“Two Gun” Tattersall The Legend Remembered This Weekend

Morris, IL “Two Gun” Tattersall, “The Streator Streak” or just “Tat” are names that will send chills up and down anyone who watched the late Bob Tattersall pilot a stock car, midget or sprint car around the short tracks of the Midwest or the bullrings of Australia and New Zealand during the 1950’s and 60’s. This weekend the late native of Streator, Illinois, will be remembered with a two-day event at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Illinois.

Tattersall was among the first class inducted into the United States Auto Club (USAC) Midget Racing Hall of Fame on September 15, 1984 and with good reason. He began racing with USAC full-time in 1960 and in 11 years of competition never finished lower than eighth in points and compiled 63 USAC feature wins. He was the USAC National Midget Champion in 1969.

He was the winningest driver ever at the Joliet Memorial Stadium where he won 34 of the 86 feature events ever run there. He won the UARA Midget Championship twice (1955 and 1958), was the Raceway Park (Blue Island, IL) track champion in 1959, had a few starts in Champ (Indy) Cars; and that was just here in the states.

“Two Gun” got his nickname while racing overseas in Australia and New Zealand where he raced for thirteen winters and won over fifty percent of the races he competed in, including winning the World Championship at the Sydney Showground’s seven times and two Australian Speedcar Championships. In New Zealand he raced in 30 feature events and won 22 of them, finished second three times and third three times. He won everywhere he went, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane (23 starts 9 feature wins) and Sydney where he started in 40 features and won 20 times.

He drove for some of the top owners/mechanics in the business; guys like Bob Lockard, George Hopkins, Howard Linne, Tony Saylor, Danny Caruthers, Ralph Wilke, Harry Turner and Frank Pavese.

He went from jumping off of the top of the Seneca (IL) bridge as a young boy, to an AWOL soldier, to a decorated paratrooper. His career began racing stock cars but he fell in love with the midget cars and became one of the most loved yet feared drivers of his time. He was honored by Presidents, Senators and Mayors for his racing accomplishments as well as being a goodwill ambassador to the United States.

Born in Pennsbury, Pennsylvania on July 2, 1924, Tattersall left thousands of fans from several countries with thrilling racing memories when he passed on October 27, 1971 from cancer. This Friday and Saturday he will be honored for his accomplishments in both stock cars and midgets with the inaugural running of the Tattersall Challenge at the 1/3 mile paved Grundy County Speedway. On Friday night he will be honored for his stock car accomplishments, and for his Open Wheel accomplishments at the Short Track Auto Racing Series midget event on Saturday.

Saturday’s D’Arcy GMC STARS midget event will include a visit from Tat’s widow Dee Tattersall and will feature a full program of STARS National Midgets, Illlini Racing Series midgets, The Tool Store STARS Classic Modifieds, Town and Country Lanes INEX Legends and the Mini-Cup cars. Gates open at 5pm Saturday with the first race scheduled to start at 6:30. Adults are $10, children 5-11 $2, 4 and under and parking are free. www.stars-racing.com