Friday Shackleford passes
 

Just got word a while ago that Friday Shackelford passed away at 92, not many on here might have known him, but he was from California, and never sat in a race car til he was 56 yrs old. He and his wife used to spend summers here, racing his TQ, he was a good friend of Dave Norris, they ran around together a lot, he sure had a lot of friends on the local scene. RIP old friend, and GOD SPEED! Bob

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

We ran with Friday at Ventura back when I crewed for Jack Zimmerman; he wasn't neccessarily the fastest guy out there but he was awfully hard to pass when he got going around the bottom. Wore a roll of plastic fastened to the top of his visor with a serrated cutter, like a box of Saran Wrap; the only true "tear-offs" I ever saw.
One of his Granddaughters married Bobby Michnowicz, if I remember correctly.
I can't remember what his real first name was, but the story was that he got the nickname "Friday" because he was a six-day bicycle racer back in the 30's and he would lurk around in the back of the pack until Friday, then watch out!

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

Yes, Friday was one of a kind, I think he had a son or daughter marry someone around Rushville, so he's got "seeds" all over, he was as friendly a guy as you could ask for, and his wife was just like him, he had a rig he hauled his midget in, and they slept in that was the forerunner of the toy hauler, ya get ready to eat, just roll the car out, fold up the table, and start cooking, reverse that to go racing, his TQ is probably still around here somewhere, I know who he sold it to, but don't know if he kept it or not. He sure could keep ya intertained! Bob

He would've been older than 56 when he was still racing. I know that I saw him run in the Mid 80s. That would put him in his early to Mid 60s.
Always enjoyed watching him!

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Read it again, I said he never sat in a race car til he was 56! Let me put it another way, he started racing when he was 56! Bob!

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

I gotcha Bob, Sorry about that.

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

Really is cool to read these posts about my great-grandfather, or Bompa, as we called him. He lived for 92 lively and fun-filled years, before passing away peacefully in his sleep Thursday morning. His real name was Wardell E. Shackleford, but clearly "Friday" was much more appealing to the ears, haha. He and his wife of over 50 years, Betty, along with their three granddaughters, would spend their summers during the 80's traveling across Indiana and the rest of the midwest, racing his #41 Valvoline TQ whenever he could. As mentioned above by TQ29m, Friday had two granddaughters, Wendy and Cindy, who both married into other racing families, with Wendy marrying Bobby Michnowicz from California, and Cindy (my mom) marrying Michael Nigh (son of Carl Nigh) from Rushville. Both my mom and my aunt Wendy met their prospective husbands while on the TQ tours with my Nana and Bompa. I'm thankful for him introducing my parents to each other, as it has enabled my entire family to continue to grow up in the racing community. Friday raced well into his late 60's and early 70's before hanging up his helmet (yes, the one with roll of plastic) to spend time with Betty, his grandkids and great-grandkids. After TQ racing, he moved on to RC boat racing, which he did for over ten years with my Nana, Betty, who would "launch" his boat for every race, until her death in 2002. As it was mentioned above, Friday truly was "one of a kind," always wanting to be creative (a la, the plastic roll on the helmet), and always someone with a story to tell. I can't thank you all enough for the kind words about my Bompa, it truly means the world to me.

Cody Nigh

I to was able to race with Friday in the 80s so sorry to hear of his passing RIP Friday we will miss you. The McCormick family in Martinsville,Indiana

I started TQ's in 84, and the second person I met at the race track was Friday. A great guy and we had a lot of fun and laughs together. God Bless you Friday, and now you can Watch the races from Heaven.

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

Cody and family, sorry to hear of your loss! I also have great childhood memories of being around Friday and Betty! I always remember that 41 showing up mid summer ready for another year of racing. As i got old enough to enter the pits there were many times I would help Betty push Friday up to the starting gate with his foot tapping away in the floor board. You could always see the car bouncing away while he was waiting. Eventually I took over the driving duties from my Dad Warren and had opportunities to race against him. Like it was stated earlier if he started up front he was one of the hardest to get around! Eventually I helped sell his car to Scott "Scooter" Williamson. I ended up buying one of his helmets and of course it had the roll for tear offs on top. I actually still have it! I will try to give it to your Dad if he comes back for Sprint Week. Keep racin on Friday!- Travis Welpott

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

Cody,
I'm glad you appreciate the kind words about your great-grandpa and took the time to respond; I'm also glad my memory is still as accurate as it is!
I got a chance to get to know your Dad and your grandfather Carl as well when he raced with us at Ventura. I think I mentioned on another post how Carl bought up all the Acro running gear when I parted out my unfinished TQ and took it back to Indiana to resell because there was a better market for the stuff there. He's another quality guy, proof that some of the nicest people you'll ever meet are Racers and some of the nicest Racers you'll ever meet are TQ Racers.

I also have a lot of fond memories about Friday. I always attended the TQ races at Rushville, every year. I always thought it was cool when he'd pull that #41 all the way from California. However, the biggest part for me happened on Sunday morning. They would always try to show up at church while they were town for a race. I would always go check out the car sitting on the open trailer, behind the camper. Our church was really small, but I sure felt like we were big shots on those mornings!

Rest in peace, Friday!

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I also spent a lot of time with Friday at ventura.He was a wonderful man with a wonderful family.Rip.buddy...Dean Buckley sr.

