Highland Trivia

[Racin_4]

Larry gould was Sellers motor builder..Larry never owned a modified.

Dakota you are partially correct on that, Larry did build the engines in Dennis's cars for a few seasons, I remember Dennis telling me that after they would race on Friday nights at Belleville, Larry would take the car to his shop across the road from Belle Clair and change engines in it because Highland had a cubic inch rule at the time. But Larry did own a wedge late model that Dennis drove a few times for him it was white in color with a yellow number 2 on the sides.

 

[biker6403]

It's good to know someone remembers B.W. #96

 

[RACN911]

Yeah,Him and Larry Richter

Wasn't Larry Richter the guy they called "Needles" and wasn't he Kurt's brother? I never could understand why he was Kurt's brother and pitted for Brian Wernle.

You are correct. Larry "Needles" Richter is Kurt's Brother. Neddles still never misses a race at highland. Kurt told me they had there fair share of disagreements back in the day lol. Kurt and Needles still play with anything that has a motor. Kurt is looking to get a Vintage racecar.
The 81 car in racefan 03 pics is For sure "smilin" Joe Schomacher.
Where is TTG? I'm sure he's got some good stories.
Have a good weekend
Adam Koch

 

[schmittracn19]

I went back and looked at some old books (1990) from highland, and noticed that Kerry Gaultney held the track record at 13.84 and the sportsman record was 14.68 set by Terry Krump.That seems really fast for the sportsmans.Wonder how fast they would be now.Anyone ever timed a sportsman there???Im sure the track is probally alot diff now, but just curious.

2006 was the last time the sportsman was qualified. charlie did it because it was championship night for late model and modified. I was the fastest and turned a 14.989 with a lil 358 engine

 

[glbert]

Did the end of the bikini girls era somehow happen to coincide with TTG's leaving Highland for Pevely?

Remember when he used to wear cowboy boots to the races? Not anymore.

I still have a tape of the bikini contest from 1991 and TTG was the perfect emcee for it. The bikini contest was always one of the most popular nights of the year at Highland. I not sure why it was dropped. It may have been because different people took over control of the SARA and they didn't want it.

 

[Debbie Cummins]

Times do change. Women paraded around in bikinis aren't considered "politically correct" anymore, except at football games. I always thought those girls looked ridiculous walking in high heels in the mud, and sort of COLD, too! When they sat in the trailer with TTG during the races, it's a wonder he could report on what was going on on the track! heehee

 

[luckybuc97]

flagman

Flagman used to stand on the straight. He was crazy, who was that flagman?

Robby Robbinson, I remember the stand still starts, he would go to the last row & point his green flag at each driver till he got to the front row, turn his back start walking to turn 1, engines would be reven & he'd turn & jump with green waven, He wore golf shoes for traction to get out of the way, & when the checkers flew he'd be standing damn near in the middle of the track waven it, what a showman,, Does anyone remember what driver reached out of his car & ripped Robby's shirt off his back over a dissagreemeant??????

I do

 

[B1Crew]

hey mike that 96 car was a pretty good car and i remember winning jr fan club and getting a ride in the black and red 96

 

[wheel spinner]

Flagman used to stand on the straight. He was crazy, who was that flagman?

I seem to remember three abreast standing starts. Once in a while one car would jump the start and he would have them re-align and hide the green flag while holding the yellow. They would creep a few inches, some being pushed by cars behind them. They started bumper to bumper and some stayed that way until the back straightaway as they were lined up by inverse of their qualifying time. They had big front and rear bumpers and usually two bars of side iron. They greased the sides of their tires because of all the rubbing at the start and sometimes got their bumpers or side bars locked together. The announcer would say "throw a bucket of water on them" but I didn't know why he wanted to do that. The cars raced in second gear of a three speed so there were a few missed shifts. I also seem to remember that flagman standing on the front straight during time trials and one car would blow his hat off as it went by.

2006 was the last time the sportsman was qualified. charlie did it because it was championship night for late model and modified. I was the fastest and turned a 14.989 with a lil 358 engine

The sportsman class back then (late 80's) ran a 350 with a two barrel carb and flat top pistons. But they ran the late model rubber. They would equate close to a crate late model today.

