The Legends of Penn Can.
During the week new member
Ed Moynzan called and was
interested in joining our show
at Penn Can - more than
happy to have him with us so
we met at my place Friday
after work and started
chooglin'. I took him down the
'scenic route' - through
Windsor off of Rte. 17 and
then down the winding route
79. This road was made for
motorcycles and on this
beautiful afternoon, it was
wonderful. So long as your not
hauling a race car with a 1965
Ford Camper Spl. with drum
brakes and armstrong
steering... we managed. Upon
arrival at Penn Can Speedway
were greeted by John Mason
and Mike Newell who had the
McCredy 33 and Pink Panther
all set up nicely. John has put
together a wonderful display
of Bill Wimble memorabila
and tonight has added a nice
Dave Kneisal tribute as well.
Dad pulls in right behind us
with the S33, I have the
Teardrop on and Ed's Tasnady
#44 fits right in with us. It's a
beautiful 1937 Ford slantback
that many have not seen as of
yet and it brings lots of raves
and more than a few drools...
"Boy, wouldn't that look good
with a flathead in it." I don't
know how many people said
that to me but it looks good
with the Ford Smallblock too.
Barry Davis has joined Ed
tonight and will drive the car
during itermission, great to
have them along. Brent Cobb
has joined Mike Newell, John
has brought his son, Jim
Florence comes over to greet
us, as does Jerry Lillie, lots of
interested faces pour over our
display. Ed's forgot to check
his gas so we 'fabricate' a
gauge from a stick to find he's
low... Luckily John Mason has
extra and we're all set for
some bench racing and track
food. Reed Miller has provided
cold drinks for us once again,
as well as tent to get out of the
sun. Grant Buck is organizing
the old timers and I ask him
to line a few drivers for us -
"No problem." There's Paul
"Zeke" Zedar, Mark Terry is all
smiles and Stub Stevens
really likes the idea of driving
the S33, I mean really likes
the idea... My buddy Jeff
Porter has shown up and by
now it's time to get some seats
for the heats. You don't want
to miss the action at Penn
Can, it's hot and heavy.
Mdifieds, Sportsman, Late
Models, 'Pure' Stocks and 4
bangers all put on good
shows, (4) modified heats
tonight for the Seward Rice
Memorial race, going to be
hotly contested. After the
heats are done we get the call
to bring the cars down to the
frontstretch and I follow Mike
out. It's fun just running them
down there, and the looks
from the kids - never seen a
relic like this run before?? On
the front stretch Leon Andrus
is annnouncing the drivers as
the nights sponsor, Gary
Beagell of Gary's UPull It,
hops into the Pink Panther.
Stub practically runs to the
S33 and Bud Cary jumps in
the Teardrop. They're all
looking for the belts... I tell
Bud to forget it, "You aren't
going to go that fast." "Yeah,
but I feel better strapped in.."
He finally gives up, puts it in
reverse, finds first and
promptly stalls it. Now he's
smiling too, fires it up and
he's off. Stub is chasing down
Gary, waving to the crowd as
he blasts by, I've never seen
the S33 go that fast and I
thought he was gonna try a
pass... needless to say we're
enjoying the hell out of this,
probably as much as the
drivers. It's over way too soon
and as they demount I eye
Joe Donahue Jr. and Mike
Colsten coming over. We greet
and Mike says 'Joe, you
shoulda drove this one" as he
looks at the name on the door.
We'll line you up anytime Joe.
A few picture ops, good lucks
to Mike and then it's time to
get out of the way for the
Modifieds, load 'em up and
back to the stands. The racing
was great, I really like this
place, not a bad seat in the
house and the lighting is just
fantastic. Mike had some bad
breaks in the feature but
regardless, no one was going
to catch Jeff Rudalavage, he
was gone. The sportsman and
late model features were great
too and everyone in our club
had a great time. Many
thanks to sponsor Gary
Beagell as well as Promoters
Reed Miller and Al Wilcox for
having us once again, we
appreciate it.
During the week new member
Ed Moynzan called and was
interested in joining our show
at Penn Can - more than
happy to have him with us so
we met at my place Friday
after work and started
chooglin'. I took him down the
'scenic route' - through
Windsor off of Rte. 17 and
then down the winding route
79. This road was made for
motorcycles and on this
beautiful afternoon, it was
wonderful. So long as your not
hauling a race car with a 1965
Ford Camper Spl. with drum
brakes and armstrong
steering... we managed. Upon
arrival at Penn Can Speedway
were greeted by John Mason
and Mike Newell who had the
McCredy 33 and Pink Panther
all set up nicely. John has put
together a wonderful display
of Bill Wimble memorabila
and tonight has added a nice
Dave Kneisal tribute as well.
