Forget Carl Edwards at Texas, I Saw a NASCAR Donnie Allison Mustang Win in 1968 -the 1st!

This Reunion site is so great because it spurs so many memories and near memories. Because of the posted feature clubs, I looked at and joined the Grand American one. We see a lot of great posts from former GT/Grand American driver Wayne Andrews' son, Dennison this board and I've had several very nice chats with Dennis because my best friend used to be the sports guy on the Siler City, NC paper in the early 70s.

I was fortunate to see three of these greatGT/Grand American races, on the dirt at Richmond in 1968, on the pavement at South Boston in 1969 and on the dirt at Raleigh in 1970. The racing was great. In 1970 at Raleigh it had rained and the track was a mudhole and I remember the cars passing lap after lap trying to dry it. Jim Paschal took the win in that beautiful Huggin's Red/White/Blue AMC Javelin. At South Boston in 1969, Pete Hamilton blistered the place in a Camaro with a sound like no other. Was this a Smokey Yunick built car? Dennis??

As I indicated on the Grand American site, I wish I had an entry list or results sheet for the 1968Richmond NASCAR GT race(it was called GT in '68 and '69). That was a strange and eclectic group of cars and drivers. I saw sporty car guys like Bob Tullius for the first time and a little Mini-Cooper out there with the fast Camaros. That Mini-Cooper would hug the turns without broadsliding, pass 2 or 3 cars, then get left behind on the straight of the old Richmond dirt 1/2-mile.

What was really interesting to me about that 1968 Richmond NASCAR GT race is two things.

1) Over the years many of us have written that David Pearson won the last NASCAR dirt race at Richmond in the spring 1968 GN event driving the #17 Holman-Moody Ford. WRONG! DONNIE ALLISON won the last Richmond NASCAR dirt race at Richmond on 6/21/1968 in the NASCAR GT event before the track was paved for the September GN race.

2) The Ford Mustang scored its first NASCAR win this year at Texas in the Nationwide race with Carl Edwards behind the wheel. WRONG! Mustang won its first NASCAR race at Richmond on 6/19/1968. Donnie Allison's winning car that night on the dirt was a Ford MUSTANG!

Thanks to RacersReunion, my memory has been slightly jogged and I have sure enjoyed it. Posted below, for your enjoyment is a story from the Montgomery, Alabama paper on the subject of Donnie Allison's 1968 Richmond NASCAR MUSTANG win, along with some words about the controversial cataloging of records from Bowman-Gray. Enjoy:

Edwards' victory not really a Mustang first

Published: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 David Green

Carl Edwards victory Friday night in the OReilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway set off howls of delight from Ford, which proclaimed the first victory for its iconic Mustang brand in NASCAR stock-car competition. Only problem is, Edwards win wasnt the first not by a long shot. It was nearly 43 years and eight victories too late. Donnie Allison drove a 1968 Mustang to victory in a 100-mile race at Richmond, Va., on June 19, 1968 . That was the first of five victories for Allison that year, the inaugural season for the NASCAR Grand Touring Division. The series, later renamed Grand American, catered to the popularity of the new genre of pony cars launched by the debut of the Mustang in the 1964-65 model year. Allisons older brother Bobby would add three more Mustang victories in GT/GA competition in the last two years of the short-lived series, 1971 and 72. Bobby Allisons first victory was a controversial one, in that it came in mixed competition against the bigger, more powerful Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) cars and drivers. That was the first of six combination races that year for GN and GA cars. On Aug. 6, 1971, on the quarter-mile bullring at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., the lighter, short-wheelbase cars were superior, and Allisons Mustang beat Richard Pettys Plymouth by three seconds at the finish of the 250-lap race. Pony cars, in fact, swept seven of the top 10 spots. GN drivers such as Petty were not much amused, nor were they placated just because NASCAR opted not to give credit for a GN victory to any Grand American driver who might win one of the combination events. That policy, in keeping with previous NASCAR rules regarding mixed events such as GN and Convertible division cars in the 1950s and early 60s, was also applied to Tiny Lund, who won two of the six combo races in 1971 in a Camaro. But even if you discount Allisons win at Bowman Gray, and even if NASCAR does not recognize that win as a GA victory, there are still seven NASCAR-sanctioned races that were, officially, won by Mustangs in 1968 and 71-72. Youd think Ford would want to trumpet a return to victory lane, but apparently the feeling is that its more likely to garner attention and headlines if presented as a first. Or, perhaps nobody in the current generation of leaders of Ford Racing and its PR department knows anything about the Grand Touring Division. It staged 109 races, from a 19-event debut season to 34- and 35-race campaigns in 1969 and 70. Manufacturer support of all auto racing ended in 1971, and consequently there were only 17 races held for the division that year. In 1972, the first year of NASCARs so-called Modern Era, only four races were staged and no series champion was named. But in between, it was a splendid racing series. It had a genuine identity and some star performers of its own, most notably journeyman racer Tiny Lund, who won 41 races including the first one and the finale and claimed the championship three out of four seasons. GT was also the training ground for Pete Hamilton of Dedham, Mass., who won 12 races in 1969 and earned a Grand National ride with Petty Enterprises, then won the 1970 Daytona 500 in his first weekend driving for the famous team.

