|
Midgets
(speedcars)
|
||
|
Bob
'Two Gun' Tattersall (USA) in 1964-65 at the Sydney Showground aboard
the fully imported 'Hollywood |
A classic shot of
Ronald Mackay, aboard one of the last of the famous Mackay Offenhausers
from his father Don's stable. |
|
|
Here is 'Georgeous'
George Tatnell, the father of todays sprintcar driver Brooke. George
was certainly a colourful
|
|
From Sacrimento,
California USA: Hank Butcher as the seventies dawned, aboard in the
repainted Mackay
|
Johnny
'Super' Stewart, three times Australian Champion pictured here in his
prime on the grass just outside the  Sydney
Showground pits in the mid sixties. |
|
Howard
Revell, now based in Brisbane, is featured here on the cover of the
'Speedway 69' annual.
 |
Smile
for the camera boys! In 1966 at Sydney Showground Lew Marshall (75) is
in the Mackay Kurtis Kraft Offy, pictured  here
in front of the Sinclair Stand. Right behind is Brian Mannion while Peter
Bowland is in the number 4 car. |
American
Merle Bettenhausen made an Australia tour during 1969-70. He's pictured
here on the grass during sunset at the  Sydney
Showground Speedway. Photo by Bill Meyer. |
|
Brian
Dillion (in the ex-Dave Strickland car) leads fellow Queenslande Gus McClure
a merry chase at the Brisbane  Exhibition
Ground. Photo by Bill Meyer |
Jimmy
Davies (USA) sits inside the number 23 Offenhauser which proved very successful
for him on his final tour of  Australia.
The car remained in Queensland hands when it was owned by Bill Goode(number
5), before eventually being put in the hands of Barry Wixted. |
|
A
rare color photograph taken in 1963 of Sydney superstar, Jeff Freeman.
Freeman was the driver to beat
and possessed all the skills, until tragically losing his life in a track
smash at Westmead Speedway in 1965. |
Johnny
Stewart, racing with Aust. 1 on the tail, paces Kevin Park (66), out on
the boards at the former Westmead  Showgrounds,
since 1968 the site of a multi-storey hospital. |
|
Pictured
here in the USA is the number 98 car, formerly driven by Parnelli Jones.
Jones had numerous race victories in the  car
between 1960-67 (when his sprintcar commitments allowed), but he is perhaps
best known for his Indianapolis 500 victory in 1963. |
The
Volvo powered speedcar (driven by Sid Middlemass) sits outside the Sydney
Showground pits, next to the  ex-Leroy
Warriner Offy which ended up in the hands of the Australian ace of the
early-sixties Jeff Freeman. |
|
An
interesting drawing this. It shows the Nutley Velodrome during the peak
of it's short life. Playing before up to 12,000  spectators,
the short wooden bicycle track (banked 45 degrees on the turns) was based
in New Jersey, USA, where three drivers met their deaths. The 'bowl' ran
for two years, closing in 1939 after the town commission branded the circuit
as "homicidal". The book "The Fantastic Nutley Velodrome"
was written by Ernest 'Crocky' Wright and published by Carl Hungness Publishing. |
The
immaculate (but rarely seen) ex-Bob Tattersall racer, seen here in restored
form on track at the Brisbane Exhibition  Ground. |
|
At
the controls is American legend Bob Tattersall, at the wheel of the number
35 Offenhauser. He's ready to do battle against  the
Australians in 1966. |
Who
will forget the hard charging Californian, Sherman Cleveland? Here he
is at the Sydney Showground in 1966. He  was
later killed in Fresno USA, driving the sprintcar which in later years
came to Australia, in the hands of fellow American John Anderson. |
|
About the Steve Magro Speedway Archive
Spring
And Axle' Offenhauser. Many fans will remember the tremendous - and
final - duels he had with the ace Sydney driver Jeff Freeman.
This photo was taken in 1970-71, during a period when roll cages were
becoming the norm. Ronald captured his first of two Australian championships
in this car. 
character
in the late sixties, when he purchased this fuel injected Holden from
Johnny Stewart. 
Offenhauser
in Sydney.