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5MP Heath Memorial
2008. All week long we
watched the weather, and all
week long the weatherman
said rain...or at least a 60%
chance of
thundershowers..which meant
at least a 40% chance of
racing. Good enough. Really, it
must be tough to try and
predict the weather but then
again, no one can blame you if
you're wrong and if you're
right, it's a bonus. No matter
for someone trying to get a car
ready for a show though, you'd
better be ready regardless.
Which for us meant finding
tires that were a little more
than just round and held air,
ensuring that brakes were
more than just wishful
thinking, and for god sakes,
making sure that the
contraption had at least
enough gas in it to make a few
laps. After all, these cars were
going on the track at 5MP,
even if for a an exhibition,
they had to be right. Wire
brush rims, paint, pump up
tires, adjust brakes, tighten
hubs, replace lugs, find an oil
pressure gauge that actually
works - (peace of mind) -
tinker, tinker and then give
her a 'tryout'. My bridge over
the creek was completed this
year with approaches and I'd
brush-hogged a small oval out
in my field, time to wring out
the Teardrop! Have to admit, it
surprised me. All 221 cubic
inches of gut wrenching
flathead power pumping as I
broadslided through the grass
'track', locked in 2nd gear the
flathead responded admirably.
The tires held, the brakes
locked up, and as I buzzed the
grass and milkweeds off, a
smile became tatooed to my
face. Fun to drive is an
understatement. It was a blast,
and more than one stopped by
the roadside to see my
spectacle - neat. Onto the
trailer and I figger I'm ready.
Take the boys for a walk later
that evening and find some
potentially bad news. There's a
wishbone joint and
accompanying ball socket
laying near the
brigde...#$#%^&*#@! Now, I've
got to weld that thing back
on.. can't go without read
radius arms connected. All
right, where'd it come from?
Under the car with a trouble
light and lo and behold - this
one was obviously cut off and
replaced, in our haste we just
forgot to remove this end..
Hallilouiea - I've just lightened
my car.. The only real
'incident' is that there is now
some dog turd on the roof of
the Teardrop, apparently the
dogs have been using the
track as well.
Meanwhile, in Morris,
Cortland and Pittsfield, NY,
similar operations are going
on. Dad has the Monster going
and stopping, and has
scrounged up some decent
tires. Mike Newell is planning
on debuting the 'Dachshund'
replica of Don Beagell Jr. -
and has secured track time at
the former Midstate Speedway
to test and tune. OK - he was
supposed to pull a rake with a
tractor, but they didn't specify
what kind of tractor..Mike is
talented and dedicated to our
club, he took a '34 Dodge
4-door sedan supplied by
buddy John Mason and
transformed it into the Beagell
bug - easily one of the most
recognizable and unique
modifieds ever to race in this
area. Successfull too, Don put
the car in many victory lanes.
Saturday, still a 60% chance
of rain, still hot and muggy.
We're all ready, a few
raindrops at noon and I'm
wondering, then, nothing
more. The racing gods are
smiling upon us today and
this is going to come off. A
quick tow to 5MP and Dad
greet's me there, the Monster
looks great and we've secured
the services of Carl Nagel to
drive it for our exhibition -
perfect. The Teardrop fires up
without a hitch and is carrying
65 Lbs. oil pressure, sweet.
Dad's worried though - can't
remember is there's two axles
in the Monster or not. Now -
Carl Nagel is a good guy, you
won't meet any nicer but when
Dad is explaining to him how
the gas and brake pedals are
reversed and there may only
be one axle in the rear....well,
his eyebrows are dancing..
Dad hops in, fires it up and
drops the clutch at Carls
suggestion, both tires grab,
OK - two axles. At least that's
solved but now about the
pedal arrangement...
Mike Newell and John
Mason show up shortly after
with the Pink Panther and
Daschound - already, even in
the heat of the day, the fans
are coming and engulf our
area. With these four cars in
place we have a wonderful
display and former drivers are
drawn, smiles broad. The
children are there too, and all
over the cars, questions
abound. Why pink? Is that a
hemi? How come the doors
open? And of course, 'can I
drive it?' Jim Chase wheels in
the Kennedy #67 last and our
display is complete. Club
members Gary Wood, John
Ross, and Jim Florence help
us all get our stuff in line, it's
a community effort that is
immediately apprecaited by
the fans.
