I'm flying Friday morning for my first ever race trip to Phoenix. While I get more and more disenchanted with Cup racing of today, I still get a charge when I actually get to go to one. Four of us are going, and we'll have a big time. But based on some expected perks when we get there, I'm hopeful the big time will turn into a HUGE time. I don't want to detail out what I hope will unfold because of the risk of jinxing our group. But I'm going with a grin on my face and a quickened pulse.

Beyond the obvious reasons of a fun trip with friends and getting a sensory overload by being at the track on race weekend, here are 5 racing related reasons I'm jazzed about going. I blogged this entry Sunday night.

http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2013/11/phoenix-race-trip-five-days-to-go.html

I wouldn't count on many contributions by me to Racing History Minute posts on Friday through Monday.

Chase, you and your friends have a wonderful time and a safe trip! Be sure to pull for the right "chaser" and be sure your "chasers" are taken ONLY when not driving. Can't wait to hear your report.

Have fun. Get you a cowboy steak up on South Mountain. Watch out for the rattlesnakes around the track!

Rattlesnakes????????? No wonder I've never gone to Phoenix.

I sponsored the first Phoenix race I ever saw, lol!

1984 7-Eleven NASCAR 250 NASCAR Winston West Series race number 11 of 11 Sunday, November 25, 1984 at Phoenix International Raceway , Avondale, AZ 156 laps on a 1.000 mile paved track (156.0 miles) Time of race: 1:34:05 Average Speed: 99.486 mph Pole Speed: 116.849 mph Cautions: 3 for 16 laps Margin of Victory: 29 sec Attendance: n/a Lead changes: 3 #ffa;"> Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led 1 9 73 Bill Schmitt Mountain Dew (Bill Schmitt) Chevrolet 156 5,090 running 117 2 6 78 Jim Robinson Hammer Security (Lois Williams) Oldsmobile 156 3,545 running 1 3 5 98 Jim Bown Wholesale Truck Parts (John Kieper) Buick 156 2,035 running 0 4 16 94 Harry Goularte Mountain Dew (Harry Goularte) Chevrolet 155 1,435 running 1 5 8 56 Ron Esau McDonald's (Jack Lee) Buick 154 1,450 running 0 6 7 83 Sumner McKnight Aero Wash (Sumner McKnight) Chevrolet 153 1,100 running 0 7 10 93 Jimmy Insolo Saied Contractors / Dry Sys. Buick 152 800 running 0 8 15 51 Scott Miller MDB Systems Pontiac 151 750 running 0 9 11 32 Ruben Garcia Suncrest Motorhomes (Fred Stoke) Buick 151 800 running 0 10 3 04 Hershel McGriff Mark C. Bloome / Stanton Industries (Gary Smith) Pontiac 151 1,010 running 0 11 18 28 Randy Olson RAO Construction (Rich Olson) Chevrolet 150 600 running 0 12 25 96 Pappy Pryor California Blending Dodge 149 550 running 0 13 20 45 Bob Kennedy Erlich Motors (Myung Suk Lee) Chevrolet 148 700 running 0 14 17 24 Buddie Boys Clements Automotive (Buddie Boys) Buick 144 450 running 0 15 23 41 Kevin Terris Lone Star Auto Brokers Buick 144 425 running 0 16 4 95 Derrike Cope 7-Eleven / Jefferson Racing (George Jefferson) Ford 138 400 running 0 17 24 91 John Krebs KC Racing (John Krebs) Oldsmobile 133 375 oil pump 0 18 22 86 Eldon Dotson Stoner-Hurst Racing Buick 131 350 running 0 19 14 71 Scott Autrey McIntosh Ranch (Dick Midgley) Oldsmobile 108 325 engine 0 20 12 12 Terry Petris Petris Custom Homes (John & Terry Petris) Oldsmobile 108 300 rear end 0 21 2 2 Bobby Allison Miller High Life (DiGard) Buick 54 550 rear end 37 22 1 7 Ron Eaton Bondo / Lake's Body Shop (Ron Eaton) Buick 24 225 engine 0 23 21 16 Bill Osborne Pete Ellis Dodge (Mike Brown) Buick 24 220 engine 0 24 19 35 Pat Mintey Valencia Machine / Stick (Pat Mintey) Chevrolet 19 415 overheating 0 25 26 22 St. James Davis St. James Racing (LaDonna Davis) Chrysler 7 210 clutch 0 26 13 5 Tim Richmond 7-Eleven / Jefferson Racing (George Jefferson) Ford 7 205 engine 0

And 2 cars - including Tim Richmond!

Derrike spent so much time building the motor for Timmy's car that he lost the championship to Robinson by 4 points in his Rookie year when his own engine had an oil line come loose.

Rustler's Rooste up on South Mountain is a cool place.

http://www.rustlersrooste.com/

Dave, this is absolutely wonderful information! What a story. Thank you.

Note that Bobby Allison was also in the field. That race for many years would draw a Cup driver or two headed back east from Riverside and usually receiving a little extra renumeration from the event promoter.

In the case of Tim Richmond, he drove for me gratis... I just paid his expenses. Bud Moore and I had worked to hire Timmy to drive our Wrangler entry in Cup for 1984 after Dale left to return to RCR, but the deal was queered up at the very last minute by threatening telephone calls received by Richmond promising bad personal consequences if he took the deal. There was actually a fire set in a trash container outside his Lake Norman home.

I had suspicions of the perpetrator, but no way to prove it and Ricky Rudd wound up in Bud's car.

Riding in a rental car in Phoenix with Tim Richmond was a "life experience. " NASCAR had comped us a couple of rooms at the Pointe Resort where the Winston West Banquet took place the night of the race. Tim was also a willing attendee at the banquet with me, sitting with Derrike Cope and George Jefferson.

Many of our drivers have done many nice things through the years that get no publicity.

Here's an edited excerpt from the October 29, 1983 Spartanburg Hertald-Journa l :

The article below was published October 21, 1983 in the Spartanburg paper, while I was I was in serious negotiations with Tim Richmond to drive for Bud Moore with Wrangler sponsorship for 1984.

Tim had received the anonymous threatening telephone call on Wednesday night before we got on the track at Rockingham on Thursday.

Word got out at the track that Dale would return to RCR for 1984. Dale wanted to go hunting in South Carolina, but Bud wanted him to practice. Dale intentionally tore Bud's car all to pieces in his "mystery" practice crash, then left the track to go hunting.

It was a very despicable act on Earnhardt's part to pull on his team and a car owner who'd gone to great lengths to tutor him. I lost a lot of respect for Dale Earnhardt that afternoon.

Contrary to speculation by many, Richard Petty, Geoff Bodine and Ron Bouchard were not on our serious list to replace Dale in Bud's car. That was a two driver list - Tim Richmond and Ricky Rudd.

Hope you have a great time.I was in the Air Force in Arizona from 1968-1972 and was able to attend a few races

at PIR.This was in the days of USAC before Nascar came .Here are a couple pictures that were made in November 1969 at the Bobby Ball 200.The track was very different then.

Fantastic! I'll tweet one of these to PIR on Thursday when Twitter does its ThrowbackThursday thing. (Makes sense if you're on it.) Will give you shout-out for it plus you have your name on it.

Thats fine .I have some more if you would like to see sometime.By the way the second photo with the blue 28 that is Bill Simpson.

LaVerne, my wife's uncle from Wilson was career Air Force and retired to Tucson.