We Knew It as the Joe Weatherly Stock Car Museum

When folks like Tim Leeming and myself started visiting it, the place was called the Joe Weatherly Stock Car Museum. Today it is called the Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum and today's Florence Morning News has a story about it.

Darlington: This museums a wreck

A smashed Waltrip car, your cheatin parts and more at Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum

Posted: Thursday, May 9, 2013 6:00 am | Updated: 6:46 am, Thu May 9, 2013.

MARK A. HASELDEN, Morning News mhaselden@florencenews.com

DARLINGTON, S.C. In about a decade of seeing visitors come and go through the Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum, Vicky Sanders has noticed one constant.

Invariably, most people leave the place talking about one exhibit in particular.

Everybody wants to talk about Darrell Waltrips wrecked car, said Sanders, who manages the Darlington Raceway shop and the attached museum.

Some might see wrecked as a bit of an understatement. Waltrips 1991 Chevy Lumina looks like it went through some kind of car shredder. Most of its sheet metal exterior is missing and broken hoses and various sundry parts are visible from back to front.

And Waltrip walked away.

It happened at the 1991 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Waltrip and Joe Ruttman made contact on the 121st lap. Both cars skidded onto the infield. While Ruttmans car eventually came to a relatively uneventful stop, Waltrips vehicle started a barrel roll. It rolled over eight times before coming to a rest as basically the heap of pulverized metal that sits in the museum today.

One look at the car, though, and it becomes fairly obvious how Waltrip, who these days serves as a color commentator on Foxs NASCAR race broadcasts, came out alive and largely unscathed. The steel roll cage protecting the cockpit is scarred up a bit, but its intact.

Its a ... Matador!

Visitors from all over the U.S., and the world, for that matter, come through the museum each year. The museum is kind of display this week during Race Week at Darlington while the Bojanges Southern 500 is beind held but its a treat for race fans and others year round.

And Waltrips car, while possibly the most eye-catching exhibit there, is far from the only interesting piece in the building.

Its not the only car, either.

The first car visitors see is the 1950 Plymouth driven by Johnny Mantz in winning the 1950 Southern 500.

One of the most recent additions is another Waltrip special, his No. 17 Tide-sponsored Chevrolet. Another is an AMC Matador driven by legendary NASCAR driver Bobby Allison. Allison won NASCAR events in a Matador four times, including twice at Darlington in the 1975 Rebel 500 and later the same year in the Southern 500. Allison also won the 125-mile Daytona qualifying race in February of that year with the Matador.

In the very back of the museum is another car many race fans today remember quite well the 1985 Ford Thunderbird Bill Elliott drove to Victory Lane at the Southern 500. The win was Elliotts third in the Big Four Winston Cup races that year (he also won the Daytona 500 and the Winston 500) and earned him a $1 million bonus from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

More than cars

There are plenty more cars to admire, but the vehicles themselves arent the only things in the museum. Sanders said one of the more interesting exhibits for her is a case filled with illegal parts that have been confiscated over the years, including a nitrous oxide canister, a digital ignition system (illegal in NASCAR), an illegal flywheel and many other things.

Drivers have had a lot of ways to try to gain an edge, Sanders said.

Before getting to Elliotts car, visitors pass through the National Motorsports Press Association Stock Car Hall of Fame. Hanging throughout are hall members portraits drawn by Florence artist Jeanne Barnes, who has made her reputation over the years with her renderings of drivers and NASCAR-related scenes.

The museum originally was called the Joe Weatherly Stock Car Museum, named after one of the sports more colorful drivers in its early years. According to information from Darlington Raceway, Weatherly came up with the idea of the museum after visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. The facility was officially dedicated on May 2, 1965. The name of the museum was changed after renovation and expansion in 2003.

Link below to photos from the museum:

http://www.scnow.com/gallery/collection_41527bd8-b74f-11e2-b485-0019bb30f31a.html

Sadly, I've only been to Darlington once. It was the fall Mountain Dew Southern 500 - when it was believed the race would be the final one named that. Rather than go on a sweltering Labor Day weekend, we were there on a gloomy, misty, cool November day. We made a day trip of it from High Point. No Busch series race, limited tailgating, and I didn't get to visit the museum - regardless of its name.

When I was kid, however, the Weatherly Museum was kind to send me a couple of freebies - postcards, brochures and such. I wrote EVERYONE back then - tracks, companies, teams, drivers, fan clubs, etc., and I accumulated a lot of stuff that I still have to this day.

The museum also sent me an order form for a few things. It was rare for me to buy anything back then - much less by mail order. But I bought a 43 patch, the Meet Richard Petty LP and accompanying book from 1970, and a 1968 Southern 500 program from the museum. Big money for me to spend back in 1976 or so.

One car that USED to be in the Weatherly Museum but is no longer is David Pearson's Wood Brothers 1973 Mercury. The car was donated to the museum after the 1974 season-opening race at Riverside where it stayed for many years. In recent years, however, the car was withdrawn, refurbished by Leonard Wood, and moved to the NASCAR HOF in Charlotte.

http://stockcar.racersreunion.com/forum/topics/cale-s-riverside-romp-in-1974

http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-26-rookie-and-riverside-romp.html

You are right Dave. You and I knew it as "The Joe Weatherly Stock Car Musuem" and as far as I am concerned, it will always remain that to me. I have a "special" connection with that place as I was there the day it opened as a part of the "dedication" crowd. I have visited it many, many, many times, but, frankly not in the past five years. As it is only 70 miles from me, I would often ride over during the off season just to feel "connected" to racing again. The day Alan Kulwicki was killed, I drove over and spent three hours just hanging in there.

