When my Wrangler show car driver, Ricky Parham and his dad were killed in the crash of their two dirt bikes on Thanksgiving Day 1983, I hired Chip as my new show car driver. When I moved to Dallas, I hired him away from Wrangler to drive the 7-Eleven show car. Here's a good piece on Chip.
Where is ... Chip Warren
Former flagman, Busch PR rep recalls '79 Daytona 500
By Rick Houston, Special to NASCAR.COM
July 26, 2007
Nope. That can't be Elvis in the flagstand.
Elvis Presley had been dead for more than a year, but you've got to look twice at the photo to make sure it really isn't him. The 1979 Daytona 500 is coming to its dramatic conclusion, and "Elvis" is flagging Richard Petty the winner over a hotly pursuing Darrell Waltrip and a slightly lagging A.J. Foyt.
It's The King crowning The King, if you will.
Chip Warren waved the checkered flag on Richard Petty's 1979 victory at Daytona ... barely.
The carefully coiffed, Lover's Leap-peaked hair is evident. For cryin' out loud, from the looks of the photo, the flagman could even be wearing one of Presley's famous, if not infamously tacky, jumpsuits.
Make no mistake about it. Chip Warren had style.
Warren is still involved in racing, nearly 30 years after having the best seat in the house for one of the most significant races in the history of NASCAR. He works with Busch Series team owners Tad and Jodi Geschickter, handling a numbers of public relations-related tasks.
Once upon a time, though, Warren worked for NASCAR, and from 1975 through 1981, was in the flagstand as chief starter. He flagged David Pearson the winner of the 1976 Daytona 500, after his famous last-lap crash coming off Turn 4 with Richard Petty. He flagged the first win of Dale Earnhardt's Cup career.
It was the 1979 Daytona 500 that stands out most for Warren. Memories of the event come in "bits and pieces," snippets here and there of what would be a simply amazing day.
Race morning dawned drizzly, and there was doubt whether the event would be run. There was too much riding on getting the race in, however, not with CBS' involvement. Plans called for the race to be shown live, flag-to-flag. Never before had a national audience seen such a thing, and NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. was determined that the country would see what it had been promised.
If not, CBS planned to pull the plug. Nothing, but nothing, evidently, was going to interrupt its Monday soap operas.
"I'll never forget ... I always thought Mr. France Sr. was well-connected," Warren said. "I'd gone up in the flagstand, and we were anticipating the start although there was still just a little bit of mist. I could hear Mr. France on the radio, and he was over toward Ormond Beach somewhere riding around.
"[Former NASCAR employee] Jim Bachoven was over in the opposite direction, and they were talking to each other on the radio. Mr. France says, 'Bachy, I've got sunshine over here.' And Bachy said, 'Well, I've got some sunshine over here, too.' I'll never forget ... Mr. France said, 'You bring your sunshine, I'll bring mine and I'll meet you at the tunnel."
From his vantage point in the flagstand, a view then unobstructed all the way around the track, Warren could see France arriving in the infield.
"I could see the tunnel from the flagstand, and I remember that Cadillac coming up out of that tunnel," Warren continued. "It was like the sky just opened up and sun started shining. It just sent cold chills all over me. I thought, 'Man ... this guy's got something here.'"
The first several laps were run under caution, as track drying continued. Once the green came out, good Lord, what a race it turned out to be. A young Earnhardt, a rookie that season, ran well, led laps and appeared to have a good shot to win the race until being forced to pit late in the race.
Then came that last lap, that wild, crazy, incredible, fantastic last lap, when Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough rammed into each other while hurtling down the backstretch, then crashed in Turn 3.
Warren saw it all unfold.
"I was getting kind of excited, because I knew we were gonna have one hell of a finish," Warren said. "Richard was pretty much out of the picture, and it was gonna be Cale or Donnie. I gave them the white flag, and they were side by side. I thought, 'Boy, this is gonna be fun.' Little did I know how much fun it was going to be."
He saw the cars barrel off into Turn 1, and then off the second corner, Allison began easing down the track, squeezing Yarborough ever so much as he did so. Then he squeezed Yarborough a little bit and then a little bit more.
Warren got caught up in the moment, and very nearly forgot where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Petty was almost to the finish line when Warren came to his senses. The "Elvis" photo shows Warren standing on one of the rails on the starter's stand, leaning precariously out over the track, waving the flag over Petty.
"They got tangled up and both of them spun up into the Turn 3 wall," Warren said. "They got out of their cars and headed toward each other ... and about that time, it dawned on me, 'Hey, the race is not over.' I'd gotten so involved in watching that, I said, 'Oh, Lord, I don't want to miss throwing the checkered.
"I knew Richard was third, but I wasn't real sure where he was on the racetrack at that particular time. The instant that I realized that I still had to throw the checkered flag, I saw Richard. He was in the STP car, and it was quite visible. I can remember having such a big sigh of relief, because I hadn't screwed up our big chance on national TV."
Warren left NASCAR in 1981, and pulled show cars for several years. He came back to the sanctioning body in 1992, working as an inspector in the Busch Series. After 12 years, he moved to the Geschickter's operation.
Today, the Elvis hairdo is gone. Warren has, however, taken a bit of grief over his appearance in a commercial starring Wood Brothers/JTG Racing rookie Marcos Ambrose. As the Australian driver is taunted by the images of various drivers, that's Warren in the background, sitting on a golf cart, talking on a cell phone.
"Hollywood," if not Elvis, has returned.
"I wanted to remain in the sport, but I had been an official for 26 years in those two tours of duty," Warren said. "I was a little burned out in that job, and I was looking for a change if I could remain in the sport. Tad and I had become friends since he came into the sport and ... he offered me this opportunity, and it is the best job I've ever had in my life. I could not work for any better people than Tad and Jodi Geschickter. They're wonderful people."
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
