Track Roadster re-creation

In the late 1940’s "hot rod roadster" or track roadster racing was the rage, with clubs across the United States, but there were three prominent clubs – Mutual Roadster Association in the Midwest, the California Roadster Association in Southern California, and the Northern California Roadster Racing Associatio - that shaped the sport. Many "hot road roadster" racers  advanced to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, namely '500' race winners Troy Ruttman and Bob Sweikert.

In Bakersfield California, Fay Mooney and JT “Spud” Simkins built a hot rod roadster of their own that used a 1925 Ford Model T body on a custom-built frame powered by an inline 6-cylinder GMC engine fitted with three carburetors.

Their very attractive car was built for both show and go as it appeared at the 1950 Oakland Roadster Show and in the pages of the January 1950 Hot Rod magazine, as well as on race tracks at Bakersfield, Porterville, Gardena and Culver City California driven by Simkins, Earl “Rosie” Roussel, and Harold Hall.   

With the original car lost to history, Mooney’s son Paul, commissioned Image Street Rods of Santa Maria California to build this accurate re-creation using period photographs.  The finished car was shown at the Coker Tire display at the 2018 SEMA show in Las Vegas.

All photos by the author

 

The story of the

1948 Pacific Coast 5/8 Mile

Hot Rod Championship

 

 

 

Scan of the event advertisement from the

October 29 1948 edition of the Oakland Tribune

 

 

At this time of the year, most regional racing series and local race tracks have completed their regular racing season and they stage a “special event” before closing down for the season. 1948 was no different as on Sunday October 31 the Northern California Roadster Racing Association (NCRRA) presented the 100-lap “Pacific Coast 5/8-mile Hot Rod Championship” at Oakland Stadium.

Actually located south of Oakland in San Leandro, the track hosted “hot rod” roadster events during the NCRRA's inaugural 1948 season, but most of those races were held on the flat infield ¼- mile oval not the higher speed 5/8-mile oval track with its steeply banked turn three and four complex.  

During the immediate post-World War two years, “hot rod” or "track roadster” racing was wildly popular throughout the United States. It was a relatively inexpensive form of racing, a mixture of hot rodding and oval track racing that used modified nineteen twenties and thirties open bodied cars powered by contemporary 6- and 8- cylinder racing engines. A number of “hot rod” roadster drivers later starred at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, among them 500-mile race winners Bob Sweikert, Pat Flaherty, Jim Rathmann, and Troy Ruttman.

Articles in the Oakland Tribune newspaper in the days before the Halloween race trumpeted that over sixty roadster drivers from across the West had pre-entered for the race. The list included Sacramento area champion Wayne “Bromo” Seltzer, Washington state champion Julian Castro, the 1948 NCRRA champion “Jumpin Joe” Valente, and the rival hot rod group, Racing Roadsters Inc. two-time champion Johnny Key.

The entry list mainly featured drivers from the NCRRA supplemented with drivers from the California Roadster Association (CRA) and Racing Roadsters Inc. (RRI) and included teammates George Pacheco and Ed Huntington, Mel Alexander, George Danburg, Bill Steves, Dick Vineyard, Paul Kamm, Al Palamides, and Ed Elisian.  

The lead articles in the Oakland Tribune on October 31 1948 focused on the upcoming United States Presidential election to be held in two days as the Tribune endorsed Republican Thomas Dewey.  Dewey selected California Governor Earl Warren as his running mate and was heavily favored to win the race for the White House over incumbent Democrat Harry S. Truman and his running mate Kentucky Senator Alben Barkley.

For those looking for celluloid entertainment on Sunday the Esquire Theatre on San Pablo Avenue in Oakland had extended the run of the western ‘Red River’ that starred John Wayne and Montgomery Clift for a third week, while the Motor Movies outdoor theatre located two miles south of Hayward on Tennyson Road offered a double feature with ‘Key Largo’ and ‘The Son of Rusty.’

