Love that quote, "drive safely...I will keep you out of the body shops...both of them!". I've never seen Opp drive. Wow, amazing drive. Thanks for posted, CI.
My Dad got hit in the face with a rock but kept on driveing his ass off. His face was full of blood & lost a couple of teeth..........those guys back then were rugged...
Pat: Wow how very cool.. I never got to see your father race I was to young. My first outlaw race was in 1991 I was 10. I barely got to see Wolfgang race twice I think. I'm huge dirt racing fan and I love the history of the sport. Your father deserves all the credit he gets and somtimes it's not enough. He was the original outlaw. A true badass as tough as they came. Absolute natural God given talent he could drive junk and win. Who knows how much more he could won if it had not been for the accident in 76? What a sad ending to an amazing career. One greatest of all time in all of motorsports. God bless you and your family.
Or for that matter, if he had gotten with the Vel's-Parnelli Jones team when it was one of the top teams in IndyCar racing, because by the time they hired him to drive their third car at Indy in 1974 for an injured Joe Leonard, they were not nearly the team they had been even two years earlier when they were considered modern auto racing's first superteam, and he just barely qualified for the race. He was one of those rookies in the 1974 Indianapolis 500, along with Pancho Carter, Johnny Parsons, Jr., Larry Cannon, Tom Bigelow, Bill Simpson (yes, THAT Bill Simpson), and Tom Sneva.
@@simoneburini4036 YES !!! In shape , you can't even see the drivers anymore , THINK about it , before you give a LOL !!!! I raced in the 60s in a T-SHIRT , no fire protection , did you ever race ?? If so tell us all about it ......
I'm not sure that they were "too expensive" (at least for most of the guys you see here). The Bell 500 (the quintessential open face helmet) was about $30 in 1970, while the Star was about $60. I think a more likely reason was that it was what they'd always worn. Many drivers used to be very superstitious about changing things they'd had good luck with in the past-hell, some drivers were reluctant to change the _color_ of their helmet. Also, you get a lot more airflow with an open-faced helmet.
Good afternoon, Charles! My name is Jordan and I work for Follow the Eyes / Quantifi Digital. We are an advertising company out of NW Ohio and we handle the marketing for Eldora. We would love to use these videos in whole or in part for our marketing campaign on social media this year. Would you allow us to use them to promote the speedway and help bring some nostalgia to racing fans? We would love to hear back from you. If you could please email me at jblythe@quantifidigital.com I would greatly appreciate it!
Love that quote, "drive safely...I will keep you out of the body shops...both of them!". I've never seen Opp drive. Wow, amazing drive. Thanks for posted, CI.
I was 16 and drove up fir this rsce . I remember it well
Never got to see Jan race, but did get to see Jack Hewitt at our local dirt track down here in Florida. GOD BLESS them both.
I started going to Eldora when I was 20 or so, and I've been hooked on sprint car racing ever since
Saw him race at Findlay Speedway about this time. Amazing race car driver.
I got to see Jan Opperman race at the old Lakeside in Kansas City. He was a great driver.
That hippy could drive a real wheel man
My Dad got hit in the face with a rock but kept on driveing his ass off. His face was full of blood & lost a couple of teeth..........those guys back then were rugged...
Your dad was jan opperman??
Yes Im the oldest of all the kids.
Pat: Wow how very cool.. I never got to see your father race I was to young. My first outlaw race was in 1991 I was 10. I barely got to see Wolfgang race twice I think. I'm huge dirt racing fan and I love the history of the sport. Your father deserves all the credit he gets and somtimes it's not enough. He was the original outlaw. A true badass as tough as they came. Absolute natural God given talent he could drive junk and win. Who knows how much more he could won if it had not been for the accident in 76? What a sad ending to an amazing career. One greatest of all time in all of motorsports. God bless you and your family.
Or for that matter, if he had gotten with the Vel's-Parnelli Jones team when it was one of the top teams in IndyCar racing, because by the time they hired him to drive their third car at Indy in 1974 for an injured Joe Leonard, they were not nearly the team they had been even two years earlier when they were considered modern auto racing's first superteam, and he just barely qualified for the race. He was one of those rookies in the 1974 Indianapolis 500, along with Pancho Carter, Johnny Parsons, Jr., Larry Cannon, Tom Bigelow, Bill Simpson (yes, THAT Bill Simpson), and Tom Sneva.
Your dad was a badass on dirt! Is it true that he slowed down to get the blood out of his goggles?
There's a piece of the book Odyssey about this race in the form of an essay online titled "Opp at Eldora".
Opperman, one of the best.
Dam I love those old race cars , it took REAL men to race them , not like this crap today !! Larry Dickson was one of the best .
LOL what you're talking about? Sprint cars are still almost identical to those old race cars, just a bit safer.
@@simoneburini4036 YES !!! In shape , you can't even see the drivers anymore , THINK about it , before you give a LOL !!!! I raced in the 60s in a T-SHIRT , no fire protection , did you ever race ?? If so tell us all about it ......
Nice slide job @ 4:10!!!
Op's in in the 99 Bogar car from Bevertown ,Pa. but it has a number 90 on it , you can see the wing mounting tabs on the top of the roll cage .
"THE SHITBOX"
I saw this race live at Eldora
Jan Opperman. The Greatest!
He was great, but he couldn't beat Dick Gaines.
I know i sound like the typical gen z punk but Kyle Larson is the best ever sorry folks
O p p is super hero ! ❤😢😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Love the background music. Sounds like a vintage porn film. Lol
LOL, YEAH, "AND ONE MORE LAP AND JAN GETS THE GOODIE". MY YOU SURE HAVE A BIG TROPHY MR OPPERMAN.
Jan called the Bogar cars shit box no. 1 and number 2. I always thought it was funny.He was Great.
They had full face helmets long before then. Why on earth wouldn't they be wearing them?
theivory1 probably too expensive at the time.
I'm not sure that they were "too expensive" (at least for most of the guys you see here). The Bell 500 (the quintessential open face helmet) was about $30 in 1970, while the Star was about $60.
I think a more likely reason was that it was what they'd always worn. Many drivers used to be very superstitious about changing things they'd had good luck with in the past-hell, some drivers were reluctant to change the _color_ of their helmet. Also, you get a lot more airflow with an open-faced helmet.
So badass, some of the best footage I've ever seen.
Good afternoon, Charles! My name is Jordan and I work for Follow the Eyes / Quantifi Digital. We are an advertising company out of NW Ohio and we handle the marketing for Eldora. We would love to use these videos in whole or in part for our marketing campaign on social media this year. Would you allow us to use them to promote the speedway and help bring some nostalgia to racing fans? We would love to hear back from you. If you could please email me at jblythe@quantifidigital.com I would greatly appreciate it!
Woah weird to see a 70’s sprint with down tubing