We Put The Wrong Gear In

1966 was the break-out season as Bud and Delmer came to Pennsboro with the 1956 Chevy with no idea what they were about to start.  I remember sitting on the hillside when Bob Boyles took his first laps in the car; they had selected the wrong rear gear ratio and it looked like the engine was coming apart when he went down the back stretch; it smoked real bad but as the day wore on they figured it out and had a good opening day.  The wins came quickly and often; running Pennsboro and tracks across the Ohio river Bob totaled 19 wins in the first season. Times were about to get even more interesting.

The year of 1966 also saw Bud’s brother Marshall and Brooks Kennedy take over the racing of the #7 and hiring a friend of Bob’s, Tony Martin.  Tony did a good job if the car stayed together but it was not a real completive car and Tony wanted to run up front, so a new direction was about to be opened for this team as well.

The 1967 season brought a pair of 1957 Chevy’s out of the Jim Hogue garage in Pennsboro.  The #80 late model piloted by Bob Boyles and a new entry the #81 for Tony Martin.  As some of the first teams to travel out of the local areas the season began at Rossburg Ohio.  Bob was accustomed to running 100 lap races, but Tony had never been to Rossburg and never ran a long distance race.  Tony led the race for several laps before Bob passed him and was running away with the race until the battery cable fell off ending his day.  Tony finished well and did not put a scratch on the car until coming off the track he ran over the trailer which damaged the sheet metal.

Bob had another successful year in the Ohio Valley circuit winning 21 times while Tony scored another 12 winning almost every race in the “claimer” division at Pennsboro.

Bud and Delmer along with Delmer’s brother Duane and Bud’s brother Marshall ventured to Heidelberg for the fall classic but failed to make the Pittsburgh 200 but traveled to Cumberland Md for the East Coast Championship.  Bob was dominate in the race and had the race won until the 98^th lap when the left front ball joint failed costing him the Championship.