Swamp buggy
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The Swamp Buggy was created out of necessity, in Naples, Florida, as a vehicle with which to traverse the vast, boggy swamp known as the Everglades during early development of that region in the 1930's and 1940's. The versatile "Swamp Buggy" was a tall, ungainly and strange looking vehicle, riding on huge balloon tires, which could be used for everything from hunting expeditions deep into the Everglades to Sunday afternoon outings.
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[edit] The early years.
As more and more hunters built swamp buggies, they would gather together to share a few homespun-engineering tips, and before long, one hunter would challenge another to a buggy race through the local muddy potato patch. The first organized races started to take place around 1943, featuring a dozen or so local hunters.
By the late forties, 30 to 40 racers would gather the week before hunting season to race for the valued prize, which was usually a new shotgun donated by a local merchant. On November 12, 1949, the first "Official" Swamp Buggy Races were held, with a field of almost 50 competitors, in Naples, Florida. The mid 1950s saw continued growth of Swamp Buggy Racing. ABC's Wide World of Sports featured the mud madness in a national television special and Hollywood stars like Gary Cooper were seen in Naples riding Swamp Buggies.
[edit] Present day
As the popularity of the sport has continued to grow, cash prizes purses of several thousand dollars replaced the shotgun, and the incentives to go faster also grew, until the swamp buggies became far too fast and too loud to be used for hunting wild game. Today’s high-tech buggies are designed for racing only. The pontoon-like bodywork fully encloses a powerful racing engine, and rather than relying upon big fat flotation tires, they stand upon tall and skinny tires, with paddle treads on the rears designed solely for forward motivation and almost bicycle-narrow front tires for rudder-like steering.
There are three races a year, January, March, and October, and all three races are taped and televised by the Sunshine Network. The races are also nationally televised by the National Geographic Channel, ESPN and the Travel Channel. Before every October Race there is a Swamp Buggy Parade in downtown Naples. Each of these events finds Naples pulling thousands of spectators from many states, and gives Naples and the Swamp Buggy sport some awesome publicity.
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There are seven different classes of racing buggies:
Jeeps
Air-Cooled (Usually powered by motorcycle or Volkswagen Beetle engines)
4-Cylinder, 2 and 4-wheel drive
6-Cylinder, 2 and 4-wheel drive
V-8 Super Stock
Pro Modified 2-Wheel Drive
Pro Modified 4-Wheel Drive
[edit] The Chessers
Leonard Chesser - Dat's Da One - Pro modified 2-wheel drive Glen Chesser - Dat's On - V-8 super stock Amy Chesser - Dat's It - Pro modified 4-wheel drive David Hoolihan (Deceased) Lonnie Chesser Eddie Chesser
Also known as the first family of the swamp, The Chessers are known far and wide in the world of swamp buggy racing.
Leonard Chesser started racing in 1956m but it wasn’t until 1970 when his domination of the sport began, now spanning over five decades. Leonard has been in the winner’s circle 24 times and was the 2003 Budweiser Points Champion. He has been credited with inventing the skis (which are now used on the front of all of today’s fastest buggies), Leonard is known as the Godfather of Swamp Buggy Racing.
Also in classic Chesser Tradition, you’ll find Lonnie Chesser (Leonard's brother) and Lonnie's son Eddie. Leonard's son Glen also races in the stock V8 class.
Two decades later, daughter Amy Lynn Chesser, after spending years learning the mechanical end of things from her dad, began racing her own self-built buggy. Amy said it is her lifetime goal to to be the first woman to take the entire field, going into the winner’s circle by becoming not the Swamp Queen, but rather the Queen of the Swamp! In early March of 2008, Amy Chesser accomplished this by becoming the first woman to win the Big Feature. She had two different buggies that made it to the grand finale (one in each of two different classes) and had her father stand in and drive her buggy 'Dat's It'. While her dad never made it off the starting line during the final race, Amy took the checkered flag in her buggy 'Aches N' Pains', beating Roy Ortega's 'Terminator' in order to make history.
