Dis is My Ride!!!
Demon416, get all up on that keyboard and tell us about your racing at Union Grove!! Please, you gotta do it! And more from ramcharger. mshred and burntorange70, I'll bet you have some good stories too.
Pat
Well Pat, I have fond memories of Union Grove. All the big names ran there. Bob Glidden, Grumpy Jenkins, Don The Snake Prudome, Big Daddy Don Garlets, and the list goes on. Ive truly enjoyed watching all the legends run there. Now Im not famous and I didnt race at the Grove a whole lot, because most of my racing took place at Wisconsin International Raceway. (Formally known as KK.) It was closer to home and we didnt have to tow bar the cars as far. I usually went racing with a good buddy who ran Fords. (I know!!...) That way we could pool our resources.
My first experience at Union Grove was when I had my 1955 Olds with a 57 J2 engine and B&M automatic transmission. I had removed the three deuces and replaced them with one four barrel. That made tuning easier. On that car I never ran headers or for that matter slicks. The headers were expensive so dumps were the order of the day. As were the slicks expensive so I ran a set of wide Prowlers out back. The car weighed in at 4060 lbs.. I dont remember the class I ran in, but it was modified or something like that because of the open dumps.
I still remember the first time I pulled up to the line. I thought, how strange, Im going up hill. At Union Grove the staging lanes are lower than the track. So you go up an incline before youre at track level. Anyway, I lined up against a guy in a Ford Fairlane. The lights came down and we were off. I won by about a half car length. Et.13.98. Back in the day, that was fast for a street car. Although, something wasnt right with the car, because about ½ track it started vibrating really bad. So when I got back to my pit, I started checking everything I could think of. Finally discovered that when I put the drive shaft back on after towing, I forgot to tighten a bolt on the yoke. Another bolt was bent, so I was done for the day. I was happy with my first ever pass at Union Grove. I thought, not bad for a 4000 pound tank. I ran that Olds a few more times at the Grove, but without much success. Street racing that car in my home town was much more successful. lol Something I do not condone today.
I ran two other cars on occasion at Union Grove. A 1964 Plymouth Fury 383, typewriter drive, basically stock. It ran in the 14.50s. Also ran a 1969 Dodge Dart 340 4 speed, modified, which ran low to mid 12s. My other Mopars were just drivers. A 1964 Plymouth Valiant, slant 6, automatic and a 1968 Plymouth GTX 440 automatic. Keeping it alive today with my 72 Demon at WIR.
Another time at the Grove when I was running my modified 69 Dart, I broke a wrench and needed to find one to borrow. My buddy didnt have one, so I asked a number of racers including Grumpy Jenkins. I found out that day why they called him that. lol Anyway, I was talking to my buddy and a voice behind me said, I have a wrench you can use, just remember to bring it back when youre done. It was Big Daddy Don Garlets himself. Of course I used the wrench and returned it when I had finished with it. Over time I found him to always be helpful with answers to questions. I believe he got where he is today because of his helpful nature. Im sure he doesnt remember me, but I will never forget his helping hand.
So Pat, I hope I didnt bore you to death with my story. I admittedly am not much of a storyteller.
Jim