Where Are They Now?

[Doug Carter]

We have been talking here about a Dirt Oval Hall Of Fame, so to speak, to interview and honor some of the pioneers and trend-setters in the history and present of dirt oval racing, and it got me to thinking about what happened to a lot of the guys who were SO prominant in DO racing.


I'd really like to know what happened to Mike Walker of Twister fame, who bought all of the Premier dirt oval body line. What happened to the molds for those bodies, and what is Mike doing today?

Where is Neil McCurdy of Revtech? Is he still in the industry? Does he build motors at all?

What happened to drivers like Eric Soderquist, Curtis Strawn, Bob Light and some of the best drivers of the 80s?

What happened to Superior Racing Products, Raborn Technology, TrackMaster and Team Pit Stop?

Are Jerry and Brian Landgraff still connected with Custom Works in ANY way? Is Brian still racing at all?

Where is Andy Jacobsen, and can he pull any of his old bodies in small runs?





:cool:

[RCRACR20]

We have been talking here about a Dirt Oval Hall Of Fame, so to speak, to interview and honor some of the pioneers and trend-setters in the history and present of dirt oval racing, and it got me to thinking about what happened to a lot of the guys who were SO prominant in DO racing.


I'd really like to know what happened to Mike Walker of Twister fame, who bought all of the Premier dirt oval body line. What happened to the molds for those bodies, and what is Mike doing today?

Where is Neil McCurdy of Revtech? Is he still in the industry? Does he build motors at all?

What happened to drivers like Eric Soderquist, Curtis Strawn, Bob Light and some of the best drivers of the 80s?

What happened to Superior Racing Products, Raborn Technology, TrackMaster and Team Pit Stop?

Are Jerry and Brian Landgraff still connected with Custom Works in ANY way? Is Brian still racing at all?

Where is Andy Jacobsen, and can he pull any of his old bodies in small runs?





:cool:



Jacobsen was doing all of trinitys bodies a few years ago...whether or not he still does is another question

[Doug Carter]

Someone mentioned to me that Andy Jacobsen is working at Pegasus Hobbies right now...

[lawtonlosi]

Bob Light races at Competition RC of OKC weekly running mod brushless latemodels. Basically sedan with latemodel bodys and pirelli hpi tires.

[RATFINK55]

here is a very good nominee for the hall of fame! 1989... plus, is that not a kool paint job for back in the 80s!

[Rob Cutman]

Don't you love them 5 spoke wheel decals!

Neil McCurdy left Trinity a few years ago and went to work designing motors for Bosch Power tools (Dremel) in the Chicago area. He just recently left Bosch and moved to Mississippi but I am not sure what he is doing there.

Brian and Jerry Landgraff spend most of their time with their primary business now which is high end custom auto interiors. They do a lot of street rods and one off custom cars. As you would expect the quality and craftsmanship is top notch. Jerry and Brian are not directly involved with Custom Works anymore but they did design and produce the new "Eldora" Latemodel Body mold that we have been selling for several months. Brian still attends the US Open Wheel Champs every year primarily as a mechanic but will be making his return to the cockpit this year fielding a Nitro Latemodel and possibly a Nitro Sprint car.

Andy Jacobson does in fact work for pegasus hobbies in upland, CA. He is no longer doing bodies but when I spoke to him a few months ago he said he did still do some painting from time to time.

As far as any of the others, your guess is as good as mine!

Rob

[kipp]

brian just recently raced in cherryville nc at the fall classic. i remeber it well because me and him were battling for the transfer spot in the sprint b-main.

[reghammer]

I remember it too, for different reasons.......

[Brad Ferks]

[quote=Rob Cutman;152820]Don't you love them 5 spoke wheel decals!

Rob I happen to have a set of those exact wheel dots if you ever wanted to feel nostalgic and put a set on a car in a case somewhere.

BF

[Doug Carter]

I have a WHOLE box of them, in 12th scale too! :D I feel nostalgic a LOT.

http://www.apexspeed.com/doug/rc/srp-1/srp1_restoration_003.jpg

[Greg S]

I remember those days, hmmmmmm and just think we were running foams 20yrs ago.
clay tracks were smooth and hard as concrete and FAST

[Brad Ferks]

Doug, thats a nice looking SRP1 with the magnesium arms. Just from the battereis, motors and etc on that I'd guess its not a restoration project, but an old photo. Good stuff!

[Doug Carter]

I took that photo a few weeks ago. That car is a long-going project of mine. I need to paint the Premier wedge body and find a NOS 7-cell pack of Sanyos SCEs for it to be complete.

:D

[David Butts]

I took that photo a few weeks ago. That car is a long-going project of mine. I need to paint the Premier wedge body and find a NOS 7-cell pack of Sanyos SCEs for it to be complete.

:D


Does it need to be NOS or would a realitively new looking pack do? I have SCE 1700's and Panasonic's that other than the green(old copper)bars look pretty good.

I noticed too the old Losi RC/10 steering bellcranks, I have some just like them.

[Brad Ferks]

Nice restoration project. I'm impressed with the period correct SC and all the old twister motors.

