Hi to all. My name is George Devol. I was the guy always hanging around with Dick at Dover during the early years. I met Dick through his brother Doug around late 1960. I went to Doug’s house to help him tear down the engine in his car waiting for a new Engle Roller cam Dick was bringing home from school (Ga. Tech in Atlanta). Doug had a ’55 Chev with a 389 Pontiac engine. I became good friends with Doug, Dick and youngest brother Jeff during the 60s. Dick’s car at the time was a ’57 Corvette which later got a 340 HP 327 and 4-speed. Dick bought the ’61 sometime in ’63. If you go to Morosoracing.com site, there is a photo of the letter Dick sent to me telling about buying the car. He bought it from a friend, Al Davidson who sold it in disgust after it had a fire in the engine compartment. It was a 315 fuelie car. A began hanging around mostly with Dick, although all of us (his brothers, Dick’s good friend Hank Dietrich, Hank’s brother John and others) did lots of other things besides racing and cars – hanging around at the bars in Port Chester (of course), going to parties, the movies, playing football etc. In early ’64 I began to write a column for Drag News. At that time all of us couldn’t get enough of racing. I even remember one crazy weekend when we went to Atco one night, Cecil Country the next night then drove all night to go to Dover on Sunday.
In ’67 I had to go to Navy bootcamp so that kind of broke the practice of going to the track all the time. After I served my time on active duty I went to work for Dick in Greenwich. I was his first employee after his part time bookkeeper Helen. I stayed with Dick in Greenwich and the move to Stamford, but I left to go on my own when he was moving to Guilford. I still enjoy remembering all the good times and remember when each of his children were born. Sadly Dick is gone and so is Hank Dietrich, but I still go up to see Rick in Guilford about once a month. I’m now retired ( I published a newsletter about cruises for over 23 years), but still playing around with cars. Currently my ’62 Corvette is getting a decent paint job after having the car for 37 years ! I bought it when I was working for Dick in Greenwich in 1972.
If anyone has any questions about the times in the 60s, I’ll try and fill you in. I still see some of the Dover crowd from time to time, Paul Nelson, Kevin Dunn, and recently saw Skeet Russell after about 40 years. Too bad the time goes by so quickly !
Welcome George ! and THANK YOU for the factual history. I must have ‘just’ missed meeting you, as I started in ’67. With this Site …many have filled me in on the “early years’ .We hope you can make it with that Vette to the Reunion in Danbury and the 2nd Annual Nos’ Drags .
dino.
gcd1962