This photo is taken from a book that was put out in the early 1960's called the "Modified Sportsman Yearbook". Most of the photos in this book were taken at the Balboa Stadium in southern California...a "hot spot" for this type racing in the late 50's and into the 60's. It must have great being able to see these cars run in person...remember when you use to check HOT ROD magazine for stories on these cars when you were a kid? I do!
This Dave Parker photo is another Manzanita Speedway shot from the early 1960's. George Koch is in the #2 while on the outside is Will Schmink.
This is an unidentified driver, posing with his car...this photo is from the neighboring state of Arizona. Some believe that these modifieds actually got their start in Arizona in the late 1950's and then found their way to California.
This is a car driven by Hank Arnold...it featured a "blown" motor under the hood. It was known as the "Twister". This bright red car with chrome everywhere was raced at tracks in the Arizona area in the 1960's...today, the car has been restored and I believe it may be in the Knoxville museum. I had this driver mididentified earlier...This is Hank Arnold.
Another west coast car builder was Hank Henry. Hank was building some great looking west coast super modifieds in the late 50's and early 60's. He was also racing these cars and soon was a top CRA (California Racing Assoc.) sprint car racer. The CRA was the premier west coast sprint car club at the time, racing mostly at the Ascot Speedway with winter time visits to Hank's native Arizona. Over a span of just a few years, Hank Henry built many of the supermods and a hand full of very popular sprint cars...Hank Henry was killed at Ascot Speedway in the middle 1960's in a sprint car accident ending what surely would have been a "hall of fame" career.
One of the first ever "store bought" race cars was built by the CAE (Culbert Automotive Engineering) firm in southern California in the early 1960's. Jim Culbert built not only the cars and car kits for sale but he also built the running gear that went in the cars like the gear boxes and rear ends.
Jim and Don Edmunds, another car builder of much fame and also from the southern California area, had a corner on the market for a few years until others "jumped on the bandwagon". Now days, you can't find anyone who's not running a "store bought" car. This car pictured is probably the one that started it all...Jim's first CAE super modified.
Jim shipped parts, cars and car kits all over the world for a few years...now, very much a collectors item are the CAE sprint cars that came from the Culbert shops.
Jim Culbert not only provided many racers with race cars, but he made himself a place in the racing history books as well.