5MP Heath Memorial 2008.
All week long we watched the
weather, and all week long
the weatherman said rain...or
at least a 60% chance of
thundershowers..which meant
at least a 40% chance of
racing. Good enough. Really,
it must be tough to try and
predict the weather but then
again, no one can blame you
if you're wrong and if you're
right, it's a bonus. No matter
for someone trying to get a car
ready for a show though,
you'd better be ready
regardless. Which for us
meant finding tires that were
a little more than just round
and held air, ensuring that
brakes were more than just
wishful thinking, and for god
sakes, making sure that the
contraption had at least
enough gas in it to make a few
laps. After all, these cars were
going on the track at 5MP,
even if for a an exhibition,
they had to be right. Wire
brush rims, paint, pump up
tires, adjust brakes, tighten
hubs, replace lugs, find an oil
pressure gauge that actually
works - (peace of mind) -
tinker, tinker and then give
her a 'tryout'. My bridge over
the creek was completed this
year with approaches and I'd
brush-hogged a small oval out
in my field, time to wring out
the Teardrop! Have to admit, it
surprised me. All 221 cubic
inches of gut wrenching
flathead power pumping as I
broadslided through the grass
'track', locked in 2nd gear the
flathead responded admirably.
The tires held, the brakes
locked up, and as I buzzed the
grass and milkweeds off, a
smile became tatooed to my
face. Fun to drive is an
understatement. It was a
blast, and more than one
stopped by the roadside to see
my spectacle - neat. Onto the
trailer and I figger I'm ready.
Take the boys for a walk later
that evening and find some
potentially bad news. There's
a wishbone joint and
accompanying ball socket
laying near the
brigde...#$#%^&*#@! Now, I've
got to weld that thing back
on.. can't go without read
radius arms connected. All
right, where'd it come from?
Under the car with a trouble
light and lo and behold - this
one was obviously cut off and
replaced, in our haste we just
forgot to remove this end..
Hallilouiea - I've just lightened
my car.. The only real
'incident' is that there is now
some dog turd on the roof of
the Teardrop, apparently the
dogs have been using the
track as well.
Meanwhile, in Morris,
Cortland and Pittsfield, NY,
similar operations are going
on. Dad has the Monster
going and stopping, and has
scrounged up some decent
tires. Mike Newell is planning
on debuting the 'Dachshund'
replica of Don Beagell Jr. -
and has secured track time at
the former Midstate Speedway
to test and tune. OK - he was
supposed to pull a rake with a
tractor, but they didn't specify
what kind of tractor..Mike is
talented and dedicated to our
club, he took a '34 Dodge
4-door sedan supplied by
buddy John Mason and
transformed it into the
Beagell bug - easily one of the
most recognizable and unique
modifieds ever to race in this
area. Successfull too, Don put
the car in many victory lanes.
Saturday, still a 60% chance
of rain, still hot and muggy.
We're all ready, a few
raindrops at noon and I'm
wondering, then, nothing
more. The racing gods are
smiling upon us today and
this is going to come off. A
quick tow to 5MP and Dad
greet's me there, the Monster
looks great and we've secured
the services of Carl Nagel to
drive it for our exhibition -
perfect. The Teardrop fires up
without a hitch and is
carrying 65 Lbs. oil pressure,
sweet. Dad's worried though -
can't remember is there's two
axles in the Monster or not.
Now - Carl Nagel is a good
guy, you won't meet any nicer
but when Dad is explaining to
him how the gas and brake
pedals are reversed and there
may only be one axle in the
rear....well, his eyebrows are
dancing.. Dad hops in, fires it
up and drops the clutch at
Carls suggestion, both tires
grab, OK - two axles. At least
that's solved but now about
the pedal arrangement...
Mike Newell and John Mason
show up shortly after with the
Pink Panther and Daschound
- already, even in the heat of
the day, the fans are coming
and engulf our area. With
these four cars in place we
have a wonderful display and
former drivers are drawn,
smiles broad. The children are
there too, and all over the
cars, questions abound. Why
pink? Is that a hemi? How
come the doors open? And of
course, 'can I drive it?' Jim
Chase wheels in the Kennedy
#67 last and our display is
complete. Club members Gary
Wood, John Ross, and Jim
Florence help us all get our
stuff in line, it's a community
effort that is immediately
apprecaited by the fans.
