School Buses and Stock Car Racing; Before Stenhouse, Donlavey Team Had a Blue Bird

I did a double take this afternoon when I saw the Nationwide Series car of Ricky Stenhouse at Chicagoland adorned in yellow school bus livery and carrying the logos of school bus manufacturer Blue Bird.

The name Blue Bird took me back a few years - no, not all the way back to Sir Malcolm Campbell and his Bluebird land speed vehicle that once traversed the sands of Daytona Beach.

I remember that for many years the Junie Donlavey crew made its headquarters in a big Blue Bird parked in the infield at every track. I'm not sure who owned that bus (RR members Ray Lamm, Mike Sykes, Woody Delbridge, Richard Gouldman, Dennis Garrett, Donald Evans or Joe Kelly probably do), but it was a fixture at all the GN/Cup races and the home away from home for Junie and his guys. Raytona may have a picture of that ole #90 Blue Bird.

Of, course, right here in the "old" heart of NASCAR country, Thomas-Built buses of High Point, NC has furnished the transportation for hundreds of thousands of school children since the early 1900s.

If you've ever been to a weekly track, you've probably seen a school bus converted to a race car hauler. The first one I ever saw was in spring 1968 when I made my first Friday night trek to Sanford Motor Speedway in North Carolina's Sand Hills where J.D. McDuffie's brother, Glen was still racing. I seem to recall several teams at Sanford having converted buses. I'm sure Dennis Andrews could name them all.

Part of the allure, too, of strolling from one end of the race track infield to the other at the big tracks was to see all the converted buses driven by race fans and decorated with the names of their favorites.

I also thought of Jimmy the Flying Greek making those school bus jumps in pre-race at Bristol and Charlotte.

And Charlotte Motor Speedway even has weekly school bus races every summer.

Yep, seeing that school bus sponsor on Stenhouse's car today sure brought back some memories. I don't know if Blue Bird will sell any buses because they were backing Stenhouse today, but school buses and stock car racing fit each other like a hand in a glove.

Not bad Dave. Enjoyed that. Nice to know busing served a useful purpose.

Ironic thing, Tim... the only "school" bus I ever rode was a pretty well worn bus that took me to day camp one summer in Richmond. When I grew up in the city limits in the 50s-60s, there were no school buses in the city, only in the county. I walked to all of my schools. Of course, the farthest, my junior high school, was only a mile away from the house.

Different era.

Even now, in the modern era of the enclosed "white box" the occasional school bus-turned- race- transporter can be seen at the local tracks. They are 2-ton chassis, long wheel based-body's, the seats (after removing most of them) can be used or crewman and school buses can usually be had for a song. The technique involves cutting out the back wall of the bus' body, fabricating loading ramps, and driving the race car right up in the bus body, plenty of room to store race parts, too! Some race-buses even sport a viewing platform on the roof.

Stan Starr traveled the old NASCAR Grand American circuit in a converted school bus in the late 60's. The back was cut down and used as an open hauler. The front part was closed in to carry parts, tools and the sofa and chairs. Hey Stan Sr and Jr make a bunch of miles in the old blue bird painted silver hauling the Camaro.

Dave, I actually rode the school bus from the first day of seventh grade until I graduated. Funny thing is the year I started first grade they had just built a new elementary school which was two blocks from my house. I walked to school every day first through sixth. Have some great memories from those school bus rides and Mr. Clyde Jefferson Lever driving. He was one awesome man.

Wonder if that's the same Stan Starr that designed this jewel. Complete opposite of big ol' bus.

The Stan Starr I knew was from Nashville. He and his son Jr. raced the old grand american circuit. He later was the head tech inspector at the fair grounds in Birmingham Alabama for a short time. He made the wrong people mad by saying that the next week the car that had been winning everything that season would be torn down until he found what he knew was there. Stan did not get to come back. The winning driver's brother had the track lease that year from the Jefferson County Fair Board. The year was 1977.

Those were some really great fields back when Richmond ran the combined Late Model Sportsman / NASCAR North races. Drew the best Late Model short track talent up & down the eastern seaboard.

"I remember that for many years the Junie Donlavey crew made its headquarters in a big Blue Bird parked in the infield at every track."

