[Fot] Fw: Ole' Blue at Summit Pt with Henry Frye

Terry Sopher terrysopher at gmail.com
Tue Jan 19 14:31:25 MST 2021 

Jack,

Thanks for that bit of firsthand history from someone who was there!

As a teenager in the 70s, my Dad would take me to Summit Point for the races and he would volunteer as a corner worker and signed me up to be a timer (stop watches in those days).  My first official solo stint as a timer I was randomly assigned a Triumph (and some other car).  I was stoked, since I was already a “Triumph guy”, even though I wasn’t driving yet.  Anyway, I got still more excited when I found out Paul Newman was the driver (that’s why I can’t remember the other car).  After the pace lap and green flag Newman was up front & I was Very focused on not screwed up!  After the first lap I was disappointed when Newman came into the pits, everyone was wondering what went wrong with the car.  His guys/friends came out and pulled the beer cooler out from the cockpit and he charged back onto the track.  Seems they left the cooler in the car from happy hour the night before.  Anyway, he did make up the time and I believe was in the top 5 or so cars by race end.  That’s when I got the bug to race...it just took another 40+ years to get there!!

Terry

> On Jan 19, 2021, at 15:10, Jack Wheeler via Fot <fot at autox.team.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Hi Henry.  Nice drive.  Your car is really handling well (which is saying something for a TR-3).  When I raced my TR-4A I had independent rear suspension, which I always felt gave me an advantage.  I don't know how you do it with the solid axle.
> 
> Reminded me of watching Brian Fuerstenau in a TR-3 (#33) at Watkins Glen.  Would have been the summer of 1964, maybe '65.  He was in F Production while his teammate, Bob Tullius was in the #44 TR-4 in E Production.  Eventually the TR-3 got moved to EP and the TR-4 to DP, until the TR-6 came along.  When it couldn't keep up with the 240Z, they moved the TR-6 to DP and 2 years later the TR-4 to join the TR-3 in EP.  The first 2 years the TR-6 was in DP, it won the national championship, first with Group44, then with Paul Newman.
> 
> Sorry about the history lesson.  Just reminiscing.
> 
> Jack
> 
> ----- Forwarded Message -----
> From: Mike Jackson via Fot <fot at autox.team.net>
> To: yellow04 <yellow04 at tr4racer.com>; "fot at autox.team.net" <fot at autox.team.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2021, 1:11:06 PM EST
> Subject: Re: [Fot] Ole' Blue at Summit Pt with Henry Frye
> 
> Great video Henry!  And all wonderful races.  We all live for weekends like that.
> I was particularly entertained by watching the key fob on the glovebox key.  You should label it in g's
> 
> Mike
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: yellow04 via Fot <fot at autox.team.net>
> >Sent: Jan 19, 2021 12:02 PM
> >To: fot at autox.team.net
> >Subject: Re: [Fot] Bill Dentinger
> >
> >Bill meant a lot of things to a lot of people. One thing for sure, if 
> >you had the pleasure to meet Bill, you certainly did not forget him. I 
> >have many fond memories, like sitting on the grid as some event in the 
> >broiling heat waiting our turn to take the track and hearing Bill, at 
> >the top of his lungs, singing some completely inappropriate song to no 
> >one in particular. Or at a huge SVRA event, hundred of drivers are 
> >intently listening to Jack Woehrle or Carl Jensen trying to get through 
> >a drivers meeting and Bill would just heckle the crap out of them. Not 
> >privately, mind you, but in a voice that everybody in the county would 
> >hear. And it was hysterical.
> >
> >Bill was a racer at heart.  The number of events that the Beady Eye 
> >Vintage Triumph Racing team ran annually was impressive. Remember Bill 
> >had Old Blue, Bob Wismer had the #4 blue TR4 (now campaigned by Paul 
> >Ricco), and between them they co-owned the Thunderbolt, an extremely 
> >limited production special from Tornado Cars, based on the TR3. They 
> >would trade off season to season driving the Thunderbolt and their 
> >respective TR. There was no expense spared on the preparation of either 
> >his or Bob's cars. Any discussion of the Beady Eye team is incomplete 
> >without mentioning Don Brick, the third member of the team. Don raced a 
> >white TR4 with red wire wheels, and might have been the speediest of the 
> >group, I believe the last year he ran was 2005.
> >
> >Bill was quite proud of the fact that Old Blue, a 1956 TR3, was the most 
> >period correct vintage racer on track in the country. While I never 
> >researched it, nobody who heard the story doubted it. The amount of 
> >Triumph Competition Department equipment in the car was impressive. A 
> >race car since new, Bill was only the second racer to track the car.
> >
> >At some point over the course our friendship I must have mentioned to 
> >Bill how much I liked Old Blue, and would like to own the car when he is 
> >ready to hang up the helmet for the last time. (I am confident alcohol 
> >was involved in this conversation!) This turned into Bill selling the 
> >car to me back in 2014. My trip to Wisconsin to pick up the car and 
> >spares was both delightful and melancholy, you knew it was the end of an 
> >era. But Bill had high hopes I would keep the flame alive. My intent was 
> >to keep the car as period correct as possible, but make it safe and fun. 
> >I think I have struck a good compromise, some of those Competition 
> >Department goodies have made way for more suitable replacements, but for 
> >the most part the car remains remarkably period correct.
> >
> >Every time I had a race weekend with the car I would email Bill and tell 
> >him how things went. We exchanged mail and it was obvious he was 
> >genuinely excited to see Old Blue still on track, doing better and 
> >better. It all came together at the Jefferson 500 at Summit Point in 
> >2019, it was one of those weekends we all dream of. Picture perfect 
> >weather, and you get grouped with a bunch of racers that are great 
> >competition and you are running with fast guys up front. Then the stars 
> >align and you take first in both feature races. I strung together some 
> >in-car footage from three sessions that weekend and sent it to Bill. He 
> >and his son Dick watched it on the "Big Screen", I got the impression he 
> >was as excited as I was!
> >
> >In memory of Bill, I am sharing a view that he enjoyed for years, 
> >looking over the bonnet of Old Blue. You will be missed, my friend...
> >
> >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bCcXLlOR-k
> >
> >Henry Frye
> >_______________________________________________
> >fot at autox.team.net
> >
> >http://www.fot-racing.com
> >
> >Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> >Archive: http://autox.team.net/archive http://www.team.net/pipermail/fot
> >Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/fot/grandwazoo@earthlink.net
> >
> >
> _______________________________________________
> fot at autox.team.net
> 
> http://www.fot-racing.com
> 
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Archive: http://autox.team.net/archive http://www.team.net/pipermail/fot
> Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/fot/jwheeler1947@yahoo.com
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> fot at autox.team.net
> 
> http://www.fot-racing.com
> 
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Archive: http://autox.team.net/archive http://www.team.net/pipermail/fot
> Unsubscribe/Manage: http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/fot/terrysopher@gmail.com
> 
> 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://autox.team.net/pipermail/fot/attachments/20210119/da1ca15a/attachment-0003.htm>

More information about the Fot mailing list