[Doug Carter]

Thanks, it's been a project long in the making. The ESCs and motors are kind of another collecting obsession, too. I tend to pick up any old Twister, Revtech or Checkpoint motors when I find them. Especially NOS items. I've just tracked down some Delta body posts, and maybe another original Twister Stealth wedge, too.

Almost finished!



Speaking of SRP...
Anyone know what happened to Curtis Strawn?

[4wd#9Nick]

Ferks: I still have that SRP-1, that Greenly ran one weekend. Minty Mint. Looks like we are running Dominators this Friday. Going to have to dust mine off for a run. I'll let you know how it goes.

[RCThunder]

I did a video awhile back with some of my dirt oval days. Here it is:

http://www.snowbirdnationals.com/videos/Back_in_the_Day.wmv

[Doug Carter]

Mike, that's a great video, I've watched it before.

Makes me have flashbacks.






Word is that Mike Walker (Twister) is doing screenprinting somewhere in the Pomona, CA area. Don Campbell (Premier Designs) is doing slot car stuff and batteries under the name DCR. Apparently, Eric Soderquist ran Maxtec motors after leaving Twister. Not sure where he is now. Mike Ogle from the early days of RCCA worked at Associated for a few years and now owns Grand Motorsports, which he purchased from Roy Andersen.

[RCDriverER]

God I miss the days of 7cell Man Mod! that pic is AWESOME!

[Woody22]

RCTHUNDER ....love the vid man!

[Rubbaneck]

Sorry to bring back an "old" thread on my first post but...

Eric Soderquist was last seen here in Colorado. He was heavy into Mtn bikes the last I talked to him. ( been about 10 years ) I think he's into real estate the last I heard.

I miss the old days of r/c too guys... Eric made me so fast back in the day. My motors have never been the same.:tire:

[tommyc]

rc thunder, that was a kick a$$ vid... brings back some memories, i started in 1989, and now still going strong....:)

[ToddFalkowski]

I have a WHOLE box of them, in 12th scale too! :D I feel nostalgic a LOT.

http://www.apexspeed.com/doug/rc/srp-1/srp1_restoration_003.jpg (http://www.apexspeed.com/doug/rc/srp-1/srp1_restoration_003.jpg) Doug, is this the same car I rubbed fenders with at Moodys about 15 years ago? Think I still have the copy of RC Cars that had your paintjobs in the back.... Drop me a line sometime....

[Doug Carter]

Hey Todd, good to see you here. Yeah, it's been a LONG time.

That car is a replica of my original SRP-1. It's actually a car that Superior used in their trade show booths for a while. I found it under about an inch of dust in an Ohio hobby shop basement about 6 years ago, and have been whittling away at a perfect restoration.

I seem to playing more with the old stuff lately, without many track options in this area, to race anything.



You'd dig my Houge Trailing Arm RC10 (http://www.apexspeed.com/doug/rc/vintage/rc10_cardinal/) that I built from the ground-up to replicate the exact cars that Keith and I raced out at Joliet in the mid to late-80s. I just found a body, but it was kinda hacked up. There are only a few pieces remaining for that car...

[ToddFalkowski]

I seem to playing more with the old stuff lately, without many track options in this area, to race anything.

You'd dig my Houge Trailing Arm RC10 (http://www.apexspeed.com/doug/rc/vintage/rc10_cardinal/) that I built from the ground-up to replicate the exact cars that Keith and I raced out at Joliet in the mid to late-80s. I just found a body, but it was kinda hacked up. There are only a few pieces remaining for that car...

Sweet deal on the SRP... As far as tracks around you, I kinda noticed that everything's folding up- kinda bizarre!

That old RC10 is sweet- from the Litesink, the Schumacher pins, Andy's arms... Man, that's just cool!

I've been tinkering into the vintage stuff... One of these days I'm gonna build a replica of the old RC10 I ran in Peoria at the Stete Champs the one year for my dad- he still talks about that weekend and those huge trophies.... Naturally, I've been collecting old Revtech stuff......

[Doug Carter]

Yeah, the old Revtech stuff doesn't come around very often. When it does, it's mangled or "heavily used." There is starting to be a bit of a boom in the vintage stuff, and the prices are rising. It won't be as easy to find those special deals like it was 6 years ago in a real short period of time.

We're already starting to see some crazy prices on individual NOS U.S.-made parts in the RC10 world. :skull:

[SLIDER Racing]

Great pics of old car and that vid was cool!

I started out with a Hornet in '84 and then in '87 I bought a RC10 with a ton of hole already drilled in the chassis! That swiss cheese chassis is long gone but I still have the car with a graphite chassis and alot of old parts! Still have my DD Intimidator from when it 1st came out! I miss the old days!
I bought a used RC10GT a few weeks back and dusted off my old Futaba Attack that I used to race with! Its the only controler I have ever owned! People at the track tripped out when they were standing next to me with there Helios and I had a 22 year old radio!

[racerjmh]

Video was way cool. Loved to see the evolution of the cars and parts. We are just getting back in and already got Do flowin through our veins. And thank you Doug for the best site for DO on the web.

Jim