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capitalcity300
09-22-2008, 07:27 AM
The Merry Mailman Made A Killing Driving 'Old Bess'
By Gary London (Photos #1 - #3 ) see below. :cheers: :wave:
http://www.nationalspeedsportnews.com/features/history-feature/the-merry-mailman-made-a-killing-driving-old-bess

(Photo #4) see below. :cheers: :wave:
OLD BESS: Bruno Brackey (71) was a frequent winner at Long Island's Freeport Stadium. (Marty Himes Collection Photo)

capitalcity300
09-22-2008, 07:37 AM
(Photos #5 - #8 is enlargement photos of Photo #4) see below. :cheers::wave:
OLD BESS: Bruno Brackey (71) was a frequent winner at Long Island's Freeport Stadium. (Marty Himes Collection Photo)

oldracer
09-22-2008, 02:48 PM
Yes,Brunos's 71 resides here in my Weissglass Speedway Museum on Staten Island. It is all original just the way it was last raced. I never heard of Bruno being referred to as the "Merry Mailman" He was known as the "Flying Mailman". I watched him win many a feature in that car at both Freeport and Weissglass. The engine is actually a 292 C.I. ford, .060 over,and does it have power. I drove it in the vintage race in 1983 at Freeport and couldn't believe the power it had,and with 1963 hard tires on it to boot. The tires picked up all the soft rubber off the track and grew a couple inches in diameter at the end of the race. www.weissglassspeedway.com

oldracer
09-22-2008, 02:50 PM
That's Teddy Werner in the other car in the photo.

capitalcity300
09-22-2008, 06:09 PM
That's Teddy Werner in the other car in the photo.
Is that an #6, #8 or #9 on Teddy Werner's race car? (See photo below)
55,56, or 57 Chev. or Ford?
Engine size?
Thanks for the information. :cheers: :wave:

oldracer
09-23-2008, 08:31 AM
His number was 36. He ran in the sedan division for quite a few years.That engine looks like a 390 Ford. The car is a 55-56 Ford. He ran a 55 Chevy in the Sportsman division when the sedan class was dropped. Also a blue number 36. I remember Teddy running a nice 40 Ford sedan at Freeport and Weissglass also number 36. Bruno was also the Freeport Modified champion in the #71 Sedan in 1970 with a Chevy engine in it. He ran that sedan for almost 10 years. He sure got alot out of that car

capitalcity300
09-27-2008, 09:08 AM
oldracer - Thanks for the racing history information. :cheers: :wave:

Photo #1. Teddy Werner and Bruno Brackey
Photo #2. Teddy Werner holding plain (24 B&W blocks) checkered flag.
Photo #3. Bruno Brackey holding (Mobil Oils's Flying Red Horse logo) (35 B&W blocks) checkered flag.
Photo #4. Mobil Oil's Flying Red Horse logo

Do you know the date of the Teddy Werner and Bruno Brackey photo?
Do you know Why they photogragh two race drivers (holding checkered flags) and their race cars in same photograph?
Was this an photograph of 2 race winners of 2 different racing divisions?
This is the first time I have seen this done.

Thanks for the racing history information. :cheers: :wave:

debster
09-27-2008, 02:08 PM
His number was 36. He ran in the sedan division for quite a few years.That engine looks like a 390 Ford. The car is a 55-56 Ford. He ran a 55 Chevy in the Sportsman division when the sedan class was dropped. Also a blue number 36. I remember Teddy running a nice 40 Ford sedan at Freeport and Weissglass also number 36. Bruno was also the Freeport Modified champion in the #71 Sedan in 1970 with a Chevy engine in it. He ran that sedan for almost 10 years. He sure got alot out of that car

Here is a picture of him

oldracer
09-27-2008, 02:38 PM
That's the blue 55 Chevy that he ran in the Sportslman division in 1965. It ran very well. Ted ended up in the old Ronnie Schwendenman slant six powered open Cockpit Mod with a roof welded back on it in the new 1968 Modified division ,white,number 19, and did well in that car. The last car that he ran at Freeport under the Campi era was the Studebaker Lark number 19. I believe that was Bob Park's old Riverhead car. He got the $100 small block bonus every week.

debster
09-27-2008, 06:30 PM
I have a picture of the open cockpit cars at freeport::wave:

oldracer
09-27-2008, 06:53 PM
The purple Eddie Jackowitz 7-11 car they use to call the "Swordfish" with that crazy rollbar sticking up. That car was also numbered the "Twee Oh Too" with a picture of Tweedy Bird on it. Very Clever. It had a 302 GMC 6 cylinder truck engine in it. Eddie demolished it at the 1/2 mile Oldbridge, New Jersey track at an open competition race that they had.The open cockpit cars all sounded sooooo good with the six cylinder engines. I really liked them alot. Some came back in 1968 with roofs back on them but some never raced again after the 1967 Strike-Shut out that Freeport experienced.

capitalcity300
09-30-2008, 01:20 AM
oldracer - Thanks for the racing history information. :cheers: :wave:

Photo #1. Teddy Werner and Bruno Brackey
Photo #2. Teddy Werner holding plain (24 B&W blocks) checkered flag.
Photo #3. Bruno Brackey holding (Mobil Oils's Flying Red Horse logo) (35 B&W blocks) checkered flag.
Photo #4. Mobil Oil's Flying Red Horse logo

Do you know the date of the Teddy Werner and Bruno Brackey photo?
Do you know Why they photogragh two race drivers (holding checkered flags) and their race cars in same photograph?
Was this an photograph of 2 race winners of 2 different racing divisions?
This is the first time I have seen this done.

Thanks for the racing history information. :cheers: :wave:

debster, oldracer - Got any answers to the above questions??
debster, oldracer - Thanks for the racing history information. :cheers: :wave:

hodge racing
10-06-2008, 10:08 AM
Yes,Brunos's 71 resides here in my Weissglass Speedway Museum on Staten Island. It is all original just the way it was last raced. I never heard of Bruno being referred to as the "Merry Mailman" He was known as the "Flying Mailman". I watched him win many a feature in that car at both Freeport and Weissglass. The engine is actually a 292 C.I. ford, .060 over,and does it have power. I drove it in the vintage race in 1983 at Freeport and couldn't believe the power it had,and with 1963 hard tires on it to boot. The tires picked up all the soft rubber off the track and grew a couple inches in diameter at the end of the race. www.weissglassspeedway.com

you are absolutly right bruno's nick name was the flying mailman joe hodge

capitalcity300
11-03-2008, 03:09 AM
you are absolutly right bruno's nick name was the flying mailman joe hodge

Found another race driver nicknamed: "The Flying Mailman" ???? :cheers: :wave:
"The Flying Mailman" Wally Weaver and #2 race car.