When I was a boy of 7 or 8, I came to
Bowling Green with my Dad and my sister. Diane would sit with the
Wilhelm family and my dad was in the pits with Car #29. His "official
duty" was wiping off the windshield. I lived in my own little of world
of racing, the happiest kid alive just being there.
I would sit in the front row of the bleachers wearing a white plastic
helmet with #88 on it that Dad bought for me at the concession stand; I
kept a grease rag in my pocket so I was ready to race. When #88, Ed
Ningard, was called to come onto the track, I would walk out past the
stands as though I was going to drive and wouldn't return until the race
was over. Of course being the "great" driver I was, I won every race in
my #88.
I have owned a 38 Ford Deluxe Coupe since high school, which I still
drive. And I still think I'm winning races in #88 at Bowling Green when
I'm sailing through the turns back at Pretty Boy Dam !!!
My son Justin, who's 19, also shares the same passion. He has a 1930
Model A Sedan. The car was half done when we got it last winter and we
finished it. We recently bought another 1938 Ford Coupe up in New York.
It's a '50s hotrod with flames; an old flathead with 2 carbs. It runs
like new and I can't wait to get it on the road.
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