Spectacular photo's, Midget action

[Mitch G.]

Time to post amazing, spectacular racing photo's. Here's one of my favorites.
This was a midget race at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Mel Hansen is on his way over, Bob Pankratz is in #32 trying to miss him, Danny "Poison" Oaks is in #10 behind Pankratz. What's really amazing, is Hansen suffered few if any injuries.
http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=9&pictureid=566
Taken by Lee Harvey an official photographer for the United Racing Assoc. the sanctioning body for the midget race held at the Coliseum in early 1946.

[superstroke]

Thats a great photo Mitch. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[rapid30]

Cool shot, it's drivers like this that proved that racing is the only sport that takes 2 balls!
Bruce

[Olen McGuire]

Hey Bruce, make that 3 balls. The third one is just above the shoulders.~Olen

[bobjeffreson]

Great site guys...this is the 1st of 10 posts before I can post some action photos from Australia.

[webby]

Great site guys...this is the 1st of 10 posts before I can post some action photos from Australia.Welcome to ARM! I certified your membership so you are all set! :up:

[bobjeffreson]

Thanks webby, you're a champ.
This famous action photo from the Sydney Showground, cicra 1961. Peter Cunneen hits the wall and is thrown from his midget. Yet he is still attached to the car by his lap belt. Cunneen is not seriously injured and continues racing for many years, with tremendous success.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/cunneencrash.jpg

[bobjeffreson]

This may be off topic, it's not photos, but I'm new so give a break!
Spectactular video footage.....If you have seen this, enjoy it again... If you haven't, watch this.......Best midget match race ever at the Sydney Showground, 1966.

http://vintagespeedway.homestead.com/1966Match_Race.wmv

[bobjeffreson]

A young Bob Holt gets some altitude at the Sydney Showground pit corner, 1st January 1963. Holt went on to win the Australian Midget Title 35 years after this famous night.
Check out the clothing being worn by Holt!
http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/bobholt0mid81.jpg

[bobjeffreson]

Parramatta Speedway, Sydney 1955.Terry Weinhert shows some heavy " body english " in his VTwin Jap powered midget.
Back then crews and spectators could hang over the fence.
Photo Byron Gunther

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/SCAN_0078.jpg

[Mitch G.]

Bob, amazing photo's, and that video what can I say!! The sound of those Offy's, and those beautiful midgets, puts modern day racing to shame.

[webby]

This may be off topic, it's not photos, but I'm new so give a break!
Spectactular video footage.....If you have seen this, enjoy it again... If you haven't, watch this.......Best midget match race ever at the Sydney Showground, 1966.

http://vintagespeedway.homestead.com/1966Match_Race.wmvWow!!!! Outstanding!!

Did ya hear the last line.... "the crowd must be in access of 35,000."

Oh man... the golden age of midget racing.

Thank you for sharing that.

[webby]

bobjeffreson, you should start a new thread in the Race Tracks (http://autoracingmemories.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=8) forum here on ARM about Sydney Showground. I would love to learn more about that place and get some history.

[bobjeffreson]

Another short video.
Bob Tattersall, seen here practicing at the old Claremont Speedway Perth Western Australia. Not sure of the year..be the early sixties. Tattersall was the man that most Australians couldn't wait to see arrive on our shores each summer. He entertained us for something like 15 consectutive summers. Even foregoing the chance to win the USAC Championship, by staying and racing here, after the midget season had started in the USA some years.

YouTube- Bob "Two Gun" Tattersall. 1969 World Speedcar Champion

BTW....That midget, the CASCIO Offy remained in Australia and has been restored by an ex-sprintcar driver, Bob Blacklaw.This is it today.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/Cascio-350.jpg

[superstroke]

Wow..those are some great photos Bob. Thanks for sharing them with us, and welcome to ARM.

[rapid30]

Bob,
Superstroke is right the photos are great, but the videos are fantastic, wish we could say that we raced in front of 35,000 around here.
Bruce

[bobjeffreson]

Guys,
Thanks for the kind words.
I was just lucky enough to be around during that era, the like we will never see again in Sydney.
I was 15 when I sat and watched that race between Cleveland and Cunneen. We all knew at the time that we had just seen something very special.... the place erupted after that race. I've seen that footage 100s of times and it still excites me. Had Ceveland not been killed at Calistoga he would have been brought back to Australia many, many times. He was one cool dude, excellent midget pilot and a different personality to Tattersall. They made a great team.
The reference to the crowd of 35,000 plus is no exaggeration. Most saturday nights back then, with a meeting consisting of solo bikes, sidecars and midgets, a crowd of 20,000 was considered normal. With the arrival of the Yanks....lol... it was standing room only for however many meetings they were contacted for.

[bobjeffreson]

Sherman Cleveland..... Sydney Showground 1966.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/clevelandthetiger.jpg

[webby]

Another short video.
Bob Tattersall, seen here practicing at the old Claremont Speedway Perth Western Australia. Not sure of the year..be the early sixties. Tattersall was the man that most Australians couldn't wait to see arrive on our shores each summer. He entertained us for something like 15 consectutive summers. Even foregoing the chance to win the USAC Championship, by staying and racing here, after the midget season had started in the USA some years. Great footage, it looks like he has something mounted on the tail tank maybe a camera?

