The Innovator -
Bruce Van Dyke
Bruce Van Dyke was one of those
owner-drivers who was very innovative and not a person to
follow the norm. His first love was flying - however he gave
that up and pursued a new hobby - the new sport of Stock Car
Racing.
Bruce got his start at Stock Car Racing
in 1952 - the year that Merrittville opened. In 1954 Bruce
raced at both Ancaster and Merrittville, winning his first
trophy at the Thorold oval that year in a 1937 Ford Coupe
sponsored by Ontario Auto Supply.
Bruce and his wife Ruth lived at #7 Court
Street in St. Catharines were he continued to rework and
improve his Ford flat head racers. Bruce continued with much
success as a front runner - racing flat head Fords through
the 1957 season in a 1937 Ford sponsored by Henley Motors.
During 1958 Bruce was one of the first pilots to move up
to the 272 cu. in. Ford overhead valve V8, driving a 1938
Ford Coupe in the blue and yellow colors of Taylers Sunoco.
During 1959 Bruce not only moved his
family to Merritton but also started to experiment with
unconventional cars - realizing that horsepower wasn't the
only key to winning. In 1959 Bruce built the #88 1949 Ford
Club Coupe full bodied stock car. This car started out with
a conventional suspension but Bruce started to design his
own suspension utilizing coil springs. Sometimes it worked
and sometimes it didn't. This car was successful against the
coupes of it's day and even ran against the bugs on the dirt
at Lancaster Speedway.
During 1960 Bruce would again move his
family to Stoney Creek and continues to formulate and
innovate with his racers and in 1959 and 1960 he even went
to the first two Daytona Races as a spectator. However,
during 1961, a spectator no longer he built a 1953
Studebaker low boy modified with a 430 Lincoln Engine with
six carburetors. They towed the new car all the way from
their new home in Stoney Creek to Daytona and was fast
enough to start 10th - however with him not being a NASCAR
regular he had to start 31st. The first 30 spots were
'reserved' for NASCAR regulars. The Modified flew around
the 2 1/2 mile oval - an experience that Bruce will never
forget - however with two laps to go the car broke and
didn't complete the event. Bruce proved that he could race
on the high banks and towed the car home - never to be raced
again. By the way - that was the same year that Cam
Gagliardi from Lockport NY also ran the race.
Bruce came home and concentrated on his
career as a dirt track racer and in 1962 built his first
offset chassis. From the outside it was a 1962 Ford Galaxie
but from the inside it was probably one of the most radical
designs of an offset dirt sportsmen. The car had the engine
mounted in the left where the driver would sit and Bruce sat
directly to the right of the engine The whole driveline was
offset to the right for better weight distribution. The body
on the car was salvaged from a 4 door New York City taxi and
this made for one large and fast racer.
Bruce's working career as a construction
engineer was definitely showing and by 1966 he unveiled - in
my mind - his most memorable racer. This car was a long
wheel-based 1966 Ford Galaxie Coupe mounted on the refined
offset chassis of the previous car with many improvements to
the chassis, cooling and horsepower. The engine to the
left - this time a 427 cu. In. Ford (room for 2 power plants
if rules allowed), and Bruce to the right. The No. 88 Stock
Car with all new Ford Sheet Metal sponsored by Lincoln
Motors Ltd. of St. Catharines gave many of the coupe pilots
fits. Bruce was a firm believer in performance being a
function of weight distribution and not horsepower. The
weight distribution allowed Bruce to get on and off the
throttle quicker in the corners and be extremely competitive
against the conventional coupes of the day. At times he ran
a basically stock 392 cu. in. Ford in the car and out-ran
the competition. The only weak link in the car was the short
axle which would take a lot of the torque and thus break -
but Bruce was working on a solution. With many new ideas and
his own designs and labour the cost of this most innovative
racer totaled $2,500.00.
Bruce was always a Ford pilot - long
after the others drivers moved to Chevrolet. He stated that
"Any idiot can run a Chevrolet ... it takes a fool to run a
Ford." During 1966 and 1967 the Galaxie ran all over the
US and Canada - both at Speedway Park and Merrittville as
well as Humberstone with invitationals at Salem, Indiana;
Langhorne, PA; and Syracuse, New York. Bruce even raced one
rough dusty Sunday afternoon in the clay at Cayuga Speedway
in 1966.
During 1968 Bruce could see the writing
on the wall and rather than change his car he built an
asphalt chassis since the offset dirt cars were being banned
in the US and the Super Stock division was introduced in
Ontario. Bruce would run the #08 at Flamborough, Nilestown,
Delaware, Lancaster and Holland with some success. One of
his prettiest cars was the light yellow Torino fastback - a
more conventional car that won a 100 lap championship at
Flamborough. This car was conventional as far as a chassis
and engine placement go but Bruce was one of the first short
track drivers and builders to use a 'big block Ford.'
From 1970 on Bruce continued to build and
experiment with designs and thus abandoned his role as
driver - putting Terry Kitchen in the seat. Again costs
started to escalate but Bruce could keep his costs down by
building and fabricating many of his own parts.
By 1973 the costs of a first class race
team escalated close to $50,000 for asphalt and Ford racing
parts were hard to find since Ford was officially out of
racing. After a blown engine at Flamborough one Saturday he
loaded the Mustang racer one last time , headed for home and
announced to his wife Ruth that they were out of racing at
2:30 AM. This occurred during the third week of September -
1973.
Rather than switch to Chevrolets the Van
Dykes decided to retire their team since their whole career
had been based on Fords - one of the few to stay loyal to
the brand.
The Van Dykes continued to prosper in
Stoney Creek where Bruce continued his engineering career
while he and his wife raised their daughter Linda who now
resides near Bismarck, Ontario. A recent visit to their
home made me realize just how precise and innovative Bruce
Van Dyke the racer was. He was never one to look back - but
always to his next technical challenge.
Many of us remember the night at
Merrittville when a gas tank off of Denny Deagle's racer
became trapped under Bruce's car. Immediately Bruce's car
erupted into flames with a trail of flames left around the
oval. Again this is only a memory to Bruce - a scary one -
but nothing to dwell upon ... he cleaned up the car in the
pits and tried to finish the night.
Bruce spent the last 10 years of
employment in the engineering department of Dofasco until
retiring in 1991. His family's passion since retiring as a
race driver has been snowmobiling. He and his family have
spent many years of trial riding and he continues to ride
his Yamaha today looking forward to the snow. He is a
present member of the Mount Forest Snowmobile Club and
spends at least one day a week riding a variety of trails
two hours from home. Not bad for a man soon to enter his
68th year!
When it's not snowing Bruce an Ruth head
for many different locales - via their motor home - with
over 200,00 miles on it, it definitely doesn't sit in the
driveway. Here's to the Van Dykes - 'May you continue to
enjoy many more years of trail riding - both snowmobile and
motor home and THANKS for your hospitality!"
Sincerely, Rick Kavanagh