@dave-fulton11 years ago Rene Charland was one of the original "Eastern Bandits" (sometimes called "Yankee Bandits" ) led by " Steady Eddie" Flemke and including Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, Denny Zimmerman and Red Foote who came south to our Southside Speedway track in Richmond every Friday night for a couple of seasons in the early 60s from Connecticut and Massachusetts and gave our local modified and sportsman drivers a fit with their lighter weight cars. Our guys couldn't run with them until Flemke finally shared several weight and suspension secrets. With true southern hospitality, local Richmond car owner Junie Donlavey used to let the "Bandits" make his shop (where he prepared his #90 modifieds for Sonny Hutchins) their home base away from home while they ran 2-3 southern tracks a week for the easy pickings. We remember Rene Charland as one of those drivers who always was chomping on a fat cigar as in the undated photo below, photographer unknown. Dennis Zimmerman has written quite extensively on several other racing sites about the "Bandits" coming south every Friday night to Richmond and how much they loved racing in the south..
@dave-fulton11 years ago
From National Speed Sport News:Eastern Bandits Went South, Took The Money And RanBy Pete ZanardiEnding up on his roof was, racing-wise, the best thing that happened to Dennis Zimmerman. A tangle at Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Mass., with New England Modified legend Eddie Flemke actually resulted in Zimmerman going to the hospital.It was not Eddies fault, but for some reason he felt he owed me, says Zimmerman, who spent four or five years with Flemke, including the Eastern Bandit days. Although brief, it was a major chapter for New England racing in general and for Zimmerman, the 1971 Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year.The Eastern BanditsFlemke and Zimmerman were later joined by Rene Charland and Red Foote preyed on Southern competition for three years. They had big motors but, thanks to Eddie, we had lighter cars with superior handling, recalls Zimmerman.NASCAR coming to Norwood, Mass., in 1960 brought New England into the national scene and Flemke, with Zimmerman in tow, took advantage. There was more money in the South, always a motivator for Flemke.It all came together, Zimmerman recalls, on a weekend in 1961 when Flemke won back-to-back 100 lappers at Islip Speedway on New Yorks Long Island and at New Jerseys Old Bridge Stadium. Somebody from Southside Speedway in Richmond, Va., was there and Eddie got a deal from them, Zimmerman continues. He took me along.Working out of a garage owned by open-cockpit standout Bert Brooks in New Britain, Conn., Flemke and Zimmerman settled into a Thursday through Sunday routine Fort Dix, N.J.; Southside; Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va.; Marlboro, Md.; and Old Bridge, the latter two Sunday afternoon and evening, respectively.It was, Zimmerman points out, a perfect situation for Flemke. First of all, thats where the money was, he says. And they were short tracks where Eddie, a genius when it came to set up, excelled.Right from the start the Bandits, especially Flemke, settled in at Southside. Flemke was scoring everywhere, including Fredericksburg (Va.) Fairgrounds. Flemke won back-to-back Tobacco Bowls (New Years Eve or Day events) at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 1962, he had 17 wins at Manassas alone. Eleven came in succession. He won the Fort Dix title in 1963, capturing seven features.Charland, who was collecting national sportsman titles, Foote, especially apt in distance races, and Zimmerman were winning as well.
@jim-wilmore11 years ago
Dave, This is my observation and not necessarily factso, in my opinion...there isa lot to be said about the demise of modified racing in the deeper south and the rise of the modified perfection in the northeast where Virginia andPennsylvania/Marylandborder was the Mason-Dixie Line, so to speak. Asphalt was king with the modifieds in southern Virginiabut, the dirt modifieds had all but disappeared in the 1970's from NC/VA border down giving way to the steady following of NASCAR and the Late Model set up. Again, IMO it was no wonder the northeast drivers could head south and dominate due to their evolution of the Modified. It appears that Virginia and Maryland were consider "Southern completion" since there's not much talk of North Carolina-south when it comes to modified racing post-1969. Someone correct if I'm wrong. I've often wondered when did Modified racing lose traction in the southern states and when it re-emerged. From what I'm told here in Fayetteville, it was the early 1990's when modified racing was reintroduced in North Carolina.
@dave-fulton11 years ago
Jim... I wouldn't disagree with your observations. In my neck of the woods, NASCAR in the late 60s/very early 70s - to "promote fan identification" pushed hard to replace Modifieds at the NASCAR sanctioned weekly Virginia tracks I attended in Richmond (Southside), Hampton (Langley), Manassas(Old Dominion) and South Boston (South Boston) with the Late Model Sportsman Division, which then disappeared in 1982 and left weekly tracks in Virginia with the far less potent and less popular Late Model Stock Car class - but, it was never quite the same seeing those less powerful cars. In the heyday of the fuel injected NASCAR modifieds in Virginia from about 1963-1969, it was just an amazing site to see those massive blue flames pouring from the dump pipes and hear that special sound. Richmond was a modified hotbed then, with its famous 4-H Boys (Hendrick, Hutchins, Harris, Hairfield) as well as two-time national modified champ Eddie Crouse, Bill Dennis, Al Grinnan, Red Foote all calling the area home.
