1984 at Springfield...

[Krooser]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cxt...6h6WOmh-U2QuBc

[CIRF]

I was at this race, Krooser. The Springfield Mile, back in those days, drew some big names and commanded a fair amount of attention. Attending a generic dirt late model race at Springfield always came with some trepidation. Many of us have always felt that the cars didn't belong on a track as fast as The Mile. They just are not made to withstand the impacts that can result from speeds attainable by late models on The Mile. I remember one of the last times they ran late models on The Mile Johnny Prior hit excruciatingly hard drivers side to the wall going into turn #1. I got a sick feeling the moment Johnny hit. Johnny was banged up some but lived to race another day, thank God.

The World of Outlaw Sprint Cars ran The Mile and Sammy Swindell set the fastest lap ever turned on a dirt track. It seemed like the crowd, which was very big that day, held their collective breath's every time the cars came out on the track, and for good reason. They were driving into turns #1 and #3 at speeds in excess of 175 MPH!!

[Krooser]

You're right Cirf... Big and fast.

Reminds me if my ex-gf.

[Zonks32x]

Love the announcer...Billy Moyers in car 21😁

[Cardirt0]

Made me think of the old dirt track in Springfield It was a Bad A$$ hi banked bullring and I miss going there.

[Krooser]

Made me think of the old dirt track in Springfield It was a Bad A$$ hi banked bullring and I miss going there.

I went there a time or two while headed south. I'd drop my trailer just east of the track and bobtail over... loved that joint!

[RRRKKK]

I too was at that race I notice that the fastest time of Purvis was 33 seconds, I believe John Miller track record was 27 seconds in later years. Wallace was running a Kirn engine for that race it had a 5/8 spacer between the head and block it made ungodly horsepower. The above poster was right it was an unsafe race as the cars weren't made to with stand an impact at that speed. We raced it twice and said that's enough!

[over4T]

We had a Late Model show at the Sacramento Cal Expo mile back in the late '80s and, wisely, we left our car at home. It was pretty scary just to watch. The AMA flat track motorcycles ran there regularly and it was insane watching Harleys in those corners. Those guys had bigger b---- than me.

[CIRF]

Made me think of the old dirt track in Springfield It was a Bad A$$ hi banked bullring and I miss going there.

Hey Gary!! Good to hear from you, man! Hope things are going as well as possible, buddy.

The dirt track you speak of was owned and managed by Joe Shaheen and it was officially known as Springfield Speedway but everyone affectionately referred to it as Lil' Springfield. There was a tavern on speedway property called The Torsion Bar. The steps going up to enter The Torsion Bar were made of old Ford Flathead engine cylinder heads. I was never old enough to drink before the speedway and tavern closed but I've heard many a good story of both the race track and the Torsion Bar!!

Like many tracks the fateful demise of Lil' Springfield was sealed with the aging of it's owner, Joe Shaheen. 1987 was the last year Lil' Springfield operated. Joe, or Joe's family, sold off the property, the speedway and the structures located on the East side of Springfield and it was torn down in 1988 giving way to a shopping area.

My Dad took me and my sisters down to Lil' Springfield many times and the place never failed to be entertaining and exciting. The fist fights at Lil' Springfield were almost as legendary as the racing! LOL!

[Cardirt0]

Hey Gary!! Good to hear from you, man! Hope things are going as well as possible, buddy.

The dirt track you speak of was owned and managed by Joe Shaheen and it was officially known as Springfield Speedway but everyone affectionately referred to it as Lil' Springfield. There was a tavern on speedway property called The Torsion Bar. The steps going up to enter The Torsion Bar were made of old Ford Flathead engine cylinder heads. I was never old enough to drink before the speedway and tavern closed but I've heard many a good story of both the race track and the Torsion Bar!!

