By Dave Dykes                                                                                   (Click on any Photo for Full Size version)

It was a big weekend at Waterford for both fans of the present, and fans of the past. The Speedbowl’s annual “Nostalgia Weekend” went off without a hitch, with close to seventy antique and vintage race cars on hand to celebrate our sports illustrious history. The clubs of NEAR ACOT and STARS came out in droves on both days, with Saturday evening presenting an “up close & personal” still show on the midway, while Sunday afternoon was reserved for track time.

Among the modifieds on hand that were sure to be familiar to long-time Waterford fans was the Bunnell Brothers # 318 originally piloted by Donnie & Ed Bunnell (this is also the car that won the Tattersall/United-sanctioned “Bicentennial 200” in 1976, at that point, the longest race in Waterford history), the # 110 “Outlaw” coupe, driven by Speedbowl Legend Bob Potter, the # 54 of Dick Harlow, and the # 121 of perennial crowd favorite, Fred “Fuzzy” Baer.

Other notable racing machines present were the #04 Corky Cookman Pinto, now owned and campaigned by former Bowl’ modified driver Jim Torok, the beautiful Maynard Troyer Pinto, and several vintage Midgets and Sprint Cars.

Unquestionably, Waterford’s “Nostalgia Weekend” has evolved into being one of the biggest vintage racing shows in the east. Congratulations to all the club members, along with Speedbowl management for making all of this possible. If you have any interest at all in the history of the sport, it’s the place to be. Don’t miss out in 2007!

Sighted at Waterford this weekend; Leo Cleary, Ray Miller, Billy Harman, Don Moon, Lou Frey, Dennis Zimmerman (more on Dennis later), Ron Wyckoff – the list goes on. It was like a who’s-who of the sport! To top it all off, none other than veteran flag-waver Billy Dunn was up from Florida to man the flag stand…..

For those that attended, NEAR added a bit of an extra bonus in having the mobile Hall of Fame exhibit on hand. Displayed was a selection of Waterford images dating back to the track’s inaugural year in 1951. Special thanks goes out to R.A. Silvia, the Grand Poobah of New England racing history for once again opening up his archives for all to enjoy.

Dennis Zimmerman is undoubtedly one of the drivers that helped shape the sport of Modified racing into what it is today. A charter member of the legendary “Eastern Bandits” he campaigned from coast to coast in the halcyon days of the 1960’s winning races at just about every bullring on the east coast. Now in his 60’s, Dennis is a pilot by trade, an occupation he took up after his exit from the world of racing. Fortunately for me, Mr. Zimmerman found a little time in his still-busy schedule to attend Nostalgia Weekend. It was there, that I was able to get a glimpse of the past as Dennis reminisced about what it was like to travel with and race against guys like the legendary Ed Flemke Sr., Rene Charland, Red Foote, and the others that made up this traveling troop of winners. A humble and unassuming type, you almost have to remind him that he in fact, made it to the pinnacle of the sport, winning the 1971 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Honors with a fine 8th place finish against some of the greatest drivers in the world. It was a thrill and an honor to be able to talk to Dennis and it’s something that this scribe will not soon forget.

Switching gears to the “modern day”, it was none other than rookie Jeffery Paul driving a picture-perfect race to win the weekend’s SK feature. The young Paul showed all the stuff of a veteran in holding off Tommy Fox and Dennis Gada to grab the first checker of his career. It was a fast affair, and one of the cleanest shows put on by the open-wheel boys all season. In the Late Models, it was Tim Jordan winning in convincing style, his fifth of the season. The Sportsman thriller was taken down by Joe Curioso III, who managed to be on the right side of lady-luck in taking down the win. Dewayne Dorr, the division’s most consistent winner in 06’ suffered a flat tire while marching to the front, ending his night. Richard Brooks found the cramped quarters at the end of the Mini Race to his liking, ending a bad-luck streak in winning the 4-cylinder contest. A full field of NEMA Midgets put on their usual barn-burner, with Mile Keeler taking the top spot over Bobby Santos III who put on a hell of a drive to claim second (this kid is going to be one of the Great Ones – just wait and see).

And with that, it’s time to close-out another one. Contact me at ddykes@originnet.net