Ernie McCoy of Arkansas City, Kansas built the car above specifically for Will Forrest of Wichita, Kansas to drive in Jack Merrick’s 1959 National Jalopy Championship at Hutchinson, Kansas.  Will Forrest went on to win the 50-lap feature event and the trophy for winning that race is displayed on the hood of the car in this photo.  Mike McCoy has that trophy now.

The car was numbered “44” but qualified fourth so the second “4” in the number was covered with contact paper and the car raced as #4.  When the contact paper was removed, some of the paint came off too.

 

Ernie McCoy with the car he built for Will Forrest to drive in the 1960 National Jalopy Championship race.  As you can see, what constituted a “jalopy” to Jack Merrick had changed greatly in one year.  Will Forrest qualified tenth in this new car.

 

Forrest Coleman (left) of Wichita qualified fourteenth in another of Ernie McCoy’s cars and then went on to win the 1960 National Jalopy Championship.  The trophy stands 7½ feet tall and is now in the possession of one of Coleman’s sons.

Click your mouse on the photo above to see another one of Coleman and this car that appeared in the racing program for the 1961 National Jalopy Championship races.

 

 

Ernie McCoy is pictured here in front of his engine shop in Arkansas City, Kansas with the car Forrest Coleman drove the victory for him in Jack Merrick’s 50-lap National Jalopy Championship race at Hutchinson, Kansas in 1960.  Of course, that is the trophy for that race as well – Photographs from the Mike McCoy collection

 

 

 

 

Ernest “Ernie” McCoy

1920 - 1985

Wilford Junior “Will” Forrest

1920 - 1990