Welcome to our new TNF member, Hinnershitz, and a mention about one of his heros, Tommy Hinnershitz. I spent 4 years in the huge city of Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, just around the corner from WIlliams Grove, and was always amazed of the respect the mention of his name drew. It hasn't changed to this day. He is still considered one of the most hard nose competitors, yet kind and decent people, in the history of central Pennsylvania racing.
I found a nice piece about him from the York Dailey News, and thought some of you might enjoy.
http://www.ydr.com/awards/1sprt1.shtml
also, a nice link form the eastern museum of motor racing showing one of Tommy's cars
http://www.emmr.org/virtual_tour5.htm
One other thing, having to do with his nickname. In central Pennsylvania, a "Dutchman" is a German. The term comes from a mispronounciation of the words "Deutch man". The Pennsylvania Amish "Dutch" country is in fact, "Deutch" country, settled by Germans.
Tommy Hinnershitz, the flying "Dutchman"
Started by
MPea3
, Apr 01 2004 15:22
16 replies to this topic
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#2
hinnershitz
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Posted 01 April 2004 - 17:22
Thanks for the warm welcome, MPea3, seems like I picked the right name. I didn't know about the german origins, "Hinnershitz" is not a typical german name, it should be "sch" instead of "sh". I always thought there would be a jewish connection.
Even at the risk of being a bit too long, I'd like to post the whole obituary, from which I quoted in the other thread. It's not available on the web any more. Unfortunately it has a "bad date", I think it has to August 5, 1999.
(08/05/99)
On track, in life: a giant
By Keith Fritz
Eagle/Times
They called him the "Oley Dirt Farmer" and "The Flying Dutchman."
Mario Andretti called him "a giant" in the sport.
Chris Economaki called him "a star."
And A.J. Foyt called him his "idol."
Tommy Hinnershitz was all of that and more.
The hometown hero who became a legend will be laid to rest today.
Hinnershitz, 87, died in his Alsace Township home over the weekend.
"It was really a sad moment when I heard Tommy passed away," said Foyt, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and a longtime friend of Hinnershitz. "I cant say enough about Tommy. I thought so much of him. The news made me sick to my stomach."
Those sentiments were shared by other racing legends and the common man who shared the loss of a man whose goal in life was to become a race driver.
For 30 years, Tommy Hinnershitz carved his way through the beginnings of dirt-track racing.
He drove his first race in a 1914 Model T at the Reading Fairgrounds in 1930.
Before ending his career in 1960 in a USAC sprint race at the Allentown Fairgrounds, Hinnershitz won seven Eastern sprint-car championships, with 104 firsts, 104 seconds and 58 thirds in sanctioned races; drove in the Indianapolis 500 three times; accumulated 43 AAA track records; and had seven wins in midgets.
He was awarded the 1952 Top Athlete Award from the Berks County Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Berks, Central and York chapters of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted into the state hall in 1975.
But records are only an indicator of how good he was on the track. They say nothing about the man.
"Tommy was a star," said Economaki, the longtime editor and publisher of National Speed Sport News. "And throughout those years, he never changed from the time he first showed up to the time he hung up his goggles. He lived in the same community, drove a car a few years old. He never displayed any affluence or superiority. He didnt let the success he had on the track change him."
"There was such a warmth to the man, and honesty," said Andretti, perhaps the most accomplished driver in racing history. "He was so open and no nonsense. He was very real. He would never have to put on a front. He was Tommy. In simplicity, he was grand. He was a giant in my eyes.
"He had a rare quality about him that everybody liked. Probably some of his biggest rivals were his best friends. You never heard Tommy giving a slide job to anyone. He was a clean driver and such a professional."
"Everybody liked him," echoed Foyt. "I never really heard nothing bad about Tommy. He was a super guy."
Yes, there was a quality about Hinnershitz that was magnetic. He was gracious and unassuming. He enjoyed talking with people and was always appreciative that people wanted to spend time with him.
His smile captured you and his stories mesmerized you.
"I enjoyed talking to Tommy because his Pennsylvania Dutch accent was fantastic," said Economaki. "His sentence construction was incredible. I remember one day at Reading. I was the announcer. I said to Tommy, How are you getting around? Ill never forget his reply: From the corners, off good. Today its not coming. Which was a great way of saying, "Im not coming off the corners too good. That always stuck with me."
But long before people got to know Tommy Hinnershitz the man, they got to know the driver.
Nobody drove a sprint car like Tommy Hinnershitz. Not then, not today.