Three chili dogs later here
comes Steve Bronson, then
Alan Tatich, then Joe Buchek.
All smiles and handshakes.
Joe see's Alan and starts
talking of his uncle George
who was, apparently, quite
the character. Not only a
master craftsman, mechanic,
and racer - he also liked
airplanes and once, on a dare,
flew one under the Owego
bridge. No small feat. I
present Alan with a picture of
George in his last car, the one
he flipped right here at this
track off of turn one and
broke his back ending his
racing career. Joe is full of it
as always and I ask if he'd like
to spin the Teardrop around
during intermission, he tries
the seat out and asks where
the air conditioning
is...perfect.
The Kids. They seem to be
everywhere, and all of them
want to hold the wheel. I
swear, some of them have
more seat time than I do in
these cars, at least by the end
of the evening. Some big kids
got in them too..Must say the
were all very well behaved and
didn't hit any buttons. Got to
be tough to be told NOT to hit
any switches and buttons -
and then not to do it. All were
good and, all left with a smile.
There's Pete Cordes, then
'Crazy' Eddie Rafferty, Roger
Beagell, Don Beagell, when
Chuck Akulis showed up a
crowd gathered with
handshakes. I got to meet
Mark Terry, and Stub
Stephens, on and on it went.
Joe notices I have an extra
seat in the Teardrop, his wife
Nancy is available for a drive.
Carls' wife hears this and goes
looking for a helmet. We need
to get rumble seats in these
things.
The track is in good shape,
the new grandstand seating is
super, great view and really a
nice addition to the track.
There's a lot of cars here
tonight, enough to run a
modified consi and send some
home. The crowd showed up a
bit late, after it got cooler but
what a crowd, I'm surprised
really. 5MP is alive and well
no doubt, the food was good,
the racing better and
everyone was pleasant and
helpfull. I'm not just saying
that either, it was truly an
enjoyable night at the races.
The IMCA Mods are done and
at intermission Leon Andrus
introduces all the former
drivers assembled for the
reunion. It's a nice gesture for
all of them to be recognized
for their contributions to
racing at this cornerstone
track. We wheel our cars down
to victory lane and let them
take over. Joe Buchek hops in
the Teardrop and hollers "HEY
DEFOREST!" There's no
hesitation and Deforest
Chalker climbs aboard for a
spin, Carl Nagel is getting a
refresher course from Dad as
he climbs in the 43, Chuck
Akulis knows the pink
Panther like the back of his
hand, Roger Beagell jumps in
the Kennedy 67 and Don
Beagell relates 'Fits Perfect' as
he slides into the Daschound.
Off they go into the night
around the track they all
tamed and helped carve. It's a
nice display, one I'm sure was
enjoyed as much by the fans
as the drivers themselves.
Andy Harpell has handed us
some nice 5MP stickers for
our cars, Ron Doebler greets
with a handshake, Casey Oltz
is honored for her years of
work in the scorers stand.
Good people all dedicated to
keeping racing alive for fans
and racers alike. The
exhibition over, we loaded up
and made it back in time to
see Carl Nagel charge from
20th to 5th, impressive and if
it'd been 100 laps I'd have my
money on him, he was
coming..Joey Grammes won
the 45th Heath Memorial and
was as impressive afterward in
his interview as he was on the
track. Thanked his sponsors,
fellow racers and paid homage
to the former drivers as well. A
great night, one of the best
I've spent at the track in a
long time. I want to thank, on
behalf of our club, everyone at
5MP for making our night so
enjoyable. Now I'll let the
pictures do the rest of the
talking.
