Lone Star Boat Racing Association

[jrich]

Just found this site while 'googleing' something else. These pictures are a riot!! Amazing what a few pics will pry out of your brain that you haven't even considered in many, many years.
What has happened to outboard racing in Texas?? I live about 5 min from the Baytown Boat Club and everytime I see an ad for races I drive down there and it's those stinkin' 120s and tri-hulls.
My dad raced stockers (T-1 De Silva), but we made a few of the alky races. They let our stockers step down a class (our F ran D, etc). I saw a pic in this thread of Rick Hartley's old "Alley Cat" YO-48 "C" running with a B flathead (Rick and my dad were pretty good friends). My uncle ran some alky races, too in the T-74 De-Silva. My grandfather ran the old TORA organization, also.
Wow, a blast from the past. I can't stay off this site. I've got an 11 yr old that would eat up some J racing......if there were any around. We're racing karts and micro-sprints right now. Wayne said something about missing the smell of alky/castor mix. Our micros run 600cc motorcycle engines on alky and we use castor as a top end lube. Not the 20:1 you're used to, but it still smells good!!

[Y-62/Crews/ Lowrey]

Jrich, don't give up hope. Several folks fom the NBRA have been working to get a kneel-down race back here in Texas. I thought I had a race nailed down for this month here in Ft. Worth until the lake authority pulled the plug on me. I am going to the NBRA race in Alexandria, LA May 8-10 and we are scheduled to meet with some APBA tunell boat officers about getting some kneelers racing with them in July at Lake Bryan , Tx.. Several of them are wanting to get their kids involved in racing as well. They went to the APBA Winternationals at Alex last month and let's just say...they are hooked. One of the NBRA drivers , Mark Daspit from Brenham, TX, is taking his brand new CSH rig to the tunnel race the first wekend of May to put it on display and try to stir some more interest.

I realy think we stand a good chance of pulling this off. If you can get away, I think the drive over to Alex would be well worth your time. I would love to meet you and anyone else who wants to be a part of getting kneel-down racing back in TX. The more hands on deck the better.

Dennis

[jrich]

Jeff Hartley, my dad, Rick Hartley from the old TORA days. Funny story about the I-10 boat number on Rick's boat involving his old YO48 DeSilva and its demise and a subsequent insurance claim.

This is an alky race, probably C runabout, as it looks like our old D deflector on the T-1.

My dad.


This had to be at an alky race. Looks like Bruce Nicholson and Charlie Bailey and my dad.

[Mark75H]

Cool! keep them coming!

[jrich]

Our old B Marchetti. This is the only hydro I remember my dad driving.

This one said "Kingsland 1976" on the back, so that would've been Rick Hartley's place.


Some familiar names on here, including a bunch from my 'hood.

[jrich]

Got any more??

[Master Oil Racing Team]

...finally. These are out in front of my Dad's house in 1974. This is where the Lone Star circuit traditionally ended its season from 1968 until 1977.

Tim Butt's clowning around in the first pic. Second one is Ashley Lawrence followed by me taking a swig of Gatorade. Not sure who the couple is talking to my Dad. Joe Rome is behind my Dad and Ashley Lawrence is leaning on the experimental one-of-a-kind Butts.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

More from the October 1974 race at Barbon.

Looks to be some gun jumpers in that first heat. Ray Hardy is in the primer white Butts. Don't know who that is outside of Denny Henderson in the second pic. Me coming into the pits in the third, and Dennis Aylor in his rookie year in the final one.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Baytown Boat Club May 1970.

Joe Rome on right heading toward the bulkhead to lower Louis Williams' runabout down to the water. On left eclipsed is Reles LeBlanc. This was around the time Reles quit racing his own rig and began to pit for Louis. It was also when Joe was Louis' No.1. Joe didn't start pitting for me until 1971. At that time Joe was still Louis' pit man, but since Louis didn't go to some of the out of state races, Joe went with us.

second pic. Mike Murray is chasing Louis Willams.

Third is a partial view of the pits at high tide on the San Jacinto River.

Last is Mike Murray. Ron, Capn Zee, Alan, or anyone else from those days...I think this is the last runabout I drove and Mike repainted. Does it look like a Terrill? I never saw enough to remember. We bought an A/B runabout from Wade Terrill and picked it up at the Winternationals at Needles in 1969. We sold it to Mike after I stood it up on it's tail at Barbon in 1969. I just couldn't get the feel of it lifting like I could my Sids and Marchetti's, or the DeSilva's when they got light.

[jrich]

....for the pics. Keep 'em coming!! I wish the BBC still looked like that.