Ken Taylor wrecked the No. 96 racer on Sunday, Aug. 28, 1966, resulting in his death. But the car lived on as the McCown Bros. rebuilt it for another driver. (Contributed photo) [Click to enlarge]

The McCown brothers racer was just not a ticket to outstanding performances for Ken Taylor but also for Jay Lyle and "Fireball" Jim Jenkins in its 25 years of racing.

Constructed in the mid 1960s, the McCown Bros. race car was originally owned by Chick and Wally McCown of Sedalia.

The first driver was Taylor of Slater in 1966. Taylor captured many feature wins at Sportsman's Speedway and other tracks around the Midwest. He also captured his fourth Missouri State Fair Championship in the No. 96 racer and a victory at the National Quarter-mile Championship.

Taylor died tragically on Sunday, Aug. 28, 1966, when he and the McCown racer went over the wheel of another super-modified car going into turn three at Sportsman's Speedway and went over 260 feet in an orbital revolving motion down the track embankment.

"The night of the accident, I remember," said Chuck Hines, one of several who played a key role in restoring the McCown Bros. historical car. "I was at my grandparent's house and I don't remember why. I was always at the track.

"I remember my parents showing up early from the races," Hines said. "I could see that my mother was really upset.

"My dad's wheel was the one Taylor went over."

After the McCowns rebuilt the car, it was renumbered to No. 90 and Lyle of Warrensburg became the wheel man for the 1967 racing season. Lyle was able to keep the car near the front of the field on many occasions, Hines said.

For the 1968 racing season, Jenkins took over driving for the McCown brothers and racked up several feature wins.

The McCown brothers then sold the car to Jenkins, which allowed him to race the car as the No. 5 racer.

Jenkins campaigned the car first as an A class car and later under B class rules. No matter what the class, Jenkins applied his abilities to bring the car to the front, Hines said.

The McCown's No. 96 racer found a temporary home at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa, for about 18 months. (Contributed photo) [Click to enlarge]

Jenkins continued to race the car well into the early 1990s.

"It never did change a lot, except an added wing," Hines said. "It certainly went through bangs and bruises."

Cecil Jacobi III was looking to locate one of his favorite cars and his good friend Charles Hines knew where to find it. Jenkins still owned the car after such an extensive racing career. The car was purchased from Jenkins by Jacobi and his wife, Marlys, and the craftsman began the long road of restoring such a memorable car in 2001.

The Hines father-son duo, former race car drivers themselves, worked on the car in the winter when time was more of an essence.

Hines said several sections on the frame had to be replaced. Jim Hammer and Randy Kast of Sedalia did a lot of the frame replacement and repair.

Ernie Walker of Sedalia also devoted time and energy to the project.

"Cecil sourced a fiberglass company out of Tulsa, Oklahoma," Hines said, about the body of the car.

The headers on the car were custom made to look identical to the originals.

Charles and Chuck Hines played a key role in locating and restoring the McCown Bros. racer. The frame sits in Chuck's garage as other parts of the car were being restored. (Contributed photo) [Click to enlarge]

"I looked at a ton of pictures," Hines said. "I tried the best to make it period correct."

Wayne Rucker of Marshall hand-lettered the original racer and did the signage on the restoration.

Hines said when the restoration was almost complete someone approached Jacobi and told him that the car had much more chrome than what they had on it. Jacobi had a plating company in Kansas City fix that. "It has a lot of chrome on it now," Hines said.

"Cecil even went to the trouble and found M&H Racemaster tires," Hines said about the wheels on the restored racer. "You have to really dig to find them any more."

The car was completely restored in 2005 when the finishing touches were added.

The exciting parts of this race car's career has not ended yet, as it has been on display at many places including the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa.

"I inquired about having the car at the hall of fame but there was several people here locally that knew connections in Knoxville," Hines said. "I think word by mouth played a big role in getting the car there."

Hines said when he took the car up there all he wanted was to make sure it was there during one of the Knoxville Nationals.

"I am amazed to see there is so much interest," Hines said. "It amazes me that it has drawn so much attention."

When the car was parked outside of the hall of fame on its original trailer, people just immediately recognized it, he said. "One guy came up to me and said, 'Isn't that Ken Taylor's car?'"

Hines said the car was on display from October 2005 to April or May 2007. Today, the car is back in Sedalia with the Jacobis.

Racing fans thank all of the craftsmen who worked to bring a part of racing history back to life and also thank Jenkins for keeping the race car, original trailer and all the parts.

Contact Rachel Harper at

marshallcity@socket.net