A few weeks-ago we ran a shot of this driver and his Hudson coupe, and it stirred a lot of interest. Once-more, here’s Joe Wilcox at Massachusetts’ much-missed Riverside Park Speedway. Though he was always in the hunt, Joe’s lone Riverside feature victory occurred on the evening of June 12, 1971 (as seen here), making him among the last guys to grab a main event on the old fifth-mile oval. For the 1972 campaign, the track was expanded to a ¼-mile. (Grady Photo).

Seen here during a late-70s outing at Connecticut’s Stafford Springs Motors Speedway is Fred Alkas in the Vieira Brothers Gremlin. Along with his older brothers Dave (a NEAR Hall of Famer), and George, Fred enjoyed considerable success on the ovals of New England, and particularly on his home track of the late & much-missed Plainville Stadium. (Photo Courtesy Tom Ormsby).      

What has to be said about this photo? Both the car and the guy holding the checkered flag should be easily-recognizable to anyone with even a remote knowledge of New England auto racing history. The driver is legendary New England Auto Racing Hall of Famer the late “Steady Eddie” Flemke, and the car is one of the many Coupes that fellow Hall of Fame member the late, great, Richie Evans campaigned during his long, storied career. The arrangement between these two superstars on this evening all those years-ago obviously worked-out well! (Grady Photo).

Like so-many of the racers from his generation, the late Maynard Forrette saw no boundaries in the difference between running on dirt or asphalt. A big winner on both, he’s probably most fondly remembered for his stunning dirt-slingin’ drives on the daunting Syracuse Mile where during the later stages of his career, he often bested competitor’s half-his-age. A master mechanic and innovative car builder, Forrette also ran Northern Speed Supply, a haven for racers seeking to get the most out of their equipment. (Grady Photo).      

Captured here in 1969 at Connecticut’s late Danbury Fair Racearena is Dick Dyke. A steady competitor with the Southern New York Racing Association for a number of seasons, Dyke was never fortunate-enough to score a main event, but did manage to snare multiple heat wins and a “B” feature. Note that this car is powered by a flathead V-8. This was the standard powerplant for competitors of the SNYRA long-after the majority of New England had progressed to the overhead-valve V8. It worked for them, as Danbury was always the scene of high car-counts & terrific competition! (Mannion Photo).   

To a certain degree, the late George Pendergast gets short-changed when it comes to talking about the racing feats of his generation’s drivers. Pendergast was in-fact, a noteworthy winner grabbing checkers all-over New England during the much-heralded “Coupe Era.” Perhaps overshadowing his accomplishments was a fun-loving persona. Ever-the-Rogue (in a good-way), few escaped George’s practical jokes and desire to make racing an absolutely-entertaining endeavor both on, & off the track. This shot captures George at Connecticut’s “New London-Waterford” Speedbowl following a triumph while behind the controls of the “Baldy” Simons coupe. That’s Jack Brouwer offereing-up a victory handshake. (Shany Photo).  

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