Bill Stroppe Remembrance

my dad red duvall bought one of bills car from a race in iowa after a race jerry unser drove the car.

Was that the blue #92 sedan?

ill dig a picture outi think the number is 92 but the pic is black and white

Bill Stroppe never showed the domination in Nascar that his cars did racing in the USAC, Off-Road circuits and Pikes Pike, but they were always competitive with great drivers like Darel Dieringer, Parnelli Jones, Roger Ward, and Troy Ruttman to name a few. Enjoy the photos and the memories from another era.

The USAC stock car Champion Parnelli Jones and his Bill Stroppe Mercury Marauder

Parnelli Jones and his Bill Stroppe Mercury winning on”the Hill” Pikes Peak in 1964.

Bill Stroppe built this specially modified Mercury for the flying mile run at Daytona in 1957. The car hit 159+ mph on the North bound run.

Another of the Stroppe Mercury Marauder’s at Daytona in 1964. This one was driven by Darel Dieringer. Dieringer gave Stroppe a big win in 1963 at Riverside Califonia driving the Mercury.

Tim Flock wins in the rain at Elkhart Lake on the 4.1 mile road course in a Stroppe Mercury

Fonty Flock ran up front in the 1956 Southern 500 with his Stroppe Monterey, but was side-lined with a broken spindle

Ray Swift drove this Bill Stroppe creation at the Baja off-road race…yes, it’s an Edsel!

The Stroppe/Swift Edsel in action at the Baja

my 1/24th scale model of the Stroppe Baja Edsel

This is the 1963 Mercury Marauder built by Bill Stroppe for Parnelli Jones to drive in USAC and selected NASCAR events that year.

A 1/18th scale diecast model of the Bill Stroppe/Parnelli Jones Mercury Marauder. Jones won the USAC stock car Championship in 1964 and 1965 driving Stroppe equipment.

Jim Paschal #17, and Billy Myers #14, battle at Hillsboro’s Orange Speedway in race number 7 of the 1957 race season. Both of the Stroppe prepared cars fell victim engine failure in the event

Parnelli Jones won the Riverside race for Bill Stroppe in 1967 with a Ford Fairlane

Great pictures Bill. I wasn’t aware of the Edsel.Pete

Dave MacDonald in a Stroppe Mercury Marauder at Riverside in 1964. Dave drove this car in 5 starts during the season and had 1 top five and three top ten finishes

My dad, Billy Myers finished second to Tim in that race. 1 – 2 for Stroppe.

One of the last Stroppe NASCAR stock cars was this 1968 Ford Fairlane driven by Parnelli Jones. Running with the leaders all day, Jones led 6 times for a total of 36 laps at the Riverside race finishing 3rd.

The Carrera PanAmericana Mexican Road Race was a premire event in the early 1950’s. Bill Stroppe won the event 3 times driving a Lincoln Capri. The Stroppe prepared cars also tackled the tough Beach-Road course at Daytona, as shown in this picture.

David Pearson leads Parnelli Jones, and eventual race winner Dan Gurney at Riverside in 1968

The Bill Stroppe crew goes to work in a quick pit stop to get Parnelli Jones back on track.

Tim Flock prepares to qualify on the sands of Daytona for the 1957 Beach-Road Grand National race

. Fonty Flock finished third in his Stroppe Mercury, while Tim finished 12th after starting 10th for the 160 mile event

Great shots, Bill! Some I had never seen before. Love that Edsel.Bill Stroppe actually fielded an entry in the NASCAR Super Truck series into the 1990s, 96 at least.

Not the best picture, but a rare one indeed, Billy Myers leads during the early stages of the 160 mile Convertible event at Daytona in 1957 with a Stroppe prepared Mercury Monterey. Myers had to settle for third after a long pit stop to flush out the radiator

A line-up of Stroppe Mercury Monterey’s ready to qualify on the Beach at Daytona for the Grand National race in 1957. #15 Tim Flock, #14 Billy Myers, #18 Fonty Flock, and #17 Jim Paschal.

Indy 500 winner takes a turn behind the wheel of a 1957 Stoppe prepared Mercury at the Milwaukee Mile.

Fonty Flock shakes down a new Stroppe ’56 Mercury at Darlington in prepa

ration of the Southern 500 of that year.

A terrific 1984 book in my collection:

Parnelli Jones clinched the 1964 USAC Stock car title in this Bill Stroppe Mercury at Hanford, California on November 29, 1964: