John Cukras

[Pappy]

Almost everyone who raced slot cars in the 60's and 70's knew who John Cukras was. He was the man to beat. John passed away on November 30th. He was known as John "The Jet" Cukras. I always wanted to meet him but never got the opportunity.

http://slotblog.net/topic/97239-john-cukras-has-passed-away/

[chappyman66]

Truly the end of an era. Let us carry the torch, though perhaps not as fast and smoothly.

RIP.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Yes RIP. And John Ford from SARN as well. Will miss them.

[stumbley]

I met John several times as a result of knowing Philippe DeLespinay. John was a very gracious guy, one of the best drivers I've ever seen, and could race anything well; HO, 1/32, 1/24, Wing Cars, etc. His hallmark was consistency, not necessarily speed, although he was indeed FAST. He will be missed.

[chrisguyw]

The passing of an icon,........very sad .

Here is a somewhat recent picture of John (on the left)..........................for the big prize, can anyone name the other folks ?

Cheers
Chris Walker

[Pappy]

Terry Schmidt, Mike Steube, Howie Ursaner

[chrisguyw]

That did not take long.............good for you Butch, you win the big prize

Cheers
Chris Walker

[Pappy]

Bryan Warmack sent me an autographed poster from the 2015 Checkpoint Cup race at Buena Park Raceway in California. It's got Terry Schmidt and Cukras on it, that's how I knew who Terry was. I've got Mike Steube's video he made on how to build a Retro chassis out of brass and piano wire. I've met Howie at the R4 Retro Race in Columbus, Ohio. I have the poster framed and hanging on the wall right next to the door that separates my shop from my raceway, I see it every day.

Just hold onto my prize and bring it with you when you come to my house to race.

[Bill from NH]

Butch, ask for your prize to be one of Chris's cars. It'll look great on your new track. Those four guys look very similar to their photos of the 60's. The exception is that John had a full head of hair & Mike's & Howie's wasn't gray back then.

[Pappy]

Hell, I thought their hair was just bleached out from being in that California sun. lol

[BIG E]

Wow, definitely the passing of a giant in slot car racing. I've been mentioning his name to people in the hobby my entire life.
My good friend and team mate at our local commercial raceway in the mid 1960s worshiped "The Jet". His name was also John C. and he was the chassis builder of the team, I hand painted the bodies. During that time we read one of John's magazine articles about driving consistently, smoothly, and maintaining speed. Things like approaching a corner, whether using dynamic brakes or not, maintaining momentum through the corner and when to power out of it without wasting energy by excessively wagging the tail while continuing down the straight. We both put this new knowledge to good use, and it became a second nature thing when racing. It continues to be there in my head (and hands) to this day. We even applied the techniques to racing our modified pancake motor Aurora HO slots on my 4 lane "Sebring Raceway". I prepared a pair of Turquoise Aurora Thunderjet 500 Lola GT cars for our HO racing team, and painted "Jet" in that small rectangular panel on the back of the body. I may still have that body somewhere in the basement.
Rest in peace, Mr. Cukras, and thank you for all you have contributed to our hobby/sport. Remember "The Jet"! -- Ernie

[4380r]

The passing of an icon,........very sad .

Here is a somewhat recent picture of John (on the left)..........................for the big prize, can anyone name the other folks ?

Cheers
Chris Walker

Slot car royalty.