“Spider” Parker

Vergil “Spider” Parker You would be hard pressed to find a nicer man than Vergil “Spider” Parker. The lanky, soft spoken individual was the type of person that got along with everybody and for that reason was a very respected man, both at the track and in his everyday life. In his early years, Spider raced motorcycles and TQ midgets and by all accounts was very good at his racing endeavors. But somewhere along the line Spider began to time and lap check for the racing community. He set his timing and scoring equipment up at more than one racing venue, often more than one night a week. Elma became his home track and he was the only timer to work the ½ mile for the Evergreen Auto Racing Association. When the 3/10 mile began operation it was Spider once again in the booth until he retired from timing and scoring. As was stated Spider was respected by those who raced in front of him and depended on him to get the correct times and finishing positions. Once in the early 1970s a visitor from another state was insistent that the finishing order was incorrect. He went on further to say that if he could just see the lap sheets he would show the officials where the mistake was made. Spider had check the sheets during the argument and was positive they were correct, so the officials consented and let the racer go through the lap sheets with Spider. After looking them over several times the racer shook his head and admitted his mistake, simply stating that lap checker knows what he is doing and walked off. Spider wasn’t the only Parker to score the races. It was a family affair with his wife and son and daughter all spending their time at the scorers table. Son Steve would also serve as club reporter and tried his hand at racing on the ½ mile. Before his death, Steve converted an old limited modified into a street rod and that car has recently been restored and is now the official WESCO pace car/push truck. After his retirement, Spider didn’t disappear from the track. He loved to attend races and it was not uncommon to find many people around him visiting and reminiscing about the old days. It always brought a smile to his face and one couldn’t help but feel happiness after visiting with Spider. Spiders impeccable record was accomplished before computers, transponders, scoring loops and the devices that make scoring a race today much easier. He often had to pick the cars and numbers out of the dust cloud of racing on a dirt track on a hot Sunday afternoon. Elma was fortunate to have Spider join its racing family. The Elma Auto Racing Hall of Fame would be hollow without Vergil “Spider” Parker as a member. Vergil “Spider” Parker Written and submitted by Spider’s daughter, Marilyn Lindholm, in honor of her father and the wonderful memories he created. September 2009 Born in 1916, Spider got involved in motorsports in his late teens. He purchased his first motorcycle in the mid-1930s, was one of the first people in the city of Olympia to own a motorcycle, and was a founding member of the Olympia Motorcycle Club (OMC). At 25 years of age he, along with another rider, started Motorcycle Delivery, an Olympia area delivery service. The business closed after both were required to serve in World War II. He loved motorcycle riding so much that he chose to join the Navy when he found out the Army wasn’t willing to ship his bike to his various duty stations. After World War II, he resumed his involvement with the OMC including serving as the OMC referee for Death Head Derby events. He did hill climbs and stunts such as riding the motor drome, burning board wall crashes, and on July 4th, 1946, set an unofficial world’s record at Steven’s Field in Olympia by successfully completing a ride through a 75-foot burning tunnel. He ended his involvement with the OMC in the early 1950s and began officiating at Three- Quarter (TQ) midget races. This eventually led to his involvement with the Evergreen Auto Racing Association. He was the track timer/scorer at several tracks in the Pacific Northwest including Elma, Spanaway Speedway, Olympia-Tenino Speedway (now South Sound Speedway), Lewis County Fairgrounds Speedway, and Portland Speedway. He occasionally worked the Grand National flat track motorcycle races at Castle Rock. Elma was his home track. Spider was instrumental in bringing the first digital timer to the Pacific Northwest racing scene, a timer that would clock times to hundredths of a second. Scoring races was a family affair with his wife, Bonnie, his son, Steve, and his daughter, Marilyn, all working as lap checkers at one time or another over the years. Bev Lawrence, wife of jalopy racer Don Lawrence, and their son, Tim, also served as lap checkers during the 1970s. Son Steve also served as EARA club reporter and tried his hand at racing on the ½ mile. Before his death, Steve converted an old limited modified into a street rod, and that car has recently been restored and is now the official WESCO pace car/push truck. Daughter Marilyn sold Racing Wheels magazine at local racing venues prior to working as a lap checker. Spider was respected by the racers who depended on him to get the correct times and finishing positions. Once in the early 1970s, a visiting racer from another state was insistent that the finishing order was incorrect. He said that if he could just see the lap sheets, he would show the officials where the mistake was made. Spider had checked the sheets during the protest and was positive they were correct, so the officials consented to let the racer look through the lap sheets with Spider. After looking them over several times, the racer shook his head and admitted his mistake, simply stating, “That lap checker knows what he is doing” and walked off. His impeccable record as a scorer was accomplished before computers, transponders, scoring loops, and the devices that make scoring a race today so much easier. He often had to pick the cars and their numbers out of a dust cloud of racecars on a dirt track on a hot Sunday afternoon. As mentioned earlier, Spider worked races at many local tracks, but he also loved to attend races as a spectator at those tracks and others such as Sky Valley Speedway, Skagit Speedway, Evergreen Speedway, Port Angeles Speedway, as well as tracks in Canada. He attended and worked the International Drivers’ Challenge series in the early 1970s, and he attended and worked the Dirt Cup series when it was held at Sky Valley, Skagit, and Elma. After his retirement from scoring, Spider continued to attend races at many of the local tracks and was a big fan of the Dirt Cup and the World of Outlaws, often taking his daughter and grandsons, Rob and Dustin, to these events. It was not uncommon to find many people around him visiting and reminiscing about the “old” days. He always enjoyed visiting with anyone in the racing world. Spider was very committed to raising the profile of racing in the Pacific Northwest and was particularly pleased when Kasey Kahne moved from local sprint car racing to NASCAR, believing this would bring much needed attention to auto racing in this area. He was also very supportive of the work done by Fred Brownfield that resulted in Grays Harbor Raceway becoming the premiere dirt track in the Pacific Northwest and attracting the best open wheel drivers from all over the world. Spider loved auto racing, had great respect and admiration for the drivers, and loved being a part of the racing community. .

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