Dave Lape and Original Car Owner ‘Burger’ Don Knapfel set to Debut Their Historic 1977 Tobias Chassis and Mr. Dirt Title Winning Car this Saturday at the Fonda Speedway Museum for ‘Dave Lape Night’
Story and Photos By: MATT NOLES / RACERSGUIDE.COM
SPRAKERS, NY- June 22, 2016- Dave Lape had been driving his own equipment for the entirety of his young career and by the end of 1976, it seemed as if the hand he had been dealt had finally run its course. In short, the money was gone and Lape’s desire to continue driving far outweighed his means.
Fate, as it so often does, lent a helping hand in the most unusual of ways. In fact, if you had told Lape that his career was merely a few months away from taking off and that he would become a professional hired gun behind the wheel of the very same modifieds he had adored for the majority of his life, he probably would have laughed you out of the room.
“It was the end of the season in 1976 and I was having an awful year,” stated Lape. “Burger [Don Knapfel] came over to the garage and they wanted me to try their car out for the last race of the year at Fonda.” With literally nothing to lose, the young Lape agreed to the proposition and it became an opportunity that would permanently alter the history of his racing career for the better.
As Lape was running in the modified feature behind the wheel of the Knapfel owned, white No. 15 modified on that fateful Saturday night, he quickly made his way into the top-five. A feat, which he would later find out, that had never been accomplished by the previous driver to strap into that particular machine.
With the laps winding down, Lape found himself in third place and running strong until the very end of the event. As he crossed beneath the checkered flag, the motor detonated on his way across the finish line. For Lape, he thought his driving deal with Knapfel was like the motor he had just destroyed; up in smoke.
“I blew the motor when I crossed the line and I thought I was done,” Lape said with a smile. “But they were thrilled when I got back to the pit area. I thought they were nuts but they exclaimed that ‘that car had never gone that fast before!’ That’s when the deal that would change my career really happened.”
Now that Lape had a car owner and Knapfel had a driver, there was only one thing left to add to the equation; a car. Again, fate stepped in and dealt the fledgling race team a helping hand. “We were a Syracuse that fall and Dave Delaney [long-time crew member and friend] came over to get me and show me this car,” Lape recalled. “It was a Tobias chassis that was new for 1977 and it was something completely different that we had never seen before.”
The 1977 Tobias chassis was the first dirt modified to utilize a torsion rack and torsion bars for both the front and the rear suspension along with a torque arm. For modifieds of the time, leaf springs were still the order of the day for both the front and rear of the chassis. If Lape and Knapfel were looking for something revolutionary, this car was it. Needless to say, one thing led to another and the chassis was purchased.
“That car was different than what we were racing at the time,” Lape continued. “We didn’t even know what the torque arm was if you want the truth. It was a kit and we had to do a lot of the work ourselves and we actually built it in Burger’s office that winter because that was the only place that had heat.”
When the 1977 season finally arrived, so did the duo of Lape and Knapfel and quite a few drivers and teams took notice in a hurry. “It was fast right out of the box,” said Lape. “I was kind of surprised.” His surprise quickly turned to panic his first night behind the wheel of the now famous No. 44b.
“I was running and all of a sudden the steering wheel went straight up into the screen,” stated Lape. “The mounts for the steering box weren’t holding and the first night and we were going for the lead when the steering wheel went straight up away from me and into the screen. I couldn’t believe it.”
After those first night jitters, all systems began to run smoothly for Lape and Knapfel. So smoothly, in fact, that they decided to take the proverbial show on the road. “I knew we were faster than anybody,” recalled Lape. “We were just going to race Fonda on Saturday night’s but we were running so good I told the guys that we had to travel with this car.”
And travel they did; places like Weedsport, Rolling Wheels, Ransomville, Albany-Saratoga and countless other venues quickly became notches on Lape’s ever-increasing victory belt. “We really started going good then,” commented Lape. “We were winning frequently and everyone seemed really enthused; really happy.”
To say he was winning frequently is an understatement. During the 1977 season, Lape and Knapfel went to victory lane a total of 23 times; 10 of which came at the historic Fonda Speedway in Fonda, New York. Lape and Knapfel also won the 1977 Mr. Dirt title taking the top spot from 1976 title holder Will Cagle. For Lape, he would only rekindle the same kind of magic once more in his illustrious career behind the wheel of his famed 1982 ‘Troyer Destroyer’ chassis when he garnered 28 total victories that season.
Career win totals weren’t the only thing to change for Lape behind the wheel of the No. 44b, his outlook on driving changed as well. “I was ready to quit in 1976 to be honest,” remarked Lape. “But this car changed everything for me. I was finally able to race for a living and be a hired driver instead of going broke trying to race on my own funds alone. I was finally able to get paid to race.”
Lape’s whole racing career can be attributed to that one magical season behind the wheel of Knapfel’s No. 44b; the last 37-years of it at least. “I finally got to race for a living and that’s what I’d always wanted if you want the truth,” Lape said. “This car put me on that route. Never in a million years did I ever think any of this was possible. That one season really was a lifesaver as far as my racing career was concerned.”
A lifesaver is putting it modestly. Had Lape actually hung up his helmet for good in 1976, he never would have become one of the best drivers in DIRT Motorsports history. His countless victories and track championships would have been a dream that was never realized; a Hall of Fame career unlived.
“I knew that we had something pretty special the moment I got in that car back then,” continued Lape. “I just didn’t know how special it was really going to be and I certainly didn’t know how it was going to change my life. We had a dominant year and I owe a lot to that car; I really do.”
Now that this integral missing link of modified racing history has been restored to its former glory, Lape’s career has finally come full circle a mere 53 years after it began. “To have this car finished and restored is really something,” said Lape. “This is the last car that I’m ever going to build and I’m glad that it was this one.”
Lape and Knapfel began work on the infamous No. 44b months after his retirement in 2013. “This was a long and tedious process,” Lape stated. “I had a lot of help from a lot of the original guys that were associated with this car and if it weren’t for them, I don’t know if this ever would have happened.”
Aside from the driver and the car owner, the original painter and lettering crew and a longtime crew member were also along for the journey. “We had Burger, Dave Delaney, George Marino and Wayne Gaige involved in the building and painting process,” Lape concluded. “And John and Paul Lakata with Barney Bellinger were huge with doing the lettering on the car. It was a total team effort with some really talented guys. The car turned out great.”
Dave Lape will be on hand at the Fonda Speedway museum this Saturday to sign autographs, tell old war stories and debut the fully restored Tobias modified that paved the way for his legendary career. Fans are encouraged to stop in and visit not only with Lape but also to enjoy the other displays that the museum has to offer.
The doors to the museum will be open until racing begins at 7:30 p.m.
Matt Noles is a contributing writer for Racers Guide, Speedway Illustrated and Dirt Track Digest. He currently resides in Sprakers, New York.
