Anyone ever seen a race track fight? I mean, not counting trash-talking, or throwing a water bottle, or a shove or two..........Nope, none of tht stuff, a realfight, one that takes 4 loads of deputy sheriffs to break up, and can spill over to the stands. Maybe you've been in one (or twelve).......let's hear some fight stories! LOL!!
While this is from the early 50's, it can still happen on any Satruday night at Bowman Gray Stadium.
I hid under a trailer one Friday night in 1973 at Wake County Speedway in Raleigh when somebody on Ronnie "Big Daddy Rabbit" Hartsfield's pit crew came over waving a pistol after our driver, Danny Lee retaliated to an unwarranted bump from Ronnie by sending Ronnie and his powder blue '55 Chevy into the sawed off telephone poles on the backstretch that served as the inside "wall. " No shots were exchanged and I was in no position to see them if they had started shooting!
Saw a couple of pretty good fights at Southside Speedway involving Tommy Ellis hitting a stopped car after the checkered flag. Southside always had a large contingent of Chesterfield County, Virginia deputies on hand for all of its races who always got things quickly under control.
Ronnie Hartsfield (#9) and Danny Lee (#11) were fierce competitors at Wake County Speedway on Friday nights. The photos above were taken at Wilson County Speedway by RR member Tim Hamm.
Was at Newport Speedway in Newport Tennessee waaaay back. Two drivers were beating and bangin on each other during the race when one of them stopped cross-ways on the front stretch. Cars started piling into each other and completely blocked the race track. The guy in front got out of his car and started running across the tops of the other cars till he got the one he wanted and pulled the dude out of the car. They were going at it...then several more got into it from the pits...and other drivers. Then they started coming out of the stands.
The two deputies at the track took off out the back gate. The announcer said."Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to stock car racing in Cocke County, TN." This fight went on until every one of them was too tired to fight anymore...finally went back to racin.
I was running at Putnam County Speedway in Florida one time and was sitting at the entrance to the track waiting for my feature to start. I had a great view of the field and two drivers were rubbing and racing for many laps. They finally started really tearing each others cars up and one got away from the other and won his feature. As he climbed out of his car for the victory flag photo opp the other one skidded to a stop right in front of the flag stand and they went to thumping on each other really good. The announcer asked for "Security to the flag stand" and as the off duty deputy ,in uniform ran up to break it up he grabbed one guy by the shoulder who wheeled and without looking decked the sheriff's deputy on the spot. He then realized what he had done and threw up his hands and then the other guy promptly sucker punched him......oh the thrill of dirt racing in the south. lol
Dublin Motorspeedway, Dublin, N.C.Funniest fight I ever saw
Two middle-aged fathers watching their sons battle lap after lap, beatin' and bangin' and rubbin' each other raw until they finally collected each other in a front stretch racing mishap. This is when the fathers commenced to trash talking each other until....it started in a finger pointing, leading to a shirt grabbing, which lead to a shirt pulling until both Dad's were going round and round like a figure skating duet and then, both lost their balance and equallibrium when centrifrical force pulled them apart and they both bit the dust on their butts. Funnies fight I ever saw!!!