Dave, I don't remember a Junie Donlavey bus.
It's possible that a old school bus was used by Junie Donlavey crew members, because Junie Donlavey I've been known of saving money by not "keeping up with money spending Jones".
He used mostly volunteer pitcrews, during many pitstops he would saved money by using used race tires instead of brand new "sticker" race tires. He didn't owned or ride airplanes or helicopters because he was afraid of flying, Junie rode the train (to Riverside,Cal.) and rode the race car hauler, or drove his personal car to the NASCAR races. LOL

Don't know the exact year or race this happen?
While in route to a race track, #90 race car owner Junie Donlavey was asleep in back of the #90 race car hauler and the driver stopped and went inside of an truck stop service station.
Junie woke up and went to the rest room.
The driver of the #90 race car hauler got back in the truck without checking on Junie's location and left poor ole Junie at the truck stop service station rest room.
At the truck stop service station Junie had found a ride to the race track with very fast tractor trailer truck and driver.
When the driver of the #90 race car hauler drove up to race track and found out not only he had left his boss at truck stop service station but "The Virginia Gentleman" #90 race car owner Junie Donlavey was standing in front of him, "Smiling and laughing".

Race driver Fred Lorenzen told #90 race car owner Junie Donlavey that he would guarantee 1st place race win if Junie spent a ton of money ($100,000?).

Junie said "N0" to this idea of using high price unnessary race car parts.
Don't know if it was race listed below or the Daytona 500?
http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1972_Northern_300/W

#1. What years and races was the "Junie Donlavey bus" used?
#2. What color was the "Junie Donlavey bus"?
Was the "Junie Donlavey bus" painted yellow or painted in sponsor colors like "TRUXMORE" or have number "#90" painted on it?

I'm still looking for "Junie Donlavey bus" photo through my race books and race photos for it.
I need the above information to look futher and thank you very much for any information given.

Gee Dave...are you fabricating stories 'cause you ran out of subject matter? Ha! No one seems to recall Junie having a bus. I don't remember this either, but then there is a lot I can't recall. I didn't frequent the Swansboro shop a great deal during that era and the best I can recall was the standard single axle car carrier trucklike everyone used. I rode plenty of buses when I attended Chesterfield County schools in my youth. I didn't have to walk five miles uphill both ways to school like some of you guys. (snicker) Next time I talk to Henry Morano (Junie's jack man) or one of the Bell family, I'll see if I can dig up anything on the bus.

...and Dennis Garrett...do you stay up all night anticipating the next discussion here on RR? I notice you posted this morning around 5:30 AM. Gee, I was still smacking at the alarm clock at that time!! (I'm supposed to be working now too)

That bus, I'm pretty certain, belonged to a Junie volunteer crew member or just a friend who drove it to the track... I know it was not Junie's. I always heard it called "The Bluebird." This was in 80s-90s.

Mike Smith & Howard the sign painter would have been working at the track with Junie then.

I vaguely remember (I think) the flashing lights having the #90 on them. Don't remember the color. I also seem to remember it not having a traditional school bus type snout, but looked more like an over the road bus/coach. May have been out of Tidewater, I don't really know.

Richard, please do ask about that bus. Now, I'm really curious.

Dennis, I've heard that story about Junie being left behind going to Atlanta many times. It was funnier every time it was told!

Okay folks, here's what I got. I just talked with Henry Morano, Junie's jack man back when. Henry says the bus was actually a Blue Bird manufactured bus. It was two tone blue, had a 390 Ford motor and Allison transmission. Had bunks in the back that would sleep 4 plus some additional space for a couple more. The bus did belong to Junie. They had it during Dick Brooks tenure there, and while Ken Shrader drove for them, early to mid 80's. Henry doesn't have pictures, but is certain one of the crew members should have some.

Henry says he was the driver of the bus (as he often was) when they went to Atlanta. They stopped at a truck stop near the NC/SC line and Junie got off the bus to use the restroom. Henry says when he was ready to get under way, Junie's bunk was a pile of blankets, shoes on the floor, wallet in the window. He pulled out and set sail for Atlanta. It seems that Junie was not on the bus. He wandered around the truck stop with no shoes, no wallet, no money, trying to hitch a ride with one of the truckers. They thought he was gay or something. He finally hitched a ride to Elmo Langley's shop, who had not yet departed and rode with Elmo's people to Atlanta. Henry says he caught hell from Junie and was blamed for the whole thing, but Henry said he thought Junie was in his bunk when he pulled out. We will see if Mike Bell can help us find pictures of the bus. He is checking with his Dad and whoever else in his family that worked for the team. Oh, it was a flat nose traditional bus sorta like the old city buses.

Oops, before all you loyal Donelevy fans point this out, I mis-spoke when I named Dick Brooks in my post last night. I should have said Jody Ridley. I knew it was one of the two or three drivers that drove for Junie. LOL

Thank you for confirming what I was sure of. I know I'm getting ditzy in my old age, but I did remember that #90 Blue Bird bus.

