A Pair of Champion Drivers
From 1954 to 1957 was the Ralph Smith and Ken Marriott Era for the Putty Hill Garage Racing Team. This was when the team really began to build their reputation.
Ken Marriott went on to win the NASCAR Modified Championship in 1957 with the Number 88A. The NASCAR Hall of Fame now has possession of that championship trophy. Below, you’ll see photos of that trophy on the hood of the 88 car in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Ralph Smith captured the Free State Stock Car Racing Association Championship (Maryland) in both 1954 and 1955. He was also runner up to his teammate, Ken Marriott, in the NASCAR Modified Championship in 1957.
Official track photos at Alcyon Speedway in New Jersey were taken by the official track photographer, Bob Sweeten. Ralph Smith was the Modified class track champion at Alcyon Speedway in 1957.
Free State Stock Car Racing Association Champions in 1955
The Number 88 car in the Putty Hill Garage in 1955. Ralph Smith captured the Free State Stock Car Racing Association championship with this car in both 1954 and 1955.
This was an official track photo taken after a win at Ritchie Raceway in Glen Burnie, Maryland in 1955. George Heffner is pictured in the lower right corner. Mechanic, “Dingo”, is standing on the far right. Free State Stock Car Association starter Bob Gorsuch is pictured front and center in the plaid cap. Flag Assistant starter, Chick Little, is on the left. Driver Ralph Smith is pictured standing in the center.
Jim Bunty’s 1955 Free State Stock Car Racing Association 1st Place Mechanic Trophy
Beating Themselves for the Bounty
Tracks would set a bounty on a car that won frequently. This means they would pay out extra money to whoever wins a race that beats the car with the bounty. Such a bounty was placed on Ralph Smith’s Number 88. So the Putty Hill Garage Racing Team created the 88A for Ken Marriott to collect Ralph’s bounties.
A body and frame sit on stands on its way to becoming the 88A.
Ken Marriott after a win in the 88A car at Alcyon Speedway in New Jersey in 1956.
Taken with a Polaroid camera in either 1956 or 1957, some members of the Putty Hill Garage Racing Team surround the number 88 car outside of an Amoco gas station. Based on the flames markings on the roof of the car, these Polaroids were most likely taken in 1957.
Ralph Smith, Wally Issenock, Jim Bunty, and another team member stand with the 88 after winning a race at Alcyon Speedway.
Jim Bunty, Wally Issenock, and George Heffner (left to right) stand with the 88A in 1957.
The Number 88 car is posed outside of the Putty Hill Garage on Belair Road in Nottingham, Maryland .
Action at Alcyon Speedway in 1957
Teammates Ralph Smith and Ken Marriott racing front and back during a Memorial Day Race in 1957.
Ralph Smith, track champion, at Alcyon Speedway in 1957.
1957 NASCAR Modified Champions
The 1957 season had 281 NASCAR-sanctioned races. At that time, NASCAR would sanction races at local tracks. At times there were multiple races on the same day that were sanctioned by NASCAR. Ken Marriott won the National Modified Championship with 3,324 points. His teammate Ralph Smith finished 2nd in the points standings with 2,778.
They also finished in the top 10 in NASCAR Modifieds points standings in 1956 with Ralph in 5th place and Ken in 7th.
The Putty Hill Garage Racing Team show off their trophies with Ralph Smith’s number 88 in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1957. Ken Marriott took home the NASCAR Modified Championship. Ralph Smith was runner up. NASCAR Hall of Fame has possession of Ken’s 1st place trophy pictured here.
Ken Marriott’s 1957 National Modified Champion Car
Explore the Eras of the Putty Hill Garage Racing Team
Just Getting Started
From 1952 to 1953, Pete Kantorski was the car owner and driver of the Number 23. The team was the Free State Stock Car Racing Association Champion in 1953.
A Pair of Champion Drivers
From 1954 to 1957, championship drivers Ralph Smith and Ken Marriott raced the Number 88 and 88A, respectively, to earn the team’s first titles.
Dominating Alcyon Speedway
From 1958 to 1959, Ed “Fireball” Lindsay took over the Number 88, racking up his share of wins, particularly at Alcyon Speedway in New Jersey.
The Nite Crawlers
In 1960 and 1961, the team won back-to-back NASCAR Modified Championships with car owner Tiny Slayton and driver Johnny Roberts.
Gastrock Special
1962 to 1964 saw a few drivers for the team. With Gastrock Towing as the new car owner, the car was now the Number 12 and a Buick Special with a Nailhead engine.
