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Trenton rain-outs


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#1 rateus

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Posted 10 May 2013 - 10:04

While browsing ebay I just came across an interesting item, the programme for the USAC National Championship race at Trenton Speedway on 24 September 1977. Interesting, because this race never took place - race day was rained out and the race wasn't rescheduled, in spite of there being 5 weeks until the next (and final) race of the season.

Does anyone know which entries showed up at Trenton and how far this meeting got before the rain came? Did the cars make it on track at all, or did the rain hold off long enough to permit qualifying? And for that matter, why was the race not rescheduled when, on the face of it, there seems ample space in the calendar to fit a re-run in?

Funnily enough, Trenton had 'previous' in this regard - the NASCAR Grand National race in July 1973 was rained out (although, if the Great God Wikipedia is to be believed, qualifying was run - no word on who won the pole though) and not rescheduled. In fact, that was the last time the NASCAR teams went to Trenton, the 1974 date was transferred to Pocono....

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#2 Michael Ferner

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Posted 10 May 2013 - 15:51

The race was rescheduled for October 8, but finally cancelled on September 28 when several problems cropped up. A number of teams and drivers withdrew (amongst them Foyt, Andretti, Rutherford, Al Unser and Janet Guthrie), and the date clashed with the Modifieds Race of Champions at Pocono, as well as "baseball playoffs", so promoter Jim Cook decided to drop the thing.

I have an unofficial list of entries from newspaper articles, and will post them when I find the time. According to one article, 29 cars and drivers practiced on the Friday before Saturday's race date, and I have a list of unofficial times for about a dozen or so. Will post that, too.

#3 Michael Ferner

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Posted 10 May 2013 - 19:35

All right, here comes: about a week or two before the original race date, the "Trenton Times" (title sponsor for the race) reported 27 entries, led by the two-car teams of Penske=McLaren/Cosworth for Tom Sneva and Mario A., Wildcat/DGS for the homecoming Wally Dallenbach and Gordy Johncock, Parnelli/Cosworth for Ongais and Big Al (who, incidentally, at the time was still "Little Al"!) and a couple of Rolla Vollstedt entries for Janet Guthrie and Dick Simon. Also two cars were entered by Bob Fletcher, but for only one driver (Bobby U.): a new Lightning/Cosworth, and the older Lightning/Offy as a backup. James McElreath was to take his father's seat in the "AMC Experimental" (Eagle/AMC #74?), Jerry Sneva to drive a Rascar (that would be Larry McCoy's #63), Johnny Rutherford the McLaren house car, Salt Walther a "Dayton-Walther Special" (McLaren/DGS #77?), Mike Mosley a Sugaripe Prune entry, Roger McCluskey for Lindsey Hopkins and Bobby Olivero an "Alex Foods" car (all of them Lightning/Offies), Al Loquasto his "Frostie Root Beer Special" (McLaren/Offy), Gary Bettenhausen a J. C. Agajanian entry (actually, a Grant King Dragon/Offy), Jack Owen(s) a Coyote/Chevrolet (ex? Lee Brayton, I'd say), Larry Cannon his Wildcat/DGS, Larry Dickson in the WKYG McLaren, Ed Finley in the Manta, Rick Mears a Theodore Racing entry (Bill Simpson's McLaren/Offy) and Spike Gehlhausen his father's "PV Corp. Special" (Eagle/Offy). That makes twenty-five; missing are two driverless entries by Mergard Racing and Art Sugai.

Later, Tom Bigelow was mentioned as an entry (Watson/Offy), and by 7.00 am on Thursday morning A. J. Foyt was ante portas, signing in at the pit gate and "drifting off somewhere for breakfast" - how delightful! At noon on Friday, a reported twenty-nine cars and drivers took to the track, and that is without Bobby U. whose new car wasn't ready in time, and the old one not to his liking, so he stayed home, and so did his team. Who were the four additional drivers and two additional cars? Only Johnny Parsons was mentioned, and no car assignment for him - he had driven the Bill Freeman McLaren/Offy in recent races, but somehow I feel an entry for his old friend Tassi Vatis more likely. Larry (Jr.) McCoy and Steve Krisiloff were sighted in the pits, but without rides, so it'll be anybody's guess. Fastest in practice was Al Unser at 32.18" from Andretti (32.37"), Rutherford, Johncock (both at 32.39") and Foyt (no time given). Other times recorded were for Ongais (32.65"), Tom Sneva (32.73"), Parsons (32.74"), Wally "Dolly" (32.91"), Loquasto (35.45"), "Dammit Janet" (36.51") and the slowest of all, Ed Finley in his rare fish (40.62"). Actually, the Manta even failed to outpace the fastest of the Super Vees, led by Howdy Holmes (39.62") in qualifying for the 100-km support race of the "Mini-Indy" series, but already the weather curtailed activities, and about two dozens of the Volkswagens were left high and... er, wet! - as rain set in during the afternoon, lasting all through the weekend. Only on-track activity on Saturday was an economy run for journalists in VW Rabbits, but even that did not go ahead as planned as the fuel supply system proved "defective", and the cars fired up in the pits but apparently never left them! Oh dear... Sunday, the designated rain date, was a complete wash-out.