Three chili dogs later here
comes Steve Bronson, then
Alan Tatich, then Joe Buchek.
All smiles and handshakes.
Joe see's Alan and starts
talking of his uncle George
who was, apparently, quite the
character. Not only a master
craftsman, mechanic, and
racer - he also liked airplanes
and once, on a dare, flew one
under the Owego bridge. No
small feat. I present Alan with
a picture of George in his last
car, the one he flipped right
here at this track off of turn
one and broke his back ending
his racing career. Joe is full of
it as always and I ask if he'd
like to spin the Teardrop
around during intermission,
he tries the seat out and asks
where the air conditioning
is...perfect.
The Kids. They seem to be
everywhere, and all of them
want to hold the wheel. I
swear, some of them have
more seat time than I do in
these cars, at least by the end
of the evening. Some big kids
got in them too..Must say the
were all very well behaved and
didn't hit any buttons. Got to
be tough to be told NOT to hit
any switches and buttons -
and then not to do it. All were
good and, all left with a smile.
There's Pete Cordes, then
'Crazy' Eddie Rafferty, Roger
Beagell, Don Beagell, when
Chuck Akulis showed up a
crowd gathered with
handshakes. I got to meet
Mark Terry, and Stub
Stephens, on and on it went.
Joe notices I have an extra
seat in the Teardrop, his wife
Nancy is available for a drive.
Carls' wife hears this and goes
looking for a helmet. We need
to get rumble seats in these
things.
The track is in good shape,
the new grandstand seating is
super, great view and really a
nice addition to the track.
There's a lot of cars here
tonight, enough to run a
modified consi and send some
home. The crowd showed up a
bit late, after it got cooler but
what a crowd, I'm surprised
really. 5MP is alive and well no
doubt, the food was good, the
racing better and everyone was
pleasant and helpfull. I'm not
just saying that either, it was
truly an enjoyable night at the
races.
The IMCA Mods are done
and at intermission Leon
Andrus introduces all the
former drivers assembled for
the reunion. It's a nice gesture
for all of them to be recognized
for their contributions to
racing at this cornerstone
track. We wheel our cars down
to victory lane and let them
take over. Joe Buchek hops in
the Teardrop and hollers "HEY
DEFOREST!" There's no
hesitation and Deforest
Chalker climbs aboard for a
spin, Carl Nagel is getting a
refresher course from Dad as
he climbs in the 43, Chuck
Akulis knows the pink Panther
like the back of his hand,
Roger Beagell jumps in the
Kennedy 67 and Don Beagell
relates 'Fits Perfect' as he
slides into the Daschound. Off
they go into the night around
the track they all tamed and
helped carve. It's a nice
display, one I'm sure was
enjoyed as much by the fans
as the drivers themselves.
Andy Harpell has handed us
some nice 5MP stickers for our
cars, Ron Doebler greets with
a handshake, Casey Oltz is
honored for her years of work
in the scorers stand. Good
people all dedicated to keeping
racing alive for fans and racers
alike. The exhibition over, we
loaded up and made it back in
time to see Carl Nagel charge
from 20th to 5th, impressive
and if it'd been 100 laps I'd
have my money on him, he
was coming..Joey Grammes
won the 45th Heath Memorial
and was as impressive
afterward in his interview as
he was on the track. Thanked
his sponsors, fellow racers and
paid homage to the former
drivers as well. A great night,
one of the best I've spent at
the track in a long time. I want
to thank, on behalf of our
club, everyone at 5MP for
making our night so
enjoyable. Now I'll let the
pictures do the rest of the
talking.
2008. All week long we
watched the weather, and all
week long the weatherman
said rain...or at least a 60%
chance of
thundershowers..which meant
at least a 40% chance of
racing. Good enough. Really, it
must be tough to try and
predict the weather but then
again, no one can blame you if
you're wrong and if you're
right, it's a bonus. No matter
for someone trying to get a car
ready for a show though, you'd
better be ready regardless.