Elsewhere in Sunday Tribune the Foreman & Clark Men’s Store offered a men’s suit with two pair of slacks on sale for $54.50, while WT Grant offered women’s rayon dresses for $2.98. At Sears, you could buy a three-piece bedroom set – a complete bed, dresser, and nightstand with mirror for $79.00, while Bay Area Crosley dealers offered a radio/phonograph in a compact free-standing walnut cabinet for $59.  

That new furniture would be perfect in the new ranch style homes which could be purchased for $21,500 to $30,000 in the Sun Valley Orchards subdivision in Walnut Creek which the realtor advertised “has approximately 300 days of sunshine a year.” Even corrected for inflation, that would have been a good buy as those homes today sell on average for $1.3 million.    

Prospective automobile buyers were introduced via Tribune advertisements to “a new eight letter word - “Dynaflow” by Buick” and were told to “Ask the woman who wants one about the new Packard,” or to take “One look, one ride and you’ll know what’s new for 1949 – Hudson.” The Automobile Manufacturer’s Association announced that a total of 11,889,400 passenger cars and trucks had been built during the 1948 model year.

A massive crowd of 8,000 fans were in the Oakland Stadium grandstand when time trials for the “Pacific Coast 5/8-mile Hot Rod Championship” began at noon on Halloween with the temperature in the mid-50’s and a light breeze. Salinas driver Elmer George, substituting for Wayne Garland, crashed into the outer wooden retaining wall on the front straightaway during qualifying, and a piece of timber struck NCRRA flagman Leslie Pine in the left leg. Pine, 24 years old, was transported by ambulance to the Permanente Hospital in downtown Oakland where doctors later that evening amputated his severely injured leg.

Herb Hill of Modesto posted the fastest qualifying time with a lap of 22.56 seconds, which was two-tenths of a second faster than the track record set just two weeks earlier by Bob Sweikert, with an average speed nearing 100 miles per hour.  We could find no records of the preliminary heat race results but George Danburg of Oakland won the four-lap trophy dash and Al Berndi of Berkeley won the 15-lap semi-main to transfer into the 20-car feature starting field.

1948 NCRRA points’ runner-up George Pacheco in his #82 roadster led the feature in the early going but his car slid into the infield and he lost two laps. Lodi driver “Flashin” Lemoine Frey in Al Dickman’s #9 roadster then led for a time as did Herb Hill before Joe Valente surged into the lead which he never relinquished. “Jumpin Joe” won in a time of 43 minutes 33 and 8/10 second to establish a new track record for the 100-lap, 62 ½ mile distance. Bob Machin in the (Bennie) Hubbard Auto Parts Special came across the line in second place while Pacheco recovered to finish in third place.

On March 30 1949 Leslie Pine filed suit against Oakland Stadium Inc., track manager Jimmy Reed and Golden State Theatres, owner of the track, in Alameda County Court. Pine’s suit asked for $150,000 as he alleged that negligent maintenance of the track resulted in the loss of his left leg. When the case came to trial before Judge Ralph Hoyt in January 1952 Pines’ attorney Adrian Palmquist used films and still photos shot the day of the race as evidence of the alleged negligence, which showed that part of the wooden crash wall actually extended onto the racing surface.  

A jury of eight men and four women agreed with Pine and on February 1 1952 awarded him $96,000 in damages. The case continued to wind its way through the courts for five and a half years as Golden State and its insurers Lloyds of London and Fireman’s Fund wrangled over the terms of the policies and which company was liable to make the payment to Pine whose judgement reached $108,524.24 including interest when finally paid.

The careers of most of the racers in the 1948 Pacific Coast championship never advanced beyond the Bay Area, but there are several notable exceptions. Two-time RRI champion Johnny Key later moved into “hardtops” and during the 1952 season he won 54 feature races. Key and his Salinas friend Elmer George went “back East” to race midgets and ‘big cars’ with the American Automobile Association (AAA) but Key’s promising career was cut short when he lost his life in a Cincinnati midget crash in June 1954.  