Hinnershitz was known for throwing his car high into the turn, up against the fence, inches from disaster.
The stories told by those he passed up high became folk tales of those early years.
Like the story Jud Larson told in the garage area after a race: that he was running so close to the fence, he didnt think a motorcycle could get by. But he looked over and saw Tommy go by.
"When it would get dry and slick, if there was anything up there against the fence, Tommy found it and would blow you off," said Foyt. "He was unbelievable the way he drove a sprint car. Ive got a lot of pictures of Tommy up on two wheels, and as he was going by you, youd hear the throttle wide open and still he wasnt in any trouble. It always amazed me how he could balance a car. He was always kind of an idol of mine the way he drove those cars.
"When you raced against him, you had to beat him. And if you did beat him, he wasnt a pushover. I didnt beat him that much. But the few times I did, I thought it was a hell of an honor cause you beat somebody.
"I remember him at Terre Haute (Ind.). It was so slick, nobody could get around. But there he was, running on the wall. I mean, he was flying. He blew everybody off. After the race, I asked him what in the hell was doing up there and he said, It wasnt much. But Ill tell you, if there was anything at all up against the wall, Tommy would find it.
"The world lost one of the greatest sprint car drivers that ever lived. I dont care who the driver was or is. I dont care if it was A.J. Foyt or (Steve) Kinser, I can assure you, in his day, I dont think me or Kinser or anybody could beat the man."
Foyt isnt alone in his assessment.
Ironically, on Aug. 11, the results of a special national sprint car poll "The 25 Greatest Sprint Car Drivers of the 1900s" will be announced at a press conference at the National Sprint Car Museum at Knoxville, Iowa.
More than 120 drivers received votes from a blue-ribbon panel of media, manufacturers, officials, promoters, historians, representatives of major old-timers organizations and members of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, of which Hinnershitz became a member in 1991.
It was learned that Hinnershitz will be ranked second, behind Kinser and in front of Foyt.
Think of that, of all the great drivers who have ever sat in a sprint car, Tommy Hinnershitz is ranked second.
I dont know if Tommy knew the results of the poll, but he was planning on going to Knoxville. He loved Knoxville and he loved that he was in the Hall of Fame and was presented with a National Sprint Car Hall of Fame jacket, the one he wore, even on the coldest days.
Even after he retired as an active driver in 1960, at 48, Hinnershitz remained active as a mechanic in the sport he loved.
In 1964, he was at Langhorne, helping another future legend who was a rookie at the time. His name was Mario Andretti.
"He was my crew chief," said Andretti. "It was my very first Champ Car race at Langhorne. The fact that Tommy was the wrench guy on my car was a very big help for me because he knew how to set the car up.
"Can you imagine going to your very first Champ Car race and it being at Langhorne of all places? I know the night before the race was the first and only time probably in my career that I didnt sleep well because I was really, really concerned before a race.
"But with good old Tommy by my side, he gave me such confidence with everything he said. He helped me tremendously, and Ill always be grateful for that."
Tommy was that kind of guy. Even tutoring a rookie driver at a track that had taken so many, he was in control.
When you talked to Tommy about his career, he would often say he had no regrets. Then he would pause, long enough to reflect on the bad times, times when he lost so many friends to a sport that was, as Economaki said, "devastatingly dangerous."
It was the loss of those friends that Tommy would like to have changed.
Those faces remained with Hinnershitz throughout his life. But thats how Tommy was. He valued friendship. He loved people as much as people loved him.
"There were very rare qualities to this man," said Andretti. "People like this should never die. For some reason theres just one. And there isnt another Tommy Hinnershitz."
That's it. Whenever I'll have to pass anybody in the future, I'll do it on the outside!
Even at the risk of being a bit too long, I'd like to post the whole obituary, from which I quoted in the other thread. It's not available on the web any more. Unfortunately it has a "bad date", I think it has to August 5, 1999.
(08/05/99)
On track, in life: a giant
By Keith Fritz
Eagle/Times
They called him the "Oley Dirt Farmer" and "The Flying Dutchman."
Mario Andretti called him "a giant" in the sport.
Chris Economaki called him "a star."
And A.J. Foyt called him his "idol."
Tommy Hinnershitz was all of that and more.
The hometown hero who became a legend will be laid to rest today.
Hinnershitz, 87, died in his Alsace Township home over the weekend.
"It was really a sad moment when I heard Tommy passed away," said Foyt, the four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and a longtime friend of Hinnershitz. "I cant say enough about Tommy. I thought so much of him. The news made me sick to my stomach."