All week long we watched the
weather, and all week long
the weatherman said rain...or
at least a 60% chance of
thundershowers..which meant
at least a 40% chance of
racing. Good enough. Really,
it must be tough to try and
predict the weather but then
again, no one can blame you
if you're wrong and if you're
right, it's a bonus. No matter
for someone trying to get a car
ready for a show though,
you'd better be ready
regardless. Which for us
meant finding tires that were
a little more than just round
and held air, ensuring that
brakes were more than just
wishful thinking, and for god
sakes, making sure that the
contraption had at least
enough gas in it to make a few
laps. After all, these cars were
going on the track at 5MP,
even if for a an exhibition,
they had to be right. Wire
brush rims, paint, pump up
tires, adjust brakes, tighten
hubs, replace lugs, find an oil
pressure gauge that actually
works - (peace of mind) -
tinker, tinker and then give
her a 'tryout'. My bridge over
the creek was completed this
year with approaches and I'd
brush-hogged a small oval out
in my field, time to wring out
the Teardrop! Have to admit, it
surprised me. All 221 cubic
inches of gut wrenching
flathead power pumping as I
broadslided through the grass
'track', locked in 2nd gear the
flathead responded admirably.
The tires held, the brakes
locked up, and as I buzzed the
grass and milkweeds off, a
smile became tatooed to my
face. Fun to drive is an
understatement. It was a
blast, and more than one
stopped by the roadside to see
my spectacle - neat. Onto the
trailer and I figger I'm ready.
Take the boys for a walk later
that evening and find some
potentially bad news. There's
a wishbone joint and
accompanying ball socket
laying near the
brigde...#$#%^&*#@! Now, I've
got to weld that thing back
on.. can't go without read
radius arms connected. All
right, where'd it come from?
Under the car with a trouble
light and lo and behold - this
one was obviously cut off and
replaced, in our haste we just
forgot to remove this end..
Hallilouiea - I've just lightened
my car.. The only real
'incident' is that there is now
some dog turd on the roof of
the Teardrop, apparently the
dogs have been using the
track as well.
Meanwhile, in Morris,
Cortland and Pittsfield, NY,
similar operations are going
on. Dad has the Monster
going and stopping, and has
scrounged up some decent
tires. Mike Newell is planning
on debuting the 'Dachshund'
replica of Don Beagell Jr. -
and has secured track time at
the former Midstate Speedway
to test and tune. OK - he was
supposed to pull a rake with a
tractor, but they didn't specify
what kind of tractor..Mike is
talented and dedicated to our
club, he took a '34 Dodge
4-door sedan supplied by
buddy John Mason and
transformed it into the
Beagell bug - easily one of the
most recognizable and unique
modifieds ever to race in this
area. Successfull too, Don put
the car in many victory lanes.
Saturday, still a 60% chance
of rain, still hot and muggy.
We're all ready, a few
raindrops at noon and I'm
wondering, then, nothing
more. The racing gods are
smiling upon us today and
this is going to come off. A
quick tow to 5MP and Dad
greet's me there, the Monster
looks great and we've secured
the services of Carl Nagel to
drive it for our exhibition -
perfect. The Teardrop fires up
without a hitch and is
carrying 65 Lbs. oil pressure,
sweet. Dad's worried though -
can't remember is there's two
axles in the Monster or not.
Now - Carl Nagel is a good
guy, you won't meet any nicer
but when Dad is explaining to
him how the gas and brake
pedals are reversed and there
may only be one axle in the
rear....well, his eyebrows are
dancing.. Dad hops in, fires it
up and drops the clutch at
Carls suggestion, both tires
grab, OK - two axles. At least
that's solved but now about
the pedal arrangement...
Mike Newell and John Mason
show up shortly after with the
Pink Panther and Daschound
- already, even in the heat of
the day, the fans are coming
and engulf our area. With
these four cars in place we
have a wonderful display and
former drivers are drawn,
smiles broad. The children are
there too, and all over the
cars, questions abound. Why
pink? Is that a hemi? How
come the doors open? And of
course, 'can I drive it?' Jim
Chase wheels in the Kennedy
#67 last and our display is
complete. Club members Gary
Wood, John Ross, and Jim
Florence help us all get our
stuff in line, it's a community
effort that is immediately
apprecaited by the fans.
Three chili dogs later here
comes Steve Bronson, then
Alan Tatich, then Joe Buchek.
All smiles and handshakes.
Joe see's Alan and starts
talking of his uncle George
who was, apparently, quite
the character. Not only a
master craftsman, mechanic,
and racer - he also liked
airplanes and once, on a dare,
flew one under the Owego
bridge. No small feat. I
present Alan with a picture of
George in his last car, the one
he flipped right here at this
track off of turn one and
broke his back ending his
racing career. Joe is full of it
as always and I ask if he'd like
to spin the Teardrop around
during intermission, he tries
the seat out and asks where
the air conditioning
is...perfect.
