I Remember 1964 and 1974

I've been a NASCAR fan for about as long as I can remember, and started attending races in 1962. I knew who Ralph Earnhardt was, and that he had a son, Dale, and as the 1960's became the 1970's I knew Ralph had died of heart failure and Dale was trying to establish his own career. I was hardly unique, me and thousands of others were abreast of this story. It was part of the sport, not necessarily the head lines, they were largely reserved for the Petty's, Pearson's etc. but it was common knowledge.

I watched Dale win the track championship at Myrtle Beach Speedway in 1978, driving a Robert Gee colored #8 Nova. And I was proud the very next season when he was crowned NASCAR rookie of the year driving the Rod Osterlund #2. He had cut his teeth in my neck of the woods and I felt a special kin-ship.

But, I was as committed a NASCAR fan in 1964, at 10 years old, as I am now. In that awful season, the racing world lost Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts, and Jimmy Pardue from NASCAR, and Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs from USAC/Championship racing. In early 1965, the NASCAR world lost up-and-coming Billy Wade in a Daytona tire test.

At the time of their deaths, Joe Weatherly was the two-time defending Grand National champion....and Fireball was Fireball. They were the superstars of their day. Richard Petty was coming into focus, but Little Joe and Fireball carried NASCAR andNASCAR racing took both of them in the same season.

Looking back, it's difficult to connect the dots with what been happening in NASCAR for the last decade. There was no 1974 ten-year-'celebration' of The Day.Fans never stood on lap 8 for Weatherly, or lap 22 for Fireball. Nope, the sport accepted the grim reality and moved on!It had to!If racing had mired itself in those 1964 tragedies, all that we have enjoyed, the Winston era, the Earnhardt era, may have never happened. Why would a title sponsor be drawn to a tragedy stuck subject?

Granted, Big E's timing and style had tremendous appeal and was the very face that sold millions on the sport. But it was not unique. The story is not unique. The first NASCAR driver fatality occurred in the very first season, 1948, at Greensboro, NC. with the death of W.R. "Slick" Davis.

The sport must move on.That's simply all that it can do. All the tributes in the world, won't change anything, or really help anything, anymore. However, take comfort in the fact that wehave done this before.The future is now, it's all there is.

updated by @bobby-williamson: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

Bobby, as you know, I worked with Dale Earnhardt and signed him to his first personal services contract when I was Manager of Wrangler NASCAR Special Events. I was also attending races in 1964 and 1974. I had the opportunity to work with Paul Sawyer, Little Joe's best friend and business partner, and to work with Bud Moore, car owner for both Weatherly and Wade. I agree 100% with everything you say. And, having also worked with the Wood family, I say congrats to them for Their wonderful success on Sunday at Daytona.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

Bobby, that is really a wonderful post. I had often thought of the deaths of the past and how different those were that Dale. Never quite understood that although I recognize the significance of what Dale did. Like you, I also recognize the significance of Fireball, Lil Joe, and others. I love the way you stated the truth.

Tim

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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.

Well said.

Hit The Nail On The Head Bobby !!

You are right Bobby well said

Bobby you have hit the nail on the head.Look all back through the history if a driver or pitcrew member died you would see it in Monday's news and after that they would not print anything else about them.Until the death of Dale they didn't want the publicity about the person that passed away fearing it would dicourage sponsors and turn the fans off if it appeared they would benifit them monotarily. But this was just to big of a cash cow to ignore and it helped bring some of the fans back that have not came to a race in 10 years. I know of a couple that went that had not been to a race since Dales death. After they returned they said that it was a wasted trip and that it was a specticle and that all involved should be ashamed of themselves to profit from their heroes death. Also that they would never return to another race. Also in the last twenty years we have lost many of the men and women that helped make the sport what it is today past champions, sponsors and car owners that never even got a condolence card or flower or a phone call from Daytona. Yet they will spend several thosand on a dinner for someone that they have never met. Just to hope they may make a few bucks off of them in the future. Well i am pissed off again just thinking about it so I'll close my mouth and get out of here for now.

It's hardly news that NASCAR's popularity is, and has been, waning: the all-important TV numbers, the fans-in-the-stands, the souvenir sales, etc. Lot's of canned reasons have been offered, the economy, the economy, and the economy, and that universal fix-all, the CHASEneeds more tweaking.

So, after months of exploring their various NASCAR promotional options, and their very own TV package, it's simply head-banging that FOX sports would ultimately settle upon promoting the Daytona 500 by focusing on a death that occurred during, and as a result of, a previous rendition. Can anybody imagine this warped technique being applied to another sport? I can't. Imagine: a NFL player is fatally injured in the Super Bowl, 10 years later, the total game experience revolves around the player's death! What the.....???!!! I can just see the NFL endorsing such a thinly disguised cash-cow snake-oil technique....NOT!!

Here's a news flash: The general public is not too history conscious or history literate. The professional media-types were covering this year's '500' with syrupy feel-good stories of a 1944 Ford Coupe and a 2006 'cup car that became a 2011 COT LOL!!! How many casual fans would have even known 2011 was the ultra-significant 10-year anniversary of Dale's death?

But everybody that read anything, was blasted with this chronological fact months in advance ".......of course, with this being the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death, fans will be aware and focusing on this........"blah, blah, blah. Let the dog-and-pony-show begin. Throw in the Waltrip brothers and Mikey even winning the truck race, it could not have worked out much 'better'.

