Random shots from the pits

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Joe...I put the picture with the pit men in it because they stand in the water all day with the hot sun beaming down, just to help their driver do the best he or she can, and that's all they ask. They spend a lot of their own time and money to be at the races and without them how could we get anything done.

But you're right about that race. It was one of my most memorable. I was faster than Dub, but he had the inside. He came out of the turn first and I caught him at the end of the straightaway. He used his spray to keep me wide and he had better acceleration. I kept catching up to him at each turn and I noticed he kept going wider and wider so I continued to stay wide to the outside. Then on the last turn we were way off the bouys. Right after we set up for the turn and Dub continued the manuevers to keep me on his hip, I chopped the throttle, dove through the spray, got as far to the transom as I could get and went full power to the exit bouy. I looked back at Dub and he was waaay outside looking over his right shoulder to find me. When he looked back to his left he saw me and headed for the finish line. He was accelerating faster than me, but my speed was coming up too, AND I was already far ahead since I took the shortest line. At the finish I was a few feet ahead. When we got to the scales, he came straight up to me with a big grin and gave me a long, strong handshake. He couldn't stop talking about how great a race that was, and I felt very proud to have someone the caliber of Dub Parker be so complimentary to my driving.

[smittythewelder]

A chicken-sexer!!! Bob Gilliam, who started out racing outboards in Payette, ID, and then built himself an Unlimited hydroplane in the Fort Lewis hobby shop (with colonels in assistance; a great story!), told me his dad had made a pile of money counting sheep. Evidently, when the sheep come in (for selling? Sheering?) they run through the chute so fast and in such numbers that very few men can be trained to count them accurately, and Bob's dad was called to do this job all over the West. Bob Gilliam was quite a charactor and was good company, and I'm sorry he's gone.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

A few pits shots from the first attempt in 73 that was blown out.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

One of Dieter Konig and Jack Chance at Fort Worth. The rest are Sprinfield,Ill --1977

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

The forth picture down sure does look like Pete Hellsten kneeling down with a clip board in his hands. Can someone verify that.

Yup, that's him as well as picture 3 roping his 2 cyclinder Merc 350 "C" Service.

[F-12]

Great pic of Papa Seebold. He was a person who could make you feel at ease with just his grin.

[Jeff Lytle]

Wayne:

The pic of Pete roping is one of the best I've seen from your collection. The focus area is right on the flywheel with everything else a slight blur, the intensity on the faces, and the muscle strain of the pitmen----EXCELLENT WORK !!

By the way.....See the pit man on the opposite side backing away? Those Mercs emitted a nastyloud noise, and barked flames as well, ask Duke!! Plus, Pete used to run a high nitro mix through his Mercs........A little hard on the eyes!!

[F-12]

I hope this shows up. I have never tried to post an image here before. This is the last ride I had in my D Aerowing at Lakeland 1977. Won it by half a lap. Thanks to Uncle Walt, Pop Smith, and, of course, Tim Butts.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Bet that was a good ride. How did you set the fin for the high speed turning?

Charles, you just reminded me of something else. There is a famed wedding photographer who does seminars and writes articles on photography from Lakeland. I used to see his name all the time in Rangefinder, a magazine for photographers. I recently found some 4 X 5's he shot of me at Lakeland in 73. I don't get that magazine anymore and I couldn't find him on the internet. Is he still around? I bet he has some good shots of a lot of racers. If anybody has any leads, I would be interested. I think he may have done some stuff at Cypress Gardens too.

[F-12]

Wayne.............You used a turn fin at Lakeland?........Just kidding. I think from what I remember, we set it at it's highest adjustment and since it was the long course, you just kept the wheel set at about 15 degrees and pretty much hung on for the ride. Here's the finish line photo that was taken by a local TV station. This was one year the entire race (both days) was covered by a local TV station. Walt said before that I was a show off, and I proved it.