Cornhusker Raceway Park

[my69396]

Does any one remember a White1969 Mercury Montego raced as a f/sa car in the early 70's from the Omaha area?

[SStockDart]

I have some questions for us "Old timers".....does anyone remember Chuck Cervani (serve-an-e) from South Omaha. He had a garage....I believe it was called C&S Automotive....he raced a bubble top 61 Chevy.....348, I believe. Chuck helped me with some 4 speed problems prior to me being drafted.....I believe he died at a very young age....maybe in the late 60's... he wouldn't have raced at Cornhusker Raceway park, but he did race at Flight Land.
Another question is: does anyone have a picture of Charlie Jacob's, altered wheel base, 66 Chevelle??? (Black, with Charlies speed and machine on the doors)......
Also, does anyone remember the "Speed Shops" in Omaha....
Raceland....around 40th street, between Farnam and Douglas????? the other Speed Shop was Charlies speed and Machine.....as I recall, around 70th and Blondo......Seems like Charlie ran the machine shop, and his wife "Rose????" ran the counter...
Does anyone have any different memories?

[cad]

My dad would remember all of them having grown up near 72 and blondo. Rose is still working the counter at Charlies in Blair Ne and her sons run the successful machine shop and dyno.

[SStockDart]

Thanks for the response.....still...pics of Jacobs altered wheel base 66 Chevelle?

[sstk100]

Originally Posted by SStockDart

Thanks for the response.....still...pics of Jacobs altered wheel base 66 Chevelle?

Found this on another site..... http://georgeklass.net/super-stock.html

[cruiznlow]

Originally Posted by sstk100

Found this on another site..... http://georgeklass.net/super-stock.html

I never knew that Charlie Jacobs was the owner of Jacobs lounge in Council Bluffs IA and he is still around. Here is a few photos from the 1969 National Dragster magazine, when Charlie raced the Al Mac's 69 COPO ZL1 camaro

[cad]

I believe Jeff fitch still has the chevelle.

[belairbob]

http://classracer.com/classforum/att...9&d=1397777832


I just discovered this thread. I think I can help with some id's.
The guy on the right with the striped shirt is the car owner and my friend, Wendell Simpco. Wendell ran a small speed shop in Sioux Falls, Performance Parts.
The owner of the drivetrain and driver is on the fender nearest the front, Larry Kunnert.
The blond in front of Wendell is Don Monrad and the guy between them towards the rear is Keith Mileage who's SS/DA belvedere is pictured also on this thread.

[Bob Emery]

Wendell Simpco...now that's a name from my high school days! Fond memories of that little speed shop!

[sstk100]

Originally Posted by SStockDart

I have some questions for us "Old timers".....does anyone remember Chuck Cervani (serve-an-e) from South Omaha. He had a garage....I believe it was called C&S Automotive....he raced a bubble top 61 Chevy.....348, I believe. Chuck helped me with some 4 speed problems prior to me being drafted.....I believe he died at a very young age....maybe in the late 60's... he wouldn't have raced at Cornhusker Raceway park, but he did race at Flight Land.
Another question is: does anyone have a picture of Charlie Jacob's, altered wheel base, 66 Chevelle??? (Black, with Charlies speed and machine on the doors)......
Also, does anyone remember the "Speed Shops" in Omaha....
Raceland....around 40th street, between Farnam and Douglas????? the other Speed Shop was Charlies speed and Machine.....as I recall, around 70th and Blondo......Seems like Charlie ran the machine shop, and his wife "Rose????" ran the counter...
Does anyone have any different memories?

As an "old timer" I do remember some old stuff.

Raceland was on about 46th, maybe 2 blocks south of Dodge.....ran by a guy named Blackman I think.....don't remember his first name. Gary ?

Charlie (of Charlies Speed & Mach) was actually the machinist at Raceland...before he opened his own shop. (was at his house near Northwest High) at first, then opened a shop at 83rd and Blondo (east of the Papio) about 1965?,

then a few years later moved to the west side of the Papio about 1967? I worked for Charlie and Rose when they first opened,....then.....later worked part time there after quitting racing, and went to college in the mid 70s'
I had a 56 Nomad then, and I knew their 4 boys when they were in grade school.

Remember the 59 blue El Camino...427 4 speed, with side pipes? It had the Charlies Speed logo painted on the doors. Rose and I drove it as a "parts truck"

Charlie had the blue flathead 32 roadster (same color as the 59 El Camino) in his garage but hardly ever drove it. Rose still has it. I think originally Charlie built it in the late 50's or early 60s, approx.

I had a white 56 Chevy 2 dr that was ran in Jr stock, with a friend of mine...we only raced maybe 3 years at Omaha Dragway. We didn't have much money, so we sold it...got married..later went to college. I have a couple of pix somewhere.

Charlie and Rose later (late 70s or early 80s?) moved to an acreage south of Blair, and opened the shop in Blair (still there) ...haven't been there in years.
I didn't know that Charlie had died a few years ago, and missed his funeral....felt bad about that.

There was a machinist called "Stoney" that worked at Charlies....and at some point (in the 70s?) he opened his own machine shop in Florence (north Omaha)....don't know what happened to him.

There was a speed shop at about 70th and Blondo that was run by a guy named Ken......he was a mechanic....he raced a dragster for a while I think. That would have been in the late 60s early 70s probably.
As I recall he worked at Charlies for a while installing parts Charlie sold...then opened his own shop

If I recall correctly......getting old you know...Chuck Cervani .... C - S was for Corvette Specialists...it was Corvette repair shop. I went there a few times, somewhere in South Omaha.

Story...
....there was a guy working at C-S that built a 57 Chevy injected 2 dr Jr stocker, and beat Fred Anderson a few times.......Anderson and friends protested the 57 thinking the C-S guy was cheating big time...but it turned out it was legal except was a couple of thousandths over bore from honing the cylinders for more piston clearance....he was disqualified.....never returned to drag racing ....he was so p.o.'ed.
Cervani knew how to make the injection scream...that was the secret of the car. (not many knew Chevy mechanical injection systems back then)
This was at the old Omaha Dragway (flightland airport)