TVMRS Remembers and Bids Farewell to The Mountain Man:
It’s been almost a week since the passing of well known and popular race car driver Kirby Monteith. The 57 year old logger by trade lost his bout with colon cancer and died peacefully, Oct 8, surrounded by family. Monteith was a long time modified racer who competed with the True Value Modified Racing Series in 2004, 2005. His career spanned three decades.
Series announcer John Spence asked four people to share their thoughts on Monteith’s passing and a Kirby experience, something they’ll always remember about, “The Mountain Man.”
Dwight Jarvis, whose wife Bonnie is a cousin to Monteith, TVMRS founder Jack Bateman, long-time car builder/owner Lyle Patterson, the last owner Kirby drove for, and Monadnock Speedway announcer Dave Sutherland, who called many races that Kirby competed in through the years. All reflected on the Unity, NH, racer.
Spence: When you heard Kirby passed, what was your thought?
Jarvis: Well we knew right away, Kirby was my wife’s cousin. It’s sad.
Spence: It’s different for you as he is family. Any special memories?
Jarvis: We all started together, we drove for the Hodgdon Brothers. There were three cars, I drove one, Kirby drove, and Donald Ayer drove the other. We had a lot of fun through the years, parties, get-togethers. We would take the cars right out on Route 5 and test them on the main road. It had long straightaway, get em’goin pretty good out there. I remember when we went to the “Race of Kings” at Lebanon Valley , New York, together back in the early 70’s. We had fun. We really didn’t get along well on the track but away from it we were friends. He was a hard worker and a nice guy.
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Jack Bateman shared some of his memories of Kirby.
I started racing in 1966, that was a long time ago, out of an old cellar hole with
just a roof cap on it. My friend Donnie Ayer, started racing in 1967 and needed a place to work on his race car, and we shared that space. Kirby was a friend of Donnie’s, and Kirby wanted to build a dirt car, so Donnie & I volunteered to help him and Chuck Vivian (a best friend of Kirby’s), build that car. It was a ’36 Chevy. Sedan . It turned out to be a great car that he drove to many top finishes. Kirby went on to join Hodgdon Bros. racing and brought that sedan with him. The Hodgdon Bros. decided that they liked the sedan so well that they built one just like it for Donnie Ayer to drive.
Back in the early ‘90’s, I invited several race teams that were racing the weekly series at Claremont Speedway, to a party at our camp on Lake Sunapee . Of course, the party didn’t start until midnight , after the race, but it continued all night and into the next day with a endless amount of food, fun, and water games.I had an 18′ Century Resorta boat with a 350 Chevy engine that could definitely do the job, so we went tubing. After several guys got dumped, Kirby said, “Let’s go!” and I bet you can’t dump me. Of course that was the wrong thing to say to me. Kirby lasted ¾ of one lap around Newbury Harbor , when he lost it. The tube went 30 feet in the air in one direction and Kirby went in the other direction. When he finally came up, his shorts were around his ankles, a huge smile on his face, he pulled up his shorts, and said, “Let’s do it again!” He loved a good party with the teams and we had the best of times. I remember one night at Claremont, I was racing with Kirby & Dwight. Dwight passed Kirby (who was leading the race). There was a caution, and as we passed under the flag stand (under caution), apparently Kirby didn’t like the way Dwight passed him, and I heard Kirby’s engine roar, as he drove up and over the left side of Dwight’s car, wrecking his own car, and if you know Dwight’s luck, then you would not be surprised to learn that Dwight went on the win that race and Kirby went off on the hook.
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Lyle Patterson owned the last car Kirby drove on the TVMRS.
Spence: Lyle, you told me at Lee that Kirby was not doing well. Your thoughts.
Patterson: I was devastated, we knew it was going to happen, I’m still feeling it, it bothers me a lot, but I know he is in a better place, where they have good cigars and fast race cars, I know that.
Spence: I’m sure there are a flood of memories. Any that jump out?
Patterson: Kirby always used to say, “if you are not up by my door, you ain’t got the spot.” The most memorable race I can recall was he and Peter Daniels running side by side for many, many, laps and they were smooth, cool, neither driver touched. He loved running with Peter. Thing was Peter was running for the championship.
Kirby could get a little ugly at times but it would all pass, we’d laugh it off, have another pop, and we’d be in good shape. The one thing I will always remember was a small boy in the wheel chair at Claremont . Kirby would go and see that boy every week. Spend time with him; talk with him, week after week after week. When this colon cancer settled in, even though he was not racing, Kirby still went to see that boy. That’s something I’ll always remember. That’s’ something people don’t really know about. That’s what Kirby was all about.
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Dave Sutherland, the veteran voice of the Monadnock Speedway reflects
Kirby came to Monadnock as a rookie in 1972 driving for the Hodgdon
Brothers in our Sportman Division…He won in his third race,had four wins
that year. and the championship…his greatest problem at Monadnock was the
banking…the way he sat in the car, kind of high in the seat … he
couldn’t see down the chutes when he was in the corner because the roof of
the car was in the way. So the Hodgdons cut a hole in the left corner of
the roof over the windshield so Kirby could see where he was going, it
became known as “the Monadnock Hole”. ..Later in 1976, he teamed up with
Fred Felton…Fred brought a Modified to the track that had replaceable body
panels. Fred had rigged it up so all the panels were attached with hood
pins..dent the panel…pull the pins, take off the panel put on a new
one. Ostensibly right at the track. It wasn’t until 1977 that he won a pair
in the Modifieds for Fred, and finished 4th in points…After 1981..the
Modifieds went away until l988…Kirby was back but not in Victory Lane
until 1990 with a pair..91 with four and another fourth in points..and
another win in 92..I didn’t see Kirby again until after Karen and I bought
our gift and toy store and later added a gift basket business. Kirby and his
wife came in at Christmas time to buy gift baskets…turns out Karen knew
his wife from when they worked together at a nursing home in Claremont..and
this might have a been a year before the TVMRS started. Then they were back
every year. Last Christmas was the last time I saw him.
* * *
TVMRS officials organized a pre-race ceremony with a moment of silence and
left the pole position open during the parade laps at Seekonk Speedway Sunday.
As his last car owner, Lyle Patterson gave the command to start engines.
A funeral service was held Monday, Oct 13, in Claremont , NH . 300 people responded to say good-bye to “The Mountain Man” on the day the country celebrated Columbus Day.
Racing is glad that Kirby discovered race cars.
R.I.P. # 84