Dad pulls in right behind us
with the S33, I have the
Teardrop on and Ed's Tasnady
#44 fits right in with us. It's a
beautiful 1937 Ford slantback
that many have not seen as of
yet and it brings lots of raves
and more than a few drools...
"Boy, wouldn't that look good
with a flathead in it." I don't
know how many people said
that to me but it looks good
with the Ford Smallblock too.
Barry Davis has joined Ed
tonight and will drive the car
during itermission, great to
have them along. Brent Cobb
has joined Mike Newell, John
has brought his son, Jim
Florence comes over to greet
us, as does Jerry Lillie, lots of
interested faces pour over our
display. Ed's forgot to check
his gas so we 'fabricate' a
gauge from a stick to find he's
low... Luckily John Mason has
extra and we're all set for
some bench racing and track
food. Reed Miller has provided
cold drinks for us once again,
as well as tent to get out of the
sun. Grant Buck is organizing
the old timers and I ask him
to line a few drivers for us -
"No problem." There's Paul
"Zeke" Zedar, Mark Terry is all
smiles and Stub Stevens
really likes the idea of driving
the S33, I mean really likes
the idea... My buddy Jeff
Porter has shown up and by
now it's time to get some seats
for the heats. You don't want
to miss the action at Penn
Can, it's hot and heavy.
Mdifieds, Sportsman, Late
Models, 'Pure' Stocks and 4
bangers all put on good
shows, (4) modified heats
tonight for the Seward Rice
Memorial race, going to be
hotly contested. After the
heats are done we get the call
to bring the cars down to the
frontstretch and I follow Mike
out. It's fun just running them
down there, and the looks
from the kids - never seen a
relic like this run before?? On
the front stretch Leon Andrus
is annnouncing the drivers as
the nights sponsor, Gary
Beagell of Gary's UPull It,
hops into the Pink Panther.
Stub practically runs to the
S33 and Bud Cary jumps in
the Teardrop. They're all
looking for the belts... I tell
Bud to forget it, "You aren't
going to go that fast." "Yeah,
but I feel better strapped in.."
He finally gives up, puts it in
reverse, finds first and
promptly stalls it. Now he's
smiling too, fires it up and
he's off. Stub is chasing down
Gary, waving to the crowd as
he blasts by, I've never seen
the S33 go that fast and I
thought he was gonna try a
pass... needless to say we're
enjoying the hell out of this,
probably as much as the
drivers. It's over way too soon
and as they demount I eye
Joe Donahue Jr. and Mike
Colsten coming over. We greet
and Mike says 'Joe, you
shoulda drove this one" as he
looks at the name on the door.
We'll line you up anytime Joe.
A few picture ops, good lucks
to Mike and then it's time to
get out of the way for the
Modifieds, load 'em up and
back to the stands. The racing
was great, I really like this
place, not a bad seat in the
house and the lighting is just
fantastic. Mike had some bad
breaks in the feature but
regardless, no one was going
to catch Jeff Rudalavage, he
was gone. The sportsman and
late model features were great
too and everyone in our club
had a great time. Many
thanks to sponsor Gary
Beagell as well as Promoters
Reed Miller and Al Wilcox for
having us once again, we
appreciate it.
Labor Day. Or, one thing
leads to another department.
Or.. Road trip part 3.. It's
funny how this works at times,
you can't get a lead or shake
anything loose for the longest
time and you figger the stuff
has dried up then bingo! It all
comes at once. It's no secret
that we look all the time and
check out every lead. Not all
come to fruition but, you never
know... unless you go.. this
one started with a letter from
George Taylor and a trip to
Burt.. then posting our find
here last week brought a
phone call from friend Bill
Bentley, another call to a
fellow in Cape Vincent netted
Dad a Crane 353-2 camshaft
and this lead which sounded
good. Buddy Everette
Swansborough brought down
a nice corvette frame with a
cage on it that I now own for
the second time, so I loaded it
up and headed to Dad's on
Labor Day, I think it'll work
real well for Carl Carpenter's
#32 rebuild. Jump in the
truck and we're off to
Massena, it's a long trip but
we have plenty to talk about
since our other hobby is
bitching and we never get sick
of it.. Years past we would've
been heading to Syracuse on
this day, and I do miss the
mile, was alot of fun up there.
