[Fot] Fw: Ole' Blue at Summit Pt with Henry Frye

Tue Jan 19 13:10:17 MST 2021

 Hi Henry.  Nice drive.  Your car is really handling well (which is saying something for a TR-3).  When I raced my TR-4A I had independent rear suspension, which I always felt gave me an advantage.  I don't know how you do it with the solid axle.
Reminded me of watching Brian Fuerstenau in a TR-3 (#33) at Watkins Glen.  Would have been the summer of 1964, maybe '65.  He was in F Production while his teammate, Bob Tullius was in the #44 TR-4 in E Production.  Eventually the TR-3 got moved to EP and the TR-4 to DP, until the TR-6 came along.  When it couldn't keep up with the 240Z, they moved the TR-6 to DP and 2 years later the TR-4 to join the TR-3 in EP.  The first 2 years the TR-6 was in DP, it won the national championship, first with Group44, then with Paul Newman.

Sorry about the history lesson.  Just reminiscing.
Jack

   ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Mike Jackson via Fot <fot at autox.team.net>To: yellow04 <yellow04 at tr4racer.com>; "fot at autox.team.net" <fot at autox.team.net>Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2021, 1:11:06 PM ESTSubject: Re: [Fot] Ole' Blue at Summit Pt with Henry Frye
 Great video Henry!  And all wonderful races.  We all live for weekends like that.
I was particularly entertained by watching the key fob on the glovebox key.  You should label it in g's

Mike
-----Original Message-----
>From: yellow04 via Fot <fot at autox.team.net>
>Sent: Jan 19, 2021 12:02 PM
>To: fot at autox.team.net
>Subject: Re: [Fot] Bill Dentinger
>
>Bill meant a lot of things to a lot of people. One thing for sure, if 
>you had the pleasure to meet Bill, you certainly did not forget him. I 
>have many fond memories, like sitting on the grid as some event in the 
>broiling heat waiting our turn to take the track and hearing Bill, at 
>the top of his lungs, singing some completely inappropriate song to no 
>one in particular. Or at a huge SVRA event, hundred of drivers are 
>intently listening to Jack Woehrle or Carl Jensen trying to get through 
>a drivers meeting and Bill would just heckle the crap out of them. Not 
>privately, mind you, but in a voice that everybody in the county would 
>hear. And it was hysterical.
>
>Bill was a racer at heart.  The number of events that the Beady Eye 
>Vintage Triumph Racing team ran annually was impressive. Remember Bill 
>had Old Blue, Bob Wismer had the #4 blue TR4 (now campaigned by Paul 
>Ricco), and between them they co-owned the Thunderbolt, an extremely 
>limited production special from Tornado Cars, based on the TR3. They 
>would trade off season to season driving the Thunderbolt and their 
>respective TR. There was no expense spared on the preparation of either 
>his or Bob's cars. Any discussion of the Beady Eye team is incomplete 
>without mentioning Don Brick, the third member of the team. Don raced a 
>white TR4 with red wire wheels, and might have been the speediest of the 
>group, I believe the last year he ran was 2005.
>
>Bill was quite proud of the fact that Old Blue, a 1956 TR3, was the most 
>period correct vintage racer on track in the country. While I never 
>researched it, nobody who heard the story doubted it. The amount of 
>Triumph Competition Department equipment in the car was impressive. A 
>race car since new, Bill was only the second racer to track the car.
>
>At some point over the course our friendship I must have mentioned to 
>Bill how much I liked Old Blue, and would like to own the car when he is 
>ready to hang up the helmet for the last time. (I am confident alcohol 
>was involved in this conversation!) This turned into Bill selling the 
>car to me back in 2014. My trip to Wisconsin to pick up the car and 
>spares was both delightful and melancholy, you knew it was the end of an 
>era. But Bill had high hopes I would keep the flame alive. My intent was 
>to keep the car as period correct as possible, but make it safe and fun. 
>I think I have struck a good compromise, some of those Competition 
>Department goodies have made way for more suitable replacements, but for 
>the most part the car remains remarkably period correct.
>
>Every time I had a race weekend with the car I would email Bill and tell 
>him how things went. We exchanged mail and it was obvious he was 
>genuinely excited to see Old Blue still on track, doing better and 
>better. It all came together at the Jefferson 500 at Summit Point in 
>2019, it was one of those weekends we all dream of. Picture perfect 
>weather, and you get grouped with a bunch of racers that are great 
>competition and you are running with fast guys up front. Then the stars 
>align and you take first in both feature races. I strung together some 
>in-car footage from three sessions that weekend and sent it to Bill. He 
>and his son Dick watched it on the "Big Screen", I got the impression he 
>was as excited as I was!
>
>In memory of Bill, I am sharing a view that he enjoyed for years, 
>looking over the bonnet of Old Blue. You will be missed, my friend...
>
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bCcXLlOR-k
>
>Henry Frye
>_______________________________________________
>fot at autox.team.net
>
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