51 replies to this topic

[MSwiss]

As mentioned in another thread, Dave loves reading the good things said about him.

If you have any stories you want to relate, about Dave's awesome racing prowess, his five-star sportsmanship on the track, or memories of the fun times at DJ's Hot Slots, please post them here.

I'm sure Dave and the other Slotbloggers will love to read them.

Any pictures would also be great.

[Noose]

I never met Dave until Sano 1. He was pitting next to me and he brought along some of his Bloom painted bodies and Tony P inspiration chassis builds to show me. We hit it off immediately.

I watched, as many did that day, as Dave earned his "Sano Dave" moniker. A great competitor for sure and I have enjoyed racing with him every since. A great guy and great racer.

[The Number of]

Like many who have had the pleasure of meeting and racing with Dave multiple times, picking one story just doesn't do justice to the man. Every time I had the good fortune to spend time with Dave the results were always positive and upbeat, covering all topics from racing to the meaning of life, sometimes they are the same. No, I can't pick one so I will pick them all.

God bless and keep you.

Your friend,

Bill

[Tex]

I enjoy Dave's love of ALL things slot car related. He loves old non-competitive yet "classic" slot cars (ex: the Classic Manta Ray). He loves even slow (relative term), realistic-looking slot cars (BRM, etc).

I also love his attitude during a race; he takes it in stride if his car suffers damage and doesn't get all heated up about it... after all, it's toy cars. I enjoyed pitting for him at last year's RETRO race at DSC (Can-Am). Always with that broad smile. And I love HIS love of drumline competition.

The man is multi-faceted and loves every facet of life.

[Cheater]

Whether one is happy or sad is not determined by the bumps and bruises one encounters on the road called life. It is a conscious choice.

Five minutes with Sano you know he chose a long time ago to be happy. His exuberance, his smiles, his laughter, his jokes... Dude!!!

I'm proud to be able to call Sano Dave a friend, though our limited amount of face-to-face contact is not at all at the level I would wish.

You da man, Sano!

[Ricky Vegas]

Sano Dave – Crown Prince of Dudes,
 
We are all praying full throttle for you. Here is something to watch while you take your meds and rest.
 
It's an amazing period piece. Hope you have not seen it before. There's terrific racing footage in the second half, too.
 
This is "Carroll Shelby Goes Racing". Take good care.
 

[Dave Crevie]

Oh, man! Where do I start?

I guess the moment which impressed me most was at the first Sano. We had been running Retro cars at Mike's for a little while, and Dave and Ray Price convinced me to enter at the Sano. I looked at the list of racers expected to come, and I figured I would end up close to the bottom in the final results. Dave told me I was wrong, and that I would end up around eighth when all was done. And he nailed it. This was a real shot in the arm.
 
As for his track. There are some good ones.

My favorite is when one racer jumped the hump on the LTD and his car ended up stuck behind a fire extinguisher mounted to the wall near the track. It was really jammed in there.

And some of the creations guys would bring for hardbody night. Most entertaining.

On some of the slow nights near the end of his track, we could just sit around and chat. One night there was an unusually nasty thunderstorm, and I discovered that Dave and I both share a curiosity about weather. The two of us, can I say idiots, stood out in the parking lot while the tornado sirens blared and the wind wailed to watch the clouds as they boiled around. 
 
All I can hope is that I gave him a moment or two of joy during the time I have known him.

[PCH Parts Express]

Dear Dave...

 

I don't believe we have ever met. We here hope you are being taken care of well as far as meals, cocktails, a nice room, and show tickets.  

[Mike K]

I have two stories for and about Dave.

The first one was the summer after 9/11. I was planning a trip to visit family in the Chicago area. I called DJ’s and asked Dave what classes of races he might be running while I was in town. He advised that they would be have a GT12 race, so I started to set up a car to bring along. At the last minute I had second thoughts about bringing a controller on the plane with the increased security and left everything home in California. I did go to watch the race and no sooner than I introduced myself, Dave called out to the racers in the shop and got a loaner car and controller for me to use in the race! Not a secondhand loaner either! One that was capable of keeping pace in the race, if I had better driving skills. My first meeting with Dave was a testimony to his character, for sure!
 