Even more significant is the nature of the GT cars. Unlike todays NASCAR machines, they and all other NASCAR racecars of that time were modified production stock cars, not purpose-built racing vehicles with bodies that more or less resemble the production models whose model names they are assigned. So, Edwards victory is most definitely a first win for the NASCAR-version 2011 Mustang. The irony is that the new Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers could easily be modified for speedway racing, just as their ancestors were four decades ago. Imagine real stock cars in stock-car racing. Now, that would be something to trumpet.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 03/05/19 03:52:53PM

What I particularly remember about that 1969 South Boston Pete Hamilton GT win is that my buddy, Frank and I had just gotten out of college for our last summer before our senior year and the trip from Richmond to South Boston was to be our first excursion out of Richmond of the summer. Frank had dropped off his dad's 1965 Chevy Impala that Saturday morning to be inspected. Back in those days the state of Virginia required all vehicles to be inspected TWICE a year and all 4 wheels had to be pulled. When we were dropped off to pick up the car we were taking to South Boston, we found it had been REJECTED due to brake issues. Not having the money or time to address that issue, we pulled out of Forney's Esso station at the corner of Broad & Libbie in Richmond with a big REJECTED sticker on the windshield and headed for South Boston, Virginia, via U.S. Route 360, which deadends in South Boston just past the speedway at U.S. 58 running from Martinsville, Danville, South Boston, South Hill, Emporia and on to Virginia Beach. It was a 112 mile trip with which we were very familiar, having made numerous Saturday trips to watch NASCAR Modifieds at SoBo. It' s too bad we were running so late and Frank was driving so fast and didn't see the Virginia State Trooper hidden just off the road past an overpass near Charlotte Court House, Va., an INFAMOUS SPEED TRAP well marked on all AAA maps. By the time the trooper got around to Frank's rejected inspection sticker, he was in pretty deep and it cost him a bundle that fall when he went back to Charlotte Court House to try to fight the tickets (very unsuccessfully). But, we did make it to the track in time for some famous fried chicken before they cranked up the field.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

One last memory regarding the Grand American / GT deal... in 1981 I made a deal with Red Tyler at Darlington Raceway for Wrangler to build a much needed infield press media center. We did a contract where I paid a dollar a year to lease the land, but owned the building. Red had the plans drawn up and I would just pay to build it. When I went down to darlington from Greensboro to meet with the contractor, it turned out to be old SC racer Frank Sessoms, a former GT/Grand American driver among many other racing exploits. Frank died in 2007. What I particularly remember about the plans was that Frank convinced Red to build the steps up to the observation deck out of grated steel, "to keep any of those nosey women in high heels away from the observation deck!" Politically correct? NO. Appreciated, yes. A different day and age.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

Dave, Mr. Green's story has something wrong. He stated "In 1972, the first year of NASCARs so-called Modern Era, only four races were staged and no series champion was named." 1972 was the last year for the series and they ran two races at Daytona, one at Talladega, one at Bowman Gray and I thought one more that I can't remember for a total of five. Next week I'll dig up some old news clippings and post on the GA page to confirm the total. The Nascar points Champions that year were Richard Petty (Winston Cup), Ray Elder (Winston West), Jack Ingram (Late Model Sportsman), Jerry Cook (Modified), and Wayne Andrews (Grand American).

Thanks, Dennis for correcting the story, especially with your dad, as Champ. Sure would love to see some of those results sheets.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

Correction: I failed to credit Neil "Soapy" Castles with the 1972 Grand National East Championship.

The 1972 GA season did have five events. The first one is the one I had forgotten. It was a combination event with GA and SCCA cars called the "Midnight Challenge 200" held at Daytona Beach Road Course on Feb. 6, 1972. The race was won by Vince Gimondo in a SCCA Camaro followed by Bert Gafford in another SCCA Camaro. Third overall was Wayne Andrews in a GA Mustang making him the first GA finisher.

The next event was the Citrus 250 at Daytona followed by the Bowman-Gray 100, the Paul Revere 250 back at Daytona and finallythe Bama 200 on the Talladega road course. The last GA race was won by Tiny Lund who also won the Sandhill 250 at Rockingham, the first GT race in 1968. Although I would preferred that Dad had won the Talladega 200 it was fitting for Tiny to win the first and the last events in the series. Tiny also won the Championship in '68 followed by Ken Rush in '69 then Tiny won the title again in '70 and '71 with Wayne Andrews winning the last title in 1972.

there is a site called ultimate racing history that has a partial boxscore of the richmond GT race. of note... buck baker won the pole in a camaro , but suffered a blown engine in the race. jack ryan finished fifth in a porsche 911, and former cup driver jim vandiver finished second in a camaro one lap behind.

and speaking of yunick, bunkie blackburn drove a black and gold smokey creation in some GT races and if memory serves me , won a race in jacksonville, fla.. yunick tried to enter the camaro in some grand national races later in the season, but was refused by NASCAR.

Jim, I remember that. Now that you mention that story, I also remember one time Henley Gray being arrested for having an engine that disappeared out of a street vehicle found in his car at the track.


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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"