Thank you so much for sharing this stuff with us!

[bobjeffreson]

When I said that there was standing room only....here's a photo that confirms the fact. This Ian Smith image from 1968 shows Tattersall in the #12 Kischell Offy in the thick of the action at the Sydney Showground.
These were the days of almost lock-out crowds!


http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/SCAN_0079.jpg

[webby]

When I said that there was standing room only....here's a photo that confirms the fact. This Ian Smith image from 1968 shows Tattersall in the #12 Kischell Offy in the thick of the action at the Sydney Showground.
These were the days of almost lock-out crowds!


http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/SCAN_0079.jpgWow!!! Now that is a truly amazing photo.

Your photo also highlights why midget racing has lost in "mojo" (in my opinion).

Look at the intimate relationship between the driver and the fan in that photo. The fans can see the drivers. They can see their legs, torso, arms, and head. Midget racing back then was great because you could see a driver working his machine and piloting his craft.

Today's midgets could be driven by remote control and you wouldn't know the difference. You can't see the driver and therefore you have no emotional connection to what the driver is doing.

[bobjeffreson]

"Today's midgets could be driven by remote control and you wouldn't know the difference."
Webby,
That is absolutely correct......and funnily enough that's what I do for fun. I race 1/4 scale RC dirt sprintcars..check out my avatar..cool hey?

Just to fill you in on the drivers in this pic!
#76 Barry Butterworth.....red hot Kiwi....I think the 1st driver from "down under" to win a USAC Midget Feature....
#53 Rookie Ray Redding......
#98 John Stewart...one of Australias best drivers at the time.....
#25 George Tatnell...father of WoO sprintcar driver Brooke Tatnell.....
#12 Tattersall.

[webby]

I'm pretty sure I saw Barry Butterworth race here in the states several times.

Hey mag (if you are reading this thread) who was the Australian driver that we roomed next to in Concordia back in the early Belleville days? He was in the parking lot working on his car all by himself... no crew... no family... just a dude and his midget.

[Mitch G.]

Bob, webby is right. Butterworth was up here several times, in the early 80's he was at the Belleville Midget Nationals, I think we were running our car at the time, I might have been running R.A. Kaylor's car. Either way, we were at the Thunderbird Motel in Concordia, KS. If I remember correctly Butterworth had a really well used LTC (or LTC copy) with VW power, lots of guys rebuilt their cars in the parking lot, no big deal. The funny thing about Butterworth was walking by his motel room, door wide open, Butterworth had the VW motor all apart, rebuilding it on top of the furniture in the motel room! I've felt for years, the reason midget racing is on the decline, is the lack of personality of the cars, and escalating cost's of course. When the fan could really see the driver working hard behind the wheel, they did develop a bond with the driver. Now all you see is the top of a helmet behind side panel's. Sure we can't take all the modern day safety features away, but advancing technology, and ultimate safety so no one ever gets even bruised again, comes with a price, that price, the lack of any personality or unique attraction to midget racing. Bob, keep the fantastic photo's coming!

[bobjeffreson]

Butterworth's 1st win in America.

For the record, Barry Butterworth became the first Kiwi, and non American, to win a USAC Feature race when he won at Haubstadt August 24, 1979.

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/f9fc00ed9fd140f70aa5468a9619060d.jpg

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/barryb60sx174x282.jpg


Butterworth’s win at Haubstadt was remarkable - In the 40 lap event he qualified to start from grid one. Taking the lead from the green, by lap 29 when the only caution of the race was displayed, Butterworth lead 2nd place runner Sleepy Tripp by ½ a lap on the clay ¼ mile track and had lapped all but 5 of the other runners including eventual 1979 USAC Champion Steve Lotshaw, who finished 6th. When the chequered was thrown Butterworth finished ¼ lap ahead of Tripp (2nd), Rich Vogler (3rd), Bob Wente (4th) and Mel Kenyon (5th), these 4 drivers having previous won 9 USAC Midget Championships. In true modest Butterworth fashion, Barry, who won the majority of his NZ races starting from the rear grid, first words after the event were, “anyone can win from the front”!

[Jeff Isenhart]

This may be off topic, it's not photos, but I'm new so give a break!
Spectactular video footage.....If you have seen this, enjoy it again... If you haven't, watch this.......Best midget match race ever at the Sydney Showground, 1966.

http://vintagespeedway.homestead.com/1966Match_Race.wmv

wow that was some finish good stuff thanks

[webby]

bob, I think Barry deserves his own thread.

If you get a chance (and feel up to it) you should create one for him.

[TPF]

Great stuff guys, this is the best!!!!!!! TIM

[bobjeffreson]

Midget drivers in the pre-roll cage era were brave men.
From Liverpool Speedway, Sydney Australia mid 1960s, John Stewart (left) and Sid Middlemas race for the same piece of real estate. Going by Stewart's left rear and Middlemass' right rear, they are hard on it!

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g181/bobjeffreson/SCAN_0095.jpg