Which for us meant finding
tires that were a little more
than just round and held air,
ensuring that brakes were
more than just wishful
thinking, and for god sakes,
making sure that the
contraption had at least
enough gas in it to make a few
laps. After all, these cars were
going on the track at 5MP,
even if for a an exhibition,
they had to be right. Wire
brush rims, paint, pump up
tires, adjust brakes, tighten
hubs, replace lugs, find an oil
pressure gauge that actually
works - (peace of mind) -
tinker, tinker and then give
her a 'tryout'. My bridge over
the creek was completed this
year with approaches and I'd
brush-hogged a small oval out
in my field, time to wring out
the Teardrop! Have to admit, it
surprised me. All 221 cubic
inches of gut wrenching
flathead power pumping as I
broadslided through the grass
'track', locked in 2nd gear the
flathead responded admirably.
The tires held, the brakes
locked up, and as I buzzed the
grass and milkweeds off, a
smile became tatooed to my
face. Fun to drive is an
understatement. It was a blast,
and more than one stopped by
the roadside to see my
spectacle - neat. Onto the
trailer and I figger I'm ready.
Take the boys for a walk later
that evening and find some
potentially bad news. There's a
wishbone joint and
accompanying ball socket
laying near the
brigde...#$#%^&*#@! Now, I've
got to weld that thing back
on.. can't go without read
radius arms connected. All
right, where'd it come from?
Under the car with a trouble
light and lo and behold - this
one was obviously cut off and
replaced, in our haste we just
forgot to remove this end..
Hallilouiea - I've just lightened
my car.. The only real
'incident' is that there is now
some dog turd on the roof of
the Teardrop, apparently the
dogs have been using the
track as well.
Meanwhile, in Morris,
Cortland and Pittsfield, NY,
similar operations are going
on. Dad has the Monster going
and stopping, and has
scrounged up some decent
tires. Mike Newell is planning
on debuting the 'Dachshund'
replica of Don Beagell Jr. -
and has secured track time at
the former Midstate Speedway
to test and tune. OK - he was
supposed to pull a rake with a
tractor, but they didn't specify
what kind of tractor..Mike is
talented and dedicated to our
club, he took a '34 Dodge
4-door sedan supplied by
buddy John Mason and
transformed it into the Beagell
bug - easily one of the most
recognizable and unique
modifieds ever to race in this
area. Successfull too, Don put
the car in many victory lanes.
Saturday, still a 60% chance
of rain, still hot and muggy.
We're all ready, a few
raindrops at noon and I'm
wondering, then, nothing
more. The racing gods are
smiling upon us today and
this is going to come off. A
quick tow to 5MP and Dad
greet's me there, the Monster
looks great and we've secured
the services of Carl Nagel to
drive it for our exhibition -
perfect. The Teardrop fires up
without a hitch and is carrying
65 Lbs. oil pressure, sweet.
Dad's worried though - can't
remember is there's two axles
in the Monster or not. Now -
Carl Nagel is a good guy, you
won't meet any nicer but when
Dad is explaining to him how
the gas and brake pedals are
reversed and there may only
be one axle in the rear....well,
his eyebrows are dancing..
Dad hops in, fires it up and
drops the clutch at Carls
suggestion, both tires grab,
OK - two axles. At least that's
solved but now about the
pedal arrangement...
Mike Newell and John
Mason show up shortly after
with the Pink Panther and
Daschound - already, even in
the heat of the day, the fans
are coming and engulf our
area. With these four cars in
place we have a wonderful
display and former drivers are
drawn, smiles broad. The
children are there too, and all
over the cars, questions
abound. Why pink? Is that a
hemi? How come the doors
open? And of course, 'can I
drive it?' Jim Chase wheels in
the Kennedy #67 last and our
display is complete. Club
members Gary Wood, John
Ross, and Jim Florence help
us all get our stuff in line, it's
a community effort that is
immediately apprecaited by
the fans.
Three chili dogs later here
comes Steve Bronson, then
Alan Tatich, then Joe Buchek.
All smiles and handshakes.
Joe see's Alan and starts
talking of his uncle George
who was, apparently, quite the
character. Not only a master
craftsman, mechanic, and
racer - he also liked airplanes
and once, on a dare, flew one
under the Owego bridge. No
small feat. I present Alan with
a picture of George in his last
car, the one he flipped right
here at this track off of turn
one and broke his back ending
his racing career. Joe is full of
it as always and I ask if he'd
like to spin the Teardrop
around during intermission,
he tries the seat out and asks
where the air conditioning
is...perfect.
