October 23, 1976 - Ray Hendrick Takes Second Consecutive World Service Life 300 Late Model Sportsman at Charlotte

The stars and cars of NASCAR gathered in Charlotte for a huge Late Model Sportsman race on October 23, 1976.

Proving once again that he could be "Mr. Late Model Sportsman" as well as "Mr. Modified" and "Mr. Superspeedway" as well as "Mr. Short Track" - Richmond, Virginia's "Rapid Ray" Hendrick won his second consecutive superspeedway World Service Life 300 NASCAR National Championship Late Model Sportsman race at Charlotte Motor Speedway over his neighbor and competitor at Richmond's Southside Speedway, Lennie Pond of Ettrick, Virginia.

Virginians Hendrick and Pond, driving a Junior Johnson prepared mount, were the only two drivers to complete all 200 laps.

The 47 year old Hendrick once again drove for "Yankee" Dick Armstrong in the race that was originally scheduled for the day prior to the 1976 National 500, but rescheduled due to rain. Run two weeks later as a stand alone event, a crowd of 17,500 still turned out to see many of the country's local track heroes take on the high banks competing also against the likes of Darrell Waltrip, Donnie Allison and many other stars.

The spectator count was pretty respectable considering the Cup cars were running the next day at Rockingham, just 80 miles away.

A look through the field will show many super stars to be as well as those in their prime. You'll see several RacersReunion members in the all-star cast.

Hendrick started from the 4th position with Newport, Tennessee's L.D. Ottinger on the pole. RR member, Wayne Andrews, father of frequent contributor, Dennis Andrews claimed the 19th starting position.

Besides winner Hendrick, lap leaders included 2nd place Pond, Dave Marcis, Jack Ingram, Ottinger, and Sam Sommers.

In my opinion, these big Charlotte Late Model Sportsman races were some of the best ever staged, often producing much better races than the next day's Grand National contest.

Most NASCAR observers credit the late Hendrick, who originally made his name driving NASCAR Modifieds, with having won more NASCAR races than any other driver in the sanctioning body's history.

World Service Life 300

NASCARLate Model Sportsmanrace
Charlotte Motor Speedway ,Charlotte,NC
October 23, 1976
200laps on 1.5 mile paved oval;300 miles

Notes: Scheduled for October 9; postponed by rain.
Time of race: 02:34:03
Average Speed: 116.845 MPH
Pole Speed: 33.863 seconds
5 cautions for 29 laps
Attendance: 17,500

Results from Ultimate Racing History

I haven't found any news coverage of the race except on pay per view sites (maybe member TMC-Chase can... he's much better at that than me) , but here are a couple of preview clips from Fredericksburg and Mount Airy:

Ottinger would come back the following weekend and win another pole, this time at the half-mile Martinsville layout:

Pretty sure Joe Millikan would have been in a Petty Enterprises prepared Dodge. He won the Permatex 300 at Daytona in February of the 1976 LMS season in the #04 Petty Charger.

Race report from Spartanburg Herald

As Dave noted, the race was originally scheduled to run the day before the National 500, October 9, 1976. Rain postponed the race to October 17th. From Spartanburg Herald .

But ... on October 17th ... yep, more rain. ( Spartanburg Herald ) So the race was rescheduled for October 23rd.

Race program from  Andy Towler collection.

Chase, thank you so much for the news clip of the 1976 Charlotte Late Model Sportsman event. You are a wonder with your research.

In the February 1976 300 mile Late Model Sportsman race at Daytona that you reference, Ray Hendrick had the lead on Joe Millikan when they made their final pit stops. The Petty Enterprises crew pitted Millikan and beat the pants off the Hendrick / Dick Armstrong crew, beating them badly on pit road and taking the race lead at the end to win the event.

In the 1988 & 1989 NASCAR season, I had the opportunity to work directly with 3 of the drivers in the 1976 Charlotte Sportsman event - pole sitter, L.D. Ottinger , Harry Gant and Dave Marcis , as well as young Davey Allison . It would be a near impossible task to pick the nicest and most cooperative driver from that group of four.

I had the NASCAR account for Indian Head Industries , maker of Detroit Gasket products and MGM Brakes (truck brakes) , the Plasti-Kote Spray Paint account, and the Big Apple Market account - which I handled gratis/pro bono for Dave Marcis.

