Fonty Flock: Talladega?
From day one, until the his retirement in the '70's, not much happened in American stock car racing that didn't first go through Big Bill France. However, from "Smokey's BDG in Town" comes an intriguing, and astonishing account of a rare "deal", and one that was (kind of) off the ground when it got TO France.Smokey describes this account in his lively autobiography "The Best Da*n Garage in Town my life and adventures" It's found in Smokey's tribute to Fonty Flock in the chapter "50 Great Drivers and one ...hole"............Paraphrasing Smokey...............some time in the 1960's, Fonty Flock shows up at Smokey's shop early one morning. The two had not seen each other in awhile, and Fonty was bubbling-over happy. Fonty wants Smoke's opinion, and the two move to the confines of Smokey's office. All the while, Smokey can't help but notice the under-arm-bundle of blue-prints carried by Fonty. With the office door closed, Fonty begins spreading the blue-prints on Smokey's desk and proclaims..........."I'm building a race track..........it'll be 2 1/2 miles long...........a monument to the Flock family.........I've got the land.........the partners.............it's going to be the fastest race track IN THE WORLD..........I only need two race dates! Whadd-ya-think Smoke?"Smoke........."where is it?"Fonty..........."Eastabooga, Alabama"Smoke.........."where the hell is Eastabooga?"Fonty..........."it's near Talladega"Fonty..........."France wants to see my plans...........he might be interested in a small percentage.......I'm on my way to see him right now...........What-cha-say, Smoke?"Smoke.........."get a jar of.............. BLEEEEP........."Fonty, still bubbly, returns to Smokeys a day or so later driving a brand-new, NASCAR emblazoned, Dodge station wagon (courtesy of Chrysler corp.) and informs Smokey he's now in charge of NASCAR insurance, (a NASCAR experiment of the '60 to rival AAA insurance)A year or so later, Fonty returns to Smokey's driving an old Oldsmobile. He's no longer bubbly, and relates that he no longer owns one single percent of the new race track venture........France brought in Govenor George Wallace and General LeMay and Fonty (somehow) became the odd man out. This would be the last time Smokey ever saw Fonty Flock. Fonty died in 1972, Talladega opened in 1969.*Alabama Govenor, George Wallace's role as an active Talladega player is corroborated in greater detail in Wendell Soctt's "Hard Driving" biography. France was real interested in highway/interstate updates/additions, tax credits, etc. etc. things a govenor could help with.Filling in the blanks (IMO) would make for one more interesting account of the NASCAR/France saga.Anybody ever heard this one before? Whaddya y'all think?* "The Best Damn Garage in Town, my life and adventures" Smokey Yunick, 2002, Carbon Press pp 314
IIRC I first heard it from a friend of mine that used to work for Charlotte Motor Speedway in PR. He drove one of those white Pontiac pace car lookalikes, handled advance ticket sales and his name was Tim. Now you can fill in the blanks here too. I think the story is the same.
Was your friend Tim Flock?
That would be him.
Smokey's account is correct, and the Flock family was aware of the Talladega situation?
Amazing story. I've got to read Smokey's book.
The story gets murky. According to official accounts, France had an eye on the Talladega site since 1966 (time frame concurrent with Smokey's version). With the success of Daytona, and the urgency to grow and expand the sport, France was also seriously considering Spartanburg, SC and Gadsen, AL in addition to Talladega, as potential big- track sites.The official Talladega historical account credits local insurance executive/racer/architect/fan, Bill Ward, as the critical link between Bill France and Talladega. Ward found the site, and was the local political liason. Interstate access links and an international motorsports hall of fame were other project facets that would take considerable political muscle, but (obviously) all obstacles were met.Bill Ward's role in the creation of Talladega was hardly lost on Bill France, Sr. According to Bill Donovan in "Hard Driving the Wendell Scott Story", France's considerable clout arranged for Ward to actually race on the speedway he helped to create. Donovan contends Bill France arranged a Holman-Moody Mercury Cougar, a Smokey Yunick engine, and added Tom Pistone to crew-chief Ward to victory in the 1970 'Bama 200 Grand American event. Checking with racing reference info. reveals seven Grand National starts for Bill Ward, between 1969 and 1975, and all seven were at Talladega. Nothing really earth shattering about Bill France repaying a favor, and Bill Ward driving at 'dega, except, perhaps, his own superspeedway experience, (but) that was 40 years ago.Maybe it's all coincidental and Fonty and Big Bill were both looking in Alabama for a superspeedway site. And maybe Fonty and Bill Ward were simutaneously looking at two different sites. Then, again, maybe not, maybe they were all looking at the same thing at the same time. If Fonty Flock had previously acquired THE Talladega site, how does it mesh with Bill Ward 'discovering' it?