Auto racing often fits the old Wide World of Sports slogan "The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat". In October of 1964 Neil Haight and car owner Moe Harden surely had that feeling.

Neil and Moe were both regulars of the Central Pa. circuit of Williams Grove, Lincoln and Susquehanna Speedways. Neil of Sykesville, Md. normally drove the #88 Ford powered "bug" of Bud Grimm while Moe of Pikesville, Md. drove his own #00 Mopar powered coupe still referred to as a "heavy". Not being able to use the #88 bug at Langhorne, he teamed with Moe and the #00.

Moes's coupe was altered more than most of the coupes at Reading or Nazareth. He cut the trunk area and angled in down behind the rear window to give the 37 Chevy coupe a short look. It had no fenders except 2 remnants of the front fenders cut and mounted behind the front wheels. They were also drilled to lighten and let the air through. I was knocked out the first time I saw this car at Williams Grove and Moe won his heat that day to show how competitive this car was against the bugs.

In what would be the last Race of Champions on dirt, over 200 cars showed up. Just qualifying for the 60 starting positions would be a task. Neil had a nice lap of 37.347 seconds which gave him 24th starting position. As the race progressed, Neil was in the thick of a 4 car battle for the lead. Ken Shoemaker, Neil, Freddie Adam and Bill Wimble fought hard for the win until lap 91 when a suspension part ended Neil's bid for his biggest win and sent the #60 flying into the woods.

Neil was taken to the Hospital with cuts on his face. As you see from the photos at Moe's garage, the car was a lot worse off.

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