[QUOTE=racenut69;380874]Was he not the USAC car owner for Jeff Gordon???...Newbie,so I'm not sure?..Help?[/Q

Fairly sure you are referring to Rollie Helmling.

Rollie drove one of the ugliest sprint cars ever built. The Alfater with the tall square roll bar. However, he beat up on a lot of great racers with that car. The last race I remember watching him win, with that car, was Eldora in (1966?). He smoked'em, including eventual champion Roger McKluskey in Mutt Anderson's #51 car. I'm sure he won several more but, that was the last one I attended....

We were all newbies at one point. Even Cecil.

Yeah..... sometimes this 60 yr old brain/memory can post things that could be considered "Newbie'ish"!!! But I try my best to be as accurate as possible when dredging up old memories of this great sport! ......LOL On a more serious note, I am just so thankful that, when I was a 6 yr old child, my father started taking me to USAC Sprint and Champ car races. I got to witness so much of what we oldtimers love to talk about on this board, including watching the great Rollie Beale handle some of the best racers in the country...... Thanks for the great memories, Rollie!!