| Photo ID # | 12.25.02_305_DeG_MID_0075_1 |
| Car #: | 305 |
| Driver (s) : | Fred DeGroot |
| Location: | Middletown, NY |
| Date: | 1975 |
| Photographer: | Dave Spurlin |
| Photo provided by: | Dave Spurlin |
| Comments: | This picture is provided by Vault visitor "Dave", who had his Kodak Instamatic with him that night in Middletown, NY. Fred DeGroot was always a favorite of mine, beginning with a real long Falcon bodied #305 Sportsman that he ran at East Windsor in the early 70's. I can remember racing bicycles with my friend and pretending to be the #305! Looking closely at this picture, I am hopeful that most of the fire was behind the car rather than directly under it. I don't like to post pictures of wrecks, especially when I am not sure if the driver was ok or not. Fred was one of my favorites. |
| Visitor's Comments | To add your comments about THIS PHOTO - Click Here | |
| Date: | Visitor's Name: | Comment: |
| 12/25/02 | Dave S | Here's a picture I took of Fred Degroot #705 on fire in the pits during the Eastern States Race in Middletown with an instamatic camera from the stands. I'm guessing 1975. |
| 12/26/02 | Dave Spurlin | Fred DeGroot wasn't injured. From what I remember, he pulled in the pits and they were working on it and somebody's exhaust started the fire. I can't remember if it was his or not. I remember everybody running like rats off a ship that's for sure! |
| 12/30/02 | John Mc | I was @ that Eastern States w/ my dad & a friend of mine and ended up helping Fred, and we were right in the middle of that fire! Fred came in for fuel and we found the fuel tank leaking badly. Before we could get the car out of the way (puddles of gas were EVERYWHERE!), along came Rags Carter and went right through it w/ the exhaust shooting flames out! We were directing everyone around the car where the gas wasn't, but Rags never saw us. I was about 15 or 16 at the time, I remember it scaring the hell outta me! They got it out pretty quickly, though. Thx, JMc |
| 12/31/02 | Dave S | You know when I sent this roll of film off to be developed... I was so excited to see how this picture turned out! Then they didn't even develop it! They thought it was a bad picture! Boy, were they wrong! I was upset! Now I'm really glad I took it. It's great to be able to show it to someone after all of these years who was actually there in it! Now I can actually remember seeing that car coming with the flames and knowing what was about to happen...! |
| 01/27/04 | John Armbruster | This is one of my most vivid Eastern States memories, I was in the first turn grandstands directly across form the car...even though I was only 10, I can still remember my dad pointing out the puddle of gas, and saying how he hoped no one's exhaust would hit ti on the pit stops...And if this photo is by the same Dave Spurlin who used to drive the #42 coupe at Flemington, I doubt you'll remember me, but I was the kid who used to hang out with Bob Fisher drawing pictures... |
| 01/27/04 | 3-Wide | Yup, it's the same Dave Spurlin- |
| 06/30/05 | Gary Van Cleef | Fred caught fire in the third turn at East Windsor driving the 305. I think that was the end of his racing. He took up fishing after that fire! |
| 06/30/05 | 3-Wide | I guess that was not too long after this fire at
Middletown Gary??? Fred had a real long Falcon that I thought was one of the coolest cars to run at EWS during the late 60's or very early... and I mean real early... 70's. |
| 01/25/06 | Alan Carter Jr. | I remember this fire. It was Eastern States. We were
pitted about in the middle of the infield and Fred was down towards the first turn. Everyone started making pit stops about the same time. We were fueling the car also felt like it took forever, when done dad headed towards the first turn where you got back on the track. He had no idea Fred's car was leaking fuel and lighting was bad back in those days in the infield. He didn't even know what had happened till we broke the throttle linkage and had to park the car. What upset him most was after we loaded the car Fred and some of his crew came down yelling at him like he had done it on purpose he tried to explain he never saw what was happening in their pit. I think a couple weeks later they talked and they both realized it was just an accident. |
| 07.05.12 | Jack Burroughs |
I was there in the pits when that happened, I was about as close as you could be without getting burned myself, Fred was one of my favorites too. Bill Wilson had a similar experience a few yrs. later, almost next to us. |