Made in the USA

I'm on my soapbox.

In 1984 the Wrangler Jeans sponsored cars owned by Bud Moore and Richard Childress and driven by Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt began displaying a red, white and blue version of the "Crafted With Pride in USA" logo displayed below.

Last year when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the July Daytona Busch race in his retro Blue & Yellow Wrangler car, the logo was not displayed. As I wrote in a number of letters published in daily newspapers and racing publications, the reason was simple. When the Wrangler cars began displaying this logo in 1984, Wrangler employed 70,000 manufacturing workers in the United States of America making Wrangler Jeans. When Dale Jr. ran the Wrangler colors last year, there were ZERO manufacturing workers in the United States of America making Wrangler Jeans. Wrangler's now owner, VF Corporation moved 70,000 American jobs offshore.

It would be an interesting case study to look at the 1984 season Cup sponsors and compare their 1984 USA manufacturing employment with their numbers today.

I worked with Kenneth Campbell in the PR Department of the Richmond track. Kenneth was a Marine Aviator in the South Pacific in WWII who lost all of the members of his original squadron to Mitsubishi-built Japanese Zero fighters. He died before a Toyota raced at the Richmond track. He refused to allow rental car companies to rent him a Japanese built vehicle. Kind of like many Jewish families not driving German owned Mercedes or BMWs.

I know it is a different day and time as my mom used to tell me, but manufacturing made this country great and when we can, we ought to support American manufacturing. I know the sporty car racers many years ago derided American built cars with the "Detroit Iron" tag, but I hope some day, at least in my grandchildren's lifetime, our store shelves are again lined with American made goods.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 04/04/17 04:27:03PM

Good story Dave i hope so it would be good

For the record, we have a member who is doing his part to battle against the loss of jobs to foreign countries...and he is doing it in the textile industry. All have noticed that one of the regular contributors on the Racing Through History show, Coastal Jack Walker, has been absent for the past several weeks. That is because he is part of a team of folks starting a "Made In The USA" textile company in an area where many jobs have been lost.

Cheers CJW!!

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Founder/Creator - RacersReunion®

Ann and I always try to buy Made in USA products but it takes quite a bit of looking to find them. When we do find them, we buy them.

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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.

I remember Pearl Harbor, I was 13 years old!

Click on Pearl Harbor

Amazing what dedication can get you im proud for Jack I know how hard it is to start from scratch, but you know what ----racing kinda breeds that in you -----------------------------------------memories

I mean really stop and think what products or things you have that are made in the USA. Only thing I really have is several pairs of Oakleys and thats about the only thing thats Made in the USA that I know of.

Jim, in the mid-80s the Hunt Brothers of Texas started buying huge blocks of Blue Bell, Inc. (not to be confused with Blue Bell Ice Cream of Texas)stock. Before the end of the decade, Chairman Ed Bauman led a group of employees in a leveraged buyout of the company. Bauman and his wife Vivian were huge Earnhardt fans and put a lot of money in Dale's LMS/Busch cars. Bauman and a group of former Blue Bell employees also put up the capital for Paul sawyer to buy his way out of his short-lived partnership with Warner Hodgdon at Richmond. Those Hodgdon partnerships sank a couple of track operators and about destroyed the RJR Special Events department when they were talked into investing heavily in a Hodgdon backed soccer deal. Anyway, the leveraged buyout group at Blue Bell in Greensboro eventually sold the company to Vanity fair, VF Corporation, who has now shuttered all US manufacturing facilities.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

In the summer of 1983 I, along withseveral others from Blue Bell, Inc. (Wrangler) met with Junior Johnson in a back room of a seedy motel across from the Greensboro Airport and negotiated a deal with Junior to put Dale Earnhardt in his cars with Wrangler sponsorship beginning with the 1984 seasonin what Junior assurred us would be a one car deal. Junior stated to us that DW had had his bell rung when he hit that inside wall at Daytona and could no longer be competitive. A contract was prepared and signed by both Wrangler brass and Junior Johnson. Sometime, around August of 1983, we received word that Junior would have a two car team and Budweiser was involved. Junior was called to Greensboro for a meeting with Ed Bauman andJunior claimed Warner Hodgdon had gone behind his back and "done a deal". Well, Bauman, who can be VERY INTIMIDATING himself, unleashed on Junior, called him several unprintable names, tore up the Wrangler/Earnhardt contract with Junior and told Junior to leave his office and never set foot on Wrangler property again. And that was the end of the Junior/Dale deal and may also explain why Junior was so miffed with Dale in '86 at Richmond when he took DW out. Bauman was not a man to mess around with and Junior Johnson more than met his match when he tried to doublecross him. I had and have great respect for Ed Bauman, a very ethical and capable businessman.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

Junior had wanted Dale for a long time in the worst kind of way. Funny thing is, in the winter of 1980 Junior loaned us his cabin and the very first Wrangler photoshoot with Dale was done in Junior's cabin. If you have any 1981 racing publications, the back cover ad shot with Dale in front of the fireplace and deer head on the wall is Junior Johnson's cabin.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

I remember near the end of the June 1981 Riverside race, Dale in Osterlund's Pontiac was leading and DW in Junior's car was second with time running out. Junior left his pit and walked down to RC's pit and talked to Kirk Shelmerdine. On the next lap, Childress ever so gently brushed the wall in that final sweeping Riverside turn and stopped his car, bringing out the yellow. DW beat Dale out of the pits and won by .89 seconds. Who'd have guessed that two months later dale would be driving for RC!


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"