Like many tracks the fateful demise of Lil' Springfield was sealed with the aging of it's owner, Joe Shaheen. 1987 was the last year Lil' Springfield operated. Joe, or Joe's family, sold off the property, the speedway and the structures located on the East side of Springfield and it was torn down in 1988 giving way to a shopping area.

My Dad took me and my sisters down to Lil' Springfield many times and the place never failed to be entertaining and exciting. The fist fights at Lil' Springfield were almost as legendary as the racing! LOL!

I am doing as good as you think for a guy thats spost to be Dead. Some of the Best fights i ever seen were right there in the stands.The last Night i was there Bob P. Bobby Dad and the Hedrick 32 set new track rec. by over 1/2 sec. Last year i worked for Hedrick till i helped his kid 12 years later.
It was the last year it was open when i was there. A lot of people were not happy when it closed and it was all was packed.

[CIRF]

I am doing as good as you think for a guy thats spost to be Dead. Some of the Best fights i ever seen were right there in the stands.The last Night i was there Bob P. Bobby Dad and the Hedrick 32 set new track rec. by over 1/2 sec. Last year i worked for Hedrick till i helped his kid 12 years later.
It was the last year it was open when i was there. A lot of people were not happy when it closed and it was all was packed.

Glad to hear things are going good!!

So you must have been at Lil' Springfield during the summer of 1987. That was the last season it was open. We never had the good fortune of seeing any hand to hand combat on the track, in the pits or in the grandstands but I've heard and read about plenty. Norman "Bubby" Jones (most here are too young or narrow minded to have heard of Bubby) said it's the rowdiest joint he ever raced at, and Bubby raced a lot of different tracks!

[Cardirt0]

Glad to hear things are going good!!

So you must have been at Lil' Springfield during the summer of 1987. That was the last season it was open. We never had the good fortune of seeing any hand to hand combat on the track, in the pits or in the grandstands but I've heard and read about plenty. Norman "Bubby" Jones (most here are too young or narrow minded to have heard of Bubby) said it's the rowdiest joint he ever raced at, and Bubby raced a lot of different tracks!

Dont know if things are good, but i ant dead so they ant bad. LOL

[over4T]

Stormin' Norman. Some of the best sprint car racing ever was at Ascot Park after Bub moved west. For several years in the non wing CRA cars it was the Dean & Bubby show. Thompson and Bubby turned the cars at the flag stand and were near backwards going into turn 1.

Only thing comparable was the Larry & Gary USAC show in the midwest with (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)son & Bettenhausen swapping championships for several years. i was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to witness both.

[CIRF]

Stormin' Norman. Some of the best sprint car racing ever was at Ascot Park after Bub moved west. For several years in the non wing CRA cars it was the Dean & Bubby show. Thompson and Bubby turned the cars at the flag stand and were near backwards going into turn 1.

Only thing comparable was the Larry & Gary USAC show in the midwest with D!ckson & Bettenhausen swapping championships for several years. i was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to witness both.

Bubby, from time to time, likes to refer to himself as "The Master of Going Faster"!! LOL! I ran into Bubby at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, California the first time I went west to the Oval Nationals. We had a fun conversation about his days of racing sprint cars at Fairbury American Legion Speedway. Since that time Bubby has moved back to the Midwest. Somewhere in Indiana, I believe. Bubby was a legend and hugely popular at FALS back in the days when Fairbury ran a much more diverse racing program week in-week out.

The Larry & Gary show was just a bit before my time but I've heard all kinds of great stories about the show's they put on around the country chasing USAC Sprint Car Championships back in the late '60's, early '70's. I got to see Larry D!ckson and Gary Bettenhausen race late in their careers driving USAC Silver Crown cars at The Springfield Mile. It was an honor, given their legendary status even though they were both well past their prime's.

[CIRF]

I too was at that race I notice that the fastest time of Purvis was 33 seconds, I believe John Miller track record was 27 seconds in later years. Wallace was running a Kirn engine for that race it had a 5/8 spacer between the head and block it made ungodly horsepower. The above poster was right it was an unsafe race as the cars weren't made to with stand an impact at that speed. We raced it twice and said that's enough!

