Local Driver Earned High Marks!

Looking at photos of the Maul Brothers' 111 on the message board sent me into my Vineland Speedway photos for this picture of Jimmy Marks. Along with reflecting on the Maul's, Jim Marks should not be overlooked for his accomplishments as a South Jersey "local driver".

The May 6, 1955 program booklet from Vineland included this information on the 8 car pictured. "Owned by the Maul Brothers Machine Shop, of Millville, the car is valued at close to $3,000. Its engine was built by Davis' Garage in Shiloh, (N.J.)and has three carburetors and a 12 volt ignition system. It averages about two miles per gallon on the straight alcohol or methanol that Jimmy uses"!

Reading this write-up leads one to in vision the Mauls as owning a garage with an over head door, housing a lathe, drill press and maybe a milling machine. Not! Racing was their hobby and their cars usually the involved of a South Jersey accomplished driver and mechanic Lew Mood. Maul Brothers Inc. were the producers of specialized machinery and equipment used in the glass (bottle) industry and conducted business worldwide! In a era prior to electronic communication, they had their own plane for travel for corporate meetings.

As car owners they became "front page" status when Jackie McLaughlin started driving their #111, 1937 Ford coach early in the 1960 season. The car built for the Mauls by Neal Williams, of Tasnady 44 fame, was powered by motors built by Reading motor ace, Joe Wolfe. Their success continued when Budd Olsen replaced Jackie, at the request of Lew Mood, who was then chief mechanic on the car.

Jimmy Marks was 28 years old when this photo was taken at the half mile Cumberland County oval in Vineland. He started racing stock car about six years before this picture. He got the racing "bug" early when he won a victory in a Soap Box Derby in his hometown of Bridgeton, N.J., a win that would send him to the famed National race in Akron, Ohio. He graduated from the soap boxes to Jack Kochman's Hell Drivers (operating out of Paterson) and took his first crack at stock car racing in 1949. His first ride was in a 1937 Hudson at Palmyra, N.Y., where he finished fourth. Marks was a member of the Interstate Stock Car Racing Association since its inception in 1953. Although he wasn't a frequent visitor to the winner's circle in feature races, he piled up quite a few seconds and thirds and finished 9th in points in the 1954 season.

As a side note on Jimmy, when Joe Pustizzi and his associates brought out the famous Case 300 in 1956, Jim was the first driver given the ride. On his second appearance at Nazareth Speedway on May 13, 1956, he won the feature. I believe this to be one of Jim's highest achievements. Regardless of that success, the 300 team replaced Jim with Jackie McLaughlin. The Case 300, named that because the main sponsor was a Case tractor dealer (the car was painted case tractor colors cream / orange) took home the 1956-57 point championships at Flemington with Jackie McLaughlin driving.

To my knowledge Jimmy dropped out of racing when Vineland Speedway went asphalt for the opening of the 1958 season. He was one of the many local racers who had the talent to be successful in the sport we share.

Senior Moment By Russ Dodge

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