My Dad, Leon Stanfield, passed away this past Monday, the 5th of March. He had been in declining health due to heart and lung problems for several years, and my brothers and sister managed to get to his house in time for last private visits and we were all there when he died.

I was sitting with Dad when he passed at 2:55 AM on Monday.

Those of you who remember the dirt-track racing scene in Bakersfield, CA. and other nearby ovals, Dad had raced since just after WWII until 1987, a career of 50 years going in circles. (Go fast, turn left, repeat..)

I have awesome action photos from the 1950's, as well as pictures of his later campaigns, which moved on from stock cars to the 'Foreign Stock' class, where he drove Volvos much like the one I have now.

After the Volvos, Dad built and raced a series of Fiat 600's, one of which I still have. The secret to his many wins in the Fiat was the original Abarth engine he rebuilt and installed. For those unfamiliar with Abarth, he was to European cars what Shelby was to US cars. Abarth 'hopped up' virtually every type of European car, including Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Fiat, and Ferrari, to name just a few.

When the Foreign Stock class finally died from lack of competition, Dad put the Abarth engine back into the original '67 Fiat it came from. He spent a lot of time over the last years of his life tinkering with that car, intending some day to complete a restoration. Today, the car is completed mechanically, and Dad was just finishing the body work when he became too ill to work on it.

I have that car now (in fact, I inherited all his cars) and I plan to carry on where he left off. As far as I have been able to discover, it is the only 1967 Fiat Abarth 1000 remaining.

Dad raced on for a few more seasons after the Foreign Stock class ended; he raced in Mini Stock, driving an incredible Ford Pinto (!!!) that he re-engineered. Of course, he rarely lost in that car either! When he finally hung up his spurs, he pulled the carburetor off the Pinto, serviced it for long-term storage, and it now sits in storage where he left it.

An interesting note, Dad bought a Volvo P1800s sport coupe new in 1965, and when it finally needed a third engine rebuild, he engineered a Buick/Rover aluminum V8 for it. I was living far from home in those days, and only rode in it a few times; we headed up the Porterville Highway out of Bakersfield, and accelerated until the speedometer needle was buried at 140 mph, when he shifted into 4th gear and smoked the rear tires!!

I also drove the car, but at that time the raw horsepower was far too much for me to handle. Luckily, I've improved my driving skills a lot since then!

Dad retired the car shortly after finishing it, claiming he just couldn't afford to keep tires on it. It remains in good condition, needing only to have the carb reinstalled and a battery hooked up to come to life again. At this time, my plans for that car are to have a full aluminum interior built, a roll cage installed, and to repaint the car and use it on the Vintage Racing circuit.

The Mears family of Bakersfield recently paid Dad a huge compliment and told the world how he started them on the road to NASCAR so long ago. In a broadcast interview a few days before he died, Casey Mears told the story of how his father and uncle learned to race to win, and how they might never have amounted to much but for Leon's teaching them years ago. They took his lessons and began winning...

Dad lost 95% of his hearing due to Scarlet fever in 1931, and thus was classified 4-F for military service in WWII. Not being able to enlist, Dad joined the U.S. Merchant Marine and sailed 5 voyages throughout the south Pacific on board fuel and oil tankers.

Congress finally recognized the contributions of those who served in the Merchant Marine during the war just a few years ago, and Dad was extremely pleased to be included in the rosters of WWII veterans. He was a major contributor to the restoration of the Victory Ship that is now on display at San Francisco, although he was never able to go visit it.

As I find time over the next few weeks, I'll be building a memorial web
site honoring him, with many action photos from the early 1950's through the
1980's.

Steve