Elmer George who survived the same accident that killed Key went on to become the 1957 United States Auto Club (USAC) sprint car champion, the same year that he married his car owner, Mari Hulman, daughter of the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Elmer raced in the three Indianapolis 500-mile races with little success before he retired and he later died of multiple gunshot wounds on May 31 1976.  Elmer’s son, Tony George, served as the President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 20 years and founded the Indy Racing League.

Another participant in the 1948 Pacific Coast Championship, Ed Elisian of Oakland raced in five Indianapolis 500-mile races, most notably the 1958 ‘500’ when he received blame for triggering  the first-lap accident that took Pat O’Connor’s life.  Elisian’s career declined and his personal life spun out of control before he was suspended from racing for six months. Ed died at age 32 in a fiery crash at the Milwaukee Mile in August 1959. Oakland Stadium itself closed in 1955 when the land became too valuable for developers and the site became the Bay Fair shopping center.      

The author thanks his friends and fellow racing historians Jim Thurman, James Taggert and Tom Motter for their invaluable assistance in researching this topic.  

Roadster racer Don Kolb's 1948 season

Today we take a look at a year in the life of a track roadster racer in Northern California against the background of the rapidly changing race sanctioning environment of the era.

After World War II the popularity of auto racing in the United States exploded in particular midget car racing. Many race-hungry veterans like Oakland California racer Donald “Don” Kolb looked for a more economical form of racing and found it with “hot rods” or track roadsters.

These race cars were built up from stripped-down pre-war cars and powered by “hopped up” powerplants such as six cylinder GMC or Ford V-8 engines. As we shall see, 1948 proved to be a very significant year for Don Kolb both professionally and personally.

The 1948 Don Kolb story begins even before the racing season started, in February as the 24-year old Kolb helped create a new roadster racing sanctioning association. Through the period of 1946 to 1947, a majority of the roadster races in the California Bay Area were sanctioned by Northern California Roadster Racing Association (NCRRA), a non-profit group run by business manager Nils Lilejedahl. According to writer and promoter Al Slonaker’s ‘Speedway Sparks’ column in the Oakland Tribune during 1947 some members of the NCRRA became disenchanted with “the lack of profits” with NCRRA organization and formed their own for-profit sanctioning group known as Racing Roadsters Incorporated (RRI).

The new group’s president was announced as John Milton owner of the #5 “Milton Hudson” track roadster driven by Stan Dean. The Milton Motor Company located on 14th Street in Oakland California had been a Hudson dealership since 1938. RRI’s Vice-president was Al Dickman from Manteca California the owner of the #9 Ford V-8 powered roadster, while Arthur Garden, the group’s attorney acted as the non-voting secretary/treasurer.

Don Kolb was one of the RRI board members along with Hank Keith, Don Milton, Don Kolb, Dave Zimola, L. D. Plumley, and Henry K. Richardson. The corporation issued voting and non-voting members and Wilton and most of the board members took only non-voting stock for obvious political reasons.

RRI officials told Slonaker that they had more than 35 cars signed up for the 1948 season and contracts in place with the Oakland Stadium, Belmont Speedway, and Salinas Valley Speedway. For its part, the NCRRA organization claimed to have signed contracts to present races at Stockton 99 Speedway and Contra Costa Speedway with their stars “Lightning” Lemoine Frey (who drove for Dickman in 1947), “Jumpin” Joe Valente, “Sad” Sam Hawks, and young Ed Elisian. 

Despite its name, the 5/8-mile paved Oakland Stadium was located near the intersection of  East 14th Street and 155th Avenue in suburban San Leandro and featured a hugely banked 62-degree third and fourth turn complex, but it also had a ¼-mile track inside which was sometimes used by the roadsters. The ¼-mile dirt Belmont Speedway (also known as San Carlos Speedway) was located adjacent to the Bay Meadows thoroughbred race track which itself occasionally hosted auto racing. Both race tracks are long gone and are now the site of shopping centers.   

