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Some History of Our Favorite Sport

This will hopefully be an ongoing feature that will depend on reader participation.  I have several old Stateline-Eriez programs and I know at least 2 other local racing historians in the Stateline-Eriez area.  There's many more out there.  Over the long, cold winter, I ask that you all get those scanners warmed up and lets have some fun with our past.  Not only Stateline and Eriez but all tracks.  As for my own scans, I have more of Stateline than other tracks, but I certainly hope to see contributions from other tracks.

Name these former Cadet and Limited Late Model Champions, pictured here in 1985.  It was pointed out to me that this photo was probably from 1985, based on the sponsors on the #70, driven by Brad Clark.  Tye 18 is of course Bill Catania.

This winner was from 1986.  Name him and the kid holding the flag, now an asphalt driver.  Bill Catania's son, Bill, Jr, holds the flag for his Dad.

I believe these are brothers visiting Stateline in 1986.  Can anybody ID them?  Yes, these are the Nosbisch brothers from Tampa, Ken and Keith.

Any idea who's in this Maverick from 1979 at Stateline?  He never won a feature, never raced well at all, yet most of you know him.  He still hangs around the tracks every week.  This is you editor, yours truly, in his only appearance in a Ford in 1979.

Who's that eating a track dog at Eriez in 1986?  Yes, it was Bobby Allison.

One of my all-time favorite drivers, Bob Vogt, at Eriez in 1986.

Who's this current Late Model driver in Victory Lane at Stateline after a heat win in a Spectator car in 1985? John Lacki!

Who is this cute kid, now about 25 or so?  He's the son of a dirt track champion and one of the most likeable guys in dirt track.  This boy grew up and is now working at a rather important job at a paved track.  Write jay@racewaymagazine.com or post answer at http://p207.ezboard.com/fbillsdirtlatemodelsfrm1.  Correctly identified as A J Moore, son of Mike and Sherry Moore.

On July 13, 1986 Warren's Ron Stanko won a heat at Bradford, PA, now known as "The Hill".  Ron won several championships at both McKean County Fair Raceway and Bradford Speedway over a career that started at Stateline Speedway in 1965 and lasted until the mid nineties.

Who was this son of Stateline's first flagman?  He was a heat winner on May 10, 1986 in this Limited Late Model and now lives in North (I believe) Carolina.  Mail answers to jay@racewaymagazine.com.  The correct answer is Kurt Thorpe.  Hopefully Kurt can make it north again this year and pay us a visit.

I have no recollection of who this is but it was after a heat win in 1986 at Stateline.  Mail answer to jay@racewaymagazine.com.  Finally identified!  Its Jim johnson according to a 1986 Stateline Program.  Thanks to Country Ron and Todd Conklin.  Thanks guys!

Above is one of your editor's all-time favorite drivers, the Racing Schoolteacher, Ray Jordan of Cuba Lake, NY.  Ray was an art teacher and part-time driver ed instructor.  The car was purchased new from Witherell Chevrolet in 1965.  It was a Chevy Biscayne 2-door sedan.  For the '66 season, Ray put '66 Impala bodywork on the chassis and went racing again.  He had some success with the car, as this Victory Lane photo shows.  The photo is dated August 5, 1966.  I was emailed that the starter in an earlier photo might be John Powell.  Can anyone confirm this? Thanks to Gary Montgomery for submitting this photo.

Below is photo from Gary Montgomery.  Jim Pollaro drove this 1963 Ford in 1966.  The first Late Model feature Pollaro ever won came in this car at Stateline in the Dean Layfield Memorial race later in the summer.  here he is at McKean after winning a heat race in July 1966.

Here are three photos that were in the group submitted by Gary Montgomery.  Gary  sent me a box of negatives from 1966 at McKean County Fair Raceway.

I don't have a name for this sportsman driver, can anyone help?  This has finally been identified as Terry Hodge.  Terry unfortunately lost his life in a road acident.

This was the Sportsman that Dave Lungren drove later, but in this photo its Lee Gausman in the driver's seat.  The starter is Whitey Grobowski.  Thanks to Lee and Dave Gausman for the confirmation of what I had suspected.

Squirt Johns won a lot of races and championships at Stateline-Eriez.  Here he is after a heat win at McKean with his 1965 Plymouth.

.Below is a photo submitted by Ron Sherrard.  It is from a Stateline program in 1970.

Below are two photos from the Mike Eberl Collection.

Busti, NY's Bobby Schnars, with starter Whitey Grabowski, is best known for winning 136 features on the Stateline-Eriez Circuit.  Bobby had wins at other area tracks as well, including Raceway 7 and McKean County.  Above is a win at McKean.  the car is a 1966 Chevelle which Bobby campaigned in 1966 and 67.  Can anyone identify the starter in this photo?  Send answers to photos@racewaymagazine.com

This is Herb Layfield after a win early in his career.  Herb is a brother to the famous Dean and Bill Layfield.  Can anyone identify the starter or the location of this photo?  Send answers to photos@racewaymagazine.com  Again, this is from Mike Eberl.  Dave Evans has been identified as the starter.

