Seen here during the early-seventies are the easily-recognizable team cars of Modified racings greatest-ever, the late Richie Evans. For a time during the period, Evans had the two-car operation in full-swing and put none-other than his buddy the late “Steady Eddie” Flemke behind the controls of his signature-orange # 61x team car. The move paid-off, as Eddie rewarded the “Rapid Roman” with victory. If you look closely at this shot you can see Eddie on the left at the door of the hauler getting-ready for the evenings festivities and Eddie Jr. in the center in the tan pants. (Grady Photo).

As one of the earliest stars on the dirt of New York State’s famed Fonda Speedway, Robby Kotary successfully competed weekly against the absolute best-in-the-business. The track routinely drew Modified fields in upwards of forty cars, and included in that equation were top dirt-slingers like Pete Corey, Bill Wimble, Kenny Shoemaker, and Lou “Monks” Lazzaro in naming just a few. It truly was an All-Star cast each & every week. As it remains today, it was no easy-feat to conquer Fonda, and Kotary managed to do it on multiple occasions. (Grady Photo).

When Howard “Jeep” Herbert passed-away back in 2002, the Fonda Speedway lost one of its most-beloved former competitors. Jeep scored a total of twenty-five checkers at “The Track of Champions”, the first coming in 1953, the final a decade-later. He notched the track title in 1959 and was the New York State Champion in both 1956 & 1957 in the Bob Whitbeck built #37 (as pictured here). Compared to some of his contemporaries of that rough & tumble era, Herbert’s career was a relatively brief-affair. With the mid-sixties came great technical-strides in the realm of dirt racing (particularly in the manner of tires). When participating in the sport became prohibitively-expensive, Jeep simply put his helmet on the shelf opting instead to spend more time with his family. Who knows how many more victories would have been scored had he kept at-it? (Grady Photo).

Shown here is New York State Hotshot “Irish Jack” Murphy who began his career on the dirt tracks of his home state during the late-forties. Successful in both Modifieds (as pictured here), and Supers, he was well-known for his green & white creations each adorned with a shamrock (no-doubt a nod to his families heritage), and his signature #6. Particularly successful at Oswego, Murphy scored multiple championships as well as the International Classic of 1957 (out-dueling a determined Nolan Swift to the checkers). A multi-purpose shoe, he was one of his era’s perennial winner on both dirt and asphalt. Retiring in the late-sixties, he staged a brief comeback to finish a solid eighth in the 1970 Langhorne Race of Champions while wheeling a supposedly-outdated straight-axel Coupe. (Grady Photo).

Skip Barna was a noted Coupe-Era racer at the late Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Massachusetts. One of the top drivers during the Tattersall/United reign at the famed quarter-miler, his singular feature victory at “The Park” came on the evening of June 20, 1970. This one captures a smiling Skip with one of his earlier rides. (Grady Photo).

Seen here in the mid-sixties at what’s believed to be Utica-Rome or Malta is none-other than the popular Gaston Demarais, a journeyman driver from the wilds of Tupper Lake, NY. During that period, pavement Modified racing in the region was at an all-time high in popularity. Joints like Utica Rome & Malta routinely hosted the best the division had to offer with guys like Ed Flemke Sr., Gene Bergin, Donnie Mac, and the like all frequent competitors. A win at any of these New York State ovals was an accomplishment-indeed, and on this evening Gaston bested the field. (Grady Photo).      

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