Welcome
all to David Kipling's Home Page
Important:
Thanks to the constant and generous help of Rick Young's phenomenal
experience and memory. "BriSCA" Stock-Car
Racing in Britain, 1950s-1970s
for fans of REAL racing in the golden ageand
British drag-racing and hot-rodding, 1960s-1970s This
introductory home-page section explains what's in my site and why; and
it's here that I've included photos of stock-car badges, stickers,
programmes, audio files, books, and so on..
Scan
through looking for the labels
for recent additions.

No-holds-barred racing
by real 'characters':

Over
300 photos of British stock-cars

"Shield
of honour": if you were good enough to qualify into the stock
car World Final, you received this shield. This one was
presented to superstar Fred Mitchell, # 38, who went into the '63
world final as defending (1962) world champion. This beautiful
memento passed to Fred's long-time race mechanic Pete Schafer, who
has now generously entrusted it to me, in memory of Fred.
January
2008: Pete
Schafer, master mechanic (the great Pete Tucker called him
a "wizard"), friend to everyone, and loyal to Fred Mitchell
and his family for many years, passed away at his home in Washington
State, USA, in early 2007. Pete was a gent
of the old school, but with that characteristic sense of practical
joking that was everywhere in stock-car racing in those days. Pete
loved this little tale, which I will pass on here as a way
of winking "thank you" to Pete and his generation. Fred
Mitchell and Pete were working on the #38 car in Fred's workshop,
and they called for some help from a chap who had dropped in,
a farm worker who was wearing big steel-toed boots. Fred
was welding some steel plate onto the car, and he said to "Ah,
just the bloke we need — Stand up on this, will you,
to hold it in place", and also "But stand still and shut your
eyes because of the sparks!" You can guess the next bit:
Fred took a little piece of scrap and tack-welded the man's
boots to the #38 chassis …
A
classic track program, from 1960

[programme
from Andrew Lively]
plus
plus plus:
1960s-1970s
British drag-racing and hot-rodding


Do
you have a vintage stocks or drags photo or story you'd like
to contribute? E-mail
me
This is not a personal home page.
I set it up to share a specialized topic for a few people world-wide: BriSCA "Stock-car
racing" as the phrase has applied in Britain since 1954. This
is a nostalgia page about a rough-'n'-ready form of motor sport that
has too often been misunderstood or looked down on. British stock-car
racing thrives today in a sophisticated and higher-tech way, but
this web site is dedicated especially to the racers who entertained
us in the 1960's and 70's.
I started with a collection of old snapshots I'd kept in a shoe
box; but over the years, many kind people have sent me their
stories and their own photos. Ex-racer Dick [now 'Rick'] Young has been especially helpful with
pictures and stories. This website is now a collective and communal
celebration on the part of fans who, like me, admired the early era
of stock-car racing and drag racing. Some of them are or were
racers; some are the sons and even grandsons of racers featured
here. It has been wonderful to hear from you good folks over
the years. Keep 'em coming!
You'll
need a acouple of hours to go through this pictorial history. Click
on those headings at the top and bottom of the pages, and you'll find a ton of
stories and technical facts, plus my opinions, and most photos are a
link to click on.
I know very little about
computers, and can barely work this machine, so no comments, please.
The only personal information you get
is that I teach technical and business writing at the BC Institute
of Technology Canada, and that I grew up in Brixworth (rural
Northamptonshire UK) The farm field where I herded the cattle
is now occupied by Indy-and-Grand Prix-winning ILMOR / Mercedes Racing
Engines. I also lived in Birmingham , North
London, Redhill (Surrey), Bristol,
the South of France, Vancouver
BC, Canada (1978 to date). If anything you see here makes
sense or revives memories, say "Hi" on spratton@hotmail.com
Summer 2004, and here I am happy to
be back at Brandon
Stadium for the first time since 1966, beside Andy Smith's and Tony Smith's cars:
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--
and that's me showing off after some passenger "hot laps" on the
Silverstone GP circuit in 2007 --- an experience I'll never forget, and
if I lived permanently in England I'd go bankrupt in a year to pay
for more/more/more of this, because it's SO addictive. Many
outfits sell track time at different locations, but this was
Silverstone Circuit itself, and they had several professional racers on
hand (I reckon they were hanging around the office, looking for any opportunity to get some practice in!) My driver was Charlie Hollings, a serious F3 competitor, and his brief instructions were along the lines of "hang on very tight and keep away from my controls!" Simply
being a passenger was physically draining; this was a full-race
Caterham R400, and it felt like being
shot out of a cannon onto a toboggan run.
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Tunes from the tracks Speakers on: Remember the Rinkydink theme they played over the Tannoy?
Also the outrageous Nut Rocker by "Bee Bumble and the Stingers", which occasionally played at Brafield. (No.
1 in 1962, a take-off of Tchaikovsky's
NUTCRACKER, and for years played at Southampton ice rink.)
If you followed the Bangers, you know thist well: MARCH OF THE MODS, by the Joe Loss Orchestra. Thanks for this to London banger racer Ian Snoad,
who was and is the number one George Ansell fan and stays in touch with
George. Ian says he basically "grew up at Harringay Stadium".
How about the Spedeworth favourite, I WAS KAISER BILL'S BATMAN by
Whistling Jack Smith? (A YouTube clip of it
from 1967 -- poor Jack works hard to keep audience interest with
just his whistle and his medals.)
I just came across this Banger Tunes website
and will let you enjoy finding and listening to the 36 tunes on it,
including "Stock Car Racing is Magic". OOPS, APRIL 2009 THAT BANGER SITE APPEARS TO BE "DEAD". So click on this link to YouTube for the song!
BBC Radio Goes in to Stock Car History February 2009: Out of the blue, I
was contacted by Radio Northampton, who were doing a series of pieces
about local heroes, and who had evidently come across my website.
They wanted to hear about Aubrey Leighton #42,
so here is a 13-minute to-and-fro between myself and the excellent
interviewer John Griff on his afternoon show of Thursday 19th February
2009. This audio file may also be on Radio Northampton's website. Like most people, I hated hearing my own voice when it's recorded. Books, Badges, and Programmes Terrific DVD: Les
Cotton has available a DVD (see
sleeve image) of wild stock-car action
from the 'real' Belle Vue in 1986, the new Belle Vue in 2004, and
Sheffield in 1987: get in touch with Les: stoxdvds@googlemail.com
The Ultimate Books: Between
them, Keith Barber and Malc Aylott have given us the last word in
stock-car histories. If you see these (eg at Keith's
stall?) anywhere, dish out the dosh. Here's
one. Here's
the other. They
cost a few quid, but you'd spend the same on a bad night at the pub. To
keep myself honest, I have refrained from 'stealing' from these
books for my site, as that would not be fair.
Another "Ultimate" stock-car
book: Who drove #304? What years
did Chippie Weston drive? Where was Karl Grossman from? Well,
how do you sort it all out, especially when over the years, #21
has been assigned to fourteen different drivers. Put
your hands together (and in your wallet) for Mike Greenwood,
who with son John Greenwood and Granville Holmes, has issued
the updated and improved 2008 3rd edition [click
on it:] of
STOCK
CAR DRIVERS: an index of registered UK Formula One stock car
drivers and their racing numbers 1957-2007.
You
can get it from Photostox, 17 Willingham Close, Sothall, Sheffield,
S20 2PD, or contact mike@photostox.demon.co.uk
Remember
a driver's name? This
book has over 2,000 surnames in A-Z order.
Remember a number? Same thing in numerical order, all with the
driver's full name, home town, and years racing. SEPTEMBER 2008: Another book: Andrew Weltch
is a long-time writer / journalist / announcer who has with Richard
Neil, published several oval-track books. Here are the
covers of four of them, and you can order them direct from his website.
Backtracks. Hot Rods. Superstox. F2s in Devon and Cornwall. http://www.ovaltrack.co.uk/andyweltch.htm
May 2009: New
magazine on the block: if you're visiting this website 'cos you
appreciate "the good old days", then you should think about Oval Track Classic magazine. The first issue came out in Spring 2009, from YBA Publications, the folks who brought you Short Circuit Magazine. Here's their first cover:

