Our leader was Spankey Smith. Spankey was our racer father, our teacher, our discipline. A friend to dumb teenagers and world champions. Click for this tribute to Spankey including a story from Leon Mandel. https://www.barcboys.com/spankey-smit
Steve was one of the original founders. Tall and strong, Vail was simply unique. He lost himself, found himself in the Army, got married and had two beautiful daughters. But he was always the man we called The Cardiff Giant.
Val was another unusual and unique member. A gifter mechinist and a guy who would have been a great racer had he continued. Val was a great barcboy and he did march to his own music.
Donna Mae has had a million things written about her. The first woman SCCA champ, but so much more. Her spirit was as contagious as she was beautiful.
Roy Bishara was a true enthusiast. Our escapades at Broome Tech could fill a book. Roy died far too soon. A great guy. Karl Stickley owned a large photo store. He made all the prints used in the BARC gazettes possible. Karl was also the owner
Yenko was like most barcboys - a unique and different spirit. It was said he raced as many miles sideways as straight. He was a great jazz pianist, a designer of the Yenko Stinger & Camaro’s. a pilot and a champion many times over.
Big Jake. A WWII pilot, a drivers driver. Jake could win in anything from the beast Allard to a Lotus 23. A mentor to the young barcboys, Jake was one of the few we wanted to be.
Bud Hofer was a fun guy. A wry sense of humor that could scald you as well as make you bust a gut laughing. An artisan who created award winning Windsor chairs but could take a twincam Lotus engine apart.
Steve was another one who was a little bit crazy. He loved his Chevy;s and campaigned his Corvette and Camaro all over the east coast. One of the Philly crowd.
Sam the Sham. Loud, boisterous but always smiling. Sam started in a Lotus 7 but made his bones in his famous 427 Cobra.
Oscar. That was all you needed to say around a race track and everyone knew who you were talking about. A marketing genius, a true friend who would always help and a champion driver.
Doug March was not nationally known as a race driver, but Mister Mars and his FVee were always in the hunt. A Binghamton first ward guy who ended up becoming a Doctor after his racing days.
Charley was another of the mentors and role models the barcboys looked up to. He and his wife Sandra championed the barcboys when the SCCA wanted us banned. Charley died far too young in a car accident.
Sherm, along with Bucher, Rounds and Kurtz was the driver we wanted to be. Brutally fast, always with a cigarette and a beer, Decker was the grown up barcboy.
Like so many of us, Bruce did his own thing. He built cars, he fixed cars, he raced them. Hard charging, hard drinking and always a prankster. Never turn your back on Cargill or he’d get you.
Chuck $ Suzie. What a pair of racers. Midwest calm and cool. Suzie was a babe that could race. Chuck was smooth and so very fast.
The Legend Ted Rounds. Calm and quiet spoken, when Ted told you something, you listened. A great mechanic, he taught us so much, he always had the time to sit and impart his wisdom over a chilly lager.
Buzz Duzz. Perhaps the greatest ego in all of the BARC, Buzz did walk the walk. He drove everything fast. A Toyota dealer was his job, but living large was his life.
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