The following weekend being "full" with a National Dirt Track Championship race at Syracuse on Saturday and the US Grand Prix at the Glen (both affected by rain, incidentally), and the promoter unwilling to chance on a later date (after all, as Dallenbach remarked, there had to have been a reason for him moving to Colorado!), October 8 was fixed as the new rain date, but eventually dropped as Cook wasn't to keen on yet another bath, both literally and proverbially! THE END.

#4 Michael Ferner

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Posted 10 May 2013 - 19:45

Funnily enough, Trenton had 'previous' in this regard - the NASCAR Grand National race in July 1973 was rained out (although, if the Great God Wikipedia is to be believed, qualifying was run - no word on who won the pole though) and not rescheduled. In fact, that was the last time the NASCAR teams went to Trenton, the 1974 date was transferred to Pocono....


It was Bobby Allison.

#5 rateus

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Posted 10 May 2013 - 21:04

Marvelous stuff Michael, many thanks :up:

#6 rateus

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Posted 10 May 2013 - 21:30

That makes twenty-five; missing are two driverless entries by Mergard Racing and Art Sugai.

The Mergard Racing #42 Eagle-Offy was driven in the events either side of Trenton by sometime F1 driver Bertil Roos - not conclusive I know, but makes him the best candidate for that car if it did arrive. And Art Sugai entered the #90 Eagle-Offy iirc, in which case the same applies to Bubby Jones for that entry.

Neither Roos nor Jones qualified for either race incidentally, so hardly surprising if they were omitted from practice reports...


#7 Allen Brown

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Posted 11 May 2013 - 08:54

Great stuff Michael.

#8 Allen Brown

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Posted 11 May 2013 - 11:33

Jack Owens' Coyote was a 1971 car, probably the ex-Donnie Allison car which had been one of a pair of Coyotes acquired by Jim Hurtubise and his various backers for the 1972 season. (Just to digress, it has just occurred to me that the other Coyote, a 1970 model, must be that "ancient Eagle" pictured wearing #54 in Herk's garage in the 1978 Hungness.)

If Jerry Sneva was due to drive a Rascar, I'd suggest it was James Bidwell's backup car, the #63 back at the Speedway in May.



#9 Michael Ferner

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Posted 11 May 2013 - 14:51

The Mergard Racing #42 Eagle-Offy was driven in the events either side of Trenton by sometime F1 driver Bertil Roos - not conclusive I know, but makes him the best candidate for that car if it did arrive. And Art Sugai entered the #90 Eagle-Offy iirc, in which case the same applies to Bubby Jones for that entry.

Neither Roos nor Jones qualified for either race incidentally, so hardly surprising if they were omitted from practice reports...


True, but both appear to have been engaged otherwise on the weekend. Bubby was at Terre Haute on Sunday, working on his Sprint Car points (although that doesn't necessarily mean that he wasn't at Trenton on Saturday), and Roos may have raced Atlantics at Québec City Park in Canada.

As for the Owen(s) Coyote, I have no definite info, just a notion. Also, wasn't James Bidwell a sponsor of the McCoys?

#10 Michael Ferner

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Posted 11 May 2013 - 14:55

... and Roos may have raced Atlantics at Québec City Park in Canada.


Just checked on Allen's site, and no, he wasn't.

#11 Allen Brown

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Posted 11 May 2013 - 15:44

Also, wasn't James Bidwell a sponsor of the McCoys?


Ah yes, in 1975-76, quite right. So we're talking about the same RasCar.

Edited by Allen Brown, 11 May 2013 - 15:44.