But today we're going to look
at another Gem, and as
always, it isn't the kill, it's the
thrill of the chase... Maybe it's
a Gem, maybe it's a turd, that
just needs a little polishing, no
matter, we're looking forward
to it.
The car in question was last on
the track in 1959 at
Watertown Speedway and it
owned by former driver Paul
Shirley. It's a 1939 Ford coupe
that he's kept all these years
and includes a race engine
and '39 toploader tranny as
well as a Lincoln radiator. We
find his home in Louisville
after overshooting it and
hitting Massena... I can't read
Dad's writing and he has
trouble too.. Upon arrivng we
see it and are immediately in
love.. Paul was a top
competitor at Watertown, Fort
Covington and Canton
Speedways in the late 1950's
and early 60's. He related to
us that he finished third in
points with this car at
Watertown in 1957 (he may
have had his tracks mixed up
as David Stooley's book
doesn't support this..). One
thing for sure, he did finish
second in points in 1961
drivng Wllard Ryders 10 Pins
at Watertown.
Paul and his brother Allen
started racing in 1954 at
Canton, Paul in a 'strictly
stock' and Allen in a modified.
Allen parlayed his early
experience into a ride in Floyd
Geary's C-38 and Paul related
"won between 8-10 in a row at
Canton, the promoter up there
decided he had to do someting
to break the streak and offered
up three trophy races, well,
Allen won the first, I snuck in
and won the second and then
Allen won the third, wasn't
supposed to happen that way..
after that they started
checking licenses, I had just
turned 21 that week so I got
through but they realized I
had been lying prior.." "My
first car was a number 17 that
Marshall Hall and I went in
together on, we split
everything and saved all our
winnings, at the end of the
year we split the cash and got
$250 each, not bad." "By 1955
I had my own car, the #99 and
it was a good one, set fast time
at Watertown. For '56 it was
another #99 but that one was
a bit rusty and I wore it out
quick. Then I got this one later
that year, it was originally the
'Wee 1' and driven by Squeeky
Robinson. It had this 3 inch
pipe in it which I took out and
replaced with this bracing. It
ran good in 1957 and we
finished third in points, after
that I got married and that
ended the racing. (Paul's
pictures show that he also had
another #99, a 1937 Ford
coupe for 1959). "Later, in '61 I
drove for Willard and we did
well then too." Indeed, Paul
won a couple of 50 lappers
including the Club
championship race in 1961,
but as he related, "there aren't
many of us left around to
dispute anything anymore.."
He later tried a late model at
Fort Covington "without much
luck. Don June once asked me
if I had ever tried a late model,
and I said I did. Don said that
'You don't have much to live
for after you've driven one of
those..', and he roared,
apparently he, like many, have
more than one Don June story.
As we're chatting, we're
loading up the car as there
was no question that we
wanted it. It's in nice shape,
had been in a barn up until
just last year and although the
paint is flaked, it's solid and a
perfect time capsule. Once
loaded it's off to look at the
engine. "This was Allen's
engine" Paul related, "we
called it Woo Woo because
when he let off it had this nice
sound.." "You ever see filled
heads? This ones got them,
and we did some stuff to the
exhaust ports too.." I can see
the headers extend beyond
the original ports, this thing is
interesting, and was orginally
built by Willard Ryder, we'll
have to try it out.. We gather
up the rest of the parts, pay
Paul without robbing Peter,
look over his albums and then
have to get going home. It was
wonderful meeting Paul and
his baby is in good hands. On
the way home we stop off in
Lefargeville to see Chris
Brougham who we haven't
seen in a few years and show
him our find. He's as
impressed as we are and it was
good to chat a bit. Homeward
bound to find a flat on
Thumper, first time for
everything, and finally pile
into bed at 1:30 - at least it
was worth it!
leads to another department.