No way am I nitpicking, RRRKKK, but actually it was Darren Miller who set the generic dirt late model track record at Springfield 13 years ago, back in 2006. Darren turned a lap of 27.581 seconds which figures out to 130.525 MPH average. In comparison, Sammy Swindell's WoO Sprint Car lap of 24.719 seconds at 145.637 MPH is, on average, a little over 15 MPH faster than Miller's lap and was set 8 years prior to Millers' DLM track record. The Illinois State Police had Sammy on the speed gun at the end of the back straight away running a tick over 177 MPH!! Sammy said he never even thought about lifting his right foot during qualifying from the time he got up to speed on the warm up lap 'till he took the checkers. Ridiculously large testicles!!!!! LOL!

[PRCKartRacer9]

Chargin Charlie said it was the only place that scared him

[Dirt Clod]

CIRF / PRCKart,

Enjoy reading your stories about the IL Fall Nationals mile races. It's amazing to see the big names that came to that race, considering it did not have a sanctioning body behind it. Do either of you have any memories of 1983 when Charlie Schwartz brought his wedge car to the mile? I vaguely remember him needing a small step ladder to get into the car. I remember when he qualified he barely lifted in the corners. Also, did it get dark that year and the race was shortened?

Regarding Little Springfield, I finally got the nerve to walk up those stairs and check out 1st turn tavern. I was afraid the crowd might kick an outsider out. No doubt Lil' Springfield was an awesome track for Sunday night racing.
Thanks for any replies.

[CIRF]

CIRF / PRCKart,

Enjoy reading your stories about the IL Fall Nationals mile races. It's amazing to see the big names that came to that race, considering it did not have a sanctioning body behind it. Do either of you have any memories of 1983 when Charlie Schwartz brought his wedge car to the mile? I vaguely remember him needing a small step ladder to get into the car. I remember when he qualified he barely lifted in the corners. Also, did it get dark that year and the race was shortened?

Regarding Little Springfield, I finally got the nerve to walk up those stairs and check out 1st turn tavern. I was afraid the crowd might kick an outsider out. No doubt Lil' Springfield was an awesome track for Sunday night racing.
Thanks for any replies.

I was at the 1983 race, as well. IIRC Chargin' Charlie said during the pole winner's interview that he'd never raced on a 1 mile dirt track and had no idea when or where to lift getting into turn's #1 & #3 so he said he just didn't lift! LOL! I don't think he did lift but Charlie is the only one that knows for sure.

I don't remember for sure if they called the A-main due to darkness but it would have been a distinct possibility.

[RRRKKK]

No way am I nitpicking, RRRKKK, but actually it was Darren Miller who set the generic dirt late model track record at Springfield 13 years ago, back in 2006. Darren turned a lap of 27.581 seconds which figures out to 130.525 MPH average. In comparison, Sammy Swindell's WoO Sprint Car lap of 24.719 seconds at 145.637 MPH is, on average, a little over 15 MPH faster than Miller's lap and was set 8 years prior to Millers' DLM track record. The Illinois State Police had Sammy on the speed gun at the end of the back straight away running a tick over 177 MPH!! Sammy said he never even thought about lifting his right foot during qualifying from the time he got up to speed on the warm up lap 'till he took the checkers. Ridiculously large testicles!!!!! LOL!

You are right it was Darrin where did I get John?

[RRRKKK]

I was at the 1983 race, as well. IIRC Chargin' Charlie said during the pole winner's interview that he'd never raced on a 1 mile dirt track and had no idea when or where to lift getting into turn's #1 & #3 so he said he just didn't lift! LOL! I don't think he did lift but Charlie is the only one that knows for sure.

I don't remember for sure if they called the A-main due to darkness but it would have been a distinct possibility.

The 1983 race was called for darkness and Charlie was declared the winner think Mike Wallace was second