Years later I got to know Dave much better after the Master’s Retro Race at Mid-America in Fox Valley. I was fortunate enough to pit next to Dave and we had great conversation. At one point he said Mike Steube was one of his childhood heroes growing up. I really did not know how great a builder Dave was until I offered him a Steube chassis to run. He politely declined the loaner. After I saw his workmanship I could see why he wanted to run his own stuff!
 
Dave and I have been friends ever since. I look forward to seeing him and buying him lunch every time I am in Chicago! Dave, the offer is always open to go to lunch! Be well, my friend!

[dz1]

Back in the day at DJ's HotSlots Dave was running a hardbody class using FCR and plastic bodies. I brought over a '55 Chevy Nomad in primer to the race that night and Dave passed it through tech. When another racer Ed "Junkyard Dog" brought his '55 Nomad painted really nicely, Dave passed that one also.

It wasn't until he placed the second Nomad down next to mine that he realized I had sectioned the car height by an 1/8 to a1/4 of an inch. Wasn't trying to skirt the rules, but when kidded by Dave on the primer paint jobs I rewarded him by showing up with a '55 Chevy the next week all painted in two colors with chrome trim and all.

Dave enjoyed the paint jobs I came up with later and I admired him for taking the time to appreciate the work.

[Guillermo Suar]

This one happened at the last Sano. We were racing the F1 B Main on the King and he was fighting with Mike for the move-up to the A.
 
I had a very good car and I was coming from behind. We were waiting for the last heat to start. He was on red and I was on white.
 
He asks me, “Where is Mike's car?” and I say,"You have to worry about me, not Mike. I’m in front of him." He looks at me surprised, looks at the numbers on the display, and wishes me luck.

 

In the middle of the heat there is a track call and I’m a couple of feet behind him on the straight. He looks at me and says, “Go ahead. Pass”.

I say “You don’t want me to pass. This is for the move-up to the A Main. He answers, “You are faster than me today. You get to pass.”
 
This shows what a great guy and even better racer and sportsman he is.
 
Another thing I love is him saying my name when he is race directing. It seems to me that he likes the sound of it and I certainly enjoy his pronunciation every single time.
 
Dave, I’m really wishing you will be feeling good enough to come to the Sano 9. I’m looking forward to seeing you. 

[Dennis David]

This is truly an incredible thread.

[Jim Webb]

I have several - here is the first:

 

Several years ago when I was still new to the crowd at Chicagoland, I was building a home track (The Serpent's Tooth) in my basement. People at Chicagoland followed the progress and often asked questions and otherwise showed interest. Near the end of construction, the track needed to be braided and striped and I was not about to do those delicate parts myself. Dave had already struck me as a "premier" kind of guy, and I kind of kept my distance out of respect. When asked about braiding help and striping skills, several guys said they weren't up to it. Dave was watching all this, and after awhile he said - with a giant grin on his face - "I'll help you!" I was taken aback - I didn't expect this from a "slot car god."

 

Well, Dave showed up a few days later and uttered some polite "oohs and ahhs" when he saw the track. Monty had loaned us his terrific glue application tool, so Dave, Tom (my awesome brother), and I got to it. Dave was a master - Tom and I cleaned, wound, and glued braid on the dispenser barrel, and Dave applied the glue to the recesses. As he did that, Tom and I followed and laid and pressed the braid. Dave showed us how to do everything. We followed his instructions, and everything turned out great. As we progressed, Dave showed us how to apply the glue to the recesses with Monty's rig and then guided us as we tried and succeeded ourselves. What a teacher! Well, the smell from the glue caused us to get silly just as we finished up, so we got out of there and called it a day. Thanks to Dave, no one will ever know that amateurs assisted with braiding the Serpent's Tooth.

 

A week or so later, Dave showed up again, this time ready to stripe the track. I handed him the Bugler and the 1-Shot paint, and he set things up so we had a rhythm. His skill in applying those stripes was breathtaking. The vast expanse of grey and silver gradually turned into a beautifully and perfectly striped track before our eyes. Tom and I were happy to refill the striper and clean it and change colors as Dave the surgeon directed us. The result was spectacular. I still have a mental photo of the finished track and Tom and Dave standing on the side of it grinning like proud parents. Priceless.

