More Racing Stories Being Told In Heaven

Not the way you ever want to start your day but in the grand scheme of time these days will continue to come until we are all consumed by the brutal hand of time.

At approximately 9:30 this morning I received a telephone call frog m Judy Doll and knew instantly what the conversation will be.

About a year ago I was asked to write little stories about the heritage of Doll Brothers Racing, a family business that has existed for over 60 years.  In light of this invitation I was concerned that I could write about a sport and its people and get details and facts a close to correct as possible.  Over the last 12 months I have shared a few of my memories about DBR and tried to make it interesting but this insert will be different and very difficult.

Some of you know me from years gone by when I was a constant figure around Bud, Marshall and DBR almost every weekend but you never knew the whole story so at this difficult time I will provide details.

In the early spring of 1966 I started frequenting the old race garage at the east end of Pennsboro, living just a couple hundred feet east of the garage you could find me there every night, at that time Bud and Delmer Delo were fielding a new car for Bobby Boyles and this would eventually lead to one of the most dominant teams in the tri-state area.  I don’t think either of them really wanted a kid hanging around all the time, but it worked out that way.  Probably the one thing that got Bud to like me was he and I were the only ones at the garage one Saturday morning when he was tuning the engine on the #80 when the carburetor caught fire; not having anything to put the fire out with Bud reached into his pocket and pulled out a rag and attempted to douse the fire, in doing so he burned his hand real bad so I ran home and got some burn medication and returned as fast as possible; that one single act was the beginning of a friendship that has endured until this day.  We traveled to venues all around the tri-state area and I have those memories to cherish for the rest of my life.

Bud and Marshall always worked really hard at having exceptionally good cars and paired that with drivers that could race with anyone on any given day or night.

I remember sitting with Bud on several occasions watching his car running for the win and some issue would arise that would have made other builders/owners get all bent out of shape or even go looking for a fight but it never outwardly effected his composure he just took it in stride and was already planning for the next race. 

Words cannot express the level of sorry I am experiencing at this writing because Bud was as much a father figure to a young kid as my own father, I learned so many important things that have carried me through my life, Bud actually was a big part of getting me a job that lasted for over 35 years, he was a major part of my life and I will miss him.  If our religious upbringing has any validity, I know that due to his humility and grace he has won his race and is enjoying meeting up with his old friends that he cherished and helped in their times of need.  A good man, friend and mentor.