The Flying Fuzz

Lawrence C. Michaels was a career law enforcement officer in southeastern Pennsylvania, who rose through the ranks to become Chief of his department, and who later was elected and re-elected to the position of County Sheriff. But he led a double life. Away from the job, Larry Michaels was a championship-winning race car driver who was given the nickname, The Flying Fuzz.

Now, we're not talking about NASCAR or Indy. But we are talking about the same race cars driven by the likes of Mario Andretti and Ray Evernham early in their careers. The cars are known as TQ Midgets, and from the 1960s into the 1990s Larry Michaels was one of the top dogs in what was then a very competitive form of racing.

The number of individual race victories recorded by Michaels is not documented, but he did earn the season-long series championship in the mid-1970s, driving a car that he built and maintained himself. In fact, as modern racing began to move away from home-built cars to manufactured ones, Michaels chose to continue to do it his way. That was the challenge he preferred.

Unfortunately, when the night of the championship awards banquet arrived in the year that Michaels won his championship, he was unable to attend due to a multiple homicide in his jurisdiction. Racing was his passion, and he rarely missed a scheduled event, but the job came first. Many of the speedways at which Michaels raced and won are now gone, victims of rising real estate values. Pine Brook Speedway in New Jersey. Freeport Municipal Stadium and Islip Speedway in New York. Dorney Park Speedway in Pennsylvania. Riverside Park Speedway in Massachusetts.

Sadly, Michaels is gone, too. It was our pleasure and privilege to count Larry Michaels as a friend for 30 years. He was respected, admired, and loved in both the law enforcement and racing communities. At his passing, a long line of mourners extended around the funeral home and along the street as cops and racers alike came to pay their respects to The Flying Fuzz.