Those sentiments were shared by other racing legends and the common man who shared the loss of a man whose goal in life was to become a race driver.
For 30 years, Tommy Hinnershitz carved his way through the beginnings of dirt-track racing.
He drove his first race in a 1914 Model T at the Reading Fairgrounds in 1930.
Before ending his career in 1960 in a USAC sprint race at the Allentown Fairgrounds, Hinnershitz won seven Eastern sprint-car championships, with 104 firsts, 104 seconds and 58 thirds in sanctioned races; drove in the Indianapolis 500 three times; accumulated 43 AAA track records; and had seven wins in midgets.
He was awarded the 1952 Top Athlete Award from the Berks County Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of the Berks, Central and York chapters of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted into the state hall in 1975.
But records are only an indicator of how good he was on the track. They say nothing about the man.
"Tommy was a star," said Economaki, the longtime editor and publisher of National Speed Sport News. "And throughout those years, he never changed from the time he first showed up to the time he hung up his goggles. He lived in the same community, drove a car a few years old. He never displayed any affluence or superiority. He didnt let the success he had on the track change him."
"There was such a warmth to the man, and honesty," said Andretti, perhaps the most accomplished driver in racing history. "He was so open and no nonsense. He was very real. He would never have to put on a front. He was Tommy. In simplicity, he was grand. He was a giant in my eyes.
"He had a rare quality about him that everybody liked. Probably some of his biggest rivals were his best friends. You never heard Tommy giving a slide job to anyone. He was a clean driver and such a professional."
"Everybody liked him," echoed Foyt. "I never really heard nothing bad about Tommy. He was a super guy."
Yes, there was a quality about Hinnershitz that was magnetic. He was gracious and unassuming. He enjoyed talking with people and was always appreciative that people wanted to spend time with him.
His smile captured you and his stories mesmerized you.
"I enjoyed talking to Tommy because his Pennsylvania Dutch accent was fantastic," said Economaki. "His sentence construction was incredible. I remember one day at Reading. I was the announcer. I said to Tommy, How are you getting around? Ill never forget his reply: From the corners, off good. Today its not coming. Which was a great way of saying, "Im not coming off the corners too good. That always stuck with me."
But long before people got to know Tommy Hinnershitz the man, they got to know the driver.
Nobody drove a sprint car like Tommy Hinnershitz. Not then, not today.
Hinnershitz was known for throwing his car high into the turn, up against the fence, inches from disaster.
The stories told by those he passed up high became folk tales of those early years.
Like the story Jud Larson told in the garage area after a race: that he was running so close to the fence, he didnt think a motorcycle could get by. But he looked over and saw Tommy go by.
"When it would get dry and slick, if there was anything up there against the fence, Tommy found it and would blow you off," said Foyt. "He was unbelievable the way he drove a sprint car. Ive got a lot of pictures of Tommy up on two wheels, and as he was going by you, youd hear the throttle wide open and still he wasnt in any trouble. It always amazed me how he could balance a car. He was always kind of an idol of mine the way he drove those cars.
"When you raced against him, you had to beat him. And if you did beat him, he wasnt a pushover. I didnt beat him that much. But the few times I did, I thought it was a hell of an honor cause you beat somebody.
"I remember him at Terre Haute (Ind.). It was so slick, nobody could get around. But there he was, running on the wall. I mean, he was flying. He blew everybody off. After the race, I asked him what in the hell was doing up there and he said, It wasnt much. But Ill tell you, if there was anything at all up against the wall, Tommy would find it.
"The world lost one of the greatest sprint car drivers that ever lived. I dont care who the driver was or is. I dont care if it was A.J. Foyt or (Steve) Kinser, I can assure you, in his day, I dont think me or Kinser or anybody could beat the man."
Foyt isnt alone in his assessment.
Ironically, on Aug. 11, the results of a special national sprint car poll "The 25 Greatest Sprint Car Drivers of the 1900s" will be announced at a press conference at the National Sprint Car Museum at Knoxville, Iowa.
More than 120 drivers received votes from a blue-ribbon panel of media, manufacturers, officials, promoters, historians, representatives of major old-timers organizations and members of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, of which Hinnershitz became a member in 1991.
It was learned that Hinnershitz will be ranked second, behind Kinser and in front of Foyt.
Think of that, of all the great drivers who have ever sat in a sprint car, Tommy Hinnershitz is ranked second.
I dont know if Tommy knew the results of the poll, but he was planning on going to Knoxville. He loved Knoxville and he loved that he was in the Hall of Fame and was presented with a National Sprint Car Hall of Fame jacket, the one he wore, even on the coldest days.