Ronald Parker of Michigan was president of Indian Head Industries, which had a Detroit Gasket manufacturing facility in Newport, Tennessee. Plant employee, Darryl Strange talked Mr. Parker into sponsoring Newport resident, L.D. Ottinger, the former two-time NASCAR National Late Model Sportsman champion, on the Busch Series tour. Mr. Parker liked the deal so much, he bought L.D.'s operation, retaining L.D. as driver and operating out of L.D.'s old shop in Newport..

Through business relationships with the Jackson brothers (Leo & Richard) , Parker put Detroit Gasket associate sponsorship on their two Cup cars, with Harry Gant becoming a spokesman for Detroit Gasket. The late Johnny Hayes of Skoal Racing (U.S. Tobacco) was very upset when all the Associated Press story photos of Harry and the ones in major papers all showed Harry wearing a Detroit Gasket hat. That was because I knew how to do photo mailings to photo editors, rather than sports editors who had no say in what photos ran with stories.

I also started ghost writing business speeches for Parker who was much in demand around the U.S., Europe and Australia as a speaker at major automotive get togethers. Parker so liked the contacts he made through racing thathe eventually moved his company from a Detroit suburb to north Charlotte.

By the way, the owner of those potent #1 and #01 Late Model Sportsman rides for Ray Hendrick in the mid-late 70s was Dick Armstrong of Franklin, Massachusetts, owner of Nu-Style Jewelry. Armstrong would also field modifieds for Geoff Bodine and Hendrick as a team, using Jack Tant engines, which also powered the winning Armstrong Late Models for Hendrick.

Unfortunately, Dick Armstrong still makes the news today. His Nu-Style Jewelry eventiually went bankrupt and the site of the manufacturing facility was found to be a hazardous waste site, just like California Speedway (toxic wastes from Kaiser Steel) and Mesa Marin (Mercury spill from roll cage of driver, Jim Bown).

When you have a moment, here's some interesting info about the car owner for Hendrick and Bodine and the massive contamination from his business:

http://town.franklin.ma.us/Pages/FranklinMA_Planning/nustyledoc/crp.pdf

Man alive i would love to see that same croud of drivers race today at Charlotte on Sat i would camp out a week before just to get a good seat

Maybe somebody at NASCAR will read your comment, Leon and put a great race together for us old timers!

Thanks to the scouring of the RacersReunion photo database by member TMC-Chase (please, all members, tag your photos) , here are two photos of 47 year old Ray Hendrick and his winning #1 Dick Armstrong owned NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Monte Carlo ride at the 1976 World Service Life 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

47 year old Ray Hendrick was photographed by RR member, Ray Lamm on Charlotte's pit road prior to winning the then richest NASCAR Late Model Sportsman race in history.

RR member, Brian Norton posted this photo of 47 year old Ray Hendrick wheeling the 1976 World Service Life 300 winner through the corners at Charlotte Motor Speedway looking more like a 27 year old!

Note in the area beside the side window and above the rear quarter panel there is a small winged decal. That is the Jack Tant J/T Engines decal. Tant, along with Clayton Mitchell, once fielded the fearsome winged "Flying 11" cherry red modifieds driven by Hendrick. That engine company decal is reminiscent of the winged "Flying 11" carried on the door of the Tant/Mitchell modifieds.

Former 1970s Wilson County Speedway Late Model Champion, J.E. Beard of Bailey, NC went to work building engines for Jack Tant before being hired by Lake Speed. Beard build the winning Darlington motor for Speed's TranSouth 500 Winston Cup triumph.

A Jack Tant racing engine in the replica Ray Hendrick "Flying 11" built by Ray's son, Roy Hendrick

The original Tant/Mitchell "Flying 11" on the line at Martinsville with Ray Hendrick at the wheel.

Race preview for the 2nd attempt to run the race. Final "hooligan races" were held to complete the field on Oct 16. But the next day: rain again.

Source: Wilmington's Star-News

Despite my best efforts to tie down the year for some of the Ray Hendrick Charlotte photos on RacersReunion, I think I "hunched" too early. I think I may have guessed wrong in giving info to Dave. But I'm back with Take Two! So here goes.

Andy Towler has this photo in his collection that I now think is from the 1975 WSL 300. Looks like it may have be from an issue of Stock Car Racing magazine.

This pic appears to be the same one included in Ray Lamm's collection . Again - probably 1975.

