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Ask Bob Judkins who has driven
for him since he started building racecars in the early sixties, and
you’ll hear a who’s who of auto racing legends. Jerry Wheeler first
drove Judkin’s ’37 Ford Coupe at Plainville, followed by Tony
Mordino, and then Billy Harmon. It was Ed Flemke who first asked
Bob to paint the number 2x on his car. At that time, Flemke was
running with the Eastern Bandits, and there was a 1x, a 3x, and a
4x. “Put 2x on the car, and I’ll drive it”, Flemke told him.
Judkins and Flemke began competing at the Norwood Arena. Mario
“Fats” Caruso, Rene Charland, and Gene Bergin all drove the ’37
Ford.
Judkin’s
second coupe was a ’36 Chevy, and he continued to hire a host of
notable drivers, including Kenny Shoemaker and Maynard Forette. In
later years Reggie Ruggerio and Brett Bodine took their turns in the
2x.
In 1971,
Judkins introduced a new style of racecar, hanging a pinto body on
the famous 2x. NASCAR was not ready to do away with the pre-war
coupe bodied racers, and they refused to allow the pinto-bodied car
to compete. Stafford’s Jack Arute tried to convince NASCAR to allow
the 2x to run, telling Bill France, Sr. that the new body style was
the “future of racing”. When he was not able to convince France
through letters and phone calls, Arute made the trip down to Daytona
Beach to persuade France face to face, clearing the way for Judkin’s
2x to be the first pinto bodied NASCAR modified.
Judkins went on excel at Riverside Park,
with the late Dave Caruso, then Jerry Marquis having driven the car
to many victories. Bob currently resides in Florida, and has won
track championships at both the Orlando Speedworld and New Smyrna
tracks. In his fifth decade of fielding a racecar, Bob Judkins
continues to be highly competitive. Last year, Judkins entered the
2x in 47 races, coming away with 11 feature wins. Today, we welcome
Bob Judkins into the NEAR Hall of Fame. |
