For June 27, 2003

John Bisci is a former Photographer & Journalist for various magazines in the Northeast covering the Upstate New York Area. John is currently in Public Relations at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. As time permits John will be writing this column for vintagemodifieds.com.

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2002
2003

Remembering Bob Hunter

When you pen a column that remembers the characters and players of the so-called Golden Age of stock car racing in the northeast, you wind up writing more than your fair share of obituaries as the years fly by. It is never a pleasurable task.

Veteran auto racing photographer Bob Hunter passed away Wednesday, June 25. He was one of the very best. I last spoke with Bob in 1998 and as NASCAR was celebrating its 50th anniversary, Bob was preparing to mark his in 1999. I wrote him a few months ago but never got a reply. Last month, a friend told me, "Bob Hunter's in bad shape."

The details will be printed in this week's racing trade papers. Many will share their memories.

I first met Bob in 1972. He was shooting pictures all over Western N.Y., including special events at Lancaster Speedway, Ransomville Speedway, Holland Speedway and Merrittville Speedway. You'd see Bob in victory lane, hat on backwards (so the bill of his cap would not interfere with his camera's flash unit), "directing traffic" so that every lensman would get a good shot of the winner.

When the nostalgia craze hit stock car racing in the 1990s, I started pestering Bob to sell me copies of his old photos. Like so many other kids who purchased his 3x5s for a buck apiece, I never saved them. Twenty years later, I wanted them again. Bob was wary of selling his old photos, knowing only too well that modern technology would allow others to copy his work and resell it. He, like many other photogs, had been ripped off by copy negs. In '98, he finally relented and produced a limited list of his offerings, culled from the thousands of precious negatives in his possession. We talked about doing a Bob Hunter 50th Anniversary story but he later declined.

His photos were beautiful. Hunter had a knack for posing drivers with their cars in the grass, far from the stark brutality of the blacktop and dirt they raced on. He always was careful to pose the driver between the car number on the door and the front tire so as not to obscure the sponsor's name. His photos were offered for sale at novelty stands at many speedways, and you always could tell it was "a Hunter" by the style in which the picture was taken. Many would copy his award-winning style.

He worked for promoters Ed Serwacki, Ron Bennett, Stan Friesen, Jim Vollertsen and many more. Hunter penned a column for Gater Racing News in the '70s and also served for a number of years as President of the Foar Score Fan Club.

He was around at the sport's infancy in the 1940s and captured the personalities and action for six decades. Bob was on the job, behind the shutter, when sedans and NASCAR convertibles rumbled around Buffalo's Civic Stadium. He captured the Kodak moments when Grand Nationals negotiated Watkins Glen's esses in the '60s and again in the '80s. The legendary lensman is gone, but his work will be enjoyed for many years.

Cards of condolence may be sent to Bob's companion, fellow photographer and Modified driver Kim Jennejohn at 5961 Lasher Rd., Wolcott, N.Y. 14590.

You can contact John at: johnbisci@lvcm.com

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