 

Well, the best was yet to come. A few days later, Dave showed up with his slot box. He hooked up, and as he ran several of his cars and the Lapmaster announced shorter and shorter lap times, his grin got bigger and bigger. After awhile, he looked at me and said "Jim - this track is as nice as any professional track I ever raced on. This track is SANO!"

 

Well, you can imagine what his comments meant at the time. They hold the same meaning today. That whole deal was the start of a terrific friendship that I will cherish forever.

 

More later!

 

Jim

[kvanpelt]

For me, before Dave was "Sano Dave", he was slot god of the Northern Illinois Falcon Series (NIFS). 

 

In the early 2000s, when I began slot racing, one of the travelling series races that came to my local raceway (Fox Speedway), was the NIFS. Doug and Brian Meharry did an excellent job of promoting the series and had some of us locals working hard on our cars in preparation. They introduced me to OWH and showed me the thread for the NIFS. Every month leading up to his race, we would look at the previous months results. EVERY MONTH the same old thing, Dave Fiedler sweeps all classes.

 

The podium shots always looked the same too, with Dave standing there with his JK Products T-shirt, holding his winning car that always sported the same beautiful white and blue paint scheme, and that legendary, big, ear to ear Sano Dave smile.

 

I spent many hours and significant dollars chasing that sumbitch, and have enjoyed every minute of it. Absolutely priceless!

 

Dave, you are a class act. I love you and pray you are able to find peace with your God and can spend eternity doing the things we love most! I hope I have given you a fraction of the joy you have brought into my life. Peace!

 

Kevin

[Steve Deiters]

I first met Sano Dave at the R4 a number of years ago now. He came up to me even though he didn't know me. He said he recognised me from my picture in "Car Model" magazine when I wrote for it many years ago. He said he liked to "... talk about the old stuff". We did over the course of the weekend talk a lot about the "old stuff". My favorite  "old stuff" story was his about riding over on his bicycle to the Monogram factory which was near where he lived just because it was there an he wanted to see what was going on. Fun stuff.

 

Over the years we talked about a lot of different things - 1/1 racing/racers/racing cars, slot racers from way back when who were on the scene again, what we did in the real world - did you know Dave ran and managed some of the biggest night spots in the Chicago area in the '80s? Who knew?!!! 

 

In my two tenures in slot racing that date back to the mid-'60s I have never met anyone in slot racing then or now who loves the hobby of slot racing and the people in it more than Dave. Dave was successful in slot racing and the real world because he's a people person and that aspect of him has served him and those of us fortunate enough to have crossed paths with him very well.

 

I hope that Dave is feeling the love and affection he gave to so many over the years that is now hopefully coming back to him tenfold from all of us. In the meantime don't worry about keeping the bearings oiled and gears adjusted (Dave, you know what funny story I'm referring to. LOL) we'll take it from here. Just soak in all the genuine feelings your slot racing friends are sending your way. They all mean it and wish they could send even more.

[John Gorski]

Disneyland 2010 I think...

 

Dave, Howie, and me. Perfect day!

 

I remember Dave being like a kid in a candy store. He had his camera video taping everything. Never got to see the footage but it must have been awesome. We went on that parachute ride a bunch of times really fun.

 

Dave was standing in line and I saw this guy behind him and said man that dude could be his bro. So I snapped the picture.

 

Then another year after The Checkpoint Cup we went to the aircraft carrier in San Diego. I think there is

footage on tape of that very Sano! Was a great time time to remember you're the best, Dave!!

 

 

[MSwiss]

Kudos to those who have posted.

I have a story or two, when I have a bit more time, to give them their just due.

In the meantime, my favorite Sano Dave comment, made about a solid racer, with less than sano car prep.

"He thinks you're an elitist if you have all four pins in your car, at the same time".

[Rob Voska]

Lend the dude a car and he kicks your butt with it with sometimes five practice laps.

 

Let him stay at your house and he watches old movies until 3 AM, knows all the actors names etc... Then laughs when you wake up having missed the ending.

 

Helped me a ton and answered all my stupid questions.

 

The most important thing is he always acted like a gentleman and I hope he taught us all that in the heat of battle we respect each other and treat others like Dave treated us. 