The 1/3-mile paved Salinas Valley Speedway was located in the Alisal (sycamore in Spanish) area east of Salinas. The Salinas area was a hot-bed of Northern California roadster racing and also featured Devils Bowl Speedway. Salinas was the home of Elmer George, Norman Garland, Arnold Chapman and the “King of Northern California roadsters," Johnny Key, the 1947 and 1948 NCRRA season champion. Although he was from Santa Cruz racer and service station owner Lloyd Ragon was also considered by most Bay Area roadster fans to be a member of the “Salinas Boys.”  

Contra Costa Speedway was a lightning fast ¼-mile dirt oval that was advertised as being in Walnut Creek but actually was in Pacheco adjacent to Buchanan Field. Contra Costa Speedway appears in scene of the 1960 motion picture “Wild Ride” that starred a young Jack Nicholson. Stockton 99 Speedway like Contra Costa a high-banked 1/4-mile except it was paved opened as a dirt 1/5-mile track 1947.

Built and operated by one-time boxing promoter William G. 'Billy' Hunefeld, the Stockton track initially had a youth football field in the infield. Of all the tracks mentioned in this article that the “roaring roadsters” raced, it is the only facility that is still open for racing.   

RRI officials also promised that their new group would require the use of safety hubs. Slonaker somewhat humorously noted that “this little precaution should make faithful fans a little more at ease in the stands. It's no fun trying to duck a flying wheel, too often the case when safety axles are omitted.”

Slonaker did not mention that RRI’s new rule would save driver’s lives as well. Many track roadster drivers died in accidents when their car flipped over after the rear axle broke and the car lost a wheel. A safety hub was a two-piece assembly with one part bolted to the rear end housing and the other welded onto the wheel hub. Combined with a bearing the assembly prevented the wheel from breaking loose in case the car’s axle broke.

Cyclone Safety Hubs were manufacturered by Mendel “Cookie” Ledington's "Cooks Machine Works in 1946 and 60 years later is still in business in same location

On Sunday April 25 Bob Sweikert a racer from Hayward came from eleventh starting position to claim victory at Salinas Valley Speedway over Tommy Cheek from Oakland with Johnny Key in third place. Sweikert posted a “clean sweep” that day – in addition to his win in the 25-lap main, run in 8 minutes and 5-1/2 seconds,  Sweikert set quick time in time trials with a lap of 18.70 seconds, won six- and eight-lap heat races, and beat Kolb to win the four-lap trophy dash.

Sweikert was one of many California drivers along with the Rathmann brothers and Troy Ruttman who used track roadster racing as a springboard to greater success. Born in Los Angeles but raised in Hayward Sweikert served domestically in the US Army Air Force in World War II. After his discharge Sweikert met UCLA coed Marion Edwards in 1947 and married her in 1948.

The Sweikert newlyweds returned to Bob’s hometown where he ran an auto repair shop in his parent’s garage and built his roadster.  Later, Sweikert would graduate to racing midgets, then big cars, before he “went east” to race with the American Automobile Association (AAA). Divorced and re-married Sweikert started his first Indianapolis ‘500’ in 1952 and won the 1955 Indianapolis 500-mile race before he perished in an AAA ‘big car’ accident in June 1956.

The same day as the Racing Roadsters’ Salinas Valley race, April 25, the Northern California Roadster Racing Association (NCRRA) staged a 25-lap race won the George “Blonde” Pacheco of Oakland at Bayshore Stadium a ¼-mile dirt former dog track next to the Cow Palace arena in Daly City. Head-to-head scheduling by the two Bay Area track roadster sanctioning bodies until car counts for both groups dropped and they merged to become United Roadsters Inc. in mid-1950.

