25 Years Ago at Talladega - For Cody

25 years ago at Talladega, Bobby Allison almost wound up in the stands and ushered in the age of restrictor plate racing.

Almost lost in the aftermath of the Allison crash was the feat accomplished by Bill Elliott of Dawsonville, Georgia that same Talladega race weekend. Bill set an all-time 1-lap NASCAR qualifying record unlikely to be broken in my lifetime, what with the various methods of speed reduction at Talladega and Daytona.

Without restrictor plates there will be a lot of advertising for Red-Bull because they will all have W I N G S

Something has got to hold them to the track at speeds over 200+ mph. Sprint car wings are about the only thing that will accomplish that ---and you know how Baby boy Brain feels about them----So we go slow and put on a good show for those folks throwing hot-dog wrappers in the wind..

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If you watch a video of Dollar Bill trying to be airborn you will see a little bit of Dawsonville magic being used on that 212 mph lap... Also as Dave so easily put it I seem to recall someone saying there was a feather or two stuck on that Thunderbird sfter that ride,and a big hand print on the rear glass on right side.. I dont know how it got there but rumors have it that spirits kept that bird in line for a reason.

Dave Marcus wiggled around the track too in the 70's and claimed there was bear grease up on the high groove in turn two.. No samples were taken and DNA wasnt thought of then so --------Back to you in Ball Ground Central !!!

Come back thurs for the latest on the trials and tribulations of the day they flew the Green/White/Checker againat dega

That was my first Dega race. Couldn't believe how great our seats were. Just a few feet to the right of the starter's stand. The stands were packed - and folks were just abuzz over the spectacular speeds. Little did I know how much things would change in just a couple dozen laps.

We weren't close enough to be affected by the shrapnel. But we knew it was bad - really bad. At first, we didn't realize it was Bobby in the fence because everything happened so quickly. But when he started spinning after leaving the fence, we spotted his car as others wrecked, tires exploded like cannon fire, and others from the back made evasive moves.

It was only when we glanced back towards the fence that we realized what NEARLY happened. As a Petty lifer, I was never a big Bobby Allison fan. But I cheered lustily when I saw him get out of the car OK.

As the race continued, we all got a sense this was going to be a day of karma. Could it really happen? Could the son of the guy who just ripped the fence actually win this thing? Sure enough - much to the delight of the crowd - Davey nailed the win.

But I was also keeping my eye on the Wood Brothers car - driven by the son of another famous driver, Kyle Petty. He made some great moves to nab a 3rd place finish. He was well short of the win, but he made a good move on Earnhardt. His 3rd place finish - matched by another 3rd at Charlotte in the 2007 Coke 600 - were the best finishes by KP that I got to see in person.

Lost in all of this was the fact that Bill actually ran a lap even faster in winter testing that year...214.660.

What's ironic about this whole ordeal is that it was a light rain before qualifying. So all the rubber had been washed out for practice. While the track was being dried, Bill stretched out on pit row and took a nap! lol. So anyway, he went out first, with no rubber, and still made the fast time. Just imagine if he was one of the last cars to go out with all the rubber built up on the track!

BTW, we have his Daytona record car on display inside the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

Thanks Dave!