Wayne Baldwin's Amazing Story: Baldy's Eual Eldred Baldwin

[Master Oil Racing Team]

We had too much engine switching to do, and especially had too many races to run with our reliable FB Konig, so we didn't enter B runabout. The next heat we ran was B hydro. I got a good start and picked up my third win for the day and first ever in a hydro. There were some good B drivers there, so it wasn't a fluke. I figured Alex Wetherbee was the one to beat with his hot Quincy Looper, but something must have happened to him. I came in second in the next heat, but had enough points for the overall win. Keth Taylor was second overall followed by Bobby Wilson with a third. I never really got to know Keith although he was one of the top competitors in North Texas and Oklahoma. He was from Dallas, and he quit before we got to know him.

The final race we entered was D hydro with the same FB Konig on our Marchetti. We finished second in one heat, but I don't know which heat it was. The overall winner was Woody Marcy from Lubbock, Texas followed by Phil Crown from Dallas. They had real D motors. Phil had some Mercs and Merc/ Quincy's but I don't remember what Woody Marcy ran. Most likely a Merc or Merc/Quincy, but I'm not sure if either he or Phil were running loopers. I'm thinking deflectors. My second place finish was enough for third overall. And between all the classes I entered, and finished brought me to the fourth first of the day.....High Point Driver. We won 125 dollars that day. You can imagine how Baldy felt. Things started to gel after our trip to Knoxville. Some local drivers never left Texas, or raced out of the Lone Star circuit and told us early on that we didn't need to leave Texas to get plenty of racing. That was true in those days, but like I said before, Baldy wanted to go for it all, and in doing so we would learn how other racers did it. So that was settled in his mind. We would compete not only in Lone Star, but try to do the national circuit like top drivers Waldman, Hering, Seebold, Harrison, Donald, Austin, Nicholson, Simison, and all the others we got to know over the years. It was a decision of Baldy's that has had an everlasting effect on my life.....particularly since I found BRF and have been able to relive those days with stories, pictures and reconnecting with old friends. On top of that I have been able to make new ones, and talk with legends from the past I only knew of or read about, but never in a personal way until now.