PA Hillclimb

Three years and three FTD's. Like Habling, Koveleski & Meyer before him; Ron Moreck takes three FTD's in a row in 1999. Running a 43.259 in the Reynard. Again…a slew of drivers are putting down great times: Darryl Danko, Rolf Mair, Jim Oswald, Jerry Hartman, Randall Grammes, Jim Miller, Merlin Miller, Charlie Rutan & Barry Griffith!!!

For the first time ever…someone defends the FTD title for four consecutive years. Ron Moreck tops the hill in a time of 43.595 in 2000. A pretty consistant series of numbers he is putting down! Some of the competition this year included Mark Mashburn, Jerry Hartman, Ted Klaus, Darryl Danko, Barry Griffith, Charlie Rutan & Gerald Driscoll.

Make it 5 times now….Ron Moreck makes it 5 in a row and for the first time ever someone goes under 40 seconds! The Reynard takes the big step down running a 39.914 in 2001. Although 9 drivers went sub 50…only Jerry Kieft, Darryl Danko and Barry Griffith were close.

I think in some sports they call it a dynasty…in 2002 Ron Moreck quickly joins Oscar Kovelski & John Meyer with 6 FTD titles at Giant's Despair! The Reynard lays down a time of 40.865 to take top honors. Again, a number of drivers are under 50…the closest being Darryl Danko with a 42.512.

With the Moreck Reynard out of the picture for 2003…the huge pack of drivers that were running sub 50 are now in a massive FTD battle. Zluchowski, Danko, Griffith, Johnston, the Millers, Terranova, Sincavage, Rutan & Campbell are all in the hunt for FTD….but it comes down to Barry Griffith in the Swift FC with a time of 44.743.

"The Rise Of The South"….Mark Mashburn of North Carolina is no stranger to Giant's Despair and neither are GT-1 Camaros! In 2004 he crosses the pinnacle in his Camaro with a time of 44.309. Once again a good number of drivers pressured the envelope…but Mash held them off.

Long time FTD contender…and local favorite, Darryl Danko achieves FTD in his Swift FA. Darryl charges up the mountain in a time of 43.559 is declared King of the Hill! A large group is sub 50…but no one is close to Danko's time.

2006 was a special year for Giant's Despair…in more ways than one. 100 years after Hugh Harding set the first record at Giant's…Darryl Danko broke the current hill record taking his Lola TB900 to the summit in a time of 39.000!!

Darryl Danko and the powerful Lola backed up the previous year results with another record breaking run in 2007. This time the bar has lowerd to a time of 38.360!! Darryl has now defended his FTD title for the third time…joining the ranks of Moreck, Habling, Koveleski & Meyer.

The 2008 event proved to be yet another FTD winner for Darryl Danko and the Lola…do we see another dynasty in the making?? He's only the second person to go 4 for 4. This year, the time is 40.047…he is followed by Bob D'Amore, John Hartnett, Stephen Sincavage, Brian Halecki, Gordon Wise, Daniel Reed, John Stinsmen, Bill Feist & Oz Sr….

So…who will be the 2009 King of the Hill?? This weekend…Wilkes-Barre, PA….be safe! I'll see ya'll Saturday!

I remember John Halbing setting the hill record well because I was announcing and doing timing as well. At the time, everyone thought Oscar's record was unbreakable; especially, with the equipment that was running the hills during that period compared to the unlimited Can-Am style of car that Oscar used. So, when Halbing set the hill record we did a triple take with the timer and the list of records before I even thought about announcing it.

Rich

Wonderful thread/info/pics! Thank you for sharing such amazing history. Have you considered writing a book? I'd buy one!

Ron Mann wrote:The decade of the 80's is over but it was exciting, it was pretty much ruled by the formula cars. In 1990, however, Carl Jones and his Chevy "sports racer" attacks the hill. On his last run of the day…he takes FTD with a time of 49.786. Jim Cosner & Peter McCarthy stayed in the hunt.

As a funny side note I remember that this car was unloaded from the trailer still set up for the circle track race it ran the night before. If you have ever seen an asphalt modified they are totally set up for left turns only. The suspension and body are all offset to the left. Think about that.. only two lefts and neither of them are the Elbow Also they only have a high/low transmission. For Carl to show up and hold off the other guys is one heck of a statement!


Awesome job Ron!!!!!!!!

Hope everyone got a 2009 GD T-shirt! The back of the shirt sums all this up!

Ron Mann wrote:Hope everyone got a 2009 GD T-shirt! The back of the shirt sums all this up!

Yep, got mine. Nice to talk to you at the track, Ron. Thanks for this thread and the history of Giants.

The 2009 results are in…and the reign of Darryl Danko as the King of Giant's Despair continues. This year Darryl runs a 41.157 in the Lola. A group of 18 drivers go under 50 seconds!! He holds of George Bowland who was right there with a 41.767…..whew!!

Hey Ron!

Great article! Nice job with the research. You put a lot of time into it and it shows!
Thanks for bring the memories back! I was there in 1958 and every year since!
A lot of racing folks past & present took a run at that hill. Nice history .
Keep it going!
Best wishes!
Rich

Ronn,
To bad you forgot Jake Symanovich and Floyd Schramach.

Ted K.

Ron,
I think your research is incorrect--in 1978 FTD was won by Jake Symanovich in a Chev. LeGrande F5000---as far as I recall, Jim Willauer ran a Cooper[?] with a BOP engine. Not only did Jake win ,he beat Oscars record from the previous year with a 43. something.I was there- and yes the Caldwell D10 FSV of Gerry McKown has been mine since around 1974.

Ted Klaus