#12 rateus

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Posted 11 May 2013 - 15:46

Speaking of Allen's site, I just noticed that gbl's section at http://www.oldracingcars.info/usnc/ has a page on this race, presumably sourced from a separate report.

He only lists 18 entries including the #42 Mergard and #90 Sugai Eagles, tentatively assigned to Roos and Jones respectively. He also has 2 entries not mentioned in Michael's post above, the #18 Longhorn Racing Wildcat-DGS for George Snider and the #69 Hoffman Racing Eagle-Offy for Joe Saldana (driver uncertain). Parsons isn't listed so, combining the 2 lists, we now seem to have one car too many....

#13 Michael Ferner

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Posted 11 May 2013 - 17:55

... and he seems to think that Bertil Roos was an American!

By the way, I forgot to mention one important thing: Gary Bettenhausen injured himself in a Sprint Car race at Eldora the week before, and was substituted by Billy Vukovich.

#14 Michael Ferner

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Posted 12 May 2013 - 16:05

Ah yes, in 1975-76, quite right. So we're talking about the same RasCar.


I think you were quite right, Allen: it seems the McCoys sold their interests to Bidwell in the summer of 1976. Also a good explanation as to why Junior was at the track, but without a ride!

#15 dweller23

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Posted 13 May 2013 - 16:41

Trenton 150 on September 24th of 1977 was scheduled to be shown by CBS from 4:30PM to 6PM ET.

#16 Allen Brown

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Posted 13 May 2013 - 16:45

... and he seems to think that Bertil Roos was an American!

Talk to him Michael - you know where he is!

#17 gbl

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Posted 13 May 2013 - 17:18

Here a some practice pictures:

http://www.trackforu...s-thread/page46
http://www.trackforu...s-thread/page47

With a few others I have, I have identified 18 cars so far that took part in practice:

http://oldracingcars...0...y=1977&r=50


#18 Gokart Mozart

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Posted 14 May 2013 - 02:30

Here a some practice pictures:

http://www.trackforu...s-thread/page46
http://www.trackforu...s-thread/page47

With a few others I have, I have identified 18 cars so far that took part in practice:

http://oldracingcars...0...y=1977&r=50


Judging by the photos posted on Trackforum, Bubby Jones fits the bill perfectly in Sugai's #90 (AAR #7225) in practice for the event. Jones tried to get #7225 in the show at Michigan and Phoenix in the fall of '77, and wore a white helmet while doing so; he was the only driver other than Gary Bettenhausen ('73 PHX II and '74 PHX I) to wear a helmet color other than yellow in the car during its USAC career. The date works out perfectly, as it fits right in-line with his tenure in Sugai's team at the end of '77.

Jones had the car fourth-quickest in practice for the season-ending Phoenix race, and the crew chief, whom did not care for Jones, had the hired hands fill the tanks full for qualifying; creating a wide ride for Jones when he dove in to T1 in qualifying thinking the car was on a light fuel load and slowing him down to DNQ status. It would be the last time #7225 ran in anger.

Cheers,

Jacques

#19 Allen Brown

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Posted 14 May 2013 - 09:34

Comparing gbl's page with Michael's post, gbl has identified the two additional cars that Michael mentioned as Joe Saldana in the #69 Hoffman Racing Eagle '72 and George Snider in the #18 Longhorn Racing Wildcat Mk 1.

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#20 rateus

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Posted 14 May 2013 - 21:05

Rolla Vollstedt for Dick Simon. James McElreath was to take his father's seat in the "AMC Experimental" (Eagle/AMC #74?), Jerry Sneva to drive a Rascar (that would be Larry McCoy's #63), Salt Walther a "Dayton-Walther Special" (McLaren/DGS #77?), Bobby Olivero an "Alex Foods" car (Lightning/Offies), Billy Vukovich a J. C. Agajanian entry (actually, a Grant King Dragon/Offy), Jack Owen(s) a Coyote/Chevrolet (ex? Lee Brayton, I'd say), Larry Dickson in the WKYG McLaren, Rick Mears a Theodore Racing entry (Bill Simpson's McLaren/Offy) and Spike Gehlhausen his father's "PV Corp. Special" (Eagle/Offy). Later, Tom Bigelow was mentioned as an entry (Watson/Offy).

These are the entries from Michael's original post that are still unaccounted for, and we have Parsons Jr as an extra driver who must either have driven one of these or an unidentified extra, in which case one of the above did not show up.