April 15, 1963 - Jim Paschal bags Bowman Gray

Let's try this again.

Greetings from about 35,000 feet on flight from Nashville to Philly. I'll ATTEMPT to post this post with airplane wifi that has the speed of a turtle with a bum leg.

I find it interesting that I'm flying to Philadelphia. This young nation declared its independence in the city of Philadelphia. Yet I'm flying on April 15th where we as tax paying individuals are compelled this country's growing DEPENDENCE on Washington DC. But I digress.

On April 15, 1963, Jim Paschal pocketed some Petty cash by winning at Bowman Gray Stadium while racing a Petty Enterprises Plymouth for the Level Cross bunch. Read more here:

http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/04/april-15-1963-jim-paschal-bags-bowman.html

I have a son-in-law who is a native of the "City of Brotherly Love" and one grandson has run up the steps there like Rocky.

I am sad to report that I once got terribly lost in a pretty scary part of the city in my rental car on a Sunday night after dark following a Dover race as I "attempted" to find the Philly airport Sheraton where I had reservations before a Monday morning flight to Dallas.

Thanks for your post. Eat a cheesesteak for us!

Thanks, this was the first or second race a Bowman Gray I missed. Born 2-21-63 mom wouldn't take me watch Dad race until sometime in May of 63. Only missed 2 races from then until about 1982. Watching a pack of Grand National cars on a 1/4 mile is something else. Feel sorry for newer fans.

Boy, I did like Jim Paschal. He was a really nice guy and a good race driver.

Chase, I don't believe Bunky Blackburn ever won in a Petty car but he drove for them several times. Do you have anything on him?

Hal, I agree with you. I feel sorry for the younger fans who never got to see those events we witnessed but I hope that by hanging around RacersReunion and all the folks we have here who were they may pickup on the "magic" of those days.

Bunky was a Daytona Beach guy at one time. Fun guy...pretty good driver.

Bunkie drove Amelia Court House, Virginia "revenooer" Worth McMillion's (he worked for the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board) Pontiac to it its best ever finish, a 4th place at Charlotte's 1962 National 400.

I was asking on chat last night if anyone which Fayetteville, NC track Bunkie's father operated?

I am trying to find out that answer myself...Dave. I think my Buddies...have all either gone fishing or have their heads, up under a hood...LOL!

Per...my good friend...Marty Webb You are most likely thinking of the old Champion Speedway, former Nascar track that was actually on Hwy 301. Bunkie Blackburn ran there in the 50s.

Associated Press wire service report from 2006:

Posted 3/3/2006 4:22 AM

Former NASCAR driver 'Bunkie' Blackburn dies at 69

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (AP) James Ronald "Bunkie" Blackburn, a former NASCAR driver who once won a race at Daytona International Speedway, died Tuesday. He was 69.

Blackburn died at his home, according to an announcement from Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home in Columbia, Tenn. His cause of death was not available Thursday night.

Blackburn drove in the Grand National and NASCAR circuits from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, driving for teams run by Smokey Yunick and Petty Enterprises.

He had four top-fives and 14 top-10s in the Grand National series, The Daily Herald in Columbia reported. Blackburn ran 71 races at 26 different tracks in his career.

His top finish was in 1968, when he won from the pole in the Permatex 300 for Late Model Sportsman, a fore-runner to the Busch Series. He also won poles at Talladega and Bristol and was inducted into the Pure Darlington Record Club in 1964 after posting a record qualifying time. He finished in the top 10 twice in the Daytona Firecracker 400.

Blackburn grew up surrounded by racing his father owned and operated a dirt track in his hometown of Fayetteville, N.C.

Blackburn also competed throughout the Middle Tennessee area on dirt tracks and at Nashville Speedway against drivers like Darrell Waltrip, who lives in Franklin, Tenn., and Coo Coo Marlin, the late father of current Nextel Cup driver Sterling Marlin, also of Columbia, Tenn.

He retired from racing after an injury and went to work for General Electric in Columbia for 20 years before retiring.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Nancy Hedrick Blackburn, three daughters, a son and 12 grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home.

Published on March 3, 2006, Fayetteville Observer, The (NC)

Ex-racer Blackburn dies at 69

By Thomas Pope

Motor sports editor

Fayetteville native James Ronald Bunkie Blackburn, who raced in 71 NASCAR events during the 1960s and '70, died Tuesday at his home in Columbia, Tenn.

Mr. Blackburn, 69, began his racing career at Cumberland Speedway, a dirt track that opened in the late 1940s off of Wilmington Road.

As I recall, Bunkie drove Smokey's Black & Gold Camaro in some "Baby Grand" races. That was a "bad" piece.

Not exactly sure how we morphed from Jim Paschal winning at Bowman Gray to Bunkie Blackburn. But hey - as they say in N'awlins, let the good times roll. Here is a blog entry posted by Russ Thompson a couple of years ago about a memorable finish at Nashville between Bunkie, James Ham and Boogity 3x D-Dubya.

http://nashvillefairgrounds.blogspot.com/2011/02/1970-season-banks-are-how-steep.html

From Getty images site:

http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=2&assetType=image&family=Editorial&p=bunkie+blackburn

TALLADEGA, AL September 1969: The pole position for the very first event to be held at the new Alabama International Motor Speedway, the Bama 400 NASCAR Grand American race, was won by this Ford Mustang entered by legendary car owner and mechanic Henry Smokey Yunick and driven by Bunkie Blackburn. The team had to change the number on the car from 13 to 3 for the race because Richard Childress had entered before them with his No. 13 and thus kept his number. Blackburn led 54 of the 56 laps he ran before the engine blew. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)

I remember this car as well but I'm pretty sure there was a 68 Camaro. I'm pretty sure Bunkie and Goldsmith drove the car.

