I'm spending a wet, pre-season weekend, putting together this new blog. (I've decided to separate my racing photography from my documentary photography and writings about photo history.) It's been a chance to go back through my files and find highlights from last year.
Without a doubt, the wackiest car that I saw last year, was Dodo Brockman's ex-Nascar Mustang II Superspeedway Modified. Oddly (very oddly) enough, Dodo was taking part in the Vintage Racer Group's annual Turkey Bowl, at Summit Point Motorsports Park.
Dodo Brockman flying down the main straightaway at Summit Point Motorsports Park, in his Superspeedway Modified Mustang II, during the Turkey Bowl, 28 November 2009. (Photo copyright John Edwin Mason, 2009. Click directly on the photo to see a larger version.)
Light, absurdly overpowered, swoopy Superspeedway Modifieds like Dodo's flourished briefly during the 1970s. They were designed specifically to allow Modified drivers, who usually raced on short tracks, to experience superspeedways, such as Daytona and Talledega.
The best of the cars were blazingly fast. Faster, in fact than the Cup cars in Nascar's premiere class. That was way too fast for Nascar's suits, who rewrote the rule book and legislated Superspeedway Modifieds out of existence.
I told this curiously twisted tale, last year, on my main website, when I first wrote about Dodo and his Mustang. You can read what I had to say about the Modifieds' demise and the restoration of Dodo's car, plus see additional photos, here.
By the way, even though this Mustang was built for high-speed oval tracks, it looked pretty composed on Summit Point's road course.
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