f11.08.09_009_TAS_ALC_0054S

Photo ID #	f11.08.09_009_TAS_ALC_0054S_1
Car #:	#9
Driver (s) :	Al Tasnady
Location:	Alcyon Speedway
Date:	May 7, 1954
Photographer:	Walter Chernokal
Photo provided by:	Russ Dodge with support information from Historian Bill Skinner
Comments:	Senior Moment From Russ Dodge: Great Expectation Not Worth The "Weight"! A decade had pasted since the end of the war and the growth of stock car racing was on the climb. By 1954 some car owners were gaining respect for the cars they were fielding. One of these gentlemen was Walter Atwood, from Metuchen, N.J. and his number 9 cars. Pete Frazee was one of his drivers that established respect driving for the Atwood team. As the opening of Alcyon Speedway in Pitman, N.J., which was gaining respect as "the" 1/2 mile dirt track offering the most prestigious wins of available approached, a "buzz" was being made of the Atwood 9 coming to town with the uprising star Al Tasnady , as driver. The word was the car was fast and light, with high expectations for the new season. The season opened on April 30th, but the new team wasn't ready so Al drove for his former car owner Lucky Jordan and finished second to Jackie McLaughlin, who was starting with a new team driving the 69 car. On May 7th, Al was in the Atwood 9. The photos show the results of a first turn mishap. The second photo shows Al (in the checkered shirt) discussing the mishap. Note the size and the amount of roll bars this car had. There is no question about the car being light for its day! The following week Al was back in the Jordan Deuce for the remainder of the 1954 season. Opening night would be Jackie's only feature for the season. Freddy Fehr would get the point championship be winning 8 features. Al, won his fourth feature of the season on the last night of the season , but it is noted that was his ninth show in a row he had won or finished second! A later Alcyon program book quotes Walter Atwood as saying, "boy, they really fly around here" Senior Moment By Russ Dodge Thanks to Bill Skinner for great records

Visitor's Comments		To add your comments about THIS PHOTO - Click Here
Date:	Visitor's Name:	Comment:
11.10.09	Steve Elias	I hope every one will notice the tires that we ran in the old days, regular road tires. I always wonder what different speeds we would have run if we had the tires of today.
11.10.09	3Wide	That had to be the limiting factor back then... Steve, do you remember the first time somebody showed up with wider tires? I'm wondering if it was a gradual thing, or if they went from what you see above to wide ones all at once. Also wondering if "wide tires" from another application (tractors, sod farms???) might have been tried at first before an actual racing tire was manufactured.