The Sporting Scene

Like atomic warfare, jalopy racing is a pursuit in which non-combatants are more likely to get bumped off than those individuals fortunate enough to have an active part in the enterprise.

That, at least, is the observation of Robert A. Dennison '50 after a season spent piloting jalopies around a West Peabody track. However, it isn't what induced him to take up jalopies as a pastime. He started going to the races during the summer but found it was getting too expensive to pay his way into the track several nights a week; so Dennison picked up a cheap 1940 two-door Ford sedan, three mechanics, a membership in the National Jalopy Racing Association, and became an insured driver instead of a daring spectator.

Flying tires, more than anything else, account for the injuries to onlookers and mechanics. When wheel and all takes off and soars 30 or 40 feet through the air, it can be fairly dangerous for those who happen to be within range.

As for the drivers, they are rather well off. They turn over every once in a while and suffer an occasional broken rib, but the injury rate is definitely lower for them than it is for the customers. All a driver's protection comes from two pipe braces, which criss-cross over the driver's head and keep the roof from caving in when a car overturns. Except for the windshield, there is no glass in the form of windows or headlights which might shatter in case of collision. The driver is equipped with an aviation-type safety belt and a football headgear or crash helmet.

Jalopy racing is not to be confused with stock car racing. The chief difference between them is that in stock car competition a driver can "soup up" his engine or install a racing engine, while the jalopy man man can only make sure that his engine is in perfect working order. Most of the cars are Ford Coupes; 1940 is the latest model permitted and they go all the way down to around '36.

Jalopies are just old cars that have been stripped down to attain a maximum of speed and safety and have been given a thorough engine job. Both front and rear fenders are pared off. Outsize tires on the right side are allowed to help the driver negotiate turns. The cars take a terrific beating but the fact that they seldom have to quit a race seems to indicate how substantially they were built originally and how well they are taken care of.

Dennison attributes the rise of the jalopy star to the informal atmosphere of the track and the increased number of accidents resulting from bigger and more cars and the fact that all the drivers are amatures. There are a few turnovers every evening, but since they hardly ever involve serious injury and since most of the spectators know at least one of the drivers it makes good entertainment.

Jalopies travel in second gear all the way because there is no pickup in third. They hit 45 to 50 miles an hour on a quarter mile tar track. Each driver has his own favorite technique, depending on his ability and his car.