Interesting stuff. Never knew Smokey had a Mustang. Dennis and Wayne Andrews might further enlighten us on the GT/Grand American deal. Thanks, Chase & Randy.

But, Chase, you have to admit, your post "morphed" into a good piece.

Photo of Bunkie Blackburn at Nashville in 1970 from the Russ Thompson story posted by TMC:

Paschal was always one of my favorites. When I worked for Huggins Tire Sales, it was always great to have a solid contender in the Goodyear camp. Especially when he was whipping up on the Firestone shod cars. I remember a few Petty/Blackburn tales from the past as well.

Randy, I think my very best memory of the Rockingham track is still from my first visit there in March 1966 for the Peach Blossom 500 when Jim Paschal kept his #14 Friedkin Enterprises Plymouth side-by-side with Cale's #27 Banjo Matthews Ford for many, many laps... back in the track's original low banked configuration. We hated Fords back then and cheered Jim on every lap! Paul Goldsmith eventually won.

I got to see Jim win just once, in Raleigh in 1970, at the Fairgrounds, in that red/white/blue Huggins' AMC Javelin over our RR member, Joe Dean Huss of Roanoke Rapids, NC in a Grand American race on as muddy a racetrack as I've ever seen in all my years attending races.

I also pulled mightily for Jim when he drove that beautiful burgundy '65 Chevy against the factory Fords.

I was trying to remember the Huggins Tire guy we used to have to settle up with in the little trailer... I want to say Thurman.

Oh... and also, Randy... in 1981-1983 we made tons of 14 ounce denim aprons at Wrangler for the Huggins and other Goodyear tire busters. Had almost forgotten that.

Here's a link to a fairly up-to-date story on the Huggins guys:

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2011/05/12/inside-nascar-goodyear-tires-buster-huggins.html

Randy Myers - Your memory has served you well.

1968 Darlington - Source: Charleston SC's News and Courier

Smokey and MIckey Thompson collaborate to run the salt flats.

Source: Mickey Thompson book preview on Google Books- page 162

A thread about the GT/Grand Am series at Nashville on Randy Ayers Modeling Forum .

And lastly, boo-yah...

Those tire busters had it easy. Jerry Steppe came to work for Huggins in 67 so he remembers well how tough it was then. My first races were for the distributor from Miami who worked the 24 hour races (Bill Robinson I think was his name) in 66 and stuck around for the GN stuff thanks to "Crash" Grant. We had to "stuff" the liners back then. Big Jim McElroy and I did the majority of them. Leon Lyndon, Coy Whitt, Pete Pearson and a handfull more did most of the mounting along with Jim and me (on old Coats 10/10 machines) after the liners got stuffed at the big speedways. Jerry and a couple more balanced on "bubble" type balancers. The Goodyear/Firestone tire wars made the Hoosier/Goodyear days look like childs play. I remember during the "600" that Paschal won (66) for Freidkin that the Firestones were blazing fast for about 10-15 laps before they blistered and came apart. All the Fords were on the "Flintstones" as we called them and most of the Chrysler guys were on our stuff. We mounted over 350 tiresAFTER the race started to be able to switch over the Ford guys. Paschal "smoked" em that day.You are correct about the guy in the little trailer. Thatwas Thurman Huggins. Brother company owner, Ross.Some of you other old-timers might also remember Ross as a sign painter from High Point, NC.

I found the same photo but couldn't get it to download. That was a bad-ass Camaro. If memory serves me, it was a 302 with two 4-barrels. That thing sure would handle down the straight-aways

Is the Smokey Camaro above the same one that became the Gene White / Pete Hamilton Camaro as described by Jim Hunter in the June 1969 Stock Car Racing Magazine article below?

I saw Pete win in the Gene White Camaro at South Boston in 1969. That was one screaming machine.

GT 100

NASCAR Grand Touring race
South Boston Speedway, South Boston, VA
June 21, 1969
267 laps on 0.375 mile paved oval; 100.125 miles

Fin St Driver # Owner Car Laps Money Status Laps Led
1 1 Pete Hamilton Gene White 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 267 850 running 143
2 Ray Hendrick 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 266 running
3 Jim Paschal 1969 AMC Javelin
4 T.C. Hunt 1968 Chevrolet Camaro
5 Wayne Andrews 1968 Chevrolet Camaro
Tiny Lund
Buck Baker

Notes: 16 of 22 starters running at the finish.
Time of race: 01:15:08
Average Speed: 79.86 MPH
Pole Speed: 15.68 seconds
2 cautions

Dave,

I had seen the story you posted that said the Pete Hamilton Camaro was an x Smokey car and had assumed that the picture above was the same car but after reading the story Chase posted you can't tell which of the 2 Smokey cars it was. Did not know until now there were 2 Camaros.

I have also read that the #55 Ronnie Hopkins Camaro that Tiny drove in 1970 was the x Gene White #25 Camaro with later model sheet metal. After reading that the White crew built another Camaro for GA and a Trans Am Camaro. I could only guess which one of those cars ended up at Hopkins shop.

I'm pretty sure dad was in a '68 Cougar in the '69 So. Bo. race.

I have two bad knees, one from Football the other from Bunkie Blackburn hitting me when I had spun out at Coastal Speedway Mrytle Beach in the 50s.

Wow, Jim, another historical fact added by you! I appreciate it. We are really building a first person history of the sport here. Thank you for each contribution you make. I never played football but I have two bad knees as well, one of them caused by the crash at Myrtle Beach Speedway in 1973. Not the same track as your's but same area.