They have many veteran racers on hand with their stories and photos from all the short circuit formulae, for instance Dave Willis at Aldershot,
doing what those cars did so well! The mag covers present-day
revival / heritage cars and racing, as well as fascinating archival
material going back up to 50 years. Oval Track Classic is at: www.ovaltrackclassic.co.uk
Where are your stickers and badges now? Badges and stickers you may
recognize: "Chizzy" supporters collected
this one. BSCDA Membership, then
("worn with pride") their coveted driver's
patch. Aye lad, the North knows how to race,
at Aycliffe. Next: Belle
Vue, what
a disgrace that the authorities let it be demolished, an
unforgivable bit of
"development" .
How's about Lincolnshire's Cadwell
Park? Don't forget Kings
Lynn Next: Coventry's badge ("Brandon" if
you're old ---). Down
to Notts, where Long
Eaton put on great shows. South
a bit to Leicester. In
Northants, Brafield printed a rather weird
image of a "stock-car", but it brought the crowds
in. Down south, Harringay
Stadium's badge. Here is the rare Brands
Hatch acknowledgement of stock
car racing. Next, Weymouth's sticker. Further
still, the Mendip, where the lovely Bristol track
sits in an old reservoir depression on the
very top of the hills. Down west we go
to St.
Austell. [stickers
courtesy of Dick Young's collection]
An
early Brafield
Stadium sticker, courtesy of Chris "Totter" Holmes,
Jock Lloyd 131's long time mechanic.
Stock Car Programmes
To
start with,here are 12 programme covers scanned for us by Trevor
Richings, all early 1960's, and an early one from Ken Mason. I
will leave you to read the exact dates from the covers. This
brings back memories: Brafield 1963; Belle Vue 1963; Hednesford 1963; Leicester WF Qualifying Round1963; Matcham's Park 1964; Norwich, 1963; Plymouth 1963; Southampton 1963; Staines 1958 from Ken Mason; Swindon F2 Junior WF 1964; West Ham WF 1965; White City 1962.
February 2009: Brian Clements, long-time
veteran F2 fan, sent these scans of a Walthamstow Whitsun 1965
programme: a then-traditional "mixed meet" of Juniors and Seniors, with
star drivers like Dougie Wardropper, Chick Woodroffe, etc, racing both
formulas. Here is the (June 7th) programme cover. Here are the first two races, showing winners and placemen. Here are the third and fourth races, and the trophy race, again with results added. More of Brian's histororic programmes can be seen in the Junior F2 section of my site.
Also from Brian, this programme from Plymouth's Pennycross Stadium, 1965. The pages include a comprehensive list of South West drivers, details of the (notoriously rough) team races, and the regular heats. And the advert for the Plymouth Stock Car Association. Pennycross
Stadium ran from 1928 to 1972, with greyhounds, speedway, and
stock-cars. I just uncovered a photo of a poster from one of
the rock concerts there --- anyone in 1969 shake their long hair and
bell-bottoms to FLEETWOOD MAC and "THE HERD"? Two old aerial photos of Pennycross: one, and two.
Stories / Heroes / Photos /Criticisms???
E-mail
me and I'll reply from
my 'real' e-mail (to avoid spam).
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