File this under "Ghost Tracks" if you wish.
You may or may not know that the current New Hampshire Motor Speedway sits on the site of the former Bryar Motorsports Park, a one-time road course used primarily for motorcycle racing and SCCA sports car racing, although NASCAR also visited with several different classes.
Bob Bahre built the current facility, now owned by Bruton Smith where the wine & cheese set, the two wheelers and the good ole boys once turned both left and right.
In 1970, just a month and a half apart, two different races by two different sanctioning bodies at Bryar Motorsports Park featured many names known to us here at RR.
On May 31, 1970, Bud Moore fielded two Mustangs against Roger Penske's two AMC Javelins in a SCCA Trans-Am Championship event on the Bryar Motorsports Park road course.
Driving for the tobacco chewing Spartanburg, SC car owner, Moore, George Follmer held off the two AMC entries fielded by the sophisticated Penske - Peter Revson in 2nd and Mark Donohue in 3rd place.
Moore's second Mustang entry, driven by rough & tumble Parnelli Jones, started on the outside front row in second position, but finished 13th after losing its hood on lap 62.
Then, on July 19, 1970, NASCAR staged a Grand American Division race for the pony cars at the New Hampshire road course. That event was won by Buck Baker over NASCAR Modified star Max Berrier.
At least five of our current RR members started that race - third place finisher Wayne Andrews, Joe Dean Huss, David Boggs, Phil Wills and Doug Aldridge (thank you, Dennis Andrews for the update on RR members). Current Cup team owner, Richard Childress finished 8th and longtime Cup crew chief, Darrell Bryant was 24th.
So, when those cars crank up at New Hampshire this weekend, just remember that in spite of the efforts of the folks in Daytona and Winston-Salem to convince us that racing began in 1971, we know better. Before Winston or Nextel or Sprint ever sponsored a Cup, Bud Moore was spitting tobacco juice at Roger Penske and Winding Wayne Andrews was turning hot laps with NASCAR stars from all over at New Hampshire in 1970.
NASCAR also held several North Division LMS races at Bryar Motorsports Park.
Our current dainty NASCAR drivers of today will be racing this weekend over soil where Buck Baker and Jim Paschal and Tiny Lund once traded paint. They'll be racing where the best sporty car brains in the country couldn't outrun the cars fielded by a WWII hero with a southern drawl.
Just a little history lesson for you "younguns."
Historical Note
NHIS is built on the site of the old Bryar Motorsports Park; the NHIS road course does not use any of the old Bryar track, although the outfield section somewhat resembles the corresponding section of the old track (albeit run in the opposite direction.)
Bryar opened as a kart track in 1960. A 1/5 mile dirt oval ran near the later paved tracks from 1961 to 1963; it was also refered to as Route 106 Midway Raceway. The 1.6 mile road course ran cars from 1964 to 1988, and motorcycles only in 1989. A paved 1/5 mile oval ran from 1965 through 1988, and a 5/8 mile paved oval from 1968 through 1988. A 1/4 mile paved dragstrip ran in the 1970s.
Bryar was purchased by Bob Bahre in 1989. The existing complex was dismantled and a the modern one mile paved oval and 1.6 mile paved road course were built on the site. The one mile oval opened on July 14th, 1990 and the road course opened the following year. The first NASCAR Winston Cup race was on July 11th, 1993.
References
Alan E. Brown, The History of America's Speedways: Past & Present. Comstock Park, Michigan: Brown, 2003 , ISBN 0931105617 , pp.
78,453,455.