Even after he retired as an active driver in 1960, at 48, Hinnershitz remained active as a mechanic in the sport he loved.
In 1964, he was at Langhorne, helping another future legend who was a rookie at the time. His name was Mario Andretti.
"He was my crew chief," said Andretti. "It was my very first Champ Car race at Langhorne. The fact that Tommy was the wrench guy on my car was a very big help for me because he knew how to set the car up.
"Can you imagine going to your very first Champ Car race and it being at Langhorne of all places? I know the night before the race was the first and only time probably in my career that I didnt sleep well because I was really, really concerned before a race.
"But with good old Tommy by my side, he gave me such confidence with everything he said. He helped me tremendously, and Ill always be grateful for that."
Tommy was that kind of guy. Even tutoring a rookie driver at a track that had taken so many, he was in control.
When you talked to Tommy about his career, he would often say he had no regrets. Then he would pause, long enough to reflect on the bad times, times when he lost so many friends to a sport that was, as Economaki said, "devastatingly dangerous."
It was the loss of those friends that Tommy would like to have changed.
Those faces remained with Hinnershitz throughout his life. But thats how Tommy was. He valued friendship. He loved people as much as people loved him.
"There were very rare qualities to this man," said Andretti. "People like this should never die. For some reason theres just one. And there isnt another Tommy Hinnershitz."
That's it. Whenever I'll have to pass anybody in the future, I'll do it on the outside!
#3
MPea3
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- 2,179 posts
- Joined: July 01
Member
Posted 01 April 2004 - 18:16
thanks so much for posting that, it was a great read.
next time i'm in PA, i'll try to drop by the latimore valley fairgrounds where the museum is and see if i can find out about the spelling on the name. it may be as simple as the fact that it was common for immigrants to have their names misspelled upon arriving at ellis island, because the workers there woould fill out their paperwork from hearing the name being spoken. an old german fellow i knew years ago had told them his name was "Lenke", but ended up with the last name of "Lincoln". he always said it worked out better getting employment during WW2 anyway.
next time i'm in PA, i'll try to drop by the latimore valley fairgrounds where the museum is and see if i can find out about the spelling on the name. it may be as simple as the fact that it was common for immigrants to have their names misspelled upon arriving at ellis island, because the workers there woould fill out their paperwork from hearing the name being spoken. an old german fellow i knew years ago had told them his name was "Lenke", but ended up with the last name of "Lincoln". he always said it worked out better getting employment during WW2 anyway.
#4
hinnershitz
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- 109 posts
- Joined: March 04
Member
Posted 01 April 2004 - 21:02
I just spent some time at google and got involved in american genealogy. The best site on "Hinnershitz" seems to be:
http://hometown.aol.com/tbthing/
No direct mention of Tommy Hinnershitz, the racing driver, but a nice immigration story from the 18th century. "Hinterschied" is not what I expected, but it makes sense. And they even sell T-Shirts...
How common is a name like "Hinnershitz" in the USA? I remember reading a "Pit Bull"-column-for-those-not-in-the-know in (british) "Autosport" - the funny and clever bloke who wrote it asked: "Did you know, that in 1966 Mario Andretti had in his crew a man called Tommy Hinnershitz..." (expected reaction: HA, HA...what a funny name). I could have choked him, he obviously didn't know, who he was talking about. But I'm a member of the large contingent of ex-readers of this magazine, anyway...
By the way, did Tommy Hinnershitz ever get hurt in an accident? I've found nothing, which indicates this. So it is possible to race for 30 years in such races and cars without getting hurt?Remarkable.
http://hometown.aol.com/tbthing/
No direct mention of Tommy Hinnershitz, the racing driver, but a nice immigration story from the 18th century. "Hinterschied" is not what I expected, but it makes sense. And they even sell T-Shirts...
How common is a name like "Hinnershitz" in the USA? I remember reading a "Pit Bull"-column-for-those-not-in-the-know in (british) "Autosport" - the funny and clever bloke who wrote it asked: "Did you know, that in 1966 Mario Andretti had in his crew a man called Tommy Hinnershitz..." (expected reaction: HA, HA...what a funny name). I could have choked him, he obviously didn't know, who he was talking about. But I'm a member of the large contingent of ex-readers of this magazine, anyway...
By the way, did Tommy Hinnershitz ever get hurt in an accident? I've found nothing, which indicates this. So it is possible to race for 30 years in such races and cars without getting hurt?Remarkable.
