Forum Activity