Or.. Road trip part 3.. It's
funny how this works at times,
you can't get a lead or shake
anything loose for the longest
time and you figger the stuff
has dried up then bingo! It all
comes at once. It's no secret
that we look all the time and
check out every lead. Not all
come to fruition but, you never
know... unless you go.. this
one started with a letter from
George Taylor and a trip to
Burt.. then posting our find
here last week brought a
phone call from friend Bill
Bentley, another call to a
fellow in Cape Vincent netted
Dad a Crane 353-2 camshaft
and this lead which sounded
good. Buddy Everette
Swansborough brought down
a nice corvette frame with a
cage on it that I now own for
the second time, so I loaded it
up and headed to Dad's on
Labor Day, I think it'll work
real well for Carl Carpenter's
#32 rebuild. Jump in the
truck and we're off to
Massena, it's a long trip but
we have plenty to talk about
since our other hobby is
bitching and we never get sick
of it.. Years past we would've
been heading to Syracuse on
this day, and I do miss the
mile, was alot of fun up there.
But today we're going to look
at another Gem, and as
always, it isn't the kill, it's the
thrill of the chase... Maybe it's
a Gem, maybe it's a turd, that
just needs a little polishing, no
matter, we're looking forward
to it.
The car in question was last on
the track in 1959 at
Watertown Speedway and it
owned by former driver Paul
Shirley. It's a 1939 Ford coupe
that he's kept all these years
and includes a race engine
and '39 toploader tranny as
well as a Lincoln radiator. We
find his home in Louisville
after overshooting it and
hitting Massena... I can't read
Dad's writing and he has
trouble too.. Upon arrivng we
see it and are immediately in
love.. Paul was a top
competitor at Watertown, Fort
Covington and Canton
Speedways in the late 1950's
and early 60's. He related to
us that he finished third in
points with this car at
Watertown in 1957 (he may
have had his tracks mixed up
as David Stooley's book
doesn't support this..). One
thing for sure, he did finish
second in points in 1961
drivng Wllard Ryders 10 Pins
at Watertown.
Paul and his brother Allen
started racing in 1954 at
Canton, Paul in a 'strictly
stock' and Allen in a modified.
Allen parlayed his early
experience into a ride in Floyd
Geary's C-38 and Paul related
"won between 8-10 in a row at
Canton, the promoter up there
decided he had to do someting
to break the streak and offered
up three trophy races, well,
Allen won the first, I snuck in
and won the second and then
Allen won the third, wasn't
supposed to happen that way..
after that they started
checking licenses, I had just
turned 21 that week so I got
through but they realized I
had been lying prior.." "My
first car was a number 17 that
Marshall Hall and I went in
together on, we split
everything and saved all our
winnings, at the end of the
year we split the cash and got
$250 each, not bad." "By 1955
I had my own car, the #99 and
it was a good one, set fast time
at Watertown. For '56 it was
another #99 but that one was
a bit rusty and I wore it out
quick. Then I got this one later
that year, it was originally the
'Wee 1' and driven by Squeeky
Robinson. It had this 3 inch
pipe in it which I took out and
replaced with this bracing. It
ran good in 1957 and we
finished third in points, after
that I got married and that
ended the racing. (Paul's
pictures show that he also had
another #99, a 1937 Ford
coupe for 1959). "Later, in '61 I
drove for Willard and we did
well then too." Indeed, Paul
won a couple of 50 lappers
including the Club
championship race in 1961,
but as he related, "there aren't
many of us left around to
dispute anything anymore.."
He later tried a late model at
Fort Covington "without much
luck. Don June once asked me
if I had ever tried a late model,
and I said I did. Don said that
'You don't have much to live
for after you've driven one of
those..', and he roared,
apparently he, like many, have
more than one Don June story.
As we're chatting, we're
loading up the car as there
was no question that we
wanted it. It's in nice shape,
had been in a barn up until
just last year and although the
paint is flaked, it's solid and a
perfect time capsule. Once
loaded it's off to look at the
engine. "This was Allen's
engine" Paul related, "we
called it Woo Woo because
when he let off it had this nice
sound.." "You ever see filled
heads? This ones got them,
and we did some stuff to the
exhaust ports too.." I can see
the headers extend beyond
the original ports, this thing is
interesting, and was orginally
built by Willard Ryder, we'll
have to try it out.. We gather
up the rest of the parts, pay
Paul without robbing Peter,
look over his albums and then
have to get going home. It was
wonderful meeting Paul and
his baby is in good hands. On
the way home we stop off in
Lefargeville to see Chris
Brougham who we haven't
seen in a few years and show
him our find. He's as
impressed as we are and it was
good to chat a bit. Homeward
bound to find a flat on
Thumper, first time for
everything, and finally pile
into bed at 1:30 - at least it
was worth it!