SCCA Trans Am race
Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, NH
May 31, 1970
93 laps on 1.6 mile road course; 148.8 miles
Fin St Driver # Owner Car Laps Money Status Laps Led
1 George Follmer 16 Bud Moore Ford Mustang 93 3,500 running
2 Peter Revson 9 Roger Penske AMC Javelin 90 2,500 running
3 Mark Donohue 6 Roger Penske AMC Javelin 90 2,000 running
4 Gordon Dewar Chevrolet Camaro 89 1,800 running
5 Jim Hall 1 Jim Hall Chevrolet Camaro 89 1,600 running
6 Bob Grossman Chevrolet Camaro 87 1,400 running
7 Jerry Thompson 4 Chevrolet Camaro 83 1,200 running
8 David Lawler Chevrolet Camaro 81 1,000 running
9 Tony de Lorenzo Chevrolet Camaro 78 800 running
10 Peter Schwartzott Chevrolet Camaro 73 700 running
11 Ed Leslie 2 Jim Hall Chevrolet Camaro 72 600 running
12 Warren Agor Chevrolet Camaro 55 500 running
13 2 Parnelli Jones 15 Bud Moore Ford Mustang 9F02M212777 62 400 lost hood
14 Gerald Robinson Plymouth Barracuda 53 350 oil seal
15 Jean Guy Roy Chevrolet Camaro 40 300 accident
16 Allan Hewitt Chevrolet Camaro 38 250 did not finish
17 Paul Nichter Chevrolet Camaro 36 200 did not finish
18 Swede Savage Dan Gurney Plymouth Barracuda AAR-50211 33 150 engine
19 Maurice Carter Chevrolet Camaro 129 150 running
20 Dick Young Chevrolet Camaro 23 100 running
21 Ray Cuomo Ford Mustang 12 50 engine
22 Jerry Titus 8 Pontiac Firebird 5 50 ignition
23 Sam Posey 77 Autodynamics Dodge Challenger 4 50 clutch
24 Craig Fisher Pontiac Firebird 2 50 did not finish
25 Ted Roberts AMC Javelin 0 50 engine
26 Robert Barg 0 did not start
Bryar Grand American
NASCAR Grand American race
Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, NH
July 19, 1970
160 laps on 0.625 mile paved oval; 100 miles
Fin St Driver # Owner Car Laps Money Status Laps Led
1 1 Buck Baker 87 1970 Pontiac Firebird 160 1,300 running 4
2 20 Max Berrier 16 1970 AMC Javelin 160 800 running 18
3 3 Wayne Andrews 15 1970 Mercury Cougar 158 650
4 2 Tiny Lund 55 1970 Chevrolet Camaro 157 600 transmission
5 11 Jim Vaughan 7 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 156 400
6 8 Phil Spiak 40 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 155 365
7 13 Phil Wills 8 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 154 325
8 9 Richard Childress 26 1968 Chevrolet Camaro 153 310
9 17 Al Hammond 0 1968 Chevrolet Camaro 150 290
10 24 Stanley Starr 9 1968 Chevrolet Camaro 147 280
11 7 Doug Aldridge 3 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 142 285
12 18 Tommy Cox 89 1968 Chevrolet Camaro 141 260
13 15 Bobby Brewer 19 1968 Chevrolet Camaro 140 250
14 23 Earl Briggs 39 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 131 240
15 5 Joe Dean Huss 33 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 131 260
16 14 Jerry Hufflin 27 1968 Chevrolet Camaro 109 230
17 6 Ken Rush 44 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 95 450
18 4 Jim Paschal 14 1970 AMC Javelin 62 270 engine 60
19 10 David Boggs 86 1969 Pontiac Firebird 49 225
20 25 Bob Zlatiere 24 1968 Chevrolet Camaro 30 210
21 16 Ernie Shaw 17 1968 Ford Mustang 24 205
22 19 T.C. Hunt 88 1968 Chevrolet Camaro 16 200
23 22 Jim Hall 96 1969 AMC Javelin 6 200 radiator hose
24 21 Darrell Bryant 5 1969 Mercury Cougar 5 200
25 12 Bill Chevalier 82 1968 Ford Mustang 1 200
26 26 Earle Canavan 31 Earle Canavan 1969 AMC Javelin 1 200 engine
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