#5
MPea3
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- 2,179 posts
- Joined: July 01
Member
Posted 02 April 2004 - 01:57
dunno about any injuries he ever suffered, but no it's NOT a common name. interestingly enough though, this popped up on ebay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/...95&category=553
regardless of how it's being represented, it's a poor quality commercial German instrument from the late 19th century. Interesting that it's mentions Lancaster, PA, right in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, and not too far froom York and WIlliams Grove.
http://cgi.ebay.com/...95&category=553
regardless of how it's being represented, it's a poor quality commercial German instrument from the late 19th century. Interesting that it's mentions Lancaster, PA, right in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, and not too far froom York and WIlliams Grove.
#6
Buford
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- 11,174 posts
- Joined: March 01
Member
Posted 02 April 2004 - 02:01
Originally posted by hinnershitz
I just spent some time at google and got involved in american genealogy. The best site on "Hinnershitz" seems to be:
http://hometown.aol.com/tbthing/
By the way, did Tommy Hinnershitz ever get hurt in an accident? I've found nothing, which indicates this. So it is possible to race for 30 years in such races and cars without getting hurt?Remarkable.
There was an article about him in the now defunct Open Wheel Magazine a few years ago. If I recall correctly, he did get injured a couple times but not seriously.
#7
hinnershitz
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- 109 posts
- Joined: March 04
Member
Posted 03 April 2004 - 13:47
I think the seller of that violin would have done himself no harm by stating when it was made. Reminds me of one of my favourite programs on german TV, a show where people bring their old stuff and get it rated by experts. They sometimes do musical instruments, and it seems that there's a lot of faking going on in this segment.
On the subject of Hinnershitz getting hurt or not...I've just started a journey to the lesser known parts of my harddisk, looking for further old stock car stuff, and accidentally found another Hinnershitz-related piece, again from an Ebay-auction, this time for a racing program:
"Lakewood, July 4th 1950
AAA "Regulation Racing Car Championship" event @ Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway......Dated July 4, 1950. There is an entry list printed, containing drivers Johnnie Parsons, Tommy Hinnershitz, Bill Schindler, Jimmy Daywalt, Walt Brown, Joe James & a few others......One of the most interesting parts of this program is the full page advertisement on the back cover......This is a "Flash - Flash - Flash" type of announcement......In the summer of 1950, promoter Sam Nunis announced that Lakewood Speedway's 1-mile dirt oval would be the site of the first 500-mile stock car race in history.......Darlington Raceway's inaugural Southern 500, originally sanctioned by the Central States Racing Association & not NASCAR, was having problems securing entries....Nunis pounced on the opportunity to make an announcement that he was going to stage the first 500-miler for American-made passenger cars.....While this event never took place (Darlington got much needed NASCAR assistance & the 1950 Southern 500 was a success), it is interesting to take note of Nunis' intentions. .One-legged Bill Schindler drove his Offy-powered racer to victory in the feature event.......The great Tommy Hinnershitz suffered a broken pelvis in a preliminary event crack-up . The article points out that this event was the first racing program during the 1950 Lakewood Speedway season to be completed without a fatality."
Well, I'm not that tough, a broken pelvis would cause me some inconvenience, so this might qualify for "getting hurt". But I think it didn't stop Tommy H. from winning another AAA Eastern Sprint Car Championship that year.
On the subject of Hinnershitz getting hurt or not...I've just started a journey to the lesser known parts of my harddisk, looking for further old stock car stuff, and accidentally found another Hinnershitz-related piece, again from an Ebay-auction, this time for a racing program:
"Lakewood, July 4th 1950
AAA "Regulation Racing Car Championship" event @ Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway......Dated July 4, 1950. There is an entry list printed, containing drivers Johnnie Parsons, Tommy Hinnershitz, Bill Schindler, Jimmy Daywalt, Walt Brown, Joe James & a few others......One of the most interesting parts of this program is the full page advertisement on the back cover......This is a "Flash - Flash - Flash" type of announcement......In the summer of 1950, promoter Sam Nunis announced that Lakewood Speedway's 1-mile dirt oval would be the site of the first 500-mile stock car race in history.......Darlington Raceway's inaugural Southern 500, originally sanctioned by the Central States Racing Association & not NASCAR, was having problems securing entries....Nunis pounced on the opportunity to make an announcement that he was going to stage the first 500-miler for American-made passenger cars.....While this event never took place (Darlington got much needed NASCAR assistance & the 1950 Southern 500 was a success), it is interesting to take note of Nunis' intentions. .One-legged Bill Schindler drove his Offy-powered racer to victory in the feature event.......The great Tommy Hinnershitz suffered a broken pelvis in a preliminary event crack-up . The article points out that this event was the first racing program during the 1950 Lakewood Speedway season to be completed without a fatality."
