PA Hillclimb

Ron Mann wrote:another UN-ID'ed driver/hill....NASTY! photo from Al Knepper collection (as well as Beetle above)

Note Novice stripes & car number!

Ok....got some scoop on this scene. Al has confirmed this was a Duryea event. PHA Veteran Jeff Whitmoyer also contacted me with some more info:

"As I recall, the driver crossed the finish line, locked the brakes and played ping pong between the walls. It was his first hillclimb, the car was borrowed, owned by someone from NYC. I think the driver was a Dr., who diagnosed his leg as broken while they were trying to extract him. All things considered he was damned lucky to come out of that one at all. The engine was moved backwards and the roll bar badly deformed."

Digging into the files I was able to determine that the driver was Jan T. Hyde of Brooklyn, New York.

What was the year Ron?

oops...sorry...forgot that. 1977

Jan Hyde (the crashed VW driver) is an acquaintance of more than 40 years. He gave me what was perhaps the most memorable advice re: racing: "Do not hill climb. It isn't IF you crash, but WHEN you crash. You'll ruin your car and hurt your body. Besides you get more seat time on a track." (Hah, bet he never got 4 hours seat time in his car -- all but 8 minutes in the start line.)

Now I know from whence that cogent advice came. BTW Jan was (and is) an accomplished road racer.

Bob D

Actually Bob...Jan's wreck would be the 911 Corvette.

Ron,

This smells of deja vu, wasn't there an article on this Vette driver in the New York Times that mentioned that he was a Doctor from New York who crashed his Vette driving in his first hillclimb. Later, he became some super doctor and that is why the Times wrote about him and it mentioned he became a good road racer.

RIch

I agree....There was an article somewhere....I'll have to see if I kept it.

George Bowland had a nasty one at Chimney Rock...ouch!

This guy (I'll have to seek out his name) ran one of the early Hershey Hill Climbs...almost made the finish.

Wow, those last two were "stiff-one's"!
What year was George's incident? Gosh, he was lucky.

*Not racing this wkd, but still appreciate the latest hillclimb news as usual, thx!
Have a good Holiday!

Also, when's that "Hillclimbing book" coming out, Ron?
SOLD here; and waiting patiently. Your's truly...

I think George should tell the story of his encounter...indeed a scary one!

There is a time when all your mistakes come together. Two roots blowers, one on top of the other and only one prior event. Big surge problem when shifting from first to second. Damp patches (new in 1990) on the left side of the road about 80 feet from the start. Seven years of losing to John Finger, and Mike Green. Removed top flaps from big center wing for the first time.

With so many mistakes, its a wonder I only spent a week in the hospital. Todd and I rebuilt the thing (with only one blower) as soon as my ribs were healed up (and my ears stopped ringing) and that was about three months after the tree jumped out at me. He went on to win the National Solo II title that year,and I was happy to finish second.

Lessons often take on a wicked dimension of their own, and I certainly had one that day. I believe if you asked Bob Oswald Jr. and Rich Rock about their classroom experience at Duryea, they would tell you that they will never again try what they did on a damp surface. Fortunately for all three of us, the lessons were not so tough as to flunk us out of hillclimbing school for good.
George

Gotta love the first hand input!! thanks George!

Unknown driver/car....fire in the woods at 67 Weatherly

BMW 2002...driver unknown at this point (I believe he was a PHA vet) at the Hershey Hill Climb's last event. Lost it near turn #1. Photos by Don McLaughlin

I dunno, never saw that car before or since. I understand the damage was minimal. Throttle stuck, and it wasn't even a Toyota.
Don

more info on the 2002 is in this thread:

http://www.pahillclimb.org/phpBB3/viewt ... 520&p=8560

Grace

Thanks Grace!!