Model Cars, Jerry Pearl, Billy Harman, and Me.

Back in the 1970’s before video games, computers, cell phones, and every other high-tech gadget imaginable captured the imagination of today’s backwards cap-wearing baggy pants “Hip-Hop” generation, a lot of car-crazed young boys would partake in a pastime known as “model car building”. These days, such an endeavor sounds quaint, but to most adolescent males back then, it was almost a right of passage. Just about every department store had a section of the aisles dedicated to the hobby, and the shelves were packed with new releases on a routine basis.

For those of us raised on the short track endeavors of our local racing heroes, the yearly model contest held at the Speedbowl was a highlight of the season. I was one of those kids parked at my makeshift workbench in the basement during the summer of 1975 armed with glue, paint, and a box of plastic parts that would hopefully turn into a replica of my favorite racers car. In fact, so much time was spent in the lower regions of the modest ranch house that I grew up in that summer, my late father jokingly took to calling me the “Cellar Dweller”.

The car that I was attempting to replicate was the Modified of a racer by the name of Jerry Pearl, a true local hero if there ever was one, and one of my favorite drivers.

Pearl was the first Modified driver I ever met. I say “met”, but it was really no more than a passing hello. Back in the 70’s Jerry ran a junkyard in my hometown of Waterford, and one Saturday morning my father found the need to replace a leaking water pump on my mom’s 65’ Buick. In offering my youthful expert opinion of just where dad could purchase a good used unit (cheaper after all, than buying a new one at Benny’s), I suggested we go to Deans Auto Salvage. Besides, it was right up the street, and I might just get a chance to meet Jerry Pearl up close & personal…..

We got the part and I got to say a quick hello to Mr. Pearl. Now more than ever, I was determined to win that contest with my likeness of Pearl’s orange & blue # 43 Coupe.

Later in the evening, my inspiration was amplified as Jerry won the feature at Waterford by a wide margin. All was good. The contest was a couple of weeks away, and now my model would not only be a winner, but so was the driver.

Unfortunately, something happened in the weeks before the contest that would prevent me from having my trackside photo taken with the driver of the model that I was SURE was going to take first place. In a dispute with management after a post-race inspection, Jerry disagreed with the findings, and left the Speedbowl for the balance of the season. Even more unfortunate, he’d been leading the point parade at the time. I was disappointed, but put the finishing touches on my entry into the contest anyway.

Making a long story short, my model didn’t win, but it did take second place. The contest victory went to a kid who’d constructed a likeness of Dick Dunn’s famed “Buddha’s Bullet”. The top-three finishers were to receive a trophy, along with a nice trackside photo taken with the driver of the model they’d replicated. Dick Dunn of course, was there & posed with the kid who won. The third place finisher also got a shot taken with his driver (wish I could recall who it was), but since Jerry Pearl was no longer racing at the Speedbowl, I was apparently out of luck.

Feeling rather slighted, I was ready to have my shot taken with Racing Director Harvey Tattersall Jr. rather than a driver, when somebody suggested that they ask pitside if any racer would like to walk over and have his picture taken with a kid from the model contest.

The first driver to respond to the call was Billy Harman, who took the trouble to get un-strapped from his racer (they were already lined up for the feature), to come over & make this kids night.

Needless to say, from that point on, I was also a Billy Harman fan. Out there in someone’s photo collection is a trackside image of Billy and a chubby little kid holding a model of Jerry Pearl’s coupe. I got my trophy, but the track never did provide me with the photo I was supposed to get….

Moving forward a few decades, I now get to talk with Jerry Pearl just about every weekend during the racing season, and certainly know him better than I did that day at the junkyard. I finally got to have my picture taken with him also, but this time it wasn’t a model contest. When he retired a few seasons ago after having raced for over three decades, we had a little trackside presentation in his honor and I was there for the occasion representing Speedway Scene, a trade paper in which I served as a weekly columnist.

Billy Harman? I count him as one of my friends also. Through my journalistic involvement with the sport, I’ve gotten to know Billy pretty well. When the New England Auto Racing Hall of Famer is up from his residence in Florida, we try to get together at the track, and I occasionally get a call from him during the off-season just to “shoot the bull”.

By the way, I still build scale models of my racing heroes and there’s a Coupe sitting on the bench right now waiting for it’s finishing touches…..

And with that, it’ll close out another one. Contact me at ddykes@originnet.net