25 years ago the bomber class was born and has evolved into the street stock and then the sportsman class of today. The championship night was a week or two before the modified so the last race(s) were open competition. Since the modified ran on points the street stock qualified.

There seemed to be at least one half-barrel in the pits every night. A few nights I watched the sun come up from the pits.

 

[wheel spinner]

Trivia

25 years ago.

While some bombers ran big blocks (with two barrels). And Belleville had stroker big blocks. What was the common engine for Modifieds and Sportsmans at Highland?

Who ran Fords back then?

Who ran a Mopar (and figuratively wrote the book "racing on welfare" for his economical innovations)? (For a bonus can you name one of his economical methods?)

Who was "Powered by Jeep"?

6=8?

Can you remember anyone running a Pontiac, Oldsmobile, or Buick?

Most built their own engines. What was the name (builder) of Petroff's engine in the Super Fly?

In 83 SARA had a few points races not at Highland. Where?

 

[heffs71]

I think Tony Frazier and his brother ran a oldsmobile or pontiac , Rick Carter a buick, Rick Johnson a dodge, and the Issac brothers a ford.That was in the bombers.Not sure about the upper classes.

 

[luckybuc97]

I seem to remember three abreast standing starts. Once in a while one car would jump the start and he would have them re-align and hide the green flag while holding the yellow. They would creep a few inches, some being pushed by cars behind them. They started bumper to bumper and some stayed that way until the back straightaway as they were lined up by inverse of their qualifying time. They had big front and rear bumpers and usually two bars of side iron. They greased the sides of their tires because of all the rubbing at the start and sometimes got their bumpers or side bars locked together. The announcer would say "throw a bucket of water on them" but I didn't know why he wanted to do that. The cars raced in second gear of a three speed so there were a few missed shifts. I also seem to remember that flagman standing on the front straight during time trials and one car would blow his hat off as it went by.



your right spinner, you must be a oold timer & as far as kloos doing his FEATHERING his time & heat race to start front row feature, he learned that from Don Gerstner, Now, Who did Kloos drive for after Donnie retired???

 

[PeepsNLy28]

does anyone rember jim hylsky

 

[20rocks]

prototype built petroffs engine.Hanradt was the welfare racer with the mopar.

 

[Jimmy Cummins]

bring back the bikini contests!!!

 

[Bomber Momma]

James, you were a mere child of 8-9 years old when they were doing the bikini contests. You get no vote in this.

 

[hotracer11f]

Does anybody out there remember when bomber driver Roy Buttry went flying threw the infeild, barley missed the announcers both, and hit the large implment causing it to roll backwards and scorers to jump for their lives?

Also I think Jimmy Maley(76) held the track record in latemodels for a season or two.
The first Finley Memorial midget race was held in Highland a year or two after Shannons passing. Dan Dondero tells the story of a driver flipping out over the back stretch fence and into the creek. He said that when they got to the kids car and turned it up in the water he wasnt to be found. Come to find out the second the car quit moving , he had split and was sitting on the wall behind the fence waiting for a ride back to the pits. Ive herd rumors that Tony Stewart was in the feild that night, but Im sure they were just that.

J.R. Shirley at one time drove a green bomber along with Luke Kapp. Shirley had a lot to do with Jeremey Pate's ride out the track. I also remember in the mid 90's when a bunch of derby drivers tried their hands in the bomber class. Chris,and kevin Keher along with Sean and Scotty Engelman. It was kind of funny cause every time one of them would get a flat tire all you would see was water go splurting threw the air all over the track.
Does anybody else recall the old sportsman car Tim Klaus used as a push car? Had that BIG A@@ yellow light on the roof!

 

[racingfan03]

bring back the bikini contests!!!

I'm with you, Jimmy.

 

[hotracer11f]

Someone made mention earlier in the thread about the night that Tom Carson's father Wayne was injured in the pits. If anybody would by chance happen to have a tape of the races that night, the bomber consi in particular, could you please get in contact with me? Im very interested in purchasing a copy. I belive it was June 2, 2004???? Thanks Dave

 

[glbert]

Tony Stewart may have been there that night. I know they said he raced at Greenville in '95 or '96 when they ran that class.