| Photo ID # | c12.01.06__001_TAY_FLM_0078_1 |
| Car #: | #1 |
| Driver (s) : | Lee Taylor |
| Location: | Flemington |
| Date: | 1978 |
| Photographer: | John Mosher |
| Photo provided by: | John Mosher |
| Comments: | Wally
Marks' cars never won "Best of Show", but as understudies Ray Neary and Fred
Menschner refer to him, "Marksy" had his own way of doing things. While I don't think this car won any features, it is a very important car in the history of short track racing. This was probably the last car built by Wally Marks. Wally owned cars dating back to the 40's and could usually be identified by the uniquely shaped gold #1 as seen above. Wally Campbell drove one of Marks' cars to the National Championship in the early 50's. Special mention has to go out to Ray Neary, who out of repect for the things that Wally taught him, found this actual car about 15 years ago and totally restored it. The old #1 can now be found on occasion sliding sideways and turning left on the vintage circuit. Ray hasn't had a chance to get the car out on the track recently but from what we hear, through a lot of hard work, Ray's got the old #1 ready to go once again. Seems that many driver's took a turn behind the wheel of Wally's #1 over those 4 or 5 decades. While he was involved with the #1 driven by Frank Cozze in the early 80's, we believe that particular car was owned by the DeBlasio Bros with Wally either helping out on the motor or on setup. (That car was later renumbered to #5 with Billy Pauch then taking the wheel). According the provider of the photo (John Mosher) it's Lee or Taylor behind the wheel in this picture, but we also know that Bill Beasely, Red Coffin and Billy Pauch all drove this car on at least a few occasions too. There's not too many pictures of this car and of Wally's coupe (probably because they were usually a little rough looking to most fans), so this one is really special. Thanks to Vault contributor John Mosher for sharing this gem. |
| Visitor's Comments | To add your comments about THIS PHOTO - Click Here | |
| Date: | Visitor's Name: | Comment: |
| 12/03/06 | Jeff McClung | I remember this car fondly, his cars were unique. I always wondered about one aspect of this car though. Along the upper roll cage there is a real thin tubing that runs just under the main cage from front to back. Wonder if anyone out there knows what it was for? |
| 12/03/06 | 3Wide | I'll see if it was still in place when Ray got the car Jeff and see if he can fill us in. |
| 12.13.12 | Joe Gercie |
Wasn't this the car that Taylor used to drive one handed at Flemington? |
| 12.13.12 | 3WIde | I remember Larry driving the X15 Buick Apollo one handed and
maybe Lee or Larry driving the #1 Wally Marks Coupe one handed. I
wouldn't be surprised if they didn't drive this one one handed also.
On another note, add Frank Cozze to the list of drivers that also drove at least one night for Wally Marks. Pretty sure it was this car. |
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