Murdick, Myers, & Hall caught in “Spider-Man’s” racing web

By Mike Dutko

For 7/2/04

When Marvel’s “Spider-Man” takes time out from his busy schedule for “Caught In The Web” night Saturday, July 10 at Mercer Raceway Park, Spidey will have to share the limelight with the heroes of the Campbell-Peterson Trail and Turf big Block Modifieds who will be behind the grandstands before the race signing autographs. I went to three of Mercer’s long time competitors to find what it is that keeps them “caught in the web” of auto racing.

Les Myers is known to his legion of fans as the “Reno Rocket”. It’s a nickname I gave him back in the late 70s when I did my radio show in Franklin. Les has always been an active supporter of Mercer Raceway Park. In fact, there was a time when Myers would tow to Mercer to compete although Tri-City Speedway was also running Saturday night and a lot closer to home.

“There’s always been something about this place that suits my style of driving,” said Myers. “For a little track, it’s real fast. I won my first modified feature right here at Mercer. At the time I was driving for Bud Waid.”

But what is it that keeps Les Myers running in circles? “I’ll tell you honestly what is. It’s the number of fans whom over the years have been kind enough to make me their favorite. That’s what I will miss if and when I hang up my helmet. It’s the fans. Really, there’s no other reason for me to be out here. I thought I might be hanging it up, but it’s gets under your skin, and you just can’t ignore it. So I’ll keep on racing as long as I can.”

Carl Murdick has been caught in the web of automobile racing for 45 years! That’s an incredible amount of time, and he remains a competitive driver today. Over the course of those 45 years Murdick says nothing really stands out in his mind that might be the catalyst that keeps him going.

“A few years ago we could run at the front of the pack, but now we’re just a top 10 runner,” Murdick says modestly. “It’s something that gets under your skin. The longer it goes the more it gets under your skin.”

Murdick pits nightly beside his son Dave, who has emerged as one of the best modified shoes in western Pa. “I always knew Dave could do it,” stated the elder of the Murdick Family.  “He’s got good equipment and he’s a good driver.”

Earlier this year, Murdick was involved in a frightening crash in the middle of the back stretch that sidelined him for a few weeks. After 45 years does something like that maybe put thoughts of retirement in his head? “Not really,” expressed the Butler native. “It’s like everything else once you get hooked, you just can’t get away.”

Rick Hall says the thrill and excitement that comes with driving a racecar is what keeps him coming back for more. Hall began his racing career in 1976. Since that time he has been turning left all but two years.

“There was a time back when I was racing six cylinders that I decided to get out for a couple years, but I met Bob Rial and he gave me a chance to run a big block and I was hooked again,” acknowledged the Stoneboro racer.  “We had some success together and it pulled me back in.”

Today Rick Hall drives a car owned by his father, known to everybody in the pits as “Skinny”. “He helps me out quite a bit with the limited car,” Hall says. Skinny is known for stirring things up in the pits. Does his quick sense of humor liven things up in the Hall pits too? “Oh yeah; he likes to get things going!”

When Rick Hall looks back someday he will always remember one of the last big-block modified races run at Buckeye Speedway in Ohio. “We won that race. I think it was called the Buckeye Shootout or something like that. It was a pretty exciting race and it paid $2,000 to win so that was probably the most exciting thing that’s happened in my career.”

There’s another common thread among all these racers. The racing insider will know that there is a father and son connection for all. For Les Myers it’s his step-son Jeremy Paup who wheels the #X modified. Of course we already talked about Carl and Dave Murdick and Rick Hall and his Dad Skinny Hall. The family atmosphere at Mercer Raceway Park extends well beyond the grandstand, and that’s the way it is for so many families in this area.

Just like “Spider-Man” they get bit by the bug, and when it gets under your skin you just can’t get away. No matter the numbers of years that have gone by, family is something Mercer Raceway Park has always promulgated. Whether it’s the long time associations of the competitors or the legion of loyal fans who sit in the grandstands, once the bug bites you, baby you’re hooked!

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