Well, I'm not that tough, a broken pelvis would cause me some inconvenience, so this might qualify for "getting hurt". But I think it didn't stop Tommy H. from winning another AAA Eastern Sprint Car Championship that year.
#8
Seppi_0_917PA
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- 285 posts
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Posted 10 April 2004 - 19:23
Here's a little more on Tommy Hinnershitz - from Joe Scalzo's The American Dirt Track Racer (2001) :
Tommy Meets Jud
It’s 1956. Let’s imagine that I’m some dork paying my first visit to Pennsylvania and the crucible playpen of Reading, sprint car racing’s centerpiece of rim-riding. I scarf down the castor oil smell, investigate all the 220 Offys, especially the hot Sam Traylor jobs, and look over Jiggs Peters, Charlie Musselman, Al Herman, Johnny Thomson, etc., who’re strutting their stuff and preparing to set up for business. But after checking out all those hammer-down heavy dudes, I can’t take my eyes off somebody else. Curiosity at last gets the better of me, so I go to some of the Reading insiders seeking the identity of the hog-jawed horticulturist in the baggy coveralls with the gut on him who’s working on the blue sprinter.
Back comes the reply, “Oh, that’s Tommy. He’s this old farmer they let be a gofer and stooge.”
The answer satisfies me until I notice something else. “Hey,” I protest to the same Reading insiders, “you know that old farmer guy who’s a mechanic? Well, he’s putting on a helmet and climbing into the car!”
So the insiders blandly reassure me, “Aw, they just let him warm it up until its real driver gets here.”
Yeah, right. The next thing that happens, the hammer drops, an Offenhauser gets blasting, and the grandstands jump out of gear roaring with excitement as “Tommy” starts jumping around in the cockpit traveling nine million miles an hour across the rim top. Watching his hands endlessly clubbing and tomahawking the steering wheel lock-to-lock makes me stop breathing.
Gullible moron that I am, I’ve just bitten on the Tommy Hinnershitz hoax, perhaps dirt racing’s oldest dumb-guy gag, and one that Reading regulars love pulling on visiting idiots. But the same insiders now tell me not to get sore, but to get ready. Hot laps are a yawn compared to old Tommy careening and blasting real estate clear out of Berks County while passing a pleasant Sunday afternoon doing a violent rim job for all eight or nine minutes it takes to win another Reading 20-lap feature.
Torching Reading with that runaway, tomahawking style of his, Tommy sometimes even bicycles onto two wheels—he’s the busiest-looking driver going. And à la Tony Bettenhausen, Tommy’s a split personality, a real Jekyll-Hyde. Take him out of his Miracle Power Special —a flyaway midget/sprint car crossbreed, like most P-A jobs—and Tommy’s that benign medic, Jekyll: a weathered, paunchy, middle-aged Pennsy-Dutch sod-buster living with family and cows on the Hinnershitz back 40 over in Alsace Township by the river Schuylkill. But plant Tommy in the Miracle Power and he’ll do the big Hinnershitz switcheroo and turn into crazy Mr. Hyde defending Reading/Allentown/Williams Grove as if they were medieval fortresses.
Having Peters, Musselman, Thomson, and the rest of Pennsylvania’s dirt posse piling in on him season after season is competition enough for Tommy. But, courtesy of an oversized dirt track celebrant named Samuel A. Traylor III, this 1956 campaign has turned into one of Tommy’s toughest ever. Big Sam (he stands 6-feet 4 inches and goes around 260) is a piece of work. The original Traylors made their first pretty buck in mining, and later in Allentown erected an enormous pile that Pennsy chronicler John O’Hara occasionally writes about called the Traylor Hotel; but Sam’s own contribution to family honor is ownership of the flashiest race car scuderia in the East. Earlier this June, Sam had imported celebrity Pat Flaherty, the Indy 500 champion. Ordinarily a non-sprint car driver, Pat imagined that 20 laps against Tommy Hinnershitz at home was going to be as diabolical as 200 around the Brickyard. But while Tommy was upstairs, Pat was busy working the bottom; in a huge Hinnershitz defeat, and team Traylor upset victory, Pat had waxed Tommy slicker than hell.
Now it’s October at Reading, and big Sam has imported someone else capable of racing at the rocket tempos Tommy likes: the jalopy desperado and Los Angeles maniac Van Johnson.
