Don Smyle
1966 Rebel 400
Victory Dance: A great overhead shot of what victory lane looked like at Darlington after the 1966 Rebel 400, won by Richard Petty. You can see Darlington Track President Bob Colvin in the suit near the front quarter panel, Miss Firebird Winkie Louise on the hood with Petty. Track Mascot Johnny Reb with the flag, Lee Petty just visible near the door, photographer T. Taylor with the NASCAR Int. patch on his back, and my good friend photographer Don Hunter just climbing up onto the concrete at the lower part of the frame.
Would love to be able to blow up part of that pic. That should be me in the back right corner, I think. There is a center spread in Stock Car Racing Magazine of me riding on the back of the convertible with our Plymouth 43 flag, Johnny Reb on the front, and Richard sitting on the back of the back seat. Great to see that picture. Brings back so many wonderful memories. Thanks for posting that.Tim
Robbie. Yeah, i actually talked with Bob a couple of years ago as part of my research for a book project....Great guy..very interesting story...He was actually part of the resistance against Nazi Germany and had to flee his home...
This is a wonderful photo, Don. Thank you for letting us view it!
If that's Don Hunter climbing the concrete, then who took this shot. Is that why its tagged Tom Kirkland? Great photo. No more often than Richard got to enjoy Darlington's victory lane, I'm glad shots like this are still available.
Yes, Tom Kirkland was the original Darlington Track Photographer starting with construction in 1949 and covered every event at the track until 1967. Tom is a friend and client of Smyle Media. His archive is amazing. In fact Tom was the first racing photographer to use a sequence camera to cover racing, an item that had to be smuggled out of communist Germany where it was manufactured at the time. Using this sequence camera Tom captured the multiple frame accident of Jack Smith leaping the guardrail at Darlington during the 1958 Southern 500. This sequence was featured in Sports Illustrated. Because of this sequence Tom was hired by Sports Illustrated to cover the 1959 Daytona 500 using his sequence camera. Tom captured the photo finish of the 1959 Daytona 500, and although T. Taylor Warren is credited in the press with providing the images that determined the winner, it was actually Tom's images that were the deciding factor. Tom received a letter from NASCAR (which I have a copy of) that thanks him for his images and indicates they were crucial in deciding the winner of the race. By the next season nearly all the photographers covering racing had a sequence camera...
A wonderful snapshot of history and the men who recorded it. The enlarged look at this pic shows the Darlington stripe on the right rear and some damamge to the passenger side door.Wonder what the body guys were thinking about fixing a car that won a race with people standing on top of it !
Ok, see the guy in dark glasses right in front of the Darlington Rescue Squad vehicle between the "C" and the "U". Look in front of him at the guy with the flat top haircut and the hair sticking up in back just to the right of the Pepsi sign. That guy, dear friends, is a very young Legend. And, by the way, I have the Stock Car Racing Magazine with that picture on my desk in the Lair. Not only that, but in looking for the Stock Car Racing Magazine, I found the NASCAR Newsletter with The Legend on the front page in Victory Lane in Talladega with that "boogity" guy.Tim
Yes, Robbie, I know. You told me that many times. But I don't do that anymore.
Tim, Are you the guy in the white shirt with your left hand on the fence with face turn slightly to the right?