And this car in  Brian Norton's collection looks to be same car, same track - Charlotte 1975. However, I'm not 100% certain because of the addition of the STP and Goodyear contingency decals.

Tonight I found 2 more photos that I now think are from the 1976 race. The first one is from Andy Towler's collection . Same sponsor as 1975 - Nu Style - but with number as 01 vs. 1. Taped over fuel filler and moisture on the ground? Seems to me that's consistent with rain-plagued race weekends.

Ray Lamm has this one of Hendrick racing Dave Marcis described as from the 76 WSL 300. Ray's contingency decals match the ones in the pic from Towler's collection. Also, Marcis did NOT race the WSL 300 in 1975 - and he drove a Chevy in the 1977 WSL. So I think this one is indeed 76.

Finally, Don Smyle from Smyle Media shared this pic with me from the 1977 WSL 300. Hendrick returned with similarly painted #01 Chevy Monte Carlo. But his sponsor was changd from Nu Style to Housby Mack.

Andy Towler also has this Charlotte victory lane photo of Hendrick, his wife and Dick Armstrong. I'm not sure if its from 75 or 76. However, in the above photos that now seem to be from 75, Ray does NOT have the left side vertical stripes on his uniform. So perhaps this one is from 76.

Not the best quality picture but this is the 1971 Mercury Montego dad drove in this race.

Here is a photo of the pace lap from SCR.

Seeing Pond's Junior Johnson-prepared car in Holly Farms colors reminded me of a photo I had seen here at RR before. Took me a while to find it, but I think its from this same race. Same model Monte Carlo for Jack Ingram's car too.

From Gerald Medford's collection.

Thanks for the updated corrections.

38th anniversary today of Ray Hendrick's 1976 World Service Life 300 win. If next year's "X" series had a field like this one again, then all those stands at Charlotte wouldn't be empty like they were for the Nationwide race there a couple of weeks ago.

Here is some additional info/pictures I though might be helpful and to the story.

Lennie Pond and L.D.Ottinger

The Start of the 1975 World Service 300

Ray with Miss Winston - Susan Brinkley - in victory lane 1975

1975 World Service 300 Results

1976 World Service Results

Photo credit to - Randy Murphy via twitter. @ RMinENC

Love seeing ole "Farmer John" Matthews winning the Charlotte Invitational race at Wilson County Speedway on Aug. 2, 1980. And good, too, to see the late Wayne Patterson's name from Southside in Richmond. And our RR member, Billy Scott is on the list winning at Metrolina.

41 years pass quickly these days. Still waiting for the winningest driver in NASCAR history to be induced into its Hall of Fame. He has been in every other racing Hall of Fame for years and was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers back in 1998. Hello HOF voters. Wake up and get off your lazy and uninformed posteriors.

[quote="NCMarrk"]

Ray with Miss Winston - Susan Brinkley - in victory lane 1975

[/quote]

Notice the (located under the 1975 winner trophy) 358 C.I. on the hood of winning #1 Chevy race car. Ray Hendrick is wearing HINCHMAN NOMEX (GOODYEAR  TIRE) Indy style race uniform.

Notice the before the 1975 race, photo of Ray Hendrick wearing a red striped HINCHMAN NOMEX (FIRESTONE TIRE) race uniform.  #1 Nu Style Co., Inc. Chevy had GOODYEAR RACE TIRES, but is m issing the GOODYEAR car decal. FIRESTONE TIRE COMPANY gave (contracted) race drivers the red striped HINCHMAN NOMEX (FIRESTONE TIRE) race uniform for using their F IRESTONE RACE TIRES.

#01 Nu Style Co., Inc. Chevy race car driven by Ray Hendrick is the 1976 race winner photos. It has the 360 C.I. on it's hood.

This is the 1975 victory lane photo of Dick  Armstrong, Ray Hendrick, wife Janet Hendrick.

This is   1977 WSL 300 photo of Ray Hendrick wearing an blue striped RACEMARK NOMEX (GOODYEAR TIRE) race uniform.   GOODYEAR  TIRE COMPANY gave (contracted) race drivers the blue striped RACEMARK NOMEX (GOODYEAR TIRE) race uniform for using their GOODYEAR  RACE TIRES.   #01 Chevy  sponsor was changed from Nu Style to Housby Mack.