SprintManDave (Offline)
#12
1/3/10 7:24 PM
I remember those good old days in the fifties.My high School yearbook is full of those downtown Columbus businesses because that was where they all were.I grew up riding the Leppert buses around town.Also on Sonny Ates, I first met him when he was driving Bill Arnolds Midget.Bill was Steve,Kevin,and Sharon Arnold Blair's father and I remember when they lived on Central Avenue north of highway 31.
TQ29m
(Online)
#13
1/3/10 8:00 PM
If it is the same Steve Arnold, I've seen some of his 8mm movies of the "good old Days", of his dad's midget, I believe he told me it was last powered by an aluminum 215 Buick/Olds V8. Musta been about 82/83, I was heading South on 65, and as I topped the hill, at the 58 mile marker, I took trip back in time. Sitting on the North bound emergency lane, was one of those god awful color, Leppert Busses, still had the name on the side, talk about a wake up call, someone must have located it somewhere, and maybe headed home to restore it. Danny, if you're talking about my age, I'm 72. Any of you guys remember when Dick Snider came to town? He bought out Leppert Auto Parts, then had the parts store at 31, and Central. Dick was to Columbus, like Gurney was to Ca. Like you say, Dave, lots of good memories in and around Columbus, lots of one off race cars built, all over town, it's still good to hear the very rare rump-rump of a street rod, unfinished of course, I guess I was building "Rat-Rods", before they were the thing, mine were always in primer, then I'd move on to something else that caught my eye. Bob
"Being old, isn't half as much fun, as getting there"! Ole Robert I!

cecil98 (Offline)
#14
1/3/10 8:11 PM
I saw Don Branson win a feature at New Bremen in the Iddings car. I'm also, pretty sure Allen Crowe died in that car at New Bremen in 1963.
TQ29m
(Online)
#16
1/4/10 3:25 PM
Just got an update on Sonny, seems he and his wife, moved back here, from AZ, about 4-5 years ago, then moved back about 2 years ago. Seems his medical issue is memory related. Too bad, such a nice guy, wish I had been able to keep better track of him over the years. Bob
"Being old, isn't half as much fun, as getting there"! Ole Robert I!

SprintManDave (Offline)
#17
1/4/10 10:07 PM
Sonny was at last springs Columbus Oldtimers meeting at the fairgrounds,but I didn't get to talk to him because everybody else was keeping him occupied and I didn't want to interupt. The next thing I knew he was gone.Dick Snider used to race speedboats. I saw him race at Madison more than once when I was a rescue boat driver for the regatta. If memory serves me correctly, he raced in the 7 litre class.
bigmojo5
#18
1/4/10 11:29 PM
I remember Sonny driving the blue No. 25 in 1975. I believe it was the Easton sprinter.
Bruce, you are right that Sonny held the track record at all three tracks at the same time. He told several of us one day that the trick to a fast lap at Salem was hitting the dip in the third turn straight and then turning the car before it hit the guard rail.
He also ran with the UMRA TQs and won features with them, as did Butch Wilkerson and Pancho and Dana Carter.
midgetmaniac (Offline)
#20
1/5/10 1:59 PM
My dad bought that car from Jim Hurtibise when he started racing