DICK WATSON - A PERSONAL RECOLLECTION 

By Dave Dykes 

When the Vintage Modifieds web site asked me to put a little something together to 

accompany the Dick Watson page,  I really didn't know where to begin.  Even considering

myself to have a personal stake in what made "Dick Watson the Race Driver"

what he was, (ok, I was just a kid screaming my brains out from the third

turn bleachers), it's still difficult.  I wasn't there as the earliest years

of the Watson racing legacy unfolded.  In fact, I wasn't at any race track 

it was before my time.  I do however, profess to having at least a modest

knowledge of the history of Modified racing in these parts.  For those who

are familiar with my background in documenting the early days of the sport,

I'm sure you realize that I have great affinity for those drivers & cars of

the open-wheel variety.  I'm not much of a "fender guy", although it often

provides a springboard for a career in what I refer to as "real race cars".

What do I remember about Dick Watson ? The word "smooth" comes to mind. 

He seemed to be one of those drivers that rarely ever got himself into any

trouble.  When he ended up on the hook, it was more often than not, the

mistake of another driver that caused it.  If you watched his style closely,

you could tell that he treated fellow competitors as they treated him. He

could bang wheels with the best of em',  but if you wanted to really race, he

was your man.  Keeping in mind that the vast majority of my personal

recollections of Watson are Speedbowl-based, I'd have to place his style in

the same category as that of, say Don Collins or Bill Slater. In later

years, the same overall style was reflected in another of the Speedbowl's

brightest stars, Bob Potter.

Watson raced (and won), at a lot of places besides Waterford during his

tenure. All of the tracks in New England from the well-known Thompson

Speedway, to some backwoods jerkwater joints that have long since been

forgotten were covered. 

He also ran in a few Grand National (now Winston Cup) races, but that's

getting away from the story - this is about MODIFIEDS.

As I'd mentioned earlier, my fondest memories of Watson are based at

Waterford.  However, I did manage to get a  chance to catch his escapades at

the now-defunct Plainville Stadium.  Back when Joe Tinty still had an

interest in running the popular little 1/4-miler located in the heart of the

state, he'd put on these fabulous mid-week open comp shows. Come Wednesday

evening, you'd see everyone from Ed Flemke Sr. to Bugs Stevens pulling into

the pits - all the heavy hitters.  Add in the Stadium regulars, and it was a

pool of talent seldom seen these days........

In the early 1970's Watson had joined forces with long-time Speedbowl

car-owner Norm Kies. Snaring several Bowl' features in the # 21 coupe, and

generally on a rampage, they would load up & head for Plainville to take in

those mid-week opens. Watson ended up winning several of the 100-lap affairs

during that period. To a kid who'd bugged his parents to drag him all the

way from Waterford to watch "his driver" compete at some faraway track,

seeing Dick best such a stellar field was a huge thrill. 

The driving days of the racing pioneer otherwise known as "The Silver Fox"

ended at Waterford in the mid 1970's. Unfortunately, it was at a time when

he was quite possibly in his prime. A brutal high-speed excursion into

Waterford's infamous railroad ties, coupled with the resulting injuries

prompted Dick to hang up his helmet from active competition. 

Years later, when I elected to get involved at the Speedbowl in an official

capacity, I got to know Watson on a personal level. Having been handed the

daunting task of running the annual "Heroes of the Bowl" event, Watson was

one of the first "retired" drivers that I thought of. He'd had success in

the past with these events winning several of them, and I was sure he'd once

again like to participate. 
 

I was right. 

This season, I got to watch Dick guide the Joe Mancini-owned Strictly Stock

to a win over a field of his peers - drivers from his generation. In typical

fashion, Watson studied his fellow "Heroes" participants for a bit, and then

laid a plan to get to victory circle.  

He did so without laying a fender on anybody - just like the old days........  

Waterford's "Hero's" event of 2000 brought me back in time to when I was a

kid cheering on some driver known as Dick Watson. Little did I know that

years later, I'd be shaking his hand in the same victory lane that he'd