Dave Whitcomb Mopar Collectors Guide Article 1969 Charger 500 & 1969 Daytona

[Mopar John]

I just got my August 2020 copy of Mopar Collectors Guide.
One of the features in the magazine is one of my home area hero's Dave Whitcomb.
He was a local independent USAC racer based out of near by Valporaiso, Indiana.
I have been good friends with Dave's son Zane who lives about 2 miles from me.
Our children went to school together and I met Zane when he came up and
told me that the 1986 Pontiac Aero Coupe that I was driving was a neat and rare car.
Little did he know about the real Aero cars I had back home.
Almost every summer Zane's mom and dad would stop with their 5th wheel camper for a week or so.
I met Dave several times and have found memories of his racing talents and stories.
I have attached a picture of the Speed News magazine that featured him.
I was able to get him to autograph it before he passed away!
MJ

[Aero426]

MoparJohn, I must have hundreds of Dave Whitcomb pictures, but none with his autograph.     That's cool.

Dave was certainly a well respected USAC competitor and very typical of the resourceful independent racer running the pro circuits in the 1960's.     He operated a Sunoco station in Valpo and fielded Chrysler products for all but a few years of his USAC career.    His 1968 Charger shown here started out as a '63 Plymouth and was often updated with used Nichels Engineering parts,  carefully placed in the shop dumpster for picking.       The old Plymouth / Charger was raced until the end of 1970 when he got the Howards Photo Lab ride.  

[Aero426]

Dave's 1965 Plymouth in its last race before being reskinned as a 1968 Charger.   Jan 1968 at Phoenix Intl Raceway.  

[Aero426]

Good shot of Dave at Phoenix from the west coast USAC swing in April 1970.    The snakes on his helmet represented "Rattlesnake Engineering", a fun poke at the fancy teams.

[nascarxx29]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,76984.0.html

[Ghoste]

There sure was a pool of great racing talent in the midwest.  Would have been interesting to have USAC and NASCAR do an annual Super Bowl race.

[Emery0323]

 

There sure was a pool of great racing talent in the midwest.  Would have been interesting to have USAC and NASCAR do an annual Super Bowl race.

Actually, there were a couple of events where you'd see USAC Stock Car vs NASCAR regulars during the 1960's - 70's.

The Riverside January race was one - In 1970, McCluskey (2nd place) was the highest-placed Superbird driver in the car's debut race, behind Foyt in the Bowsher Torino.

The USAC Pocono races in the 1970's sometimes had guest appearances by NASCAR regulars like Richard Petty and Bobby Allison.
You'd sometimes see them at the Daytona 500 also.  Just off the top of my head, Butch Hartman entered once or twice, among many others.

[Aero426]

There sure was a pool of great racing talent in the midwest.  Would have been interesting to have USAC and NASCAR do an annual Super Bowl race.

Actually, there were a couple of events where you'd see USAC Stock Car vs NASCAR regulars during the 1960's - 70's.

The Riverside January race was one - In 1970, McCluskey (2nd place) was the highest-placed Superbird driver in the car's debut race, behind Foyt in the Bowsher Torino.

The USAC Pocono races in the 1970's sometimes had guest appearances by NASCAR regulars like Richard Petty and Bobby Allison.
You'd sometimes see them at the Daytona 500 also.  Just off the top of my head, Butch Hartman entered once or twice, among many others.

This is quite true.   These races had full FIA sanction which meant that drivers could cross over from different series.       It's fair to say that the USAC stock car series' biggest enemy was USAC management itself.     They were not the only ones to do so, but they would suspend drivers who crossed over into different series in non-FIA races.   Additionally, the open wheel mentality of USAC management ensured that the stock car series while quite popular,  always remained a full step down from the Indianapolis type cars in terms of promotion and resources.      

Dave Whitcomb was a leading member of the USAC drivers council and regularly advocated for the best interest of the teams and drivers.      

[Mopar John]

MoparJohn, I must have hundreds of Dave Whitcomb pictures, but none with his autograph.     That's cool.

Dave was certainly a well respected USAC competitor and very typical of the resourceful independent racer running the pro circuits in the 1960's.     He operated a Sunoco station in Valpo and fielded Chrysler products for all but a few years of his USAC career.    His 1968 Charger shown here started out as a '63 Plymouth and was often updated with used Nichels Engineering parts,  carefully placed in the shop dumpster for picking.       The old Plymouth / Charger was raced until the end of 1970 when he got the Howards Photo Lab ride.   

Doug,
My first thought was about you and no autograph's from Dave when I found these 2 pictures.
Late in Dave's life his son and my friend Zane found these 2 pictures in the family collection and had copies made for me.
Then he took them over to Dave's and got him to autograph them for me.
I will keep them all together now.
MJ