Brave Cameraman Rides In Bugs Stevens' Modified - 1969 Martinsville Dogwood 500 - "Natural" Sound - Tires Squeal (Before Ray Hendrick Wreck For Lead) - RacersReunion!!Emoji!!4!!Emoji!! Forum

@dave-fulton
11 years ago
9,137 posts

Roanoke, Virginia's WSLS Television put one of its UNDERPAID cameramen/reporters inside the Len Bohler owned (thanks Bobby Williamson) 1936 Chevy Modified #3 driven by Carl "Bugs" Stevens - "da Bug man" - during practice on March 27, 1969 for the NASCAR National Championship Dogwood 500.

During the actual Sunday Dogwood 500, Stevens crashed on lap 19 contesting the lead with Ray Hendrick of Richmond. RR member, "Coastal Jack" Walker reported on that race and the crash on a Racing Through History Goat Rodeo broadcast on October 21, 2014.

Stevens, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, had won the 1967 and 1968 National Championship and he gives the cameraman a hot enough ride to get those big M&H Racemasters squealing over the sound of his modified Chevy engine. According to Jack Walker's race report, winner JERRY COOK ran the entire 500-lap distance at Martinsville WITHOUT A TIRE CHANGE !

The sports anchor script has "Natural Sound All the Way" typed on it.

Turn up your volume when you play the brief clip at the link below, followed by sports anchor copy from the University of Virginia Library collection.

http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:2215047

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

@dave-fulton
11 years ago
9,137 posts

By the way, CARL STEVEN BERGHMAN, aka Carl Stevens , aka Bugs Stevens , aka Bugsy , aka "da Bug man" would go on to win his third consecutive NASCAR National Modified Championship following this 1969 ride given the WSLS cameraman at Martinsville.

In February of this year, motorsports writer Godwin Kelly wrote the article below about Bugs in the Daytona Beach News-Journal :

Short-track driver Bugs Stevens, champion of the people, honored

Carl Steven Berghman better known as Bugs Stevens was a three-time NASCAR national modified champion who made a name for himself driving rides like this.

John McMullen Collection

By Godwin Kelly
MOTORSPORTS EDITOR

Published: Monday, February 18, 2013 at 8:07 p.m.

EDGEWATER You might not recognize the name Carl Steven Berghman because for all his professional career the three-time NASCAR national modified champion was listed by the name Bugsy Stevens or just Bugs for short.

I'd say 99 percent of the people out there think I am Bugs Stevens, Berghman said Monday.

Berghman, 78, who winters here with Doris, his wife of 54 years, to escape the bite of cold in his hometown of Rehoboth, Mass., was a guest of honor Monday at the UNOH Battle At The Beach at Daytona International Speedway.

The Battle At The Beach ran a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series feature Monday and will have a NASCAR K&N Pro Series/Whelen Modified Tour doubleheader Tuesday.

Berghman said he would have jumped at the chance to compete in the Beach program during his prime.

I would have been right in the middle of it, he said. I raced Daytona plenty of times.

They used to have a modified race on the big track. When Richie Evans qualified over 190 mph, we were going faster than the big cars. They took us off the high banks and made us race in the infield.

Berghman made one start in a stock car on Daytona's 2.5-mile tri-oval. In 1968 he competed in the Permatex 300 in those days a sportsman race and now called the DRIVE4COPD 300, part of the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Racing people from the Northeast say that at the height of his career, Berghman had more star power than the top drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

He overshadowed Richard Petty, television pit reporter Jack Arute said. He was idolized by his fans. His exploits on the track were just part of their idolization. He was one of them. He owned a salvage yard. He was a common man.

Berghman said he would pull his modified down here every Speedweeks to compete at New Smyrna Speedway, home of the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing.

We had some battles over there in New Smyrna, he said. Richie Evans and I were the best of buddies. That was real racing in those days. Today, it's all make-believe. It's follow-the-leader. If you got a lot of money and a great car, you go fast.

We used to build our own cars when I raced. Now everything is store-bought. It's a whole different ballgame.

So how did Carl Berghman become Bugs Stevens?

I had to do that when I was in the service, Berghman said. I was in the Air Force and the commanding officer of the base called me in and said Do you want to lose a stripe or play with race cars?' They didn't want me racing.

So I changed my name and won at Pan American Speedway in San Antonio the next week. That's how I became Bugs Stevens.

--
"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

@bill-mcpeek
11 years ago
820 posts

Fantastic article Dave, Great work as usual. Thank you.....

@dave-fulton
10 years ago
9,137 posts

Remains of the Ray Hendrick "Flying 11" modified after crashing with Bugs Stevens racing for the lead on lap 19 in the 1969 Dogwood 500 at Martinsville.

Don Wootton - Stock Car Racing Magazine

--
"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

@jack-walker
10 years ago
162 posts

Dave - Thanks for the follow-up on the 1969 Dogwood 500. Jerry Cook the winner was the driver that made 3 pit stops for gas, but never changed tires.

@bobby-williamson
10 years ago
907 posts

Awesome, Dave!! Len Bohler's #3 coupe,"ole blue"

@dave-fulton
10 years ago
9,137 posts

Thanks, Jack. A dumbo error on my part. I'll fix it.

--
"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

@sandeep-banerjee
10 years ago
360 posts

Thanks for this piece, Dave. By the way, the footage is missing when I try to play it at that link. Any chance it's available elsewhere?

@dave-fulton
10 years ago
9,137 posts

Sandeep, after I open the link

http://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:2215047

I get a view window on the page. Wonder if you tried a different browser?

--
"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"

@sandeep-banerjee
10 years ago
360 posts

It works now, Dave. Not sure why earlier it said video no longer available. Great footage.

Brave Cameraman Rides in Bugs Stevens' Modified - 1969 Martinsville Dogwood 500 - "Natural" Sound - Tires Squeal (Before Ray Hendrick Wreck for Lead)

Published: Monday, February 18, 2013 at 8:07 p.m.

EDGEWATER You might not recognize the name Carl Steven Berghman because for all his professional career the three-time NASCAR national modified champion was listed by the name Bugsy Stevens or just Bugs for short.

Visit Us on Social Media