Bubby Jones

Though I'm well aware that 4M is foremost a Late Model forum it's hard to believe none of the open wheel fans has posted that one of the truly great ones to sit in a Sprint car passed away on January 28th.

Norman (Bubby) Jones, the former Danville, IL barber, made his mark in the midwest in the USAC cars from the early '60s until he headed west to California in 1980. He quickly became one of the top CRA guys at Ascot in the non wing sprinters. He won 2 CRA titles while beating some very stiff competition. One Indy 500 start was also on his resume.

The '80s were the heyday at Ascot and Saturday night was for watching Jones, Thompson, Goudy, Shuman, Meli, Wirth and a bunch of others turn the cars at the flagstand being near backwards when they got to turn 1. The racing was as good, or better,than anywhere in the country.

Bub wasn't a big talker but was a cool guy and people who watched him race won't soon forget him. He was 78 when he died. Thanks for the memories and RIP.

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Originally Posted by over4T

Though I'm well aware that 4M is foremost a Late Model forum it's hard to believe none of the open wheel fans has posted that one of the truly great ones to sit in a Sprint car passed away on January 28th.

Norman (Bubby) Jones, the former Danville, IL barber, made his mark in the midwest in the USAC cars from the early '60s until he headed west to California in 1980. He quickly became one of the top CRA guys at Ascot in the non wing sprinters. He won 2 CRA titles while beating some very stiff competition. One Indy 500 start was also on his resume.

The '80s were the heyday at Ascot and Saturday night was for watching Jones, Thompson, Goudy, Shuman, Meli, Wirth and a bunch of others turn the cars at the flagstand being near backwards when they got to turn 1. The racing was as good, or better,than anywhere in the country.

Bub wasn't a big talker but was a cool guy and people who watched him race won't soon forget him. He was 78 when he died. Thanks for the memories and RIP.

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I don't come to this place much anymore, too much stupidity and I suffer stupidity quite badly. It's a waste of my precious time. Due to the fact that your post is pertinent, informative, logical and without any hint of stupidity I am compelled to respond. This joint is infested with half wit's who believe that if the left rear of a race car isn't jacked up a foot and a half, the right front isn't hanging out a foot wider than the right rear and the nose piece doesn't look as if it's perpetually trying to turn left then it doesn't fit their half witted criteria for what makes for good racing, So, an intelligent response to a post such as yours that actually is worth reading and responding to is nearly impossible from the rank and file who post on the other 4m boards.

So much for the proper evaluation of the average IQ here.

I watched Mr. Jones race several times late in his career due to me being too young to have seen him earlier in his career. Norman was just about as good as there ever was in a sprinter and he even won a Silver Crown race at Du Quoin and qualified and raced in the Indianapolis 500 back in the 1970's. But, his Ascot Park days were what made him a legend. I've been told that Norman raced on a weekly basis at Fairbury American Legion Speedway (GASP!!! There actually were open wheel cars that raced weekly at the holy grail of generic dirt late model racing? Oh the blasphemy!! LOL). Norman was a barber by trade and he and Larry Cannon operated a two chair barber shop in Danville, Illinois. I wish I had seen him race at Fairbury. Norman must have been pretty good at FALS because he ranks pretty high in features won at Fairbury.

Norman called himself the Master of Going Faster and he helped many, many young drivers and crew chiefs be winners after his driving days were done. He also was deeply involved with the construction and promotion of Perris Auto Speedway when it was being built and when it first opened. I was lucky enough to have met Norman about 15 years ago out in Calfornia and we spoke of his racing days in Illinois and the midwest. He was a pleasure to reminisce with.

RIP Mr. Jones, you will be missed but thought of very often!

Open wheel racing is for sure the BEST ! I would much rather watch the excitement of an open wheeled racer that cheats death with each and every lap as compared to the awkward looking late models of today. The only thing that can save them now is to go back to the 80's. Put them all on leaf springs with the same body style that we could all tell was an actual production stock car.

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Originally Posted by Raceready

The only thing that can save them now is to go back to the 80's. Put them all on leaf springs with the same body style that we could all tell was an actual production stock car.

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As much as many of us wish todays generic DLM'S could once again look like an actual street car it's obvious that can't/won't happen. However, the rules could be changed to regulate the suspension components so the right front wheel doesn't hang out a foot or more as compared to the right rear and the left rear corner of the car isn't a foot an a half higher than the rest of the car and the nose isn't skewed to the right and the front valance is a foot shallower on the right side as opposed to the left. None of this will happen, but it should!

seen jones race a few times but cannon was another good one.