05.24.03_707_TAS_UNK_0060

Visitor's Comments		*To add your comments about THIS PHOTO - Click Here*
Date:	Visitor's Name:	Comment:
05.25.03	Russ Dodge	Joe, The year was 1963. I believe Flemington and Ace Lane would be pretty good guesses.
05.26.03	Jim Murrow	Yes, Al Tasnady was, indeed, one of the very best! Besides being one of the best drivers, "Tas" was also very, (to use today's term), "Fan Friendly". He loved the attention. He, more than any other driver I can think of during that time, really enjoyed his "Celebrity" status. He was always happy to talk to his fans, and sign autographs, not just at the speedway, after the races, (when it was difficult to load up the car because of the mob around him), but his table at the diner on the way home looked like a book signing by Stephen King at the local B. Dalton's ! The 707 is also a "celebrity" car. No matter who was driving it, this car generated hoots and hollers when it arrived at any speedway. Besides Tas, and Stan Ploski, who is pictured elsewhere in the vault with this car, Jackie McLaughlin drove it for a while, and so did Georgie Sleight. If memory serves me correctly, the first 707 was a '37 Plymouth Coupe, with a Lincoln engine. I can't remember if it was a 430 cu in, or a 460, but either way it was Super Potent ! The car didn't handle well at all, however, and was, to say the least, a real handfull to drive with all that power. Thanks for the great picture.
05/30/03	Jim Brewer	This photo is in the Ace Lane book so I think it is his work. The beauty of it is that it shows the fuel injected Lincoln engine. It was a 430. Earlier versions of the Lincoln were 368 or less and had to really be messed with to be competitive. The 460 didn't come into production until much later. As for the drivers of this car - - the photo is of the '37 Plymouth version which lasted from about 1960 until 1965. At least those are the years that I saw the Plymouth run. It may have existed prior to 1960 but I have no knowledge of that. In 1960 it had Jim Hendrickson, Jackie McLaughlin, Dave Kelly, Elton Hildreth, Budd Olsen, and Georgie Sleight running it. Georgie landed the seat permanently in late 1960 and he ran it till near the end of 1962. Sleight won some with the car but Toby Tobias also ran it during that time. In late 1962 Al Tasnady began driving it and saw all of that success (37 wins in 1963) until the end of the 1964 season when Al began driving the Walt Donald car #327 (and eventually the Dave Piscopo #39 Polecat). For 1965 the coupe was cut down some and Sammy Beavers drove it for a while. I think they built a new car in 1966 with a three window coupe (maybe a '36 Chevy) that was run by Bob Pickell, Bill Wimble, Kenny Shoemaker, and eventually in late 1967 by Gerry Chamberlain. That car was the first of the DOHC Ford big blocks when they replaced the old Lincoln. The next car was the DOHC Ford powered '37 Chevy that Gerald ran. It was eventually driven by Stan Ploski who was also great in it. I'm sure that there are others among the Vault regulars who can recount the history of Paul Deasey's cars much better than I can.
05/31/03	Ned Stites III	My father sponsored this car and "the Gypsy" in 1963. Tas gave me one of his trophys that he won with this car when I was nine years old. I remember a particular race at Nazareth with Tas and Frankie Schneider in his beautiful sedan battling side by side for many laps with Tas winning a hard fought race. The fans went wild. I can't put into words how exciting watching Al Tasnady race through the pack was, but I know I haven't seen anyone come close to his seemingly effortless moves on the track. Keep up the good work. I'm enjoying the great pictures and comments.
12/14/03	Yolanda	I just found this website thanks to my son Barry. I remember all of your photos of Al. I probable have all photos in my collection of Al. I remember 1967 because I was going to be married and we had to wait til the end of the racing season. Al was going to give me away, I asked him because my father could not make it. Al is my cousin. My mothers maiden name is Tasnady. Al gave everyone a thrill on the track. Weather you liked him or not you came to see him. Al's driving style has been an influence on any driver that I root for. Thanks for the opportunity to say this.
01/10/05	LexG34	Glenn Sullivan, my dad flagged many race tracks and my uncle Bob Sall worked in the beginning years of Nascar along with being one of the greatest sprint car drivers of all time. These two always said the overall package Tas was the best period and he was born 30 years to early. They also always said Frankie Schnieder and Richie Evans were in the same class. I lived with Richie and learned a great deal, but watching Tas at Flemington was just unbelievable to this day and also the nicest person I ever met.

Photo ID #	05.24.03_707_TAS_UNK_0060_1
Car #:	#707
Driver (s) :	Al Tasnady
Location:	Flemington, NJ (Thanks Russ)
Date:	1963 (Thanks Russ)
Photographer:	Ace Lane www.acelanephotography.com
Photo provided by:	Tom Eppolite
Comments:	Al's career was winding down as I began going to the square in the early 70's. I remember him driving the Ruberti #97 (copper color) and the Schloder #k46 Valiant, but Al won a lot of races in the 60's in such cars as the #707, #44 and the #39. All you have to do is talk to those that were around back then to know how good Al was....