 

So next time you get mad at the track just ask yourself WWDD?

[Bernie]

I met Dave in 2009 when I came back to slot racing at Chicagoland Raceway. I figured out pretty quick that he was "The Guy". I was privileged to be able to race with him on regular basis.

 

Sano was the guy I always wanted to beat. After I started getting better he always gave me a shout-out when I did well. The one thing I could never figure out was how he hardly ever got caught up in trouble on the track. How did he do that??

 

In the last couple years I did end up beating him a few times but I have to say, I don't consider it valid because he was not at his best the last few years. In my mind, there was no one better running so-called "slower" cars.. Full sensitivity and no brakes on Falcon motors... on a flat track! NO one could or can do that. Only Sano.

 

Peace to you, brother..

[Cap Henry]

I first met Dave at the first R4 I attended, R4/4 or 5. I came into the Retro game a bit later, but had spent a lot of time looking through results and you saw a lot of the same names at the top, Sano Dave being one of them. Like many others I stayed my distance, or tried, from a "slot god". But it was hard to not talk to someone always as happy and cheerful and smiling. Dave is an amazing guy to this day. 

 

Dave has been the one that I wanted to be like as I got older, always happy, always willing to help. Dave makes any event better simply by attending. 

 

The only Sano I attended Dave drove Krumnow and I around, taking us to the local restaurants and sights. I looked forward to that as much as the event itself.

 

Best wishes, Dave, I hope to stand at the panel again with you soon!

[Dave Crevie]

Here's another.

 

Several years ago someone made the comment that Dave could win a major race driving a car made of Popsicle sticks. I heard a rumor that someone actually built him a car out of  Popsicle sticks, but I never saw it. If it is true, Dave, I would like to see you drive it. I bet the lap times would be in the competitive range.

[Tim Neja]

I don't recall the exact year, but Dave and the "eastern crew" were out in California at the Checkpoint Cup! First time I"d met him and hearing his "DUDE" comments all over the track were just great!!

 

 Of course he was at Buena Park early testing, and Joe Chevy and I were there also with our F1 cars trying to get them to keep up with Dave's very smooth running-F1. It was Thursday afternoon and F1 wasn't going to be run until Sunday.

 

I mentioned to Dave, while trying to drive with him and keep up that his car was "really smooth" and fast, could I see it. He did one better, he let me drive it!! The car was REALLY good!! I said geez, I'd love to build one like that sometime!! He went over to his box, got out his backup car and said, "Copy this"!!!

 

Well Chevy sat down that night and "cloned" that baby twice over!! Man, they were SO much better than what we had been running!! And the day of the race Dave and I battled it out in the B Main for the only move-up. I was on black and Dave ran me down for the move-up on yellow in the last heat!! Fun race, GREAT guy!!!

 

You're the best, Dave. I hope you feel good enough to get in some more races soon!!

 

Take care - "Dude"!!! God bless!! 

[Dennis David]

Thanks for everyone's posts, I've never had the chance to meet Dave but through these posts I feel at least that I know him through his exploits. Very sad since Dave has been laid low (illness) but a joy to read.

[LindsayB]

We (Wayne Bramble, Cody Bramble, and Andy Wasserman) attended the Chicago Nats a few years back. Dave was there and we had a most enjoyable day with Dave acting as tour guide through Chicago. That day will be with me forever and he literally wore us all out as we walked the city - he seems to have endless energy. The train trip home - everyone sound asleep.

 

The boat tour through the river system was great, and has to be a must-do for visitors to Chicago.

[Jim Webb]

Here's another,
 
After Tom and I had been racing for awhile and Mike was doing his best to get us to improve our lap times by urging us to go deeper into the corners on the flat track (Mike had the patience of a saint with us), Dave would wait until we were in side by side lanes and slow down just enough to encourage us to mimic him. He NEVER said or let on he was doing that, but a guy like Dave doesn't all of a sudden add a tenth or two to his laps just because he's standing next to a newcomer.

With that simple act and without saying a word, Dave got Tom and me over our fear of going deeper into the corners and we got good enough doing it on our own that we were actually competitive every once in awhile. Again - what a teacher!