Four Race Cars In Bay State Competition Locally Owned-This Day In Norwood History-August 6, 1948

Building And Repairing Of Racing Cars Means Plenty Of Hard Work

Although midget auto racing is a comparatively new sport to hundreds of local residents who were first introduced to it this year with the opening of the Norwood Arena on Route 1, to a small group of Norwoodites it has long been of such interest that they have entered the track itself — as both midget owners and mechanics.

Frank Procopio of 62 Oliver Street, Norwood, is the owner of the blue and yellow Ford numbered 98, which has raced seven times this season. Freddie White of Neponset Street is co-owner of the Ford No. 82, now being remodeled and repainted blue and cream. Ralph Tamulinas of 21 Folan avenue and Jimmy Hibbert of Stafford road. Islington, partners at the South Norwood Auto Body on Dean Street, are both owners and builders of Ford No. 72, which last year came in third in the New England Championship races at Thompson, Connecticut. Another locally owned midget is No, 63, the Ford driven by Dynamite Dugan and owned by Henry Kramer of Huntington Avenue, Walpole, proprietor of the Uptown Garage. The only local midget chauffeur known to have piloted a car on the tracks is Jimmy Walker of Lincoln Street, who made his debut last year behind the wheel of the black and white car that Tamulinas and Hibbert had built.

Tamulinas and Hibbert keep their midget at their Dean Street garage, where they devote about two hours daily to keeping it in condition for its nightly appearances. Several years ago Hibbert was a mechanic on large racing cars and during the winter of 1946 he and his partner built their midget at the Hibbert home In Islington. Giving all their spare time to the project, they completed it in four months and its first driver was Jimmy Walker of Norwood. Babe Stein later took over the wheel and in its first season the Ford met with a good deal of success, placing third in the championship meet. Shorty Mitcheson has piloted it this year at the Norwood Arena and last week the Hlbbert-Tamulinas midget ran 50 laps in the mid-season championship race at Agawam. The two mechanics take their car to midget races every night, traveling long distances to the far-flung tracks.

’’Owning a midget gives anyone a lot of headaches,” Hibbert says. ’’When the car is really racing and chalking up a good record, it’s a fascinating game. When it isn’t running very well, we get disgusted. There’s a lot of expense to it, we have to rebuild the motor every week and every seven days means a new ring job. Fuel is $1.35 a gallon, and the car uses about four gallons in running 82 laps. Right now. we’re thinking of getting rid of this car — but we’ll porbably turn right around and build another.

Procoplo’s car met with disaster when it flipped and crashed recently In Hudson, New Hampshire, and it is now in dry dock for repairs. He purchased it this past winter and It has been piloted by both Frankie Wilson and George Hayes, the latter driving it when it made its appearance at the Norwood Arena. It has only been entered in seven roccs this year but will be back on the tracks again after the current work is completed.

Hibbert’s brother-in-law is Freddie White of Neponset Street, another midget owner and ardent fan. His Ford 86 has not been on the tracks this year and like the other local owners, he finds that the small cars can easily cause a large amount of trouble. Last year his car raced through the season and finished 19th in a field of 33 cars at the classic races in Thompson.

Co-owner of White’s car is Charles Street of Foxboro and the two men do all the work on their midget. Street has long had an interest in racing and was a chauffeur himself 12 years ago, when Casterline, Schindler, and the other great names of midget racing were first being heard He no longer races but his first-hand experience on the track has given him a thorough. knowledge of what a midget motor should be. He and Smith, like other midget owners, made the vehicle themselves, fashioning the steering wheel from a solid steel saw and making the wheels by hand. At the moment Street is experimenting with a new engine with six carburetors and a new manifold arrangement. The Ford company has expressed interest in it and plans to use it experimenting with new fire engines. Street tests out the work that he and Smith do by occasionally piloting their Ford around the track, but he has formally resigned from the driving field. The two men are now looking for a new pilot for their car, which will be back on the raceways next week.

Henry Kramer of the Uptown Garage in Walpole, whose car is a familiar sight to fans at the Norwood Arena, is now changing the former red and white paint of his vehicle to a golden brown. His midget la kept at the Walpole garage, where it is continually under the inspection of customers, passersby, and school children. A former driver himself, Kramer Is an old hand at racing in big cars and motorcycles, but his midget is now piloted by Dynamite Dugan. A recent crackup has kept 63 from the racing strips this past week but is due back within a few days and its owner says that it will be a faster car when It reappears. During this season the Kramer midget has been entered at tracks throughout the state, racing every night,

drivers in the country today, he has already this season won eight feature races. Last year he copped the 100-mile National Championship Race at Goshen, N. Y., beating such outstanding drivers as Chet Gibbons, Ted Tappett, Tony Bonardics and Al Keller.

Renard’s racing partner is Ray Nester, driver of the Offenhauser No. 35, who has a record so far this year of five main event wins, These drivers will ride against such Bay State standouts as Bill Randall, Johnny Thompson. Joe Sostilio, Johnny Black, Bud Tatro, Milt Henry, and many others.

In an action-packed eight-race card last Monday at the Arena, the Caruso Team captured the one-two spots in the Blue Ribbon windup, “Bronco Bill” Schindler finishing first, followed by Mike Nazarach, with Joe Sostilio, defending New England champion, third.

Professional wrestling Holds the Arena spotlight on Thursday nights, with Steve “Crusher” Casey facing Marvin Westenberg, ex-Shado and former champion, in the main event tonight.

By PATRICIA CHISM

(All articles originally appeared in the Norwood Messenger unless otherwise noted)