Unusual Racing Names
Bob Williams aka Freddy Fuddpucker at WPB mostly in demo derbies, old Orlando racer Rawhide Nace, Marty Handshaw aka Al Ford (while in the Army),
Sy Coe was actually Sylvester Coe so it was a real name but the announcers built it up as if Psycho and he went along with it.
Long ago NC drivers Burrhead Nance, Runt Harris and Dink Widenhouse. Wisconsin driver Mouse Melius. From Pensacola Rat Lane.
How about sports car pilots Pete Lovely and Eamon Fullalove?
Unusual Racing Names
A few more…
Rags Carter, Pee Wee Griffin and Rod Perry from Miami
New Englander Ted Tappet raced modifieds and sports cars
Cartoon character Speed Racer
Early (1949) NASCAR driver Buckshot Morris from Atlanta
Georgia modifed and LM star Buck Simmons
Speedy Thompson, Tiny Lund and Reb Wickersham from NASCAR
Recently deceased drag racer Pork Zartman from Hanover, PA
The ageless one, Red Farmer from Hueytown via Miami and Nashville
Sometimes NASCAR driver Jimmy Finger of Austin, TX
Chicago area driver Whitey Gerkin
George Gordon aka Spud Murphy from Lake Worth and later Edgewater, Fla.
Francisco Melendez aka Frank Mundy
Lucky Brown
Real 1st. name was Kermit!
From Nascar Blackie Wangerin, Indycar, Will Power. From Florida Coot Sapp
Jigger Sirois , still living, was a USAC driver famous for his bad luck, never qualified for Indy 500.
More
Spooky Whittle
Possum Jones
I cannot believe no one has said the best name of them all, DICK TRICKLE!
[SIZE=“4”]Speaking of Carl, I?ve got a lot of memories of
racing against him at both St. Pete and the Gate.
Carl was a fierce competitor and sometimes we
ended up being at each other?s throats.
Carl always thrashed hard on his racer, won his share
of races and never took any crap from anybody along
the way so I always respected him for that.
Here are a few pics of a Carl at Sunshine Speedway.
Upper left corner in this frame - June 16, 1973, in the
#98 Ford Tornado car with flagman Bob Phillips after a win.
Bottom left corner in this frame ? Accepting the GRA
Monthly High Point Award in the Tornado class for
both March & April, 1974.
Have those boys been thrashing on that race car or what??
On the cover of the August 23, 1975, program as
a candidate for LM driver of the month.
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=“4”]Let?s not forget Tampa Driver Rastus Kimbrell.
Rastus started out in the Tornado class then
eventually moved over into Late Models always
in the yellow #45 car for Bob Breakfield who
dabbled in many business entities at the time.
Rastus was a big man but as long as I can remember
he was always easy going and a gentleman.
I don?t recall ever seeing him get too upset with
anybody and Lord knows I gave him several
opportunities to come undone.
Here are a few shots of Rastus at Sunshine
Speedway from back in the day:
Upper right corner in this frame after winning
the first 100-lap Florida State Tornado Championship
at St. Pete November 30, 1969.
A short bio of Rastus that appeared in the 1971 Sunshine Speedway Yearbook.
[/SIZE]
Unusual Racing Names
Sorry that I don’t have photos for these colorful guys…
Who can forget Fireball Roberts or Banjo Matthews of NASCAR fame.
IMCA sprint car pilot Scratch Daniels and his brother Itch (for real).
Monk Tate from Ruffin, NC. A sometime teammate to Sam Ard.
Nero Steptoe from Alabama. His real name by the way.
Piggy Bennett and Tommy Moon from Jacksonville
Little Bud Moore from Charleston, SC
Long time West Palm LM driver Speedy Reeves
Cush Revette
Tampa area driver Sugar Bear Berg
Red Coffin, dirt modified driver from Reading, PA area
Big Daddy Don Garlits and his Swamp Rat of drag racing fame.
Recently deceased Moon Burgess from Conn.
Jeep Herbert
Hugry Clark
Hooker Hood from Memphis, a legend in the modifieds and sprints
Flip Fritch from Detroit. Wheelchair bound writer was injured in racing.
Smokey Snellbaker, sprint car ace from PA
Doc McKinney, stepson of Gene “Wormy” Johnson from Ft Pierce.
Orlando driver turned flagman Rosebud Flower
From Nascar, Cotton Owens, Smoky Yunick, Junie Dunlavey, Rufus Parnelli Jones. drag racing , Grumpy Jenkins and Gas Ronda.
Cocoa Begtrup
[SIZE=“6”]YOW![/SIZE]
[SIZE=“4”]Almost forgot Dave Yow.
Late Model Driver out of Sarasota back in the day.
Here he is in 1981 in his #63 Camaro at Sunshine Speedway
involved in a little altercation off of Turn 4.
[/SIZE]
What about
My most favorite ever! Mike “the Flintstone Flyer” Duvall from Cowpens S.C.
[SIZE=“4”]I give you Ray Snodgrass?Florida Late Model Driver from the 60?s.
Here is Ray after a win at the old Orlando Speedway where
he grabbed the Late Model High Point Championship in 1966.
[/SIZE]
there was a kid that raced go karts… micah pocapani…think i spelled it right. kid could wheel a kart!
Dirt track drivers, Chub Frank and Maverick Varnadore, pavement; Buggy Pletcher, Bosco Lowe and the late Iggy Katona from ARCA.
Unusual Racing Names
Stan “Eyeball” Irwin from Hialeah. Raced TQ midgets and hydroplanes
Bunkie Blackburn from Fayetteville, NC and Daytona
“Smokey Nokie” Mallory from Hialeah
Buford Seals from WPB
Ollie Silva from Haverhill, Mass.
Reino Tulonen from Fitchburg, Mass.
Carl “Bugs” Stevens
Mario “Fats” Caruso
Satch Worly from NASCAR and Moose Myers, ARCA champion. Also Lanier Speedway has a late model driver named Tony Bennett.
