By RON WARE
Classic Motorsports
INDIANAPOLIS – Behind every successful midget or sprint car driver stands a strong team.
And sitting behind the driver, ready to give him a nudge in the right direction? That’s where Steve Gibson comes in.
For nearly 50 years, the Ossian, Ind., resident – with his unique, 1920s-style Ford Model T roadster pickup – has served as a push truck driver at such tracks as Eldora, Winchester, Gas City and Baer Field as well as for Tony Barhorst’s Rumble Series. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Steve Kinser are among those whose careers he literally helped get started.
Gibson, 67, treasures the compliments he gets from drivers like Stewart, who was so taken by his truck that he arranged for Hoosier Tire Co. to donate a pair of rear tires. A retired auto worker and construction company owner, he’s happy just to be part of the show.
“I get to go to the races and get in free, and some of the people pay me a little for my gas, which helps,” said Gibson, whose next race is the Rumble Series event on Sunday, July 19 at the Indianapolis Speedrome. “I enjoy doing it. I must, or I wouldn’t have done it for what, 45, 46, 47 years?”
And make no mistake – wherever it goes, Gibson’s street-legal push truck is the talk of the pits. The vehicle was built back in 1968 as a class project at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., and is a fiberglass replica of a 1923 Model T pickup.
Gibson, who started pushing in 1962 or ’63, bought it in 1975 strictly for use as a push truck. Along the way, he’s made several modifications, replacing the original engine with one from a 1956 Dodge dump truck. The engine is 331 cubic inches and uses two 1-barrel carburetors.
“The torque is just perfect for pushing,” he said.
The vehicle weighs 2,400 pounds and has a wheelbase of 90-92 inches. The truck bed is about a foot long, making it look more like a car – albeit one The Munsters might have driven.
A lifelong race fan, Gibson became interested in the sport through his late uncle, Coxie Bowman, who owned midgets for more than 30 years with such drivers as Pat O’Connor, Bobby Grim and Jack Calabrase. He quickly realized that having a race car requires plenty of time and money.
But driving a push truck? That fit him perfectly.
“I just didn’t have much time,” Gibson said almost apologetically. “I was working at International Harvester and (also) putting in a 200-home sub-division. That’s why I had a push truck. I could work all week, jump in and go the race, come home and park it for the week. Next weekend, I was all ready to go again.”
Along the way, his blue roadster pickup has become one of the most recognized push trucks in racing, perhaps rivaled only by the Work’N Woody, a 1957 Jeep owned by California’s Art and Carol Malies and their son, Eric, which follows the World of Outlaws circuit.
Gibson has two other push vehicles, a 1995 Chevrolet Suburban and a 1979 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, whose hood is autographed by dozens of racing greats. His 15-year-old son, Quinn, is learning the craft from him.
Gibson has been fortunate to avoid any accidents performing his duties, although the engine in his Model T blew up one time, leaving a pool of oil and water on the track.
“I was pushing off Tom Bigelow,” he recalled. “Tom said it was the first time he made somebody puke.”
Gibson has a good rapport with drivers, especially the veterans.
“The biggest guy who always thanked me was Mel Kenyon,” he said. “I don’t think there was a time he didn’t look me up later in the pit area to thank me. Tony Stewart would thank me.
“I’ve never had any problems with race car drivers. They’re pretty good guys.”
Midgets head July 19 program, UMRA TQ’s to top August 30 slate.
The July 19 theme is " The Rumble Series Christmas In July", and the August 30 date theme will be the "Rumble Series Endless Summer Beach Party."
More details will be announced soon on both dates.Free gifts are being compiled for drawings to be held on July 19. 800 free kids meals from the Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon, 10087 East Washington St, Indianapolis will be given away to fans and teams entering. The listing of prizes will be compiled on the rumbleseries.com website forum.
A 50-lap midget feature will top the July 19 Rumble Series program at the Speedrome. Pit gates open at 10 a.m. and spectator gates at 11:30. Warmups for quarter midgets, karts, and Jr. Sprints begin at 11:30, with heat races at 1 p.m., followed by features for those classes. Midgets and MiniCup cars will get on the track at 4:30, with time trials at 5 and racing at 5:30.
The general admission ticket price has been lowered to $10 for adults, kids 11 to six years are $5.00, and ages five and under are free. HARF and DARF members will have a $5.00 discount for adults by showing their membership cards.
The Hoosier Outlaw Sprint Series had originally been scheduled for both July 19 and August 30. Rumble Series promoter Tony Barhorst has decided to postpone their appearance .into the future due to economic conditions
Further information is available at www.rumbleseries.com or by contacting Tony Barhorst at (317) 418-3216 or tbracefest@aol.com.
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