Vintage Racing?

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Eddie---

So much to comment on, my friend. Too bad we can't meet for pizza, but then the food would get cold as we'd become engrossed in our various topics of conversation.

Eddie, if you are unaware of this book, you simply must get a hold of a copy of FORD--THE DUST AND THE GLORY: A Racing History 1901 - 1967 by Leo Levine. It is now considered a "volume 1", since I believe it was expanded and a second volume written to cover post-1967 racing.

Eddie, this book is the definitive work on Ford racing of that time period. You would find an absolute wealth of info on Fast Freddie. I loved the book in high school, and of course it went out of print. After-market copies were hot and not cheap. I remember them running a hundred bucks, this being before eBay. Finally, the book was reprinted, amid much fanfare. The reprinted price was $40, I think.

My reaction---SOLD.

At this moment I cannot find my copy, but you would love the stories and facts that are jam-packed in that book. Fast Freddie's FORD era would all be covered in detail. Also, Ford's Indianapolis program, the Lincolns at the Carrera Pan Americana, and their massive FORD GT racing sports car program are covered in intimate detail. The latter was my reason for buying this very thick book. Freddie, just as Fireball Roberts, did not win championships; rather, he won a lot of big races with huge purses. I don't follow the PGA golf series, but they call the big tournaments "majors"; the Fireball and Fast Freddie were cleaning up back then on the far majority of the major races.

My advice to you, Eddie, is to go to your local public library. If they do not have the book, work with their inter-library loan service and get it that way. Then you can read and browse to your heart's content, to see if you would want to own your own copy. Me, I love to read and then re-read my favorite sections. I find myself doing this with my own book, NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN.

Yeah, I well recall REA's offering that gorgeous Lummis Richie Ashburn last fall. I had my son download a scan of the card. You know, REA has changed their computer site software. You cannot download a scan now, save for an out-of-focus image. Guess I cannot blame them. Regardless, those Lummis cards are something else. I well recall them being INTENSELY WANTED by the pioneer collectors. One reason, of course, is that they were collecting everything.

Can you imagine?

Anyway, I had to pick and choose, because though I got in on what would be considered today "the ground floor" of the emerging organised adult card collecting hobby, prices escalated quickly, and the regionals were often the first to spike sharply, given the old adage of "supply and demand". The supply even back then was minuscule, so it took the most prime of trade bait, or bigger and bigger bucks to consummate a deal. I simple didn't have the big bucks nor the connections---til later.

Now to dear Ned Jarrett. It was Ned who courageously risked his life to pull Fireball Roberts from the inferno his Ford had become after it flipped over at Charlotte.

I vividly remember the Ford book I previously discussed going into why 1964 was going to be a very dangerous year. After 1955, the year 1964 was the worst. Besides the Fireball Roberts accident, and the horrific worst-looking-ever accident at Indianapolis, early in the year two-time defending NASCAR champion Joe Weatherly lost his life in an accident at Riverside. Then late in the year, '64 Indy 500 pole-setter Bobby Marshman crashed to his death at an Arizona track testing a car, as I vaguely recall.

Racing fans today cannot begin to truly understand what it was like when I was a child in the 60s, and before. A top racing star or two were bound "to get it" during the racing year. I refer collectively to racing sports cars, Formula 1, Indianapolis, and NASCAR. Of course, the cars were as much the stars as the drivers; hence, that is why I've collected 1/43rd models of them for over 50 years, along with books and videos covering the history of the races, cars, and the drivers.

Here I go again. Sorry. Best regards, Brian Powell

Another great post, Brian. I have about a dozen books sitting on my nightstand right now. I feel like Henry Bemis in the old "Time Enough at Last" Twilight Zone episode.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Enough_at_Last

I am familiar with both Joe Weatherly's fatal accident at Riverside due to not having a shoulder harness or window net and Ned Jarrett pulling Fireball Robert out of his car at Charlotte.

A couple other notes that really stood out to me from Art Garner's amazing book on the tragic '64 500:

* The iconic photo of A.J. Foyt holding the just-printed newspaper front page with the giant headline "Foyt Winner in 500, Sachs, MacDonald Die." has a bit of a back story. The newspaper was thrust into Foyt's hands as soon as he climbed out of his car in Victory Lane. Foyt initially had a huge smile on his face -- until looking down and seeing the headline. He then asked his wife if the headline was true. When she said yes, Foyt's expression instantly changed to one of sadness.

* After the crash, Indy rookie Bobby Unser, who was knocked out of the race in the crash, walked up and down pit road and told car owners that if their drivers did not have the stomach to restart the race, he was willing to take their place.

* Famed Charlotte Motor Speedway promoter Humpy Wheeler attended the race as a young P.R. rep for Firestone. From his vantage point at the opposite end of the speedway, Wheeler initially thought that the grandstands were on fire or that a car had gone into the grandstands. He initially believed the crash was a replay of the 1955 Le Mans disaster.

The complete set of Lummis Peanut Butter cards at REA is already at $6,000 with the juice. Maybe I am way low with my guess of $10,000 as the ending price.