Look around the pit areas at some short tracks these days and one might wonder if participants are focused more on having the latest equipment on the track or the latest greatest ride to get them to the track.
It’s not uncommon these days to see “grassroots” racing teams rolling into tracks with super sized car haulers that 15 years ago might only have been seen at the highest levels of NASCAR.
Stafford Speedway team owner Glenn Korner Sr. wanted to go in the other direction.
And going old school is exactly what he and his sons will be doing when they roll into Stafford Speedway Saturday for the Bud Light Open Modified 80 event Saturday.
On July 7 Korner unveiled his family’s winter project on Facebook, which was the restoration of a ramp truck formerly used in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s by the Barnes family for their 340 Sportsman Modified at the former Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam, Mass.
“It’s really such a cool story,” said Gary Barnes, owner of NAPA of Canton. “I saw Glenn at Stafford one night last season and he’s been a longtime customer and friend. We were talking and he told me he was looking for an old truck.”
Barnes connected Korner with his father 90-year old father Don Barnes, who still had the truck their family used from 1979 to 1985 for racing at Riverside.
“I went up there to look at it in January,” Korner said. “I said does it run? And he was so proud of it. He said ‘Oh yeah, it runs, I drove it around the block a year ago.’ He just had some cool stories about it.”
The truck is a 1972 Chevrolet C30.
“Basically that truck came from the telephone company,” Gary Barnes said. “My dad worked for the telephone company and they were selling off a bunch of those Chevrolet trucks. It had a big tool box on it that the phone company would use. We took that box off and the truck went to Paducha, Ky to have the whole back bed remade with the the ramp and the tool boxes and the rack.”
After spending the winter and spring restoring the truck from the frame up, Korner posted pictures of the rebuild on Facebook on July 7 and from there the post went viral through the short track racing community. Korner’s Facebook post ended up being shared more than 400 times and garnered more than 400 likes and more than 100 comments.
Korner’s sons Glenn Jr. and Noah compete full-time in the SK Light Modified division at Stafford. Saturday they will haul their two SK Light Modifieds in their regular box trailer and bring Noah’s entry for the Bud Light Open 80 Tour Type Modified race on the restored ramp truck.
“We’ve got our small little circle of people that follow us, but I’ve never really been a part of something that has blown up like that,” Noah Korner said of the reaction on social media to the restored ramp truck. “It was fascinating to see that. … And the thing is just badass.”
Said Glenn Korner Sr.: “I was amazed. I just thought it would be nice to have something that included somebody’s family history. The Canton NAPA supports the kids all the time. It’s just great to have got the chance to restore it. They were so proud of it. Having that back in the 1970’s, that was like having the Cadillac of all Cadillac’s going to the track.”
Noah Korner, a former national champion in Legends car competition and two-time winner in the SK Light Modified division at Stafford in 2019, will be making his debut in a Tour Type Modified Saturday at Stafford.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Noah Korner said. “It’s going to be a big difference. You get in that car and you step on the gas and it’s going to go. With the SK Light you step on the gas and you wait to go. It’s more of a momentum driving car. [The Tour Type Modified] is going to be like driving a Legends car again.”
The big weekend for the Korner family kicks off Friday at Stafford. The business owned by Glenn Korner Sr. – Midstate Site Development – is sponsoring the Firecracker 30 for the Street Stock division Friday. The division will run for a $5000 plus purse with $700 on the line for the event winner. The event was originally scheduled for July 3 but has been postponed the last two weeks due to rain.
“I’m pretty excited for all the Street Stock guys to have a shot at a nice purse,” Glenn Korner Sr. said.
Said Noah Korner: “It’s awesome. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It seems like there’s a lot of interest in the Street Stocks. My dad loves giving back to racing and those guys are always putting on a good show and they deserve it. Those are the up and comers. You never know what that little boost might do for a small team.”
Photos below courtesy of the Korner Family
AWESOME!!!!!
That ramp truck with a modified on it is some of the best advertising and promotion. Drive that around town a while and kids will be interested. Park it at a school, mall, convenience store and let it attract attention.
A double stacker means nothing.
Fantastic, love the ramp truck.. it’s a rolling advertisement for how badass Modifieds are!
Great job and hope to see more of these and or the Box truck with trailer (ala, Big Orange).. great stuff!
That ramp truck is so cool. My Dad used to drive for Don Barns once in a while just before Gary started driving. Small world
Just like a Modified being a no nonsense “everything with a purpose” racecar, that tow vehicle is definitely appropriate for it! And to agree with Dareal and Goldy, definitely great advertising and a great promotional tool! How many young people, as in potentially new race fans, have seen race cars like that on ramp trucks? The perfect way to stir up some interest and attract fans (and maybe potential sponsors) to a race team! Very cool!
One of the biggest mistakes made is hiding race cars in gigantic metal boxes. There is no better advertisement that there’s a race track around than an open hauler!
So Cool. Seeing that ramp truck brings me back to a much simpler time. Plus, as someone said it’s a rolling billboard for modified racing. You just don’t see many ramp trucks anymore, but they’re so cool. Simple , functional and much easier to drive than a truck and trailer. Thanks to the korner family for preserving this piece of history
Best part of a ramp truck hauling a modified is that you don’t need to change the tires to load up, like you need to do with most trailers.
Anyone remember who it was that hauled their modified on a logging truck. Used to use the claw crane to load and unload the car.
Anyone remember who it was that hauled his modified on a logging truck? He used the crane to load and unload the car.
Hi Shawn seeing this I just wondering if you know weather or not somebody is going to restore wade cole’s ramp truck really like to see that happen nothing like the good ole times thanks for the article and keep up the great work
Joe M,
I haven’t heard anything about that happening.