I was doing some surfing on the internet tonight and visited a couple websites from my old days in Ohio.I was watching a YouTube video from Columbus Motor Speedway of a past champions race from back in the 1990s.What led me to that was the Speedway still has a Facebook page going.The YouTube video was the memories. The heartache was a picture posted of the speedway today.A soccer field for the Columbus Crew major league soccer team.The picture almost made me physically sick.That got me looking through a stack of pictures I took at the old place between 1970-1977.Back in the 1974,75,&76 season Jim Cushman tore up the ovals of Ohio in the Jerry Lawrence owned Plymouth Duster #8 Chrysler Kit Car which was purchased at Petty Enterprises in Level Cross North Carolina.For all the fast Chevrolets around in the Midwest at that time that Duster had an answer. It ran like it was on rails.Kind of reminds me of the way Jessie Dutilly’s car handles.Was there anybody here in Florida who ever campaigned a Mopar Kit Car and had success with it ?
Yes, I can recall one running at New Smyrna.
It looked to be well prepared, but heavy and slow.
Am hoping someone can provide factual details, but here is what I either remember or am making up:
I think it was Dale Mixon. Mixon previously ran a “modified” with a slant six & multiple side draft carbs against mostly small block chevys with a 4bbl. He was competitive, but not dominant.
I believe Dale “came back” years later with a Chrysler kit car, ran fair at best, and then disappeared for good soon thereafter.
Maybe AncrDave can confirm or deny.
Well, first… Here is a photo I took of Jim Cushman at the 1975 or 1976 World Series at New Smyrna… The car ran OK but was no match for the Junior Hanley-Dick Trickle-Joe Shear-Gary Balough Camaros… This was a simply gorgeous car, though… a real work of art…
I remember that most of the Kit Cars seemed to be in South Florida but I’m sure there might have been some at NSS, OSW and the West Coast tracks… I was stationed in South Florida at the time the Kit Car was popular so spent most of my time at Hialeah, West Palm and Miami-Hollywood before it closed…
Here are three from South FL that, again, ran OK but were never big winners:
- Vance Murray was one of the top LM racers in South FL and he gave the Kit Car a try in 1976 but eventually gave up on it… The car was beautiful as can be seen in the photo but it just seemed “heavy” and was basically a fifth place or worse car…
- Tom Schenk, who always ran Mopars, had one around 1976-77, again with Limited success… shown here with Bobby Henry as driver…
- Mike Hunter, a really good South FL driver, had this one for a short time but could never really get it to run very good… Mike always wanted to win so he didn’t run this car very long… I believe he actually bought it from someone else…
Three more - All three of these guys were staunch Mopar men and pretty much ran them their entire careers…
- Skip Valdez - Never a big winner but a “gritty” competitor - He replaced his Dodge Charger with this Kit Car…
- Jimmy Doyle - Actually ran pretty well with this car and later had a much more “modified” version…
- Paul Combast - Paul always ran Mopars and was a much better driver than his cars were… This car started out as a Kit Car but by 1981 when this photo was taken it had been “Combasted” as we used to say… Paul was best in his Mini Stock Dodges… He was one of the guys to beat in that class all the time…
I do not remember Dale Mixon running a Kit Car but, again, I was living in South FL at the time of their popularity so he may have had one…
Dale started racing around 1966-1967 in Modifieds at Orlando Raceway and he was known initially as a “squirrel” but eventually became a regular winner although he was also known through his career as a guy who had some pretty spectacular crashes… I believe he was the first driver to roll a car at New Smyrna Speedway in 1967 when the track was dirt and called Daytona Raceway.
