I post this Racing History Minute in hopes that my good friend, Harlow Reynolds, may stumble upon it and add some of his special memories.
On April 18, 1960 (a good year in my book) the quarter mile paved track in Winston-Salem, NC, more commonly known as Bowman Gray Stadium, held a 200 lap/50 mile race. Only 15 cars showed for the event and there was not one lead change in the entire race as Glen Wood started his Ford on the pole and led the entire 200 laps. This was the first Grand National (now Cup) win for Glen although he had been a terror on modified tracks for some time. It was also the third consecutive win for Ford in the 1960 season.
Junior Johnson borrowed a Chevrolet for the race, qualified last, and finished last as the engine blew after two laps. Richard Petty increased his points lead over his father in this event, leading the points after 13 races of his first full season in the Grand National Series. Just a heads up here though. Richard would NOT win his first championship in 1960. That honor went to a very deserving Rex White.
Top Five Finishers were:
1. Glen Wood, Ford, winning $900.00
2. Rex White, Chevrolet, winning $475.00
3. Jimmy Massey, Ford, winning $400.00 (also a Glen Wood Ford)
4. Richard Petty, Plymouth, winning $305.00
5. Ned Jarrett, Ford, winning $245.00
Finishers sixth through fifteenth were Tom Pistone, Fred Harb, Jimmy Pardue, Bob Welborn, Bunkie Blackburn, PAUL LEWIS, Lee Petty, Neil Castles, Jimmy Lewallen, and Junior Johnson. Paul Lewis is in all caps as he is the reason RacersReunion exists.
RACING HISTORY MINUTE EXTRA FOR THE DAY:
The following quoted statements are from an article I read last night:
"BUT, ALAS and alak, racing will never go back to the "good old days" when everyone was an independant and winning depended entirely upon which driver was the best mechanic and would keep his foot on it the longest.
First off, the sport has become too widely publicized for it to ever go back to those formative years and the situations that existed then. Automotive firms, everyone from the manufacturer of the cars to the makers of the valve stems, have to recognize the advertising they get by supporting racing.
Secondly, promoters as well as sanctioning groups, feel that the racing fans themselves would never stand still for a return to the dark ages.
.........Sometimes you feel like racing is heading into an era where the drivers will be like today's baseball players. Baseball became big business with its bonus babies and now the player spends as much time checking on the stock market ventures as he does in the batting cage.
Racing hasn't become that yet, but the move is certainly in that direction. Not that anyone begrudes the drivers one penny of the money they make. On the contrary, if anything, these guys work for peanuts considering the risks they take.
But no one would like to see the drivers lose their down to earth approach to the sport or to the fans. Who wants to pull for some guy who comes to the track in a chauffer driven Cadillac?
.......If it gets too big, it loses a whole lot of the personal touch that made it big in the first place"
END OF QUOTE.
What did that quoted section have to do with a History Minute you may ask? When do you think it was written and by whom?
That quote is only a portion of a column entitled "Exhaust Fumes" written each week by Bob Hoffman in a now defunct publication known as "Southern Motorsports Journal". This particular column appeared in the issue of that paper dated April 18, 1968. That's right. Forty-five years ago Bob Hoffman was talking about much the same thing we often discuss here today. Just thought you folks may enjoy that extra this morning.
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.
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What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
