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THE END OF AN ERA

A column by John Bisci

Thirty years ago this week....I remember it well.  The end of the Golden Age of stock car racing at Lancaster Speedway was heralded on Saturday, Sept. 2, 1972 – the final regular show of the track’s ’72 campaign.  It was the last time fans would see traditional Modifieds, ‘60s-era Late Models and Mini-Stocks race together on the same card.  Celebrated motorsports journalist Bones Bourcier was fond of saying, “One day you come home, and all the furniture’s changed around,” and that certainly was the case here.

Don Botting ousted promoter Jim Vollertsen at the end of the season.  I am of the understanding that Vollertsen had a multi-year contract with the track’s parent company, but Jim was gone when the ’73 season started up.  And so were many of Lancaster’s favorite drivers.

In trying to rid the Modified division of its jalopy image, coupe and coach bodies were legislated into extinction.  For 1973, only 1970-and-newer (the track called them Series 70 Modifieds) would be allowed.  To add insult to injury, the Modifieds would not only have to utilize updated sheetmetal, but include a full hood, nose and front fenders.  If you do the math, you’ll discover Chevrolet Vegas and Ford Pintos do not share the same wheelbase as a ’55-’57 Chevy, which was what most teams used for a chassis.  In many cases, the outcome looked strange, laughable – even bizarre.  Some drivers and owners opted to make the switch; others found new places to race on Saturday nights.

Roger Treichler debuted a new full-bodied Vega late in the ’72 season and it actually looked pretty good.  Merv Treichler built a new Gremlin for ’73.  Jim Rudolph now had a Vega, as did Gary Reichert (driving for the Turner Bros.), Norm Schmidlin and Andy Hailey.  Bobby Hudson, Ron Martin, Chuck Boos, Tommy Leeson, and Steve Flesicher chose Pinto sheetmetal.  Maynard Troyer already was driving a beautiful Pinto in ’72, but the addition of the new full (and unpainted) front end for ’73 was akin to dumping ketchup on a steak.  Dave Hafner, whose car sported a late-‘60s Camaro body, was simply allowed to add a full hood and fenders.  (Hafner’s 16x was one of the better-looking cars.)

Drivers like Ted Renshaw (Ridgemount Quarries coach), Canadian Jim Brunt (No. 7 coach), Fred White (No. 4x coupe), Darrel Claus (No. 3 coupe), Bob Parkhill (No. 68 coupe), Bill Brainard (No. 98 coach) and Bugs Napoleon (No. 19 coach) -- to mention a few -- found themselves on the outside looking in.

But perhaps the biggest blow to Lancaster’s Modified lineup – with all due respect to Merv Treichler, Roger Treichler and Maynard Troyer – was the departure of Richie Evans.  Evans, a Lancaster regular from ’69-’72, began chasing NASCAR points in ‘73.  Lancaster, still an independent track, did not fit his plans and the Rapid Roman raced closer to home on Saturday nights.

Lancaster’s short fields and early-spring startup dates attracted Holland-Perry Late Models.  The Late Model Sportsman cars fit Lancaster’s rules and were attracted to the Buffalo oval’s larger purses.  The LMS Camaros of Phil Edwards, Ron Williams and Don Staubitz – all former Lancaster drivers – suddenly were regular entries and routinely qualified for the hoped-for 24-car starting field.

In all fairness, the idea of Modifieds clothed in contemporary tin was not a new one.  Longtime Lancaster promoter Ed Serwacki tried to encourage his drivers as far back as 1967 to update their look.  The pre-war coupes were associated with Civic Stadium-era jalopies of the ‘50s and he strived to bring credibility to a sport largely ignored by local newspapers and television stations.  Serwacki, a veteran body man, told Cam Gagliardi he would hang the sheetmetal and paint the car for free if he would update his coupe to a Mustang in ’67, and was taken up on his offer.

A few drivers from the booted Late Model class moved up to Modifieds, including Fred Butz and Vic Moore.  Jerry Ciancio purchased Phil Edwards' 2 Cents coach (which had been driven previously by Bill Bitterman and Gordy Treichler.  But regular week in, week out good guys like Dean Gonzales, Jim Kneeple, Jim Stalker and Johnny Adams joined the M.I.A. list.

The track's class changes – coupled with the country's so-called "energy crisis" and Erie County's rising unemployment rate – made for a difficult year.  Gasoline no longer was 39 cents per gallon and the track even resorted to granting free admission to anyone with a valid N.Y. State Unemployment book.  New announcer Ed Sturdy, whose claim to fame, we're told, was writing weather reports for a New York City TV station, was certainly no match for the departed Bill Callahan, a crowd favorite.

On July 20, track manager Don Botting threw in the Series 70 towel by posting a bulletin in Gater Racing News, announcing that beginning July 21^st, "All cars legal in 1972 (coupes, coaches, Corvairs, Falcons and Jean-Guy Chartrand's exotic Hemi-Cuda) will be able to run each and every Saturday night.  The Series 70 cars are still legal with a 40% bonus."

Still car counts suffered.  Botting vowed to the audience one night that Lancaster would have a full field of Modifieds (24 cars) next week or everyone would be admitted free.  We don't know what kind of deals were made, but 25 Modifieds signed in the following week – including Ed Thompson's No. 19 dirt Modified coupe from Weedsport!  Ed never ran, but was there as insurance, we guess.  Even on good nights, Lancaster's crowds were half of what they once were only a few years earlier.

Ronnie Martin – winless in '73 – amassed enough points to win the Modified championship.  Ross Holmes won the inaugural Street Stock title in his Lazy 8 Pontiac and Churchville, New York's Ron Burling took the Mini-Stock crown.  And the days of the mighty Mini-Stocks were numbered as well.

As soon as the season ended, classified ads announcing the sale of Roger Treichler's Vega and Gary Iulg's Gil Bruss-owned coupe (which had won the '72 Lancaster championship with Merv Treichler behind the wheel) appeared in Gater Racing News.