The Kids. They seem to be
everywhere, and all of them
want to hold the wheel. I
swear, some of them have
more seat time than I do in
these cars, at least by the end
of the evening. Some big kids
got in them too..Must say the
were all very well behaved and
didn't hit any buttons. Got to
be tough to be told NOT to hit
any switches and buttons -
and then not to do it. All were
good and, all left with a smile.
There's Pete Cordes, then
'Crazy' Eddie Rafferty, Roger
Beagell, Don Beagell, when
Chuck Akulis showed up a
crowd gathered with
handshakes. I got to meet
Mark Terry, and Stub
Stephens, on and on it went.
Joe notices I have an extra
seat in the Teardrop, his wife
Nancy is available for a drive.
Carls' wife hears this and goes
looking for a helmet. We need
to get rumble seats in these
things.
The track is in good shape,
the new grandstand seating is
super, great view and really a
nice addition to the track.
There's a lot of cars here
tonight, enough to run a
modified consi and send some
home. The crowd showed up a
bit late, after it got cooler but
what a crowd, I'm surprised
really. 5MP is alive and well
no doubt, the food was good,
the racing better and
everyone was pleasant and
helpfull. I'm not just saying
that either, it was truly an
enjoyable night at the races.
The IMCA Mods are done and
at intermission Leon Andrus
introduces all the former
drivers assembled for the
reunion. It's a nice gesture for
all of them to be recognized
for their contributions to
racing at this cornerstone
track. We wheel our cars down
to victory lane and let them
take over. Joe Buchek hops in
the Teardrop and hollers "HEY
DEFOREST!" There's no
hesitation and Deforest
Chalker climbs aboard for a
spin, Carl Nagel is getting a
refresher course from Dad as
he climbs in the 43, Chuck
Akulis knows the pink
Panther like the back of his
hand, Roger Beagell jumps in
the Kennedy 67 and Don
Beagell relates 'Fits Perfect' as
he slides into the Daschound.
Off they go into the night
around the track they all
tamed and helped carve. It's a
nice display, one I'm sure was
enjoyed as much by the fans
as the drivers themselves.
Andy Harpell has handed us
some nice 5MP stickers for
our cars, Ron Doebler greets
with a handshake, Casey Oltz
is honored for her years of
work in the scorers stand.
Good people all dedicated to
keeping racing alive for fans
and racers alike. The
exhibition over, we loaded up
and made it back in time to
see Carl Nagel charge from
20th to 5th, impressive and if
it'd been 100 laps I'd have my
money on him, he was
coming..Joey Grammes won
the 45th Heath Memorial and
was as impressive afterward in
his interview as he was on the
track. Thanked his sponsors,
fellow racers and paid homage
to the former drivers as well. A
great night, one of the best
I've spent at the track in a
long time. I want to thank, on
behalf of our club, everyone at
5MP for making our night so
enjoyable. Now I'll let the
pictures do the rest of the
talking.
On Sunday night the club
traveled to Utica - Rome
Speedway for NYSSCA night
to display our cars behind the
grandstand once again. John
Clark brought the Turner #10
and 'Old Nell', John Button
brought his sprinter, Larry
Farrell had his V3 on hand
and Alan Weaver debuted the
newly done Ed Thompson #19
which by all accounts is as
sharp as it looks, if you haven't
noticed by the Lantz #77; Alan
is a perfectionist. Reports are
that a good time was had by
all, we certainly had another
nice display of cars on hand.
Thanks to Alan for passing
along the photo's.
traveled to Utica - Rome
Speedway for NYSSCA night
to display our cars behind the
grandstand once again. John
Clark brought the Turner #10
and 'Old Nell', John Button
brought his sprinter, Larry
Farrell had his V3 on hand
and Alan Weaver debuted the
newly done Ed Thompson #19
which by all accounts is as
sharp as it looks, if you haven't
noticed by the Lantz #77; Alan
is a perfectionist. Reports are
that a good time was had by
all, we certainly had another
nice display of cars on hand.
Thanks to Alan for passing
along the photo's.