Dug up something else on the web. A newspaper article dated July 25 2002. Junie speaks of the motor coach and the good old days. The bus was named "Blue Goose" and Junie said he paid $6500 for it. He said something like that today ('02) would run $750K to a million dollars. At the time of the article Junie said he still had the bus and thought about dusting it off and taking it to a race and park it between some of those mega-buck motor homes. This article was repeated in a number of newspapers. I happened across it searching for "Donlavey motor coach". Oh, and it seems that Dick Brooks did drive for Junie during the 80's also, along with Ridley and Shrader.

Thanks again... great stuff!

A thousand thanks, again, Richard. Here's the entire story you found, written by Bill Fleischman on July 25, 2002. Bill was the motorsports writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and attended all of our Cup races at Richmond as well as the Pocono and Dover races. His story was picked up by the parent company, Knight-Ridder and distributed nationally to papers all over the country.

A racing cornerstone
Donlavey's 53 years as a Cup car owner may be ending

By Bill Fleischman

Knight Ridder Newspapers

July 25, 2002

Junie Donlavey has rarely met anyone in NASCAR he didn't like. And Donlavey has met a lot of people.

In Donlavey's 53 years in NASCAR, more than 70 drivers have raced for him. The all-star list includes Buck and Buddy Baker, Benny Parsons, Cale Yarborough, Joe Weatherly, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader, Ernie Irvan and Bobby Isaac.

Donlavey estimates that about 150 active mechanics and crew members have worked for him as well. But now, the long ride might be ending.

Donlavey's team, based in Richmond, Va., has been without a sponsor since the C.F. Sauer Co. withdrew early last month.

"We're in limbo at the moment," Donlavey, 78, said. "We have a lot of good people beating the bushes (for sponsors)."

Donlavey doesn't expect to bring his No. 90 team to Pocono Raceway this weekend for the Pennsylvania 500 Winston Cup race. He took his team to Daytona earlier this month, hoping to qualify for the Pepsi 400.

"We tried (to qualify)," he said, "but I wasn't really interested in making it because I didn't feel I had what I needed to be competitive. All my life we've been competitive at Daytona."

Donlavey's cars usually are competitive at most tracks, but in 838 starts his team has won just once: at Dover Downs in Delaware back in 1981. Driver Jody Ridley earned the victory.

Late in that race, Ridley was running third.

"Cale Yarborough and Neil Bonnett were one-two," Donlavey recalled. "As each one blew an engine, it made me feel worse because they were very good friends of mine. I knew what it felt like to be running up front and have something happen like that. I wasn't as happy winning (the race), as I was when we were running third.

"People say, 'You've been in it all this time and only won one race.' I say, 'Yeah, but if I went back and counted the number of times that we were leading near the end of a race and should have won, I would say we haven't had a successful career but we were very competitive.'"

Earlier this year, Donlavey was excited about fielding an all-Virginia Winston Cup team. Veteran Rick Mast, from Rockbridge Baths, Va., drove Donlavey's Ford in nine races. Mast, however, has been sidelined with an undisclosed illness. (Ed Berrier tried to qualify the car for the Pepsi 400.)

Donlavey has stayed in Winston Cup because he's had fun and met many nice people. However, the soaring expenses to field a team have been discouraging.

"I watched some of the best races that I've ever seen back in those days," he said. "So, all the money being spent (today), to me I can't see where it helps as far as the spectators are concerned. It's too high-tech: it's not what the (sport) started out to be."

A major problem that Donlavey and other middle-of-the-pack Winston Cup entries face is that few sponsors want to pay millions for teams that don't have much chance of winning.

Sometimes, Donlavey yearns for the old days when his race-day crews were volunteers and they traveled to races together in his motor home, nicknamed the "Blue Goose."

"After a race at Michigan," Donlavey said, "we'd ride all night long to get back to Richmond. That was when we had the motor home. The guys would all have showers and a pretty decent night's sleep. When the motor home pulled in, they'd jump in their cars and go right to work. They were from all walks of life, which is what made it so good."

Donlavey says the Blue Goose cost $6,500.

"Now, they cost $750,000 to $1 million," he said. He still has the Blue Goose and has considered taking it to races.

"We've been thinking about fixing it up and parking it between those three-quarter million dollar homes," he said.

Thinking of the reaction the Blue Goose would get makes Donlavey smile.

When Donlavey finally closes his shop, NASCAR won't be the same. NASCAR might be as good or better without this Southern gentleman, but it won't be the same.