But on what will turn into an afternoon for the ages, Tommy sees another dangerous invader sliding up—a lackadaisical tumbleweed and saloon cowboy named Jud Larson. Fresh from an earthquake showing at the Hoosier Hundred, Jud’s got the infamous Pfrommer Offy all loaded, and it’s pointed straight at Tommy.
Jud zaps turns one and two without lifting, comes low into three in another four-wheel broadslide, then aims the Pfrommer to the top of turn four and finishes up with a signature Larson slide-for-life clear to the timing stripe. Quick time! In fact, a new Reading track record!
Jud and Van Johnson both make hard moves on Tommy, then take off together in the feature. They go to war. But then Hinnershitz, not content to be the goat, and all hooked up himself, adjusts his attack and nails the pair of them dead to rights off turn two.
Johnson fades but Jud goes after Tommy. All Larson broadslides have a hypnotic will-he-spin-out? quality— they seem to go on forever, and Jud keeps throwing them. It’s strictly a Hinnershitz-Larson race. They ride high against the rail in one and two then cut and chop across the middle down in three and four. They’re missing one another by inches and there’s no room for error: whenever Tommy appears to be hopelessly trapped or blocked, he sets himself free with an astonishing swerve or impossible veer that Jud immediately duplicates.
Following nine fantastic minutes spent pointing out holes in each other’s repertoire, they hit the finish blanketed. But Tommy’s driving was fractionally better and he has won again. All hell pops loose from the standstands—even by Reading standards this was one stunning war—and when Hinnershitz and Larson halt side by side on the front straightaway, Tommy looks typically placid, Jud, for once, dazed.
Jud will next return to the premier mile tracks of the national championship and discover that first-place paychecks against Bettenhausen and Bryan and the demigods come easier than they do against stay-at- home Tommy. Throughout 1956—1958, Jud will capture more 100-milers than anybody but Johnny Thomson, and who knows how many more he’d have won but for racing with a hangover after getting smashed the night before? However, he’s learned his lesson and will seldom be returning to Reading to take on Tommy. “That old hayshaker’s got eyes in the back of his head,” Jud moans.
#9
Lotus23
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- 1,006 posts
- Joined: October 02
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Posted 10 April 2004 - 22:25
For me, one of the greater benefits of geezerhood is the ability to say I saw Tommy in action in a sprinter. Late 1950s.
#10
Buford
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- 11,174 posts
- Joined: March 01
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Posted 10 April 2004 - 22:34
Yeah - I never saw him in person. I missed out, I know. My parents would not take me to Sprint Car races in the 1950s because they killed people nearly every week somewhere. We did go to midgets all the time though and they killed people every weekend too so I never understood the logic. Surprisingly though, I never saw anybody get killed all through the 1950s, one of racing's deadliest eras. Most of our race attending was stock cars which were slow and fairly safe and where we ran our own team several times a week. First fatalities I saw in person were in 1964 at Indy and then 3 months later at Springfield at the USAC Champ car race.
#11
doc540
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- 259 posts
- Joined: April 03
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Posted 11 April 2004 - 15:56
If Foyt says Tommy was the best, well..... 
#12
hinnershitz
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- 109 posts
- Joined: March 04
Member
Posted 11 April 2004 - 21:18
Seppi, thanks for posting this report. Brilliant. Now - a movie, please... 
BTW, how is Joe Scalzo rated among TNF members? I've read "Indianapolis Roadsters 1952-1964" and found it quite entertaining, but is it accurate? Any Opinions?
BTW, how is Joe Scalzo rated among TNF members? I've read "Indianapolis Roadsters 1952-1964" and found it quite entertaining, but is it accurate? Any Opinions?
#13
McGuire
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- 9,218 posts
- Joined: October 03
Member
Posted 12 April 2004 - 19:15
Originally posted by hinnershitz
BTW, how is Joe Scalzo rated among TNF members? I've read "Indianapolis Roadsters 1952-1964" and found it quite entertaining, but is it accurate? Any Opinions?
LOL, Scalzo...writing in a language that in some ways resembles English, he describes events from a world not totally unlike our own.
#14
Pete Stanley
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- 486 posts
- Joined: February 99
Member
Posted 13 April 2004 - 06:48
Pennsylvania Dutch spellings often widely vary. You can see the same word spelled several different ways. And Pennsylvania German shouldn't be confused with hochdeutch. Pennsylvania German hasn't been in Germany for about 300 years - it's absorbed some English expressions and spelling habits. So you'll often get names that sound German but don't look it.
