“The Replacements” on the Flip: When Legends Retire

If I had any regular readers, they probably would have noticed something by now: that several of the cars I mentioned from the posts called “The Replacements” have appeared elsewhere. Over the last 5 months several cars have left both my racing fleets, primarily from the Muscle Car Fleet but 2 from the Sports Car Fleet as well. These cars got a shout out as they bowed out, but a few others left their fleets under less ceremonious circumstances; in fact, they seemed to just disappear. So, if you were wondering where these “replaced” cars went, and if you were wondering about the story behind each-because they all have one!-this post is where you will find it. This is what happens when racing legends retire: they join The Road Crew!

The decision to “bump” these cars from the racing fleet to the road fleet was literally a matter of scale in almost all cases; these cars have bodies that are just a little too small for the 1:64 layout. Of course I’ve made a big deal about mixing scales, but its one thing to mix HO, S and O in “forced perspective” and another to have two cars side by side on a racing track when one is roughly 1:64 and the other is closer to 1:76. I was OK with it for a while, but it began to bug me; some of the Dash Motorsports bodies, especially, are just too small to mingle with the bigger Johnny Lightning and Auto World releases that populate the Muscle Car fleet. The Sports Car fleet tolerates smaller cars more easily, but a couple were turned out on the road from that fleet as well.

As for the others: well, one I could never get to run right, one was the victim of an accident caused by a stupid decision, and the rest…well, how about I let “the lore” do the talking…

When Italian driver Gerardo “Gridline” Giordano repainted his #46 Ferrari Dino named “Athena,” changing its color from blue with a white stripe to turquoise with a black stripe, how could he have known that a car nearly identical to the way his used to look would be seen prowling the H.O. Highway, barely street legal? Though it is not the same car, you would be forgiven for thinking it is! One has to wonder: is this just a coincidence, or is it a well-heeled admirer of Giordano, who can indulge his desire to emulate a race driver, all the way up to driving an identical car? Perhaps time will tell, but for now, this blue Ferrari is in The Road Crew

Daniel “Death Dodger” Douglass decided to retire from racing at the end of the 1983 season. He took his beloved 421-powered ’62 Catalina “Poseidon” back to his shop and tuned it down for road use; though its Spartan interior and lightened body with little sound insulation makes for a noisy ride on the open road, the old-timer still loves the sound of those 2×4 carbs sucking big air as he rows through traffic with the 4 speed on the floor.

Sawyer “Shortshift” Sorenson also changed the livery of his racing car, going from bright blue to bright green on his Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3 “Periscopico.” Perhaps, then, the driver of this car is in league with the driver of the blue Ferrari in owning a car that emulates a well-known racing driver. Sorenson also changed his racing number from 31 to 7 toward the end of the current season, and yet the #31 adorns this car that now hunts for street racing action with The Road Crew!

The biggest news to hit the Drag City Muscle Car Fleet in years was the decision by Sullivan “Snake” Skeates to part ways with his gorgeous ’65 Tiger called “Bad Intentions.” This car was famous for years, always drawing attention due to its glasslike deep “electric purple” finish and its prodigious speed. In the early days at Drag City Mk. II this car was a top dog, beating many challengers and winning 2 full tournaments; Skeates was said to have a second garage for his trophy collection! However, when the expanded Mk. IV track opened, the car began to drop back, as if it were running out of breath on the extended run time of the new track. He kept the car through those first two seasons at Mk IV, but then decided he needed something even faster and more powerful than his famous Poncho. Horrifying Pontiac fans everywhere, he elected to sell “Bad Intentions” and buy a ‘70 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda to replace it, although he made sure to buy one that was “Plum Crazy” in order to keep his signature purple finish. Today, “Bad Intentions” has been detuned for road use and, fitted with appropriate redline tires on deep dish chrome reverse wheels, is often seen blasting down the H.O. Highway, its 3×2 carbs blowing smoke out the big pipes.

Another straight-up retirement, Stephen “Shade” Stewart hung it up at the end of ’83, taking his black ’70 Chevelle “Night Ranger” and going home. Though the car was a beauty and had its admirers, Stewart was not one of the more successful competitors at Drag City, and his 375HP 396 powered SS didn’t quite have what it took on the track. Now fitted with redlines and a kickin’ stereo tape deck, Stewart roars down the H.O. Highway in “Night Ranger,” content to remember the good times and do a little street racing here and there whenever he feels he has a point to make.

A very recent development in the DC Muscle Car Fleet; when Hector “Holeshot” Hernandez moved from ¼ mile strip racing to muscle car road racing, “Bushmaster” started dropping back. At the beginning of the summer of the 1984 season he decided to give himself an upgrade. On its face, it doesn’t seem like there would be much to upgrade to coming from a 383 6-pack powered Roadrunner, but he managed to get his hands on one of the only cars that would take him farther, purchasing a genuine ’69 Hemi Charger from a mysterious street racer. That car is now under wraps and in-build but set to be released very soon. So, as a former street car moves to the track, “Bushmaster” moves to the street. Now in the hands of its new owner, this former strip car prowls the H.O. Highway looking for action

The most recent retirement represents another driver who, like “Snake” Skeates, changed brands as well as cars. While Skeates elected to go Mopar, Jared “Jumper” Johnson inexplicably elected to move to a Ford, trading his beautiful dark green and gold ’70 Olds 442 “Grenadier” for a Torino. Although said Torino is a full-race 428SCJ, one has to wonder was Johnson was smoking; whatever prompted the decision, some lucky motorist now has a killer ride for the street!

RETIRED STATUS – MUSCLE CAR FLEET

CAR	CAR NAME	DRIVER NAME	STATUS	NEW CAR where applicable
red ’62 PONTIAC CATALINA	POSEIDON	DANIEL “DEATH DODGER” DOUGLASS	RETIRED	N/A
black ’70 CHEVY CHEVELLE SS	NIGHT RANGER	STEPHEN “SHADE” STEWART	RETIRED	N/A
purple ’65 PONTIAC GTO	BAD INTENTIONS	SULLIVAN “SNAKE” SKEATES	SOLD/TRADED, ACTIVELY RACING	70 PLYMOUTH HEMI-CUDA “Bad Intentions II”
green ’70 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS 442	GRENADIER	JARED “JUMPER” JOHNSON	SOLD/TRADED, ACTIVELY RACING	68 FORD TORINO GT 428CJ “Green Manalishi”
blue ’69 PLYMOUTH ROADRUNNER	BUSHMASTER	HECTOR “HOLESHOT” HERNANDEZ	SOLD/TRADED, ACTIVELY RACING	69 DODGE CHARGER HEMI “Rumble Bee”

So, there’s the “windup,” folks…or, most of it. There remains an unanswered question, namely the fate of the “plain jane” dark blue ’69 Nova called “Nightcrawler.” Always hanging on the periphery of the racing fleet, Greg “Goose” Gibson figured out a way to make some real money with his car, driving fast in a non-competitive way as a test pilot! “Nightcrawler” is still out there, performing an invaluable service as a track test car trying out new layouts, new ideas, new vistas. She helped break ground on both the first and the second versions of The H.O. Highway! That “plain jane” Nova is no slouch, and it takes a beating feeling out the flaws in new courses, but it keeps coming back for more. Although the car is not a member of The Road Crew, you never know when you might see that mysterious dark blue “sleeper” with its yellow New Mexico plates flying by!