The Kids. They seem to be
everywhere, and all of them
want to hold the wheel. I
swear, some of them have
more seat time than I do in
these cars, at least by the end
of the evening. Some big kids
got in them too..Must say the
were all very well behaved and
didn't hit any buttons. Got to
be tough to be told NOT to hit
any switches and buttons -
and then not to do it. All were
good and, all left with a smile.
There's Pete Cordes, then
'Crazy' Eddie Rafferty, Roger
Beagell, Don Beagell, when
Chuck Akulis showed up a
crowd gathered with
handshakes. I got to meet
Mark Terry, and Stub
Stephens, on and on it went.
Joe notices I have an extra
seat in the Teardrop, his wife
Nancy is available for a drive.
Carls' wife hears this and goes
looking for a helmet. We need
to get rumble seats in these
things.
The track is in good shape,
the new grandstand seating is
super, great view and really a
nice addition to the track.
There's a lot of cars here
tonight, enough to run a
modified consi and send some
home. The crowd showed up a
bit late, after it got cooler but
what a crowd, I'm surprised
really. 5MP is alive and well no
doubt, the food was good, the
racing better and everyone was
pleasant and helpfull. I'm not
just saying that either, it was
truly an enjoyable night at the
races.
The IMCA Mods are done
and at intermission Leon
Andrus introduces all the
former drivers assembled for
the reunion. It's a nice gesture
for all of them to be recognized
for their contributions to
racing at this cornerstone
track. We wheel our cars down
to victory lane and let them
take over. Joe Buchek hops in
the Teardrop and hollers "HEY
DEFOREST!" There's no
hesitation and Deforest
Chalker climbs aboard for a
spin, Carl Nagel is getting a
refresher course from Dad as
he climbs in the 43, Chuck
Akulis knows the pink Panther
like the back of his hand,
Roger Beagell jumps in the
Kennedy 67 and Don Beagell
relates 'Fits Perfect' as he
slides into the Daschound. Off
they go into the night around
the track they all tamed and
helped carve. It's a nice
display, one I'm sure was
enjoyed as much by the fans
as the drivers themselves.
Andy Harpell has handed us
some nice 5MP stickers for our
cars, Ron Doebler greets with
a handshake, Casey Oltz is
honored for her years of work
in the scorers stand. Good
people all dedicated to keeping
racing alive for fans and racers
alike. The exhibition over, we
loaded up and made it back in
time to see Carl Nagel charge
from 20th to 5th, impressive
and if it'd been 100 laps I'd
have my money on him, he
was coming..Joey Grammes
won the 45th Heath Memorial
and was as impressive
afterward in his interview as
he was on the track. Thanked
his sponsors, fellow racers and
paid homage to the former
drivers as well. A great night,
one of the best I've spent at
the track in a long time. I want
to thank, on behalf of our
club, everyone at 5MP for
making our night so
enjoyable. Now I'll let the
pictures do the rest of the
talking.
On Sunday night the club
traveled to Utica - Rome
Speedway for NYSSCA night
to display our cars behind the
grandstand once again. John
Clark brought the Turner #10
and 'Old Nell', John Button
brought his sprinter, Larry
Farrell had his V3 on hand
and Alan Weaver debuted the
newly done Ed Thompson #19
which by all accounts is as
sharp as it looks, if you haven't
noticed by the Lantz #77; Alan
is a perfectionist. Reports are
that a good time was had by
all, we certainly had another
nice display of cars on hand.
Thanks to Alan for passing
along the photo's.
traveled to Utica - Rome
Speedway for NYSSCA night
to display our cars behind the
grandstand once again. John
Clark brought the Turner #10
and 'Old Nell', John Button
brought his sprinter, Larry
Farrell had his V3 on hand
and Alan Weaver debuted the
newly done Ed Thompson #19
which by all accounts is as
sharp as it looks, if you haven't
noticed by the Lantz #77; Alan
is a perfectionist. Reports are
that a good time was had by
all, we certainly had another
nice display of cars on hand.
Thanks to Alan for passing
along the photo's.
