d09.30.07_044_UNK_LAN_0064

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Date:	Visitor's Name:	Comment:
10/01/07	rac43er	This car was sponsored by Handcheck (sp) & Lerch a small dealer in Miller Heights, Bethlehem, Pa. I went to elementary school in that area and remember driving by on the school bus and seeing the car parked there sometimes. I believe that Al Tasnady did drive the car at some time, but can not remember when. Sure wish we could go back and watch it run again.
10/01/07	Russ Dodge	The 44 coupe pictured was sponsored by Hanchick and Lerch used cars, Sterling Lerch as owner. The first Lerch 44 was purchased from Neal Williams from Vineland, N.J. (1960) and driven by Al Tasnady. Al left the ride in 1962, coming out in the Big Donkey, 707 in 1963. I recall Jackie McLaughlin was in the car for the Langhorne weekend when this picture was taken. Please add corrections if I'm off base. Thanks, Russ Dodge
10/01/07	Rich Reinhart	It`s the Hanchick and Lerch 44. Dont know for sure who drove it then
10/01/07	3-Wide	I think I remember Bobby Pickell telling me stories about running a Lerch car, but I thought it was a sedan???
10/01/07	John Shipley	I looked up the entry list for #44 and no one had a ford coupe with that number. It does look like a Neal Williams paint job and numbers. I bet Russ Dodge will know the answer to who was in the car that day and whose car it was. What did the Hinchik 44 that Tas run look like? I have never seen or heard of it except in a pic in the 60's section? The remark was that Tas was in that car right after the Williams 44 and the number on the Williams car is painted different then the car in the photo. I thought that maybe that was the car as Tas was not a pre entry in any car in 64, but was a guaranteed starter.
10/02/07	Roy	Hey 3Wide! Thanks for sharing this one, Bill Broenelle, it is near and dear to my heart. Now I can chime in here on this pic, as I live just two blocks away from Sterling Lerch, he is still kicking, and I heard many stories from him and the guys at the garage, and I do remember the Bob Pickell story quite well, and it was the Sedan they refer to when that story is told. H&L had a lot of Red #44 cars, at least one, if not two, old Ford sedans, and as this shot is of a Ford, I also know they raced a '37 Chevy in Red with the #44 on it as well, as a sportsman at Nazareth about 1965 or so, that car (what was left of it) was re-done by Bruce Craig and Jim "Pappy" Wollman, of P-Burg NJ, and is now owned by a guy up in Wilkes-Barre, I know, I drove up there to photograph it, took 200 shots with my digital camera, only to lose all the images when I got home to download them, boo hoo! I talked to John Hanchick Jr. in July, and he says there still may be an old coupe body in "storage" somewheres......If I were a bettin' man, I would say that the guy standing to the right of the car with his arms crossed is none other than Sterling Lerch himself, kinda looks like him, with his "big" frame and thinning hair! If he would have a cigar, then I would say for sure it is him! I also bet that Bobby Yurko has some insight to this as well, and may even have some pics to boot, after all, he lived two blocks away from the H&L garage! ('comn Bobby, get out that old album...)
10/02/07	Jim Brewer	I can add a little more confusion to the mix on the #44 coupe. I have attached a copy of a Lloyd King photo dated October 1964 that shows Toby Tobias at the wheel. The car certainly looks like the Hanchick & Lerch paint scheme. I bought the photo years ago from Mr. King, probably at his concession stand at Williams Grove. Anyway, I pulled out the 1964 Langhorne program and sure enough. There is Toby listed as a guaranteed starter in the Sterling Lerch #44 1937 Chevy coupe powered by a 1960 Pontiac. The car in your pic is a 37 Ford so it is either a different year than 1964 or maybe Toby's back up for that race. Sometimes this stuff is really hard to track down unless you get a participant involved in the discussion. Hope this helps?? Best Regards - Jim Brewer
10/02/07	Steve Kresge	I think there was a sedan but I'm not positive. But in the later years I do remember Johnny Hanchick running the 44 at Nazareth.
10/03/07	Larry Jendras Jr.	This one really had me puzzled. At first glance, I thought the Firestones were asphalt tires and this shot would be from 1965. But in digging through some photos, I have a King's Racing photo of Jackie McLaughlin standing next to this #44. So I checked the 1963 Langhorne program and indeed he is listed in the Official Entry List as driving the Sterling Lerch #44 1937 Ford with a 1963 Ford engine. He qualified and went on to a 21st place finish. That is impressive since there were 217 entries in 1963 with 179 taking time trials.
10/03/07	Ned Stites III	I think the 1937 Ford Coupe in this photo was driven by Jackie McLaughlin. Tas drove this same car at Langhorne in primer gray. The original Williams car (a sedan) purchased by Stirling Lerch was driven by Tas and later sold to Joey Bradley and painted yellow with a red number 4. The 1937 Ford Humpback sedan was driven by Tas and later demolished at Flemington with McLaughlin driving. A new slantback sedan was built and I saw Bob Pickell driving that. There was also a 57 or 58 Ford, white with red numbers, late model for Daytona. The 1937Chevy was the last car I can remember.
10/04/07	Russ Dodge	It's really been a lot of fun reading the discussions on the Hanchick and Lerch 37 Ford coupe at Langhone. One thing that may have been overlooked in the discussion that Jackie McLaughlin left us before October of 1964.
10/04/07	Roy Schreffler	Here's one for Ned Stites III. About 5 or 6 years ago, I received some emails from Sterling Lerch's grandson, Keith Huff, and he provided me a scan of some pics he owns that he got from his grandpa Sterling, showing that ford, the one is of it inside the H&L garage, on Freemansburg Ave, Bethlehem Township, PA, so here they are, enjoy!
10/20/07	Ned Stites III	No photographer name on it, but I've had this one for a while. This is Jackie McLaughlin 1963 (note: the hood position is different and there are no big collectors for the exhaust). Tell Roy I like that Daytona Ford. Ned Stites III
03.10.19	Chris Hoff	My pop pops & Johns car! Hanchick and Sterling Lerch # 44. Two troopers with an awesome driver. A . TAZ. Bless all !
07.01.22	Jeff S	I now own this car.. Can anyone help me with it?

Photo ID #	d09.30.07_044_UNK_LAN_0064_1
Car #:	#44
Driver (s) :	not sure...
Location:	Langhorne
Date:	1964
Photographer:	Bill Broenelle
Photo provided by:	Bill Broenelle
Comments:	Comment from Bill: Number 44 at Langhorne. I think the year is 1964. I know Taz drove a red 44 but I don't think this is the car, at least not at this race, because I have pictures of him in the 327 on the same roll of film. The picture is not real clear but it looks like the car was sponsored by a car dealer in Bethlehem Pa.