April 28, 1985 - Coincidental Petty trivia

Martinsville hosted the Sovran Bank 500 on April 28, 1985. The program cover included some of the biggest names of the sport in one of the cheesiest staged photos perhaps ever.

The race was won by the bandit, Harry Gant. (From Randall Photobug collection)

Both Pettys had decent finishes. The King finished 7th - shown here in front of Phil Parsons in a Roger Hamby Skoal sponsored car. ( Randall Photobug collection). I remember Parsons in the #66 Johnny Hayes' Skoal car - but not in one owned by Hamby.

And Kyle finished 11th in his first trip to Martinsville as a driver for the Wood Brothers. ( Randall Photobug collection)

The coincidence? Petty cars finished 7-11 - the same as Kyle's sponsor.

Interesting coincidence. We had a rash of those cheesy program covers in the 80s - including a cheesy gunslinger one for one of our Richmond Wrangler races that I want to say had DW & Dale, but the memory is getting dim.

Chase, at the time, that photo may have been considered "cheesie", but with what those drivers do for commercials and endorsements these days, it give cheesiness and entire new definition.

Bringing this one back one year later with a couple of new photos of The Bandit's win from Getty Images.

33 takes the checkered flag - Getty

Scoreboard reflects 500 completed laps - Getty

Harry in victory lane with Miss Winston - Getty

The 1985 headquarters of Virginia's then SOVRAN Bank on the Norfolk, Virginia waterside. The eventual C&S/SOVRAN was gobbled up by Charlotte's Bank of America.

Loved the way them cars looked back then

Phil ran a split schedule back in '85. He had the Skoal sponsorship, so he ran the superspeedways in the #66 Johnny Hayes/Jackson Brothers car as a teammate to brother Benny, then ran the short tracks/road courses with the Hamby team.

Thanks, Dennis. That program cover was from the first race Wrangler ever sponsored and the first race at Richmond that ever had a sponsor.

On April 30, 2014, Talladega named its backstretch with a 200 foot long sign "The Alabama Gang Superstretch" honoring Neil Bonnett, Red Farmer, Bobby Allison and Donnie Allison.

That offered an opportunity for cheesy photos with the remaining 3 "Gang" members.

fantastic photo Dave, Thanks. three great guys....

Just realized the program photo wasn't airbrushed or otherwise edited to remove the 2 from Earnhardt's Pontiac.

Nope... and by race time it was the #3 Childress Pontiac, not the #2 Osterlund Pontiac.