[WardRacing33]

I am going to try to document my journey towards restarting my family's racing tradition. We are not a big budget kinda deal...really small budget actually, but it has been my dream to drive a miget since before I can remember. Below is sort of the story of my journey up to this point. I'm sorry it is soooo long, but I feel compelled to tell people what I come from. I was just wondering if anybody would be interested in me posting updates on my "Treck to the track". Read on if you are interested in what may seem like a lot, but is really just a smidge of the story of my family in racing.


My family's racing lineage starts back in the 40's with my Grandfather racing old jaloppy stock cars at local tracks in central Indiana. He ran places like Kokomo, Bunker Hill, and there was a track in Lafayette that he dominated. He won as many as 52 features in a season. His name was Tommy Ward, and in a time when Nascar was in its infancy and driving a race car for a living was almost unheard of, he drove and wrenched on race cars to put food on the table. He actually ran at Daytona back in the 50's I believe. A guy that owned the local Pontiac dealership gave him a car off of the showroom and he drove it down to Florida and qualified it 21st. He got wrecked in the race and had to get a cab back to Indiana. I'm not sure who or how he was introduced to open wheel racing, but he wound up building car, putting an Offenhouser in it and never looked back. Once Grandpa got older and had a pair of sons who had become of age ( which back then wasn't nearly as young as they do it today ) he became a car-owner. My uncle was sort of the chassis, tire, and gear guy Dad drove and Grandpa built the motors and contributed his years of experience and his amazing knowledge of how a race car works. My dad started driving in the early 70's with CORA. In '73 he won the rookie of the year and won most improved the next year. Some of the guys that ran with CORA... Jim Hines, Les Scott, Jack Calabrase, Bill Barth, Alan Brown, Lucky Mays, Lafe Rousch, Don Vogler and Rich Vogler, Sam Isenhower...you may recognize some of the names. They ran places like Haubstadt, Anderson, the Speedrome, Lawrenceburg, and he was very competitive on a very small budget. Then along came me. When I was very young I was always around the shop and the track. Once I got to about 5 or 6 my mom sort of insisted that I kinda be sheltered from the racing and she didn't really go to the track anymore, so neither did I. I still hang out around the shop but I wasn't really going to the races. Well after years of begging on my part my Mom decided to take me and my sister to The "Hut Hundred" at Putnamville when I was 12. We were in the stands and we had just sat down and Dad was running 2nd in the Semi when somebody went over the berm in turn 3, came back on the track and stuck his left front right under Dad's right rear. Well dad took what has to be one of the nastiest rides and survived. There was a 4 or 5 five page layout of pictures of the crash in the mag "Crash and Burn" and was on ESPN's racing news program with Dave Dispain. This was back in '88. The cage broke on like the third flip and he went over an estimated 12 more times. They had to put a trach in him at the track and Lifeline him to Methodist Hospital. He was unconscience for over a week. Well needless to say that wreck put a hold on the racing operation for quite awhile. It wasn't until 6 yrs. later that Dad decided to get back in a car. Grandpa built up a big Chevy II stuck it in an Ernie Knepper car but we never quite got the injectors just right on it, and never ran very good. Grandpa was always really good friends with Bob Higman and Dad bought the last car Bob built, and stuck a big Higman Cosworth in it and we were racing again (Forest Lucas recently bought this car off of my dad to run exhibition races at his dirt track in Missouri against Kenny Schrader in a car he ran for Hamilton that Bob built and serviced). We only ran three or four races per year over the next 3 or 4 years with NAMARS. Then Grandpa had a leg removed due to Diabetes and that pretty much put a stop to the racing for the three years or so. Well I had all along ( since I could talk basically ) said I wanted nothing more than to get in a car. I just knew I could drive. Grandpa decided it was time and he went out, got a Beast copy chassis and just me and him rebuilt a ChevyII and stuck it down in the car. Now mind you Grandpa was almost blind and was missing a leg so he basically just told me what to do. He had me Machine some pcs. for the power steering pump and we were starting to get all of the plumbing ran when Grandpa decided to get a Fontana. About the time we got the new motor Grandpa came down ill and spent the next year or more bedridden and wound up going to the hospital for the final few months of his life. This will have been 5 yrs this coming easter. The car has been sitting how Grandpa and I left it ever since. Well I recently decided along with my Dad that we are going to finish the car and run it. I am going to try to document as much of the process as I can from the build up to the track. We haven't set a precise time frame for completion, but we hope to have it done an ready to run sometime this coming winter.

Good for you. I think that is awesome. I know a thing or two about having a family tradition and wanting to continue it, and just knowing you can drive.

Anyone who chases their dream and achieves it is a hero to me.

[illinisprintfan]

That was a very nice story of you working with your Grandpa. Both of my Grandpas are gone, and I fondly remember working on projects with them. Good luck and keep us updated.:thumb

[cecil98]

I'll look forward to part II of this saga. Good Luck!!!!!

[Ovalmeister]

That's awesome, you should post a few photos of your car. You'll find several folks on this board who can relate, and are interested, in your story. My Dad drove midgets in the late 40's and 50's. If you need help this board would be a good avenue to find it.
I didn't see the crash your Dad had, in person, but I very much remember the photos. It was nasty. I remember one photo where his torso, arms and head are above the cage and he still had several flips to go. His photo must be beside "LUCKY" in the dictionary!
Anyway, good luck and keep us updated. :thumb
David.

[Pat O'Connor Fan]

I was a gopher for Alan Brown at the time your father was racing with CORA, etc.
I notice you list Mulberry as your home. Alan's brother Ralph lived in Mulberry
during the latter part of his life. I'm sure some of your family remember Ralph. He was not like Alan at all. In fact they "broke the mold" after Ralph. :O:

[WardRacing33]

Yeah I mowed his yard at his little modular house on the northeast corner of Mulberry. We actually have a ChevyII block that he modified to run a v8 cross flow head sitting in the garage right now.

[PJ Wright]

Cool story! Thanks for sharing it with us.:thumb Good luck with your project.

[MikeJ1961]

Thanks for posting. I agree post some pics and keep us informed.:thumb
Thats cool that you and your dad are working together. My dad died suddenly almost 10 yrs ago and I wish we could have done what you guys are doing.


Mike Jennings

[sprintcar64]

WardRacing33, my dad, Danny Williams Sr., ran against your dad for years in CORA and BUCKEYE (the all chevy II club) back in the 70's and 80's. My dad even ran your granpas black #35 a couple of times. Definately let us know about your progress and when you will be out, it would be nice to meet you and visit with Gordy again.