Earlier this year, I blogged about the first time I met Richard Petty. I met him before qualifying for the Busch Nashville 420 at Nashville's fairgrounds speedway on July 9, 1982. THAT much of the evening I remember.
http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2017/01/tmc-racing-stories-nashville-1.html
I also got to meet several other drivers that night including Tim Richmond - who was very cool to me that night. I also remember hanging around pit road a bit after qualifying to snap a couple of photos of the Grand American race that was to follow qualifying.
Specifically, I wanted to get a few pics of Sterling Marlin's car (or Sterlin as he preferred to be known back then) as he belted in for the race.
Beyond that, I've forgotten everything else about that night including the Grand American feature. But in reviewing some info about Nashville race winners provided by Russ Thompson recently, I had an A-HA moment.
As was common back in the day - and to some extent, still true today - some of the Cup regulars would moonlight in a race with the locals while in town for their GN / Cup race. I'm sure track promoters padded the drivers' pay envelopes a little bit to give more to the fans beyond just hot laps for the Cup cars.
In the early 1980s, Nashville dropped its traditional late model sportsman division. The cars that generally resembled stock cars - Chevelles, Novas, Ford Mustangs and Granadas, etc. - were scrapped in favor of a new Grand American division. The new series was the first time I recall noticing the transition to cars that didn't much resemble any sort of street rod. They may have been labeled as a Camaro or Firebird, but they hardly resembled either.
The story of the season locally was the rivalry between Sterlin Marlin and Mike Alexander. Mike started racing a couple of years earlier than Marlin by participating in the track's limited sportsman division on Nashville's quarter-mile track. But both were late model rookies in 1976. Marlin was able to secure a Cup ride with Roger Hamby in 1983 and won Rookie of the Year, but he continued to race regularly at Nashville when he could.
Larry Woody of The Tennessean previewed the Grand American feature:
It figures to be a high-speed, version of the Hatfields and McCoys tonight at Nashville Raceway. First off, there’s the 8 p.m. Winston Cup Grand National qualifying for tomorrow night’s Busch 420, to determine starting positions 1-10.
Then the fireworks start. A 50-lap Grand American showdown features local feuding fireballers Sterlin Marlin and Mike Alexander, along with four Grand National drivers who also happen to be carrying a chip on their fenders.
Dale Earnhardt, Jody Ridley, Bobby Allison and Bill Elliott have entered the 50-lapper, and all are noted for their hard-charging short track ways. In a recent race at Jefferson, Ga., the four became involved in a bumping incident and, Earnhardt and Ridley ended up with a bit of fist-shaking.
Locally, the Marlin-Alexander fuss has been simmering since earlier in the season, when Marlin was accused of wrecking Alexander on what NASCAR officials termed an “unprofessional” passing attempt. Alexander went to the hospital with a concussion and Marlin went on probation for the rest of the season.
Two weeks ago, Marlin beat Alexander, and Alexander promptly filed a protest and made the Marlins tear their engine apart. It was found legal. Last week Alexander beat Marlin, and the Marlins proceeded to return the favor, filing a protest and making Alexander dismantle his engine for NASCAR inspectors. It was found legal too.
“We had planned to protest their car the first race they won,” admitted Sterlin’s dad, Coo Coo, who was furious after the Alexander protest. “We were going to give them a taste of their own medicine.
Back in 2014, I posted about the June 1982 incident between Marlin and Alexander that really fueled their feud.
http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/32720/june-1982-nashville-raceway-sterlin-vs-mike
After snapping a few pics of the Petty cars on the qualifying grid, I aimed my meager camera at a couple of other cars. My woeful photography skills truly let me down in the moment - but I'm OK years later with at least a partial shot of a few cars.
I took a pic of Earnhardt's #15 Bud Moore Wrangler Ford; however, I did not get a pic of his Grand American car - perhaps because I didn't recognize it.
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I also barely got some of Jody Ridley's 98. It took me many rolls of film to learn how far apart the viewfinder vs. the lens were on my little GAF 110 camera. I'm also uncertain why I thought the shot would be better if I turned the camera sideways vs. taking a standard, landscape angle. Oh well.
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I found Marlin's car and snapped a couple of front angle pics. I moved to the back and then did something I hadn't done before & I don't think I've done since. I yelled "STERLIN" as he belted in. He actually looked back over his shoulder, and I snapped. Other than the memory of meeting The King and Tim Richmond that night, yelling STERLIN was about all I remember.
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Woody's article in Saturday's feature in The Tennessean focused primarily on Cup qualifying and the ten drivers who locked in their starting spots. But he did mention the winner, top 5, and perhaps the predictable story line of the race.
Dale Earnhardt won the 50-lap Grand American feature, taking advantage of a crash that knocked out frontrunners Sterlin Marlin and Mike Alexander.
Marlin and Alexander were running away from the field, running 1-2, when Alexander tried a passing move on lap 37. Alexander tagged Marlin and both cars went spinning. The crash was almost identical to one earlier in the season that touched off an on-running feud.
Marlin appeared to be at fault in that first crash and was slapped with a season’s probation by NASCAR; Alexander appeared to cause last night’s collision. “If Marlin and Alexander hadn’t wrecked, I don’t think I would’ve won,” admitted Earnhardt following the victory.
Jody Ridley came in second, Tony Cunningham third, and Wayne Carden fourth. Marlin, who got himself back in the race, finished fifth.
I've let to find a pic of Earnhardt's car from that race. My understanding is he raced a Camaro fielded by Georgia's Billy McGinnis. I would think one exists, but it has yet to surface for me.
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 01/18/20 05:20:38AM