Bob Benefield Racing Memoirs:

Bob grew up with driving in his blood. Since his dad was involved in logging, he often drove on narrow dirt roads in the woods when he could barely see over the steering wheel. When he was 18, he started driving a logging truck for a living....Read More

Doug drove Super Stocks from 1973 to 1974 at Shasta Speedway in Anderson.  He drove for Mike and Darlene Shane. He finished 16th in points the first year and fourth in points the second year in a Mercury Cougar.

After being out of racing for four years, Doug came back in a Limited Modified, which he raced at Chico. The Limited Modifieds were the old Super Modifieds with a four barrel carburetor.  After one year at Chico, the Modifieds were brought back to Shasta in Anderson, where Doug raced for four years in the Limited driving for Bill Bascom.
 

Max Berlinghoff, a noted Redding businessman who semi-retired in 1999 has succumbed to the effects of congestive heart failure. We lost Max on Thursday, March 12,2009 at Mercy Hospital; he was 74.
Read more...

Max was born in the small community of Lewiston, ID on August 20, 1934. During his youth he lived in and around communities near Lewiston, graduating from Kendrick H/S in 1953; he earned his "Letter" as a football player there. An avid swimmer, Max loved swimming and boating on the Snake River and Waha Lake, paling around with his friends, and for a while he even ran a stock car at the old Lewiston Speedway, a dirt track, in 1962. He later assisted with limited sponsorship of his son Roy for parts of three seasons at the Shasta Speedway (1986 - 1988). Max also loved riding dirt bikes with his friends, esp. his 1972 MAICO 400, which he rode throughout the 70's. Max began working for Standard Oil Co. in his mid-late teens and eventually became a Chevron dealer in both Lewiston,ID and Sunnyvale, CA. He completed his years of automotive service and repair when he sold the last business he owned in Sunnyvale, Bull Durham’s Garage.

The garage sold, Max moved his family to Redding in 1984 and shortly thereafter, this consummate entrepreneur began building a local business. With his past business experience, Max brought his industrious spirit and work ethic to the north state and founded what was originally called "$16 Towing." Due to government regulations he had to drop the "$" so the company became "16 Towing."

Always a prankster, Max enjoyed telling stories and jokes, especially those of the "homemade" variety. For these he was legendary. An old favorite that he modified was: "What do you do if your toes fall off on the freeway? You call a tow truck, ‘16 Towing’ that is."

Building a small business in Redding had its challenges but Max was up to the task. Together with Kathy, they operated the business and worked hard to bring up their younger children, who still lived in the family home. Chances are that if you drove the streets of Redding and Shasta County through the mid-1980’s and ‘90’s you likely saw Max driving his trusty 1948 Chevrolet tow truck, "Big Red." You might even have been helped home by Max in one of his "16 Towing" tow trucks.

Besides being a good businessman,a great story-teller and practical joker, Max is probably best known for being the kind of man who "never met a stranger." This phrase was synonymous with the name, Max Berlinghoff. He might have shown this by "bending your ear" for hours at a time after meeting you.

Max also had a long standing, long suffering, and long line of friends who met with him regularly at local eateries, where they discussed the matters of the day and made great strides at solving the problems facing our country

I started going to the races at Shasta Speedway in 1953 with Don Porter when I was 12 years old. I started racing at Shasta Speedway and Silver Dollar Speedway in 1964. I also raced at Redwood Acres Speedway in Eureka, California where I won the track championship in 1981 & 1982. The last year I raced was 1985 at Shasta Speedway. My favorite race track was Chico as I enjoyed racing on the dirt. My biggest accomplishment was winning the Championship 2 years in Eureka.

"I received your letter regarding his election in to the NCARA Hall of Fame for 2009.
Unfortunately, my Dad passed away in 1983, but my family and I are very pleased that he received this honor and we plan to attend the BBQ and presentation in Chico on July 25th.

I hope I'm not too late to provide a bit of information about Dad for the presentation.

Charlie DeFrates began his announcing career in 1958 announcing for KBLF Radio in Red Bluff. He also announced at the "Tehama Totem Fair" as it was called then, and the Red Bluff Roundup. Dad became a member of VARI in 1963 when he tried his hand at racing promotion, and then he began announcing at the beginning of the 1967 VARI season. He continued announcing until 1972 (I think). Dad announced at both Chico and Anderson during these years.

