December 4: Some racing history

1969 - Buddy Baker wins the pole for the inaugural race at Texas International Speedway (renamed 2 years later to Texas World Speedway). From Spartanburg Herald .

1971 - Pete Hamilton wins the pole for the Texas 500 at Texas World Speedway. From Daytona Beach Morning Journal .

1976 - David Pearson is named as the American driver of the year over fellow NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough. Source: Spartanburg Herald Journal

And I'm sure everyone remembers Speedway Motorsports' acquisition of Atlanta International Raceway in 1990. But how about the announcement about the FIRST time the team in Charlotte was to purchase Atlanta - on this date 2 decades earlier? Wait. WHAT?? From 12-05-70 Spartanburg Herald.

Great post Chase. Thanks for keeping the history rocking along.

A little more than a month later, the proposed CMS buyout of AIR fell apart. Atlanta went into bankruptcy but was allowed to continue hosting races. Walter Nix and L.G. DeWitt were able to buy the track out of bankruptcy some time later. Source: Wilmington Star-News

In my humble opinion, Atlanta would have been much better off if the purchase by Richard Howard had come off as planned.

Many race fans don't know or forget that Howard saved the track in 1970 by fronting the money for the 1970 Dixie 500 purse and keeping IRS agents at bay who were on the Atlanta track's premises to seize gate receipts to pay back taxes.

The National Motorsports Press Asscociation recognized Howard's 1970 efforts as reported by Sports Editor Pat Joyce in the Charleston News & Courier :

And, Richard Howard had led a previous effort in 1969 to consolidate Charlotte, Rockingham, Darlington and Bristol:

Also, in on-track action on this date in 1966, Carmichael, California's Johnny Steele captured the NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model feature at San Gabriel Valley Raceway in Irwindale, California. That track was later replaced by a facility that was supposed to be the finest weekely NASCAR track in the country. However, the replacement track no longer operates.

I got to see Johnny Steele the following year when he towed from Carmichael, California to Richmond, Virginia to compete in the September 1967 Capital City 300 GN event on the Richmond half-mile dirt track, posting a 15th place finish in a short span that also included stops at Beltsville, Maryland; Hickory, North Carolina and Occoneechee in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

NASCARPacific Coast Late Modelrace San Gabriel Valley Raceway ,Irwindale,CA December 4, 1966 100laps on 0.5 mile paved oval;50 miles

Pole Speed: 23.53 seconds
Race Purse: $ 4,000

Source: Ultimate Racing History

ABOVE - Johnny Steele at West Capital Raceway - Sacremento, California - 1962 - from West Ccapital Raceway alumni site