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National Dirt Late Model Hall Of Fame
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Morgan Chandler (left) with driver Billy Teegarden in 1973 at Northern Kentucky Speedway. Photo by Mike Roland.This Saturday, at the Florence Speedway in Union, Kentucky, my brother Morgan Chandler will be officially inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall Of Fame. Here’s Bill Holder’s write-up from Stock Car Racing:
Morgan Chandler’s was a shining career that lasted through two decades (1965-1985) as a car owner and showed a total of 189 victories with an impressive collection of 20 talented drivers, half of them already in the Hall of Fame.
This was not a full-time deal for Chandler, though, as he also had a regular job.
“Didn’t get much sleep during many of those years, sometimes getting home in time to go to work,” he says.
It was a time, says Chandler, when the driver was a lot more important than the car, quite different from today.
“There is a lot more technology today, but there are still similarities,” he says. “Heck, I used to have the left-front tire up just like today.”
Chandler laughs when he recalls that he once built a 539-cubic-inch engine derived from a 427 truck engine. “It made about 750 hp, something that small block engines can make today,” he says.
Through most of his career, he converted street cars to build his racecars. His built his first car from the ground up in 1978.
Chandler says that he ran with NASCAR in 1968 at Clay City Speedway, Kentucky. It was a dirt track, of course, but he also competed on pavement, using his dirt cars rather than a purpose-built pavement car. “Won a big race on the paved Dayton (Ohio) Speedway,” he recalls.
His top driver was Floyd Gilbert, and they won 27 races in a row and 42 overall in 1972 and ‘73. And there was Ralph Latham, who was behind the wheel of a Chandler car for 25 wins in 1970.
More at Dirt Fans. A couple of his drivers talk about working with him, too: Billy Teegarden, Flyin’ Floyd Gilbert
There is also a nice write-up about Morgan in the local paper, but it doesn’t seem to be posted online yet. In the article, he says that the sport has been taken over by professionals now, that amateurs such as he could no longer compete.
Chandler’s 1973 Camaro, #28, in its party clothes at the 1973 Cavalcade of Customs.Possibly related posts:
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7 Responses to “National Dirt Late Model Hall Of Fame”
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It was very cool to follow the links and find the names of NASCAR old-timers Lee Petty, Ralph Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Tiny Lund and then Ken Schrader, Mike Wallace and Tony Stewart. And to find out Tony’s grandfather raced. Very cool. Congrats to your brother.
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sherry August 5th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Thanks, Helen. My brother’s a pretty remarkable guy if I do say so myself.
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Many congratulations to my Uncle Morgan!
He is, indeed, pretty darn remarkable. -
YESTERYEAR CAR RACING! Seems odd to say that now, but believe I can.
This is a very nice tribute to Morgan in respect to his dedication to the sport he truly loved. His forte was the racing motors he built, seemed to be a step or two ahead of the others. Racing motors weren’t “bought off of the shelf like today”. I certainly don’t want to short him on the car setup, another whole ballgame. He blended them well together.
I made many trips to Northern Kentucky Speedway to watch his cars on Saturday nights, and slip a beer or two from the concession stand, though underage.
As far as drivers, my nod goes to Ralph Latham, though they were all good, each had their methods. With my first transportation, “MotorCycle” I would ride to Morgans on Saturday, spend the day with them getting the car ready, go to the race track that night, and ride back home the next morning. When I came home on leave, we would always reserve Saturday night to see a race. -
sherry August 8th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Max, thanks for sharing your race-track memories. (I won’t tell about the beer
) I was away for much of this time, going to school and then raising small children, so I didn’t get to see much of it. Just a few races. Anyway, I think the men got the best of it, which was hanging around the garage and the infield. -
David McGee January 10th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Congratulations Sherry to you and your brother.
I grew up at Clay City, cheering for the gold No. 28 when Floyd Gilbert just wore everybody out. I was heartbroken when that combination split, but always admired the quality of cars Morgan put on the race track, no matter who was driving.
From a kid in the stands in 1972, I’m now a journalist, author and the announcer at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. I’m looking into doing a book about Clay City and am searching for photos and information to help fill in the blanks. Perhaps you and your family would be willing to participate.
If so, I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks and congratulations again.
David -
Hey David — backchannel me some contact info and I’ll pass it on. For myself, I’m totally ignorant.
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Sherry has also received an Artist Enrichment grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women.
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