In 1969 Dale started racing the Early Model six-cylinder class and it was here where he was big stuff… He had a 1953 slant six Plymouth that, when it stayed together, could not be beat… One night when Eau Gallie Speedway got rained out he towed over to Golden Gate Speedway where the class was a feature on Saturday nights… Well, he almost lapped the field that included the likes of Wayne Reutimann, Dave Scarborough, Donnie Tanner and Aden Erb… The car passed tech but as Dale told me the track officials politely asked him “not to come back.” He ran the sixes for awhile then seemed to just fade away… Then he returned to run a Florida Modified in the early '90s at Orlando… This car had AMC power of all things… Never had a ton of luck with it but he did almost “leave the ballpark” in turn one… For years there was a big dent in the bottom of “Captain Video’s” stand outside of turn one, put there courtesy of Dale Mixon… The video Carl took that night was incredible… Even though it almost knocked him off his perch, he just kept on filming! Wish I had a picture of that car…
- Dale had this Modified car in 1968 and won quite a few races with it… I took this shot at Orlando Raceway…
- This is the '53 Plymouth he won so many races with…
- Another of Dale’s big wrecks - This time in his '57 Plymouth in 1970 at Eau Gallie…
Those are a bunch of great pictures from a time when other makes still found their way into weekend racing.The Cushman pic you have posted I’m not sure if that’s the Duster.After three years of being thrashed on as well as I seem to recall an accident in an ASA event either in Indiana or at Tri County Speedway in Cincinnati the Duster was replaced with another new Kit car for the 1977 season sporting a Plymouth Volare body.Cushman and Lawrence never had the success with the Volare that they enjoyed with the Duster.That picture looks to be the Volare.
The original kit car was test driven by Pete Hamilton.The kits were offered up through Chrysler via distributor network. A basic chassis was $2995 a roller was $3995 and a race ready version was sold for the high end price of $9995. Two body’s initially were available a Dodge Dart Swinger or Plymouth Duster.Hamilton supposedly was so impressed by the car during testing he bought one against the advice of Chrysler.
Knew Chrysler had kit cars for road racing, but no idea they had them for oval track. Thanks for the education, guys.
dick trickle–
the legandy dick trickle was the famous being the purple knight in a plymouth/crystler for a half a season—before he was noticed as the white knight, driving a mean AMC product on the short tracks around the Midwest, and tearing up the local drivers, and his AMC kin, tommy reffner, the blue knight. they, at the time, with their AMC machines, tore up everyone. there was the black knight, which was the owners son, or some relation, of superamerica ownership. best ride in the world, he had. and ceased after 1 season, just a kid, he couldn,t keep up with the utmost of greatnesses of the other 2 machines.
[QUOTE=ancrdave;174644]I do not remember Dale Mixon running a Kit Car but, again, I was living in South FL at the time of their popularity so he may have had one…
Dale started racing around 1966-1967 in Modifieds at Orlando Raceway and he was known initially as a “squirrel” but eventually became a regular winner although he was also known through his career as a guy who had some pretty spectacular crashes… I believe he was the first driver to roll a car at New Smyrna Speedway in 1967 when the track was dirt and called Daytona Raceway.
In 1969 Dale started racing the Early Model six-cylinder class and it was here where he was big stuff… He had a 1953 slant six Plymouth that, when it stayed together, could not be beat… One night when Eau Gallie Speedway got rained out he towed over to Golden Gate Speedway where the class was a feature on Saturday nights… Well, he almost lapped the field that included the likes of Wayne Reutimann, Dave Scarborough, Donnie Tanner and Aden Erb… The car passed tech but as Dale told me the track officials politely asked him “not to come back.” He ran the sixes for awhile then seemed to just fade away… Then he returned to run a Florida Modified in the early '90s at Orlando… This car had AMC power of all things… Never had a ton of luck with it but he did almost “leave the ballpark” in turn one… For years there was a big dent in the bottom of “Captain Video’s” stand outside of turn one, put there courtesy of Dale Mixon… The video Carl took that night was incredible… Even though it almost knocked him off his perch, he just kept on filming! Wish I had a picture of that car…
- Dale had this Modified car in 1968 and won quite a few races with it… I took this shot at Orlando Raceway…
- This is the '53 Plymouth he won so many races with…
- Another of Dale’s big wrecks - This time in his '57 Plymouth in 1970 at Eau Gallie…[/QUOTE]
Dale did have a kit car and ran it a few times at NSS. The last modified Dale built had a mopar engine in it with torsion bar front suspension.
Thx for confirming, ModRacer.
I seem to recall it was purple and white, although his earlier cars featured red.
That might even be correct as well.
Logically the modified would have been the kit car cut up, but I do not remember that one…