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Friday reminded me a lot of AJ Watson, seems like there must be something in the air in California that makes a lot of people do similar things, I recall talking with Friday and Betty as they were getting ready to head back to Ca, he said they hadn't been water sking in a long time, and Betty was after him to stop at a friends house on the way back, he had a real ski boat, with a big blower on top, that ought to pull a couple of skiers pretty good, they couldn't wait to get back on the water, don't know how much of that was true, but he made it sound good anyway! Its nice to know that you effect so many peoples life, in a good way, while you are on this earth, and Friday and Betty surely are a great testiment to that. Bob

Without a doubt one of the best names in the history of motor sport.

Saw Friday race many times at Ventura Raceway as a kid.

92 years is a long time. Pretty neat to think of how he got to live and see racing develop through the years.

Sending good vibes to all of his family and friends.

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The friend with the boat was his son (me) in Little Rock, AR...a 14 1/2' flat bottom with a 425 HP small block he and I built in 1971. When I started racing in 2004 (age 58 and still going strong) the boat went back to California to my son Mark who also races. The boat is still running and wicked quick. Cody Nigh did a great job of capturing a lot of the family history, but failed to mention that he and sister (Carly) are racers and champions along with most those mentioned in his post. Dad ran his last race at the age of 71 before getting into RC Boats and winning a national championship with NAMBA in his second year. Forget which year, but had 3 family championships in 3 different classes...quite a legacy. Now reunited with his favorite crew chief...the ultimate win!

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I figured someone would come forward, and I thought he said the boat belonged to his son, but that's been a few weeks ago! and at 76, I never know for sure if I actually remember things exactly right, but sounds like in this case I had the story correct. Thanks for sharing your father with us Hoosiers, and mother, we sure were blessed to have them in "the neighborhood". It was our pleasure, and we'll miss them, just as you will. Bob

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Sorry to hear of Friday's passing. I too raced with Friday and the California gang when they came to Indiana for the summer fair races. Friday and his wife were some of the nicest people we ever met. Friday always had some great stories to tell. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

Extremely sorry to hear about Friday's passing; my sympathies go out to his family.
I was fortunate to purchase Friday's classic Valvoline-schemed #41 UMRA TQ midget when he retired in the late '80's. Being my first race car, I will always be especially fond of it. One thing that a basic glance of the car would not expose to the naked eye was that Friday was the consummate engineer: he would literally spend hours and hours and hours creating his own custom pieces for the car, as opposed to buying 'off the shelf' parts. As an example, the fiberglass tail tank shell that displayed the unique '41' was in fact simply a cover for an intricately designed fuel cell, constructed of plywood, lots of fiberglass, and a steel propane tank. He surely had spent a week on this project alone, but it was really pretty ingenious. I also clearly remember the travel trailer he & Betty travelled from California to spend the summers in Indiana in, hopping from race to race, driving the TQ up the drop ramp tailgate he had also constructed by cutting out the rear door of the trailer.
I am very thankful and feel blessed for the friendships I have made and continue to make in the racing world, and Friday was one of the first ones I made in the open wheel world.

Rest in peace, Friday.

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Does anyone have any more pics they can post on here of Friday and some of the cars he drove? I still remember the yellow #41 he drove. It was before the white #41 car.
Thanks.

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

Sorry to hear the news about Friday. I remember the yellow 41 well, and remember how friendly Friday was to talk to and be around. He, like all of us that competed in the 80's, was a piece of the puzzle that made the best TQ club around and the competition level was at its highest. Im glad i got to know Friday and was able to race with him at a time of my life that I will cheerish forever. Gas it up in heaven buddy ! :22:
JAY OSBORN

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

Hi i realise its been a few years since Friday passed but i came across some photo's of his & Gary Howards cars taken when they toured to New Zealand a few moons ago. I noticed someone earlier in the thread remembering his yellow 41 car which is the car he brought down here to Western Springs. The pair were very popular here & i was including the photos in our vintage speedway club newsletter.

Re: Friday Shackleford passes
 

Ain't everyday you run into someone like Friday and Betty, they sure turned on the lights when they showed up, but back then we had a lot of Ca drivers both in TQ's and Karts come to Indiana to race, and back then, it was for fun, we also had people from out of this country come and spend the summer with us, if you weren't here then, you've totally missed it.

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Thank you for sharing Mal!

I'm Betty & Friday's great grandson, Cody Nigh. Betty & Friday often brought their granddaughters with them on their summer trips back to Indiana, where my mom, Cindy (Friday's youngest granddaughter), met my Dad, Mike Nigh @ Rush County Fairgrounds. Our family has been racing ever since.

Our family had the awesome, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit New Zealand & Western Springs last winter, just like Friday & Betty got to in the early 80's. It was a "Non-racing" vacation, that took us to 4 separate race nights. Felt like we were walking in their footsteps, travelling all over that beautiful country.

Seeing pictures like these reminds me how intertwined the racing family is, and though I wasn't around for it, how awesome the 80's TQ scene was, as well.

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Starting running TQ's in the 80's. Being from Ky. we usually camped and Friday and his Wife would camp. My Dad and Friday got to be friends, so we kinda spent alot of time with them at the track. He was a very good person, and it was great to have him in our lives , if only a few months a year so long ago. God Has received an Angel to watch over us in the Hectic world we call home. Rest in Peace Friday , from your friends across the river. Love Tim