NASCAR Had "Bounty Hunting" at Shelby Just Like the NFL Saints

From the pen of Greenville, SC's award winning Mike Hembree comes some food for thought regarding the "incident" at Shelby in 1956.

Bounty Hunting In NASCAR?
National Football League clouded by charges of headhunting
Mike Hembree

Posted March 09, 2012

Las Vegas, NV

You perhaps have noticed that the National Football League, that biggest and brightest of sports organizations, has a touchy problem these days.

A league investigation has revealed that members of the New Orleans Saints havent been. Saints, that is. Their defense has been playing under a bounty reward system that paid players extra cash for hits that resulted in opposing players leaving games.

This is decidedly against league regulations, obviously, and stiff penalties are expected (loss of points and a suspension of six races?).

Imagine such a system in NASCAR.

It doesnt take a lot of imagination.

Many who were around in those days say those circumstances essentially came together in the 1956 Cup season, one in which two-time champion Herb Thomas, one of the best drivers of NASCARs early years, seemed on target to win his third title.

Thomas, a dirt farmer who happened upon a race one day and decided he could drive as good or better than those competing, began the 1956 season in his own cars but detoured midway through the year to join the Carl Kiekhaefer team. Kiekhaefer had the sports first superteam, and his Chryslers attracted top drivers.

Thomas won three times for Kiekhaefer before tiring of the travel schedule the team owner demanded, and the North Carolina driver returned to his own cars to finish the season.

With five races left on the original schedule, Thomas led the standings. Trailing were Buck Baker and Speedy Thompson, Kiekhaefers drivers. With the end of the year closing in and his chances at the title slipping away, Kiekhaefer signed a couple of track leases and added a couple of races to the schedule an acceptable practice in those days.

At one of those races in Shelby, N.C., Thompson banged into the rear of the Thomas car, sending it sailing into the outside guard rail. Following traffic piled into Thomas car, and, by the time track workers reached him in the junkyard of cars he was unconscious.

Thomas wound up in the hospital, where he underwent brain surgery, and Baker drove on to the championship.

The wreck essentially ended Thomas career. He raced a few more times after recovering but was a shadow of his former self.

It has been whispered loudly by some through the years that Kiekhaefer wanted Thomas taken out at Shelby to open the door to the championship for one of his drivers.

If true and this sort of thing certainly has happened in many forms of racing over the years, it can be assumed that Thompson didnt begin the crash with the idea of causing such severe injuries to Thomas. This kind of bounty would have involved taking out the car, not a quarterback or wide receiver.

Unfortunately, intentionally slamming into another race car at high speed can have consequences far beyond thoughts of payback or of winnowing the field of competition.

In any case, with football helmets or racing helmets, it can be dangerous business.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

Just ask Rick Mast about bounties also. He can tell you about Franklin County Speedway placing one on him.As the story goes, Mast wound up at Franklin County one night when he could not get to another race. The race at FCS was the first in a series of three that promotor Whitey Taylor promised would pay $25,000 to win all three of the 100-lap LMS events. Mast promptly went out and won the first one. He decided to come back and try for the second, which he was able to win.Well now, old Whitey had his back up against the wall. He even had a story in the Roanoke, Va newspaper stating that if he paid someone $1,000 to wreck Mast, that he would still come out $24,000 ahead. Sure enough, a slower car put Mast into the wall and everyone was crying foul. There may have even been talk of legal action. However, Taylor decided to have another 100-lap race and if MAst could win, he would still pay the $25,000 bonus. It was all pr hype. Mast did win the race much to the delight of the fans. If my take of the story is correct, Taylor wrote a check to Mast which was no good. Mast accepted the check and told Taylor he was going to keep it and one day when Taylor didn't know about it, he was going to cash it. Never did know what became of that check! Rick could give you all the details I'm sure.

N.B. - The stories of Whitey Taylor and his exploits seem to be legendary and larger than life from various accounts I have read through the years.

I've always felt that Rick often was too nice for his own good. He reminded me a lot of my dealings with Derrike Cope in that respect, wanting to believe everybody, give everybody benefit of the doubt and be super nice not to hurt anybody's feelings. All the time being shafted.

I worked for 3 months in 1986 - October-December - for an agency in Charlotte (you can probably guess who without me naming them) who had screwed Rick over that summer or spring before I went to work there. One of the first calls I took when I arrived was from Rick. He had provided two automobiles for filming at Charlotte Motor Speedway (I don't remember for what) and then couldn't collect the money owed to him.

Jim Cooper had been involved in getting Rick to do the deal and he felt like a dog about it when he kept trying to get Rick his money.

I quickly learned that was standard operating procedure for that agency and its charismatic owner.

I told Rick at the time he was being too nice and being played for a fool by the agency owner.

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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"