Plum, The Lewis Bros., and The Law

By Bob Plumer

Here is a photo of the Lewis Bros. Sparkling Burgundy Top Fueler. I know Mike & Kent Lewis very well. The two guys in the yellow shirts are Mike and Kent. Mike is holding the bottle of sticky stuff and Kent has his foot in the air.

Here's a funny story for you. Remember those blue Winston banners that said Welcome Race Fans with the dragster doing a wheelie? Well, one night at Maple Grove I was cutting down one of those signs and of course, the cops just happen to be coming by. They stop and ask what I was doing and of course, I'm caught, so what am I going to say? I said I was cutting down the sign.

They put the cuffs on me, threw me in the car, and said they were going to lock me up. They took me back into the track and as we were heading in, they told me that when Mike gave the OK to press charges I was off to jail. Almost forgot, they asked me what I was carrying the steak knife for. I told then to cut down signs. They didn't like that.

Now the real fun begins. I ask them who's Mike Lewis and they told me he runs the track and is part owner. I ask what kind of person he is as I was only cutting down the sign.

So, we get to the track. One of the cops goes up the tower to get Mike and the other one is holding me outside beside the starting line. I mention to him I ought to cut down signs more often as I can get on the starting more often. He didn't like that either.

The cop comes down with Mike. They get halfway down, and Mike sees me. He says, "Hell, that's Plumer. He stays here all the time. Give him the sign and let him go."

Now they are really burning. They take me back to my car and chew my ass out but good. They were telling me I'd better not be going one mile an hour over the speed limit as I was going to get a ticket for sure.

Don't know how many of you know but at Maple Grove, they also own this bar, camping grounds, and a swimming pool that holds a million gallons of water about a half a mile from the track. After the race Mike comes in, asks me what happened, and I told him. He asked me if I ever got my sign and I said, ‘Hell no, they kept it." So Mike gets one off the bar wall and gives it to me. I got my sign.

One year Frank Bradley and Don Durbin spent the whole summer there. They stayed at the campgrounds and made it their home base when they ran their races here on the east cost. I can remember Frank coming into a race with about 50 watermelons buts that's another story.

Plum