oldies but goodies

[blackjackracing]

The other four pictures from this set. NASCAR @ Syracuse in 1956. I believe Howard took these w/ an eight shot "brownie"
A car at speed....  (H.Boyce photo)

[blackjackracing]

The pits @ Syracuse..NASCAR 1956  (H. Boyce photo)

[blackjackracing]

NASCAR 1956 @ Syracuse (H. Boyce photo)

[blackjackracing]

I went searching the net for info on the cars pictured. It was pretty sparse...perhaps someone out there can shed some light as to who these fellows are. I did get results for the top three: 5/30/56; Winner: Buck Baker; Second: Jim Pashal; Third: Lee Petty (H. Boyce photo)

[IrishJoeJr]

1956-23

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NASCAR Grand National race number 23 of 56
May 30, 1956 at New York State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY
150 laps on a 1.000 mile dirt track (150.0 miles)


Time of race: 1:44:26
Average Speed: 86.179 mph
Pole Speed: 83.975 mph  Cautions: 1 for 3 laps
Margin of Victory: 3 laps
Attendance: 6,000
Lead changes: 2 

Glossary    1956 NASCAR Grand National results 
 

Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led

1 1 300    Buck Baker  Carl Kiekhaefer '56 Chrysler 150 1,900 running 141
2 6 75    Jim Paschal  C U Later Alligator   (Frank Hayworth) '56 Mercury 147 1,300 running 0
3 2 7    Jim Reed  Jim Reed '56 Chevrolet 146 950 running 0
4 4 42    Lee Petty  Petty Enterprises '56 Dodge 145 700 running 0
5 8 2    Gwyn Staley  Hubert Westmoreland '56 Chevrolet 145 535 running 0
6 3 14    Billy Myers  Bill Stroppe '56 Mercury 144 375 fuel pump 0
7 23 300C    Speedy Thompson  Carl Kiekhaefer '56 Chrysler 144 325 running 9
8 5 340    Ralph Liguori  Ralph Liguori '56 Chrysler 142 275 running 0
9 24 226    Russ Truelove  Bob White '56 Mercury 141 150 running 0
10 12 10    Nolan Swift  Jim Cushman '56 Buick 137 125 running 0
11 16 147    Hoss Kagle  Hoss Kagle '56 Chevrolet 135 100 running 0
12 13 1    Ken Seibel      134 100 running 0
13 14 230    Benny DeRosier  Adelmo Tiezzi '54 Hudson 129 100 running 0
14 15 179    John Lindsay  John Lindsay '55 Chevrolet 126 100 running 0
15 21 3    Curley Hatfield    '55 Chevrolet 121 100 running 0
16 9 285    Don Carr  Jim Stephens '56 Pontiac 120 100 engine 0
17 22 211    George Cork    '55 Plymouth 117 100 running 0
18 18 77    Walt Schubert  Bob Bunselmeyer '55 Ford 114 100 running 0
19 19 41    Billy Rafter  Billy Rafter '55 Dodge 114 50 running 0
20 11 81    Frank Jamison    '55 Chevrolet 88 50 overheating 0
21 17 195    Jim Rhoades    '55 Packard 83 50 piston 0
22 7 95    Bob Duell  Julian Buesink '56 Ford 23 50 lr tire 0
23 20 11    Sonny Walters      20 50 overheating 0
24 10 59    Blackie Pitt  Brownie Pitt '56 Buick 1 35 crash 0
 
 

Lap leader breakdown:
Leader From
Lap To
Lap # Of
Laps
  Buck Baker 1 102 102
  Speedy Thompson 103 111 9
  Buck Baker 112 150 39
 

[Claychamp123]

The #71 says Sam Hanks on the roof. Sam was a top Indy Car driver back in the day and I'm pretty sure he won the Indy 500 driving the radical Belond Special roadster in something like 1956. The Belond had it's Offenhouser engine laying on it's side dramatically reducing the cars center of gravity and lowering it's hood line for better areo dynamics. I didn't see Sam's name in the results. Also I'm pretty sure the Rebel Flag #7 would normally be "Rebel Mundy".  It wasn't until last year after his death that many people found out that Rebel's real name was something like Ellio Escabes.... A hispanic driver in Nascar back in the fifties! He won more races than Juan Pablo too! I don't see his name in the results either. There may be a mix up between the pictures and the reults years.

[Half Fast Bob]

The 7 car is definitely Frank "Rebel" Mundy who was born Francisco Eduardo Menendez in 1918. The car pictured above is a 1953 Hudson Hornet, which raises a few questions.

From the Georgia Racing History website:

But Mundy raced the car he was most famous for halfway through 1952, when he competed in a Hudson Hornet in a NASCAR Grand National event at the Michigan State Fairgrounds on June 29.  He finished 11th in a Hornet owned by Walt Chapman. It marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship between Mundy and Hudson, and the departure of the Atlanta Driver from NASCAR for the next four years.

Mundy left Bill France’s empire to compete on the AAA Stock Car circuit.  He piloted his Hudson to one win in 1952 at Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California on Dec. 7, leading 142 laps en route.  He would record five wins in 1953, including two wins at Carrell, one at Toledo, one at Heidelberg Speedway in Pennsylvania and a victory at the Milwaukee Mile.

Mundy’s final win in a Hudson came at Broadway Speedway in Knoxville, Tennessee, in a 1954 Hudson.

After one last race at Milwaukee in his Hudson, where he finished 10th, Mundy became a driver for Carl Kiekhaefer, who would soon be taking NASCAR by storm.

Mundy piloted Kiekhaefer’s AAA Chrysler to a victory his first time out, winning again at Knoxville. Mundy would tag on two additional wins for Kiekhaefer, winning back-to-back events at the Milwaukee Mile.

In 1955, Mundy would pick up eight AAA stock car wins driving for Kiekhaefer, including a run of five in a row, and was the series champion as a result.

Mundy would return to NASCAR in 1956, driving select Grand National and Convertible events for Kiekhaefer.  He recorded six wins in his pop-top 1956 Dodge, including the final win of his career at the Missouri State Fairgrounds on June 17.

My guess is that the above photos were taken in  either 1953 or 1954 at a AAA sanctioned event.

[blackjackracing]

The pictures were most definitely taken at Syracuse in 1956 for the NASCAR race (Petty being there should be a great indicator of this). My guess as to why the other cars weren't in the results is that they didn't qualify. In the results it has Jim Reed in the #7...possibly a borrowed ride. The bottom line here is we weren't there and Mr. Boyce was!

[blackjackracing]

Some more pictures from Howard Boyce's collection. These are dated 1973 @ Trenton.

[blackjackracing]

"Haulers" waiting to enter the pit gate @ Trenton. The rig on the right is Pettys. The car in front of it is #23...They've come a long way baby!  (H. Boyce photo)

[blackjackracing]

Neil Bonnet

[blackjackracing]

2nd in series

[blackjackracing]

and 3rd  (H. Boyce photos)

[blackjackracing]

Cars at speed @ Pocono (H.Boyce photo)

[blackjackracing]

Pocono 1977  (H. Boyce photo)