[edit] Winners
1949 Johnny Jones 1950 Harry Lowe 1950 Bud Popenhager 1951 George Espenlaub/Bubba Frank 1952 R.L. Walker 1952 R.L. Walker 1953 R.L. Walker 1954 H.W. McCurry 1955 Sippy Morris 1956 Arnold Walker 1957 H.W. McCurry 1958 H.W. McCurry 1959 H.W. McCurry 1960 Chester Byrant 1961 Chester Byrant 1962 Jack Hatcher 1966 Daniel Phypers 1967 Jack Hatcher 1968 Lee Hancock 1969 Jack Hatcher 1970 Leonard Chesser 1971 Leonard Chesser 1972 Leonard Chesser 1973 Leonard Chesser 1973 Leonard Chesser 1974 Leonard Chesser 1975 Leonard Chesser 1976 Roger McCandles (Oct) 1976 David Sims (May) 1977 Leonard Chesser (Feb) 1977 Leonard Chesser (Oct) 1978 Leonard Chesser (Feb) 1978 Leonard Chesser (Oct) 1979 Leoanrd Chesser (Feb) 1979 Lee Hancock (Oct) 1980 David Sims (Feb) 1980 Terry Langford (Oct) 1981 Lonnie Chesser (Feb) 1981 David Sims (Oct) 1982 Lonnie Chesser (Oct) 1982 Terry Langford 1983 Roger McCandles (Feb) 1983 Lonnie Chesser (Oct) 1984 David Sims (Feb) 1984 Leonard Chesser (Oct) 1985 Terry Langford (Feb) 1985 Terry Langford (Oct) 1986 Leonard Chesser (Nov) !987 David Sims (Mar) 1987 Lonnie Chesser (Oct) 1988 David Sims (Feb) 1988 Tommy Turner (Oct) 1989 Terry Langford (Feb) 1989 Terry Langford (Oct) 1990 David Sims (Feb) 1990 Wayne Cochran (Oct) 1991 Larry Andrews (Mar) 1991 Lenny Dunn (May) 1991 David Sims (Oct) 1992 David Sims (Mar) 1992 Eddie Chesser (May) 1992 Terry Langford (Oct) 1993 David Sims (Mar) 1993 Don Jolly (May) 1993 Larry Andrews (Oct) 1994 Lenny Dunn (Mar) 1994 Terry Langford (May) 1994 Leonard Chesser (Oct) 1994 Leonard Chesser (Mar) 1995 Eddie Chesser (May) 1995 Eddie Chesser (Oct) 1996 Albert Doria (Mar) 1996 Terry Langford (May) 1996 Eddie Chesser (Oct) 1997 Eddie Chesser (Mar) 1997 Eddie Chesser (Oct) 1998 Eddie Chesser (Mar) 1998 Eddie Chesser (May) 1998 Leonard Chesser (Oct) 1999 Michael Filmore ( Mar) 1999 Eddie Chesser (May) 1999 Leonard Chesser (Oct) 2000 Eddie Chesser (Mar) 2000 Leonard Chesser (May) 2000 Glen Filmore (Oct) 2001 Brain Langford ( Mar) 2001 Lonnie Chesser (May) 2001 Leonard Chesser (Oct) 2002 Glen Filmore (Mar) 2002 Leonard Chesser (May) 2002 Lonnie Chesser (Oct) 2003 Randy Johns (Jan) 2003 Leonard Chesser (Mar) 2003 Leonard Chesser (Oct) 2004 Eddie Chesser (Jan) 2004 Eddie Chesser (Mar) 2004 Dan Greenling (Oct) 2005 Tyler Johns (Jan) 2005 Glen Filmore (Mar) 2005 Leonard Chesser (Dec)* 2006 Tyler Johns (Jan) 2006 Tony Migliazzo (Mar)
- delayed from October due to Hurricane Wilma