About Jewish names - at some point - I think it was the late middle ages/early renaissance - some German princes got it into their heads that Jews should have to get new names, and pay for the privilage. Rich Jews got nice names e.g. "Schoernberg" "pretty mountain" and those who couldn't or wouldn't pay got nasty names.
I've noticed around here (Lancaster) there are some names that are widely assumed in other places to be Jewish, but not here. Although I haven't researched it, I suspect Anabaptists were also given the name treatment. They were widely despised, which is why alot of them came over here. In fact, the Anabaptists were completely wiped out in Europe. They only survive in America.
William Penn invited them over when he founded Pennsylvania. Thier general outlook on life, including thier staunch pacifism, mirrored the beleifs of the Quakers. So I'm sure it's not an Ellis Island name. Most of them came over long before the United States was even thought of.
About Jewish names - at some point - I think it was the late middle ages/early renaissance - some German princes got it into their heads that Jews should have to get new names, and pay for the privilage. Rich Jews got nice names e.g. "Schoernberg" "pretty mountain" and those who couldn't or wouldn't pay got nasty names.
I've noticed around here (Lancaster) there are some names that are widely assumed in other places to be Jewish, but not here. Although I haven't researched it, I suspect Anabaptists were also given the name treatment. They were widely despised, which is why alot of them came over here. In fact, the Anabaptists were completely wiped out in Europe. They only survive in America.
William Penn invited them over when he founded Pennsylvania. Thier general outlook on life, including thier staunch pacifism, mirrored the beleifs of the Quakers. So I'm sure it's not an Ellis Island name. Most of them came over long before the United States was even thought of.
#15
MPea3
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- 2,179 posts
- Joined: July 01
Member
Posted 13 April 2004 - 11:10
Originally posted by Pete Stanley
Pennsylvania Dutch spellings often widely vary. You can see the same word spelled several different ways. And Pennsylvania German shouldn't be confused with hochdeutch. Pennsylvania German hasn't been in Germany for about 300 years - it's absorbed some English expressions and spelling habits. So you'll often get names that sound German but don't look it.
About Jewish names - at some point - I think it was the late middle ages/early renaissance - some German princes got it into their heads that Jews should have to get new names, and pay for the privilage. Rich Jews got nice names e.g. "Schoernberg" "pretty mountain" and those who couldn't or wouldn't pay got nasty names.
I've noticed around here (Lancaster) there are some names that are widely assumed in other places to be Jewish, but not here. Although I haven't researched it, I suspect Anabaptists were also given the name treatment. They were widely despised, which is why alot of them came over here. In fact, the Anabaptists were completely wiped out in Europe. They only survive in America.
William Penn invited them over when he founded Pennsylvania. Thier general outlook on life, including thier staunch pacifism, mirrored the beleifs of the Quakers. So I'm sure it's not an Ellis Island name. Most of them came over long before the United States was even thought of.
thanks, fascinating post
#16
xkssFrankOpalka
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- 242 posts
- Joined: March 04
Member
Posted 22 April 2004 - 00:34
I think Tommy was featured in an artical in "Auto Quarterly" about 2 yrs ago.
#17
hinnershitz
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- 109 posts
- Joined: March 04
Member
Posted 26 April 2004 - 17:09
Just some light entertainment:
This is not from the 50s, as I suspected elsewhere. The picture was taken in 1960. The card was made much later, maybe late 70s. Did he ever have the opportunity to use a roll cage?
Indy, 1940.
Also at Indy, 1940 or 1941.
The 1948 "Hinnershitz-Offy" at Williams Grove.
Indy, 1948
The "Miracle Power Special", 1954.
"After his seventh" - which he won in 1959.
The "Pfrommer-Offy", 1958.
Passing on the outside, 1960.
The "Flying Dutchman".
More interesting pictures & stories (not only on Hinnershitz) at: http://www.thevintageracer.com
This is not from the 50s, as I suspected elsewhere. The picture was taken in 1960. The card was made much later, maybe late 70s. Did he ever have the opportunity to use a roll cage?
Indy, 1940.
Also at Indy, 1940 or 1941.
The 1948 "Hinnershitz-Offy" at Williams Grove.
Indy, 1948
The "Miracle Power Special", 1954.
"After his seventh" - which he won in 1959.
The "Pfrommer-Offy", 1958.
Passing on the outside, 1960.
The "Flying Dutchman".
More interesting pictures & stories (not only on Hinnershitz) at: http://www.thevintageracer.com