Whitey Gorsuch is the starter in this photo.  Whitey was recently inducted into the FOAR Score Hall of Fame at their annual dinner in Niagara Falls, NY.  Whitey was famous for his manner of starting races right down the middle of the cars as they came off turn four!  This photo is from the Ron Lincoln collection with the famous driver, Franklinville, NY's Pete Tingue.  This photo was made at Holland in the early 1960s.  The car is a 1961 Oldsmobile, the marque driven to many wins and championships by Tingue.

Mike Eberl sends the below photos of Squirt Johns.  Squirt "from far-away Brockway" (as the announcer, Lloyd Williams, used to call him), is fourth on the all-time win list at Stateline/Eriez with 63 total feature wins, 44 at Stateline and 19 at Eriez.  He also gathered three track championships at Stateline (61, 63, 70) the championship at Eriez in 67, and the circuit championship in 69.  In 1959 he started the season by winning the first four features in a row at Stateline with his 1957 Chevy.  Squirt started racing in the late 1940's and continued into the 1970's.  Over the period he ran Chevys, Dodges, and Plymouths besides the coupes in the pre-Late Model days.  The 1960 Dodge pictured below was campaigned from 1961 through 1963.  The photo of the Dodge is from Stateline in the early 60's, the win picture (with starter Pete Abers) was made after Squirt won the 1964 "Firecracker 50" at Stateline.  Both photos were by Gordon Mahan.  The bottom photo is Squirt as he appeared at the Cuba Lake Driver's Reunion at Letchworth State Park in June 2005 and is by Jay Pees.

Below is a page from a racing program dated 1981 from Speedway 7 (now Raceway 7) in Conneaut, OH.  This was sent by Ron Chrzanowski of Stuart's Draft, VA.  Ron is a native of Erie, PA and we hope he sends more.  Thanks Ron!!!  Apparently the track had a major event the night this program was sold.

Recently at Bill's Dirt Late Models there was a photo of Ken See.  Dan Hall, from Wyoming Int'l Speedway, sent this photo (below) of See spinning in front of Paul Wilson and Pat Moore at Stateline in 1963.  Note that Ken is looking directly at Wilson waiting for the inevitable thud in the driver's door.  Perhaps he got lucky and wound up in the infield before the contact.  Note the post and cable guardrail in the background separating the pit from the racing surface.  Can anyone identify the old coupe in the pit area?  Send you answer to editor@racewaymagazine.com.

On June 26, 1971, this action was recorded by Gordon Mahan in the Late Model feature action.  Leading the way enroute to the win was eventual point champion Jay Plyler, driving Russ Thompson's Nova.  Emory Mahan, here running third in his 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner, eventually wound up second and ran 6th in the final points.  Ron Blackmer, here running second in his Javelin, wound up third on this night and 4th in the season's standings.  Plyler also won the season championship with his 302 Boss Ford Sportsman and won the Sportsman feature the night of this photo.

Dick Flaig is shown below on opening day, 1973 at Perry Speedway.  Dick won the 1965, 1970, 1971, 1972, & 1973 Perry Late Model championships.  That's a lot of championships for the popular driver.  I believe Dick also had championships at Holland Speedway.  Photo courtesy of Dan Hall.

I received this photo a couple days ago from Dan Hall up at Wyoming County Speedway.  This driver is one of my all-time favorites, first at Stateline in the early 60s and then at Holland and Perry Speedways in the early 70s.  Bill "Stroker" McGurk had a five-window coupe number 35 that he raced with the original Sportsman class at Stateline starting in 1962 and continuing for 3-4 years.  After he left Stateline I didn't see him again until I started attending Holland and Perry Speedways in the early 70s.  He was there racing Doc Hoctor's famous Bad Bananas, named for their yellow color.  And they were fast!  Stroker won the Championships with the car at both Holland and Perry and their combined circuit in 1968.  For his efforts he was given the 1968 Mustang pace car that he still drives!  I saw Stroker with his wife at the Cuba Lake Stock Car Reunion last summer at Letchworth and felt like a young fan again.  I had never talked with his and felt honored to actually meet and speak with one of the heroes of my youth.  Stroker is a very pleasant man and fun to talk with about the old days.  Below is the photo sent by Dan and a photo I made last summer.

Stroker McGurk in 1968 at Perry Speedway after a feature win in Doc Hoctor's famous Bad Banana V.

Stroker McGurk at the Cuba Lake Driver's Reunion last summer at Letchworth Park.

Here is John Lacki after a heat win in 1971 at Stateline.  He is the father of John Lacki, Late Model and Sportsman driver.  John is still seen at the tracks occasionally, cheering on the next generation.  Photo was made by Gordon Mahan.

Dan Hall from Wyoming County International Speedway sends this photo of Eddie Anchor. The picture was taken at Hornell Raceway in 1959.  Ed went on to compete at Holland, Perry, North Collins, and Chemung. Ed won the 1969 Perry New Car Championship and the 1977 Chemung Late Model Championship.  The #55 is the number usually associated with Eddie.  Your editor remembers Eddie being a constant threat for the win in an orange Chevelle in the early 70s at both Holland and Perry (now Wyoming County).

Below is the 1983 Stateline and Stateline-Eriez Circuit Limited Late Model Point Champion, Chub Frank.