What a disgrace. And still they wonder what is the problem with NASCAR?

NASCAR deserves what it has gotten... The points leaders of its top-3 series were not the winners of the top-3 Daytona races! What idiots. NASCAR's Ramsey Poston calls it an "anomaly". He further states that the new system will encourage sponsors to sign on with younger drivers. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! What would cause sponsors to sign on with younger drivers and new car owners would be to abandon the guaranteed starting positions that fill up the field and open the competition to the best cars, drivers, owners and let us see some real racing again. NASCAR's Ramsey Poston came from the staff of Jody Powell's Washington DC PR agency that NASCAR hired to advise them after Dale SR.'s death. You'll remember Powell was press chief for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter - and we all know how that turned out.Not to talk politics, but maybeNASCAR should have hired someone from a place that advised Reagan, not Carter, if they truly wanted a finger on the pulse of race fans. Some real racing and fields open to all comers would fix a lot of the problems with the empty grandstands. A lot of us are old enough to remember when we followed drivers from the ranks of hobby cars, modifieds, sportsman, late models, etc at our local tracks. We remember when those same drivers went to big races at other regional tracks and the really big shows at Martinsville, etc. We followed them in the pages of Southern Motorsports Journal and Southern MotoRacing, both of which provided coverage of hundred of weekly races. We knew about those hot drivers at other tracks in other states long before they started running regional and national events. Those of us in Richmond, Virginialived to see the Eastern Bandits from Connecticut & Massachusetts come down to our Southside Speedway for the big money events. We loved to see our local Ray Hendrick and Sonny Hutchins run against North Carolina's Harry Gant, Bob Pressley, Sam Ard, etc. in a big money/points show. When I lived in Wilson, NC, we wanted to see the South Carolinians and Virginians come to town for our big late model shows. Now the local tracks don't get the national coverage or even regional coverage. We don't know who the top dogs are at hundreds of tracks and look forward to having them pay a visit at our own local track. Today, car owners such as Roush, who came from the pony car circuit and Ganassi from the Indy car circuit hire drivers we've never seen at our local track. There is no continuity today of fans following a driver through the ranks like fans did with a Gant or Earnhardt, Sr. No disrespect, but I'd rather see the driver who paid his dues at my area Saturday night tracks than a South American import, i.e. Juan Pablo Montoya. There is no question in my mind that the racing today sucks and there seems to be nobody left in NASCAR who remembers how things worked when it was good.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

Dave,

Many times I have struggled to make sense fo the things Nascar has done. While they still don't your comment (NASCAR's Ramsey Poston came from the staff of Jody Powell's Washington DC PR agency that NASCAR hired to advise them after Dale SR.'s death. You'll remember Powell was press chief for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter) helps me understand some of it.

Dave Fulton said:

NASCAR deserves what it has gotten... The points leaders of its top-3 series were not the winners of the top-3 Daytona races! What idiots. NASCAR's Ramsey Poston calls it an "anomaly". He further states that the new system will encourage sponsors to sign on with younger drivers. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! What would cause sponsors to sign on with younger drivers and new car owners would be to abandon the guaranteed starting positions that fill up the field and open the competition to the best cars, drivers, owners and let us see some real racing again. NASCAR's Ramsey Poston came from the staff of Jody Powell's Washington DC PR agency that NASCAR hired to advise them after Dale SR.'s death. You'll remember Powell was press chief for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter - and we all know how that turned out.Not to talk politics, but maybeNASCAR should have hired someone from a place that advised Reagan, not Carter, if they truly wanted a finger on the pulse of race fans. Some real racing and fields open to all comers would fix a lot of the problems with the empty grandstands. A lot of us are old enough to remember when we followed drivers from the ranks of hobby cars, modifieds, sportsman, late models, etc at our local tracks. We remember when those same drivers went to big races at other regional tracks and the really big shows at Martinsville, etc. We followed them in the pages of Southern Motorsports Journal and Southern MotoRacing, both of which provided coverage of hundred of weekly races. We knew about those hot drivers at other tracks in other states long before they started running regional and national events. Those of us in Richmond, Virginialived to see the Eastern Bandits from Connecticut & Massachusetts come down to our Southside Speedway for the big money events. We loved to see our local Ray Hendrick and Sonny Hutchins run against North Carolina's Harry Gant, Bob Pressley, Sam Ard, etc. in a big money/points show. When I lived in Wilson, NC, we wanted to see the South Carolinians and Virginians come to town for our big late model shows. Now the local tracks don't get the national coverage or even regional coverage. We don't know who the top dogs are at hundreds of tracks and look forward to having them pay a visit at our own local track. Today, car owners such as Roush, who came from the pony car circuit and Ganassi from the Indy car circuit hire drivers we've never seen at our local track. There is no continuity today of fans following a driver through the ranks like fans did with a Gant or Earnhardt, Sr. No disrespect, but I'd rather see the driver who paid his dues at my area Saturday night tracks than a South American import, i.e. Juan Pablo Montoya. There is no question in my mind that the racing today sucks and there seems to be nobody left in NASCAR who remembers how things worked when it was good.

Dennis.... got to see your dad run GrandAm cars... that was the kinda real racing NASCAR needs today.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"