a war-surplus Lycoming aircraft engine. Air-cooled, the setup required no radiator which resulted in a lower-than-normal profile at the front. With its carburetor housed on the bottom of the engine (with no filter), dirt would find its way into the engine, requiring a ring-job every four races or-so. While the car was uncompetitive on the shorter tracks, it reportedly howled on the long ovals. The shot was captured at the Rhythm Inn Speedway, a Millers Falls, MA. dirt 1/3-miler that operated from 1951-1959. (Photographer Unknown).

We really like this early-70’s infield shot of Plainville Stadium strongman Dave Alkas in the Roland Cyr-owned Coupe. A longtime standout at the late Connecticut facility, he notched 5 track championships there in a 10 year period. Competing regularly against Plainville alumni like Reggie Ruggiero, Stan Gregor, and Ronnie Rocco, he routinely bested the field, notching eleven feature wins in one season-alone. He won regularly during those great Plainville mid-week 100-lap open competition shows, beating visitors like Ed Flemke, Sr., Ron and Ken Bouchard, Bob Stefanik, and Ron Wyckoff. The most successful Modified driver in Plainville Stadium history, Alkas was inducted into the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2008. (Hoyt Photo).         

Though I literally grew-up at Connecticut’s Waterford Speedbowl, by the time I became old-enough to drive, it was time for a few “road trips” to places I’d long been reading-about in publications like Speedway Scene, Pro Speed Review, and of-course, Cavalcade of Auto Racing. Where’s the first place I headed? Why, Plainville Stadium, of course! It was because of colorful drivers and cars like the one seen here that I was so-attracted to the place. Coupes & Coaches were seemingly still the norm at Tinty’s place long-after they were abandoned at the other three Connecticut ovals. Captured here seated behind the controls of the Ron Beckman-owned Coupe is Stadium’ front-runner, Dennis “The Greek” Chavaris. As a bit of trivia, our webmaster Tom Ormsby (who correctly identified Dennis as the driver for me), states that he eventually ended-up with the neat lightweight aluminum wheels seen here for his own #60 Coupe. This car was eventually destroyed in an accident at Riverside Park with Fred Colassa behind the wheel. (Kennedy Photo).      

That's it for this week. Email me at: foreveryounginct@gmail.com