Gene Bergin

Gene at an auto show with future NASCAR champion, 11 year-old Mike Stefanik.

Gene Bergin

The 11 year-old boy on the right is Mike Stefanik, who went on to become one of the all-time great Modified drivers and win 9 NASCAR national championships (7 in Modifieds).

Gene Bergin

1970. Gene is in the Allyn Tool Special.

Gene Bergin

Langhorne. The cartoon character on the rear quarter panel resembles, but is not exactly, the Hanna Barbera character “Snaggletooth”.

Gene Bergin

Ed drove Billy Corazzo’s 9x at least thrice, at Dover, Martinsville, and Langhorne in 1970. Photo from Racingthroughtime.com.

This photo was reported to have been taken at the second Devil’s Bowl outing of the 2x Pinto on July 11, 1971. The car’s first race at Devil’s Bowl was on June 27, 1971, when Gene Bergin DNF’d after hitting the wall (thanks to Justin St. Louis for the information). Prior to its races at Devil’s Bowl, the car’s very first race was on June 20^th in the 100-lap Getty Open at Oxford Plains, where Gene drove it to a fourth-place finish. It next raced at a Stafford Springs open-comp show on June 23^rd. The car’s first win was the Getty Open at Oxford Plains on July 18^th. On July 24^th the car was allowed for the first time to race in NASCAR, at Stafford Springs. Photo by Lew Boyd of Coastal 181.