Dad loved the "mudding in" of the dirt track, he was amazed that the racers turned their cars over to untrained drivers for the powder puff" races, he loved the get togethers after the races for either pizza in Anderson or steak and eggs in Chico, but I think my entire family would agree that Dad's favorite moment was during the 1971 season when he received a special trophy from his fans at Shasta Speedway. This trophy even had Dad's saying engraved on it..."lining them up two by two like ducks going to water". This was something he said before every main event and it became a line he was very well known for. I still don't know how they pulled it off, but Dad had no clue what was happening that night, they sent security up to get him out of the announcer's stand , they wouldn't tell him what was going on, and the next thing he knew he was on the track and someone else had the microphone, and was talking about him, which was not at all what he was used to!  He was very touched and was proud as could be of that trophy.

We all loved going to the races with Dad and went frequently. My brother BJ and my sister Nonny helped out in the announcing stand many times. My sister Tracy and I mostly just got to watch the races and cheer for our favorites. Dad loved being able to joke around with the racers and the crew at both tracks and if he could do it with the mic in hand so they couldn't talk back it was even better for him. He was known as "one armed Charlie" to a lot of people, but he was just treated like Charlie by the racing family.

Thanks so much for honoring our Dad."
Lilly

Quick Racing Resume:

1965:
Motorcycle Racing - Won many races in the Mid-West and the West Coast. Mid-Western States Dirt Track Championship in Ohio.

1967:
Sprint Car Driver and Fabricator

1972:
Capital Speedway, Sacramento, CA: Multiple Wins

Calistoga Speedway: Fast Times, International Driver's Challenge (Series of races in Pacific Northwest and Canada)

British Columbia: Win

Skagit Speedway, WA: Set Track Record. In a race with over 100 cars that qualified, Pat led the Main Event until 80th lap when engine failure ended the night early.

Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico, CA: More than 100 cars qualified, Pat set Fast Time Led the Main Event till lap 80 when involved in an accident with a lapped car.

Going to the races in Anderson with an occasional trip to Willow and Chico with his dad in the 1950's was the beginning of a lifelong affair with auto racing for photographer Art Spaulding.

In the early years his heroes were Don Porter and Herb Allen.

When Anderson re-opened in 1962 he took on the job of setting up the white tires in the infield in exchange for free admission to the races.

In the early 1960's he worked at a "Flying A" station that sponsored three Flathead Modifieds driven by Bob Gutherie, Bill McCormick and Frank Neutze.

He then found heaven, working at Butchers Shell, where they had three Overhead V8 "Hot" cars driven by Hank Butcher, Orval Whitson and Bob Hodges which raced at E. 8th St. in Chico, the big track in Anderson, downtown Medford, Klamath Falls and Lemon Valley in Reno.

In 1963 by pooling money with friends a sprint car was purchased and traveling the west coast with driver Bill McCormick began.  They raced with an without roll cages and with and without wings.

After taking time out to fight a war, Viet Nam, he worked on a local Super Modified driven by Dean Slinkard.

While attending college he asked promoter Don Porter for a job as track photographer, Don said "yes" and as the saying goes, "The rest is history."

35 years later he is still snapping away.

Track photographer at Silver Dollar Speedway and Shasta Raceway Park with time spent with the BCRA, CRA, NARC/Golden State are among his credits.

Traveling the U.S. taking photos of race cars his collection ranges from Nextel Cup cars to local go-karts, with dragsters, monster trucks, motorcycles, and boats thrown in. Even some bicycle races.

You name it, if you can race it, he has a photo.

You who know him may say he eats, sleeps, and lives racing.  Known as the "Chico Flasher" other than his family, which comes first, he has no other interests and does not want any.

When asked to sum up his life he simply states, "My life has been a long and strange journey and I have enjoyed every minute of it."

Position: Time keeper Somewhere in the '60s, maybe 1965

Date of service: As Chief time keeper VARI around 1968

How her interest in motorsports developed:  Married Bob Boeller

Ira Compton asked me to go see Laura Robinson, they needed someone.

Who Karen worked with both as a time keeper and all the promoters you worked for I started with Laura and I think it was Jack Tindle then and then John

Work for both VARI both at Chico and Anderson. Wrked at Anderson when booth was in the infield