In the West Nebraska panhandle, the color purple and the number 5 in auto racing were pretty much synonymous. I recetly learned that Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and BCRA Hall of Fame, and one of my boyhood auto racing heros, Gale "Curly" Dogget, age 85, had passed away in Alaska where he'd retired.
In 1951, Dad had transferred out to Sidney, NE and told me that there was lots of stock car racing going on. That was the first year of the DEVILS MOTOR CLUB, and that made the impending move much more tolerable. I was ready. When he moved the rest of us there in early 1952, I couldn't wait for the start of the new season. May 4th, 1952, I'll always remember the date. (Interestingly enough, we moved from York, NE, the town where Curly was born). A car that got my attention right away that Sunday afternoon, was a purple and white '36 Ford coupe, #5. Amid a rainbow of colors seen on those early fifties stock cars, Curly's cars were the only ones painted purple. I was hooked, purple seemed to be the coolest color, expecially since Curly's cars were fast.
The first photos are from 1951 showing Curly (so nicknamed because of his curly red hair) first with his '36 coupe, then winning one of his many
trophies. Pretty good crowd in the covered stands. Crosby Motor Co. was the local Studebaker dealership in Sidney, Mr. Crosby being Curly's father-in-law.
Curly tore up his share of stock cars as shown in photo 3 getting pulled back up on to the track after getting upside down. WW II trucks seemed to be used for lots of things, including this tow truck. After a little paint touch-up, Curly wins another trophy, photo 4.
The final photo here is the Crosby Motors 'house' car, a '38-'40 Studebaker four door sedan, #55. It was one of the first stock cars that I spotted when we moved there, just sitting forlorn in a vacant lot, never to race again. It wasn't purple, but used the same number style that Curly used, so he must have had some input on that. The driver is unidentified. A lot of sedans were built into stock cars during those early years.
In 1951, Dad had transferred out to Sidney, NE and told me that there was lots of stock car racing going on. That was the first year of the DEVILS MOTOR CLUB, and that made the impending move much more tolerable. I was ready. When he moved the rest of us there in early 1952, I couldn't wait for the start of the new season. May 4th, 1952, I'll always remember the date. (Interestingly enough, we moved from York, NE, the town where Curly was born). A car that got my attention right away that Sunday afternoon, was a purple and white '36 Ford coupe, #5. Amid a rainbow of colors seen on those early fifties stock cars, Curly's cars were the only ones painted purple. I was hooked, purple seemed to be the coolest color, expecially since Curly's cars were fast.
The first photos are from 1951 showing Curly (so nicknamed because of his curly red hair) first with his '36 coupe, then winning one of his many
trophies. Pretty good crowd in the covered stands. Crosby Motor Co. was the local Studebaker dealership in Sidney, Mr. Crosby being Curly's father-in-law.
Curly tore up his share of stock cars as shown in photo 3 getting pulled back up on to the track after getting upside down. WW II trucks seemed to be used for lots of things, including this tow truck. After a little paint touch-up, Curly wins another trophy, photo 4.
The final photo here is the Crosby Motors 'house' car, a '38-'40 Studebaker four door sedan, #55. It was one of the first stock cars that I spotted when we moved there, just sitting forlorn in a vacant lot, never to race again. It wasn't purple, but used the same number style that Curly used, so he must have had some input on that. The driver is unidentified. A lot of sedans were built into stock cars during those early years.