Torbay Steam Fair 8th August 2010

Sounds like the burger queue at Ebbsfleet!

Did you ever cop the state of the pub outside that ground? It was in a right state and in the "garden" there was an empty rabbit hutch with the door swinging open, half submerged in two feet of grass which led to the comment "Things are so bad here, even the rabbit's pissed off" ~ trouble was, even the ham rolls tasted a bit "suss" after that. A barmaid with a two black eyes and a broken nose looked strangely like the skinny fiddler too come to think of it................but at least she wasn't wearing a Homburg! ;D

Mike Nancekivall the gentle giant who hailed from just over the other side of the Tamar Bridge and just how tall was he? 6 ft 8in or even taller? Well that’s how tall the bearded one looked to me and he always wore those orange overalls to match that orange car.

He was so big you wondered how he was ever going to be able to get inside the car and he had to bend himself in double when he was in it and it was more the case he was wearing the car. I often though if he had cut to holes in the floor of his car then should it break down he could have put his legs through the holes, stand up and just run around the track until he finished the race.

I believe he mostly only raced as a blue roof but did make the red grade a few times, his car was not too bad but Billy back then led the way with the cars he built and everyone waited to see Bills latest car and try to copy the design. I think Bill took the sport so far forward with his car designs and you only have to look at the car he drove last season to see just how good he builds his cars.

While Mike was never as good as Bill who did dominate stockcar racing all those years ago, he still won a number of race meeting finals as the results for the 11th June 1975 prove.

As the final winner at this meeting he did have to start the very last race the
Grand National a whole lap behind and still crossed the finishing line in third place.


Newton Abbot- 11th June 1975

Heat 1 – 667 Bill Batten,582,611,553,778,509,643
Heat 2 – 519 Al Reeday,583,546,538,800,651,619,559
Consolation – 775 Wilf Blundell,527,610,588,538,599,652
Final – 553 Mike Nancekivell,527 Tony Hooper,546 Mike Williams,656,800,
Grand National – 800 Roy Goodman,656,553,611,546,610

Jim Snell Jnr used to race bangers before taking up F2s.

He went on to compete in Tractor Pulling in "Starlight Express", the tractors getting bigger & more powerful cumulating in this beast powered by 3 Allison V12 engines. It was black when Jim had it.





Jim has since retired from Tractor pulling & Starlight Express sold.

Know Jim Snr & Margaret very well

blimey, welcome back to the land of the living, Neil. Have they only just got the internet in Scotland?