I will say that I note, especially, that the article says only that "visitors from all over the world and U.S." come to the museum. Please note that it does NOT say "thousands, or even hundreds". When I first start going over there, it was like a dollar entry. The place would be moderately crowded, but not so as to be difficult to walk through. Then it became $2.00. Then $5.00. Last time I was there, I think it was $10.00. It just became too expensive to get my "high" from there.

Also, the last time I was there, I was outraged that there was enough dust on the exhibits to have indicated a dirt track racing was just concluded and the cars brought right from the dirt track to the display.

I have a deep reverence for the history of this sport, and especially for Darlington as it was my first "big track" and asphalt track experience back in 1957. I often lament the current state of affairs in the sport where money and glitz is concerned, but most of all, I lament the total lack of respect NASCAR and many current day fans have for the heritage I hold so dear. This museum WAS the inspiration of Joe Weatherly. Joe Weatherly and Darlington are connected in so many ways. To remove his name from the Museum is the epitome of disrespect for a true pioneer and hero.

So, to Darlington Museum, or whatever name you choose to use in the future, the only way you will have me there again is to guarantee me a free pass for life. No, I am not being mercenary, although I'm sure you understand that term very well. I am being true to the sport I, and thousands like me, built into what it is today thanks to guys like Joe Weatherly.

Tim, remember in the early years when they used to take the cars out of the museum on Labor Day morning and parade them down Darlington's frontstretch before the Southern 500? Jim Reed's blue '59 Chevy, Mantz's '50 Plymouth, Little Joe's black & red #8 Merc, Buck's Olds 88, Fireball's lavender #22, Ray Fox's #3 Junior Johnson Mystery Chevy, etc., etc. all appeared, cranked up and running.

I thought my heart would burst when my buddy, Frank and I saw that procession of cars on Labor Day morning 1966. As Chase has alluded... wonder how many of those cars and the others, as well as display items have been "relocated?"

And, you're right, Tim... it's a crime of the first magnitude to have removed Little Joe's name. ISC should be ashamed of itself.

I just tried to Google the chronology of when ISC bought Darlington and when the museum was renamed. I was actually surprised how easy it was to quickly grab the info.

Looks like ISC bought Darlington in 1982. I'd truly forgotten they took control of it that long ago.

http://www.internationalspeedwaycorporation.com/The-Team/History.aspx

And then this site indicates the museum was renamed in 2003:

http://www.schistorytrail.com/property.html?i=138

So its certainly on them for the name change.

I'm curious. Ray Lamm has this photo of Bud Moore presenting Weatherly's car to "the museum". Presumably to the Darlington Weatherly museum after Joe's death? Anyone know for certain?

That's an interesting photo.

Same pic on page 132 of the Darlington International Raceway 1950-1967 book. Caption says "Moore provided the car as a display for the Joe Weatherly Stock Car Museum". Museum opened on May 2, 1965. Caption says it is a restored Mercury, last driven by Joe Weatherly.

A few years ago, some of the old "donated" cars in the museum were returned to their previous owners. I have no clue as to any understanding of this. The Bud Moore Mercury was given back to Bud and sold, as was Cotten Owens Dodge Daytona. Lee Holman has possession of Fireball Roberts 1963 Galaxieand Fred Lorenzens 1967 Fairlane. The Woods re-acquired the 1971 Mercury that Pearson won 11 of 18 in 1973. The Cale Yarborough/ Junior Johnson Oldsmobile that was there is now for sale at RK Motors for $299,000. The Joe Weatherly Museum was once thebest of stock car racing.

I sure do remember those days, Dave. It would be as exciting for me seeing those cars parade as it was to watch the start of the race. As I said, it's been some years since I've been there but I talked to a friend today who was over there last year and he said most of the cars we used to see are gone. About the only ones left that we knew were the Plymouth that won the first Southern 500 and the Buck Baker Oldsmobile. My friend also said that much of the collection that was there of all sorts of things historic is gone. Like I said, a free pass for life along with an ice cold Coke on every visit and I may go back. After all, it only takes me 35 minutes more to get to Memory Lane in Mooresville and I LOVE that place and every time I go there Alex and the rest of the gang are happy to see me.

That is correct. It is/was a restored Mercuy driven by Weatherly that Bud Moore donated for display. Beautiful car.

Only $299,000.00? Maybe we ought to take up a collection and buy the thing. It must be made of solid gold.

Joe WeatherlyStock Car Museum may confuse our new fans, those that don't have a clue as to who that may have been, and aren't expected to sufficiently study the sport's history to determine the answer. Kind of like "moving" to America and not being expected to learn English. Sure wouldn't want to offend any potential new fan.

Tweeted by Richard Petty Motorsports this morning. I wonder if the King still refers to it as the Weatherly Museum.

Thank you, Billy, for the enlightening information ragarding the state of today's insurance regulations and how it relates to the display of automobiles.