| Photo ID # | 05.27.03_098_OLS_ALC_0060_1 |
| Car #: | #98, #7, #659 |
| Driver (s) : | Budd Olsen #98, Johnny Roberts #7 and Carl VanHorn #659 |
| Location: | Pitman, NJ (Alcyon Speedway) |
| Date: | 1960's |
| Photographer: | George Frie |
| Photo provided by: | Russ Dodge |
| Comments: | Comment provided by Russ Dodge: This is a 1960, George Frie photo taken at Alcyon Speedway. Budd Olsen is in Busty Luzzo's # 98, Johnny Roberts in Roy "Tiny" Slayton's # 7 and Carl Van Horn in the powerful GMC powered # 659 of Tom Skinner. The maroon paint color on the # 98 was a departure from the traditional red which had always been used. Budd had driven the # 98's to the 1958 NASCAR Modified Championship. Ken Marriott, Budd Olsen, Glenn Guthrie and Johnny Roberts were NASCAR Modified Champs in order from 1957 and all were regulars at Alcyon Speedway. Thanks, Russ Dodge |
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| Date: | Visitor's Name: | Comment: |
| 05/27/03 | Jim Murrow | Johnny Roberts was the NASCAR National Sportsman Champion in 1953, and the NASCAR National Modified Champion in 1960, and 1961. Johnny was from Maryland, and a regular at Hagerstown, and sometimes Alcyon.during the '50s and '60s. He was also a regular at Georgetown, De Speedway in the early '60s, and was, as I recall, voted "Most Popular Driver" or "Most Handsome Driver", or something like that at Georgetown, around '61-''63. Legend has it that he drove his first ever race at Reading in 1949. The story goes that, while driving through Pennsylvania, with his wife, Doris, he saw a sign for a stock car race at Reading that night. He told his wife he was going to drive in that race, went to the track, found a car with no driver, talked his way into it, borrowed a helmet and finished 5th! Sounds pretty fishy to me, but, who knows? Maybe someone can give us more details about that. I was only 3 at the time. Thanks - Jim Murrow |
| 05/28/03 | Jim Murrow | You may notice the different appearance of the Busty Luzzo owned # 98 car in this picture. Until this car, the 98s were always red, with white fenders and numbers, like the one Budd won the championship with in 1958 which is pictured elsewhere in the Vault. Busty had decided to hang up the wrenches, and had sold the race cars. Later, when he had a heart attack, his sons decided to build him a new car and surprise him with it when he came home from the hospital. They called Budd Olsen, told him of the plan, and asked if he would drive it. He agreed. When Busty came home, this beautiful Modified was sitting in his garage, a surprise gift from his loving sons. They did take the liberty of painting the car white with maroon trim, however because they weren't too fond of the old red and white color scheme. |
| 05/28/03 | Jim Brewer | Can't verify the Johnny Roberts
legendary beginnings - - but I do have some additional info on him - - he drove to
Sportsman championships at Westport, Md from 1951 through 1954 seasons. During the 1960-61
Modified Championships Johnny raced all over the east coast NASCAR tracks including
Vineland, Alcyon, and Flemington. For 1960 Slayton fielded two '37 Ford sedans (a humpback
and flatback) as well as a '57 Ford for places like Daytona and other superspeedways. Part
way through 1961, Slayton dropped out of points chasing and Johnny finished the season
with Bud Walmsley from Virginia. Bud fielded a #69 coupe which Eddie Crouse drove to the
1962 and 1963 NASCAR Modified Championships. Beginning in 1962 Roberts began concentrating his racing efforts at Hagerstown, Lincoln, and Dorsey as well as Marlboro and Beltsville. After 1962 Johnny drove his own #7 cars as well as Reds Kagle's coupes and sedans which always carried #8. During the track opening at Beltsville in 1965 he drove the famous Don House XL-1. Unfortunately, Johnny was killed in a tragic accident in July 1965 while driving Rube McBee's red #1 coupe at Lincoln. I think Hagerstown still runs an annual Johnny Roberts Memorial race. Larry Jendras at The Vintage Racer (EMMR) is the guy to contact if you want to learn about Johnny. |
| 12/09/03 | Mike Tackett | I can remember by grandmother telling this exact same story about my grandfathers first race and yes, they do still run a memorial race at Hagerstown on 4th of July weekend in memory of him. Thank you for keeping the memory of my grandfather alive, he passed away before I was born, but I have learned so much about him from family, friends, and now sites like yours. |
| 10/15/07 | Richard C. Adams | My Uncle, Ed Adams, owned the #60 Sportsman driven by
Jimmy Smith in 1961. They ran the circuit in pursuit of the NASCAR Sportsman title. We often towed with Johnny and Tiny to tracks like Southside and Moyock (home base for us was Georgetown). I can remember the #7 breaking loose from the tow truck (we flat towed back then) and running off into a cow pasture on the way to Richmond. Also, the first night we ran Moyock, Tiny had to "intercede" for use to get our money. He always had a "persuader" in his pocket for those occasions. Not that he necessarily needed it since "Tiny" was a nickname that didn't tell the real story! Richard C. Adams 7142 Long Point Road Exmore, VA 23350 |