Passing of a Great Quincy Welding Racing Legend

[Original Looper 1]

I just received word from my good friend, Johnny Dortch, that John Woods was killed yesterday in a tragic motorcycle accident.

John Riner Woods raced Quincy Welding engines for many years. I have many fond memories as a child of attending boat races with John. John was always a true gentleman to everyone he met. He lived in the St. Louis area.

More to follow.


thanks,

Paul A Christner

[jdernonc@ford.com]

John Woods

Was that the John Woods that raced 225 INBOARDS , and was a stock broker ????

[Original Looper 1]

Yes,You are correct.

[PopPop]

St. Louis Post Dispatch

At 1:08 p.m. today, John R. Woods, 68, of St. Louis, was seriously injured when he was riding a 2005 BMW 1200 motorcycle west on Highway 106 about 11 miles east of Eminence, Mo., in Shannon County. Woods was riding the motorcycle, wearing his helmet, when he crossed the center line and hit an 18-wheeler -- a 2007 Kenworth -- driven by Christopher W. Clem, 37, of Troy, Mo.

Woods was taken by helicopter to Barnes-Jewish hospital in St. Louis, where he is listed in serious condition this afternoon. Woods was wearing a helmet, the patrol reported.

The highway patrol officer ticketed Woods for failing to drive on the right half of the roadway.

[RLR]

So Sorry to hear of this

I just received word from my good friend, Johnny Dortch, that John Woods was killed yesterday in a tragic motorcycle accident.

John Riner Woods raced Quincy Welding engines for many years. I have many fond memories as a child of attending boat races with John. John was always a true gentleman to everyone he met. He lived in the St. Louis area.

More to follow.


thanks,

Paul A Christner

Paul,
Thanks for the way in which you remembered John. He was a true gentlemen and I too have fond memories of him. I was a Freshman in High School when the Nationals were brought to Depue for the first time.

I believe that Seattle had bid on all of the nationals and money became an issue and Homer Kincaid brought the idea of the Nationals to the Lake Depue Preservation Association. They decided to go ahead and put them on.

Unfortunately, in 1961 there was this Hurricane called Carla. Carla decided to come ashore as a Cat 4 storm in Texas and headed north. The result was that the rain field came all the way north into Illinois and dumped enough water that they were pulling trailers off the beach in the middle of the night.

Having grown up in Depue and the Illinois Valley area, the boat races were a big thing even back then. I had an Uncle just down the street from the Catholic Church who I stayed with that weekend.

My first thing to accomplish was to get past the ticket booths and fencing put up, but I paid to get in the first day. After that I had a benefactor named John Woods.

John was pitted accross from the VFW with this huge trailer on the street and carrying everything up and down those dang stairs. John was running Mercs that weekend and I believe was in every racing class that weekend.

Like every kid who loved racing and wanted and was willing to pay the price for a long weekend with their hero's, I asked to help. John said are you sure you want to do this, my grin from ear to ear told the story.

John was very good to me and tried as he might to teach as he "commanded" the crew even at his tender age of about 20.. He was generous with his time and resources as I did not have to worry about paying to get in again. John had a lot of motor trouble and did not do as well then as he went on to do later in his career.

After that weekend, I was all about St. Louis, tried to get the St. Louis stations on the old piece garbage raido that we owned and thought about John a lot.

I was fortunate enough to see John at the reunion and thanked him for his kindness with me so many years ago. I am sure he did not remember me, but I sure remembered him. Later on at Depue he would come with those green decked hydros and i always enjoyed my memories.

Thanks Paul, and thank you John, we will see one another again.

Ray

[Tim Small]

John Woods

My brother Tom and I always remember Johnny Woods at Lakeland when we were just kids. He had a huge trailer full of green marchetti hydros. We also talk about the time he blew over right in front of the pits in D hydro. IT seemed at the time that he went 100 feet in the air. Dick Odea was right behind him and blew over also. John then switched to inboards and ran a 225 hydro named SPECULATION. He always had fast equipment, and drove it hard. He was one of the great drivers of his era. Rest in peace Johnny Woods. Tim and Tom Small