During the RRI race held May 1 at Salinas, hometown driver Norm Garland was black flagged out of a comfortable lead on the 34th lap of the 35-lap feature for a leaking radiator that created a “track hazard” as fans roared their disapproval. After the race, enraged fans swarmed the speedway and in the ensuing riot, flagman Bill Jagger was punched in the face. Chaos reigned until the local sheriff was called upon to restore order.

For the roadster race two weeks later at Oakland Stadium the group’s season opener at the track on May14, promoter Charlie Curryer advertised it as a grudge match between the “heroes of the lettuce belt” and Oakland drivers that included Mel Senna, Al Slinker, Budge Canty, ‘Red’ Corbin and Kolb. The throttle on Jim Heath’s car hung open and Heath's car hit a large electrical pole adjacent to the ¼-mile track and burst into flame. Rescuers pulled Heath from the car and he suffered a compound fracture of his left leg but no burns. In the 25-lap feature, Tommy Cheek passed Bob Sweikert on the last lap to steal the win.

On Friday of the 1948 Memorial Day weekend 3,100 fans paid $1.00 admission at Oakland Stadium to watch Johnny Key win the 25-lap feature as Kolb finished in second place with Sweikert in third place.

On Saturday night July 10 1948 Kolb drove Walnut Creek car owner George Dietrich's Mercury-powered car to a 25-lap victory at Belmont Stadium. Kolb took the lead on the third lap after Stan Dean, in the “Milton Hudson” roadster went wide through the first turn on the flat quarter mile speedway, and Kolb was never seriously challenged again on the way to victory.  

Salinas’ Elmer George brought the crowd their feet on the twenty-fourth lap after he crashed head-on into the crash wall in front of the grandstand when his car broke a steering arm in turn four. George was miraculously uninjured and later “went east” in 1954 with his friend Johnny Key to race with the AAA. George eventually married his AAA ‘big car’ owner Mari Hulman, the daughter of Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman. George was the 1957 United States Auto Club (USAC) Midwest ‘big car’ champion and started the Indy ‘500’ on three occasions before he retired from driving following his failure to qualify for the 1964 Indy 500.

On Sunday August 22 1948 Kolb married his fiancé Dorothy Quintel in a unique ceremony held on the front stretch of the 5/8-mile Oakland Stadium track in front of 7,500 witnesses as part of the second annual “Invitational Roadster Classic.” This race brought together drivers from Northern California roadster clubs as well as the cars and drivers from the California Roadster Association (CRA) from the Los Angeles area. The CRA cars carried the letter “X” to help fans differentiate between their local heroes and the southern invaders.

 

After the trophy dash, Kolb and Ms. Quintel who was RRI President John Milton’s secretary were married. As Kolb sat in his car, Quintel was brought “down the aisle” (the front stretch) as she rode in another roadster. As Dorothy stood in the cockpit of the roadster, Kolb stood beside her as Oakland Municipal Court Judge James S Blaine presided while he stood in the cockpit of a third roadster parked in front of the couple. Later, Johnny Key won the feature as Walt James in sixth was the highest finisher of the CRA cars.

The couple had an abbreviated honeymoon as the following Saturday, August 27 Kolb won the 25-lap feature at Oakland Stadium in front of 3,300 fans. Kolb started on the pole, led briefly, and then came back to defeat Jimmy Davies of Los Angeles and Bill Pettit of Oakland with US Navy veteran and future sports car racer Jack Flaherty in fourth place.

In October 1948 the Bay Area’s season racing champions were announced. Fred Agabashian reigned as Bay Cities Racing Association midget champion for the third year in a row, while Johnny Keys won his third consecutive Northern California track roadster championship with the Racing Roadsters Incorporated (RRI). Don Kolb placed third overall in RRI points behind Bob Schellinger of Danville. The 1948 champion of the rival Northern California Roadster Racing Association NCRRA was “Jumpin” Joe Valente a racing showman who became a track flag man after he retired from race driving.