@dave-fulton11 years ago
I should add, Jim, that there was great NASCAR modified racing going on in Alabama at Birmingham and Huntsville in the mid to late 60s, also. Bobby and Donnie Allison were frequent Friday night visitors at Richmond hauling their mods up from Alabama for the big Richmond purses and staying at the home of Southside Speedway promoter, J.M. Wilkinson. Bobby Allison has the photo below of him standing next to his modified in the pits at Richmond's Southside Speedway posted on his web site:
@dave-fulton11 years ago
Jim, the Vintage Racer site has the results listed for all the big NASCAR Modfied-Sportsman races held annually on the big Trenton New Jersey track beginning in 1958. You'll see in the results from the mid to late 60s the race was dominated by modified cars from Virginia, many from Richmond. By 1971, the field included just two cars from Virginia (Ray Hendrick & Jimmy Hensley ) and 1 car from North Carolina. This link will show the results year by year: http://www.thevintageracer.com/tracks/trenton.htm
@jim-wilmore11 years ago
Dave, I was going to add that Georgia, Alabama, and Florida may have held on to the modified series a bit longerbut then again, there were a few drivers from Florida that would travel all the way to the Northeast and Virginiato race, Frankie Schneider being one.
@dave-fulton11 years ago
Jim, I went back and looked at one of my old NASCAR reference books that lists NASCAR Modified Points Standings Top-10 Year by Year. Throughout the 60s the standings were filled with southerners. You'll note as late as 1969, five of the top 10 in the NASCAR National Modified Points Standings were southerners - Perk Brown , Jimmy Hensley , Billy Hensley , Don Miller and Ray Hendrick . Two North Carolinians and three Virginians. In 1970, only Virginians Billy Hensley and Joe Thurman appeared in the top-10 representing the southern brigade. There were no southern drivers in 1971 or 1972. After 1972, only Paul Radford of Ferrum, Va. generated enough points to make multiple sporadic appearances in the top-10, along with Virginia's Satch Worley and North Carolina's Billy Middleton.. Lone appearances were scored by John Bryant in 1976 and Melvin Swisher in 1978. By 1980 there were no more southern names appearing in the top-10 National Modified standings.
Rene Charland was one of the original "Eastern Bandits" (sometimes called "Yankee Bandits" ) led by " Steady Eddie" Flemke and including Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, Denny Zimmerman and Red Foote who came south to our Southside Speedway track in Richmond every Friday night for a couple of seasons in the early 60s from Connecticut and Massachusetts and gave our local modified and sportsman drivers a fit with their lighter weight cars. Our guys couldn't run with them until Flemke finally shared several weight and suspension secrets. With true southern hospitality, local Richmond car owner Junie Donlavey used to let the "Bandits" make his shop (where he prepared his #90 modifieds for Sonny Hutchins) their home base away from home while they ran 2-3 southern tracks a week for the easy pickings. We remember Rene Charland as one of those drivers who always was chomping on a fat cigar as in the undated photo below, photographer unknown.
From National Speed Sport News:Eastern Bandits Went South, Took The Money And RanBy Pete ZanardiEnding up on his roof was, racing-wise, the best thing that happened to Dennis Zimmerman. A tangle at Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Mass., with New England Modified legend Eddie Flemke actually resulted in Zimmerman going to the hospital.It was not Eddies fault, but for some reason he felt he owed me, says Zimmerman, who spent four or five years with Flemke, including the Eastern Bandit days. Although brief, it was a major chapter for New England racing in general and for Zimmerman, the 1971 Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year.The Eastern Bandits Flemke and Zimmerman were later joined by Rene Charland and Red Foote preyed on Southern competition for three years. They had big motors but, thanks to Eddie, we had lighter cars with superior handling, recalls Zimmerman.NASCAR coming to Norwood, Mass., in 1960 brought New England into the national scene and Flemke, with Zimmerman in tow, took advantage. There was more money in the South, always a motivator for Flemke.It all came together, Zimmerman recalls, on a weekend in 1961 when Flemke won back-to-back 100 lappers at Islip Speedway on New Yorks Long Island and at New Jerseys Old Bridge Stadium. Somebody from Southside Speedway in Richmond, Va., was there and Eddie got a deal from them, Zimmerman continues. He took me along.Working out of a garage owned by open-cockpit standout Bert Brooks in New Britain, Conn., Flemke and Zimmerman settled into a Thursday through Sunday routine Fort Dix, N.J.; Southside; Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va.; Marlboro, Md.; and Old Bridge, the latter two Sunday afternoon and evening, respectively.It was, Zimmerman points out, a perfect situation for Flemke. First of all, thats where the money was, he says. And they were short tracks where Eddie, a genius when it came to set up, excelled.Right from the start the Bandits, especially Flemke, settled in at Southside. Flemke was scoring everywhere, including Fredericksburg (Va.) Fairgrounds. Flemke won back-to-back Tobacco Bowls (New Years Eve or Day events) at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 1962, he had 17 wins at Manassas alone. Eleven came in succession. He won the Fort Dix title in 1963, capturing seven features.Charland, who was collecting national sportsman titles, Foote, especially apt in distance races, and Zimmerman were winning as well.
Dave, This is my observation and not necessarily factso, in my opinion...there isa lot to be said about the demise of modified racing in the deeper south and the rise of the modified perfection in the northeast where Virginia andPennsylvania/Marylandborder was the Mason-Dixie Line, so to speak. Asphalt was king with the modifieds in southern Virginiabut, the dirt modifieds had all but disappeared in the 1970's from NC/VA border down giving way to the steady following of NASCAR and the Late Model set up. Again, IMO it was no wonder the northeast drivers could head south and dominate due to their evolution of the Modified. It appears that Virginia and Maryland were consider "Southern completion" since there's not much talk of North Carolina-south when it comes to modified racing post-1969. Someone correct if I'm wrong. I've often wondered when did Modified racing lose traction in the southern states and when it re-emerged. From what I'm told here in Fayetteville, it was the early 1990's when modified racing was reintroduced in North Carolina.
Jim... I wouldn't disagree with your observations. In my neck of the woods, NASCAR in the late 60s/very early 70s - to "promote fan identification" pushed hard to replace Modifieds at the NASCAR sanctioned weekly Virginia tracks I attended in Richmond (Southside), Hampton (Langley), Manassas(Old Dominion) and South Boston (South Boston) with the Late Model Sportsman Division, which then disappeared in 1982 and left weekly tracks in Virginia with the far less potent and less popular Late Model Stock Car class - but, it was never quite the same seeing those less powerful cars. In the heyday of the fuel injected NASCAR modifieds in Virginia from about 1963-1969, it was just an amazing site to see those massive blue flames pouring from the dump pipes and hear that special sound. Richmond was a modified hotbed then, with its famous 4-H Boys (Hendrick, Hutchins, Harris, Hairfield) as well as two-time national modified champ Eddie Crouse, Bill Dennis, Al Grinnan, Red Foote all calling the area home.
I should add, Jim, that there was great NASCAR modified racing going on in Alabama at Birmingham and Huntsville in the mid to late 60s, also. Bobby and Donnie Allison were frequent Friday night visitors at Richmond hauling their mods up from Alabama for the big Richmond purses and staying at the home of Southside Speedway promoter, J.M. Wilkinson. Bobby Allison has the photo below of him standing next to his modified in the pits at Richmond's Southside Speedway posted on his web site:
Jim, the Vintage Racer site has the results listed for all the big NASCAR Modfied-Sportsman races held annually on the big Trenton New Jersey track beginning in 1958. You'll see in the results from the mid to late 60s the race was dominated by modified cars from Virginia, many from Richmond. By 1971, the field included just two cars from Virginia (Ray Hendrick & Jimmy Hensley ) and 1 car from North Carolina. This link will show the results year by year: http://www.thevintageracer.com/tracks/trenton.htm
Dave, I was going to add that Georgia, Alabama, and Florida may have held on to the modified series a bit longerbut then again, there were a few drivers from Florida that would travel all the way to the Northeast and Virginiato race, Frankie Schneider being one.
Jim, I went back and looked at one of my old NASCAR reference books that lists NASCAR Modified Points Standings Top-10 Year by Year. Throughout the 60s the standings were filled with southerners. You'll note as late as 1969, five of the top 10 in the NASCAR National Modified Points Standings were southerners - Perk Brown , Jimmy Hensley , Billy Hensley , Don Miller and Ray Hendrick . Two North Carolinians and three Virginians. In 1970, only Virginians Billy Hensley and Joe Thurman appeared in the top-10 representing the southern brigade. There were no southern drivers in 1971 or 1972. After 1972, only Paul Radford of Ferrum, Va. generated enough points to make multiple sporadic appearances in the top-10, along with Virginia's Satch Worley and North Carolina's Billy Middleton.. Lone appearances were scored by John Bryant in 1976 and Melvin Swisher in 1978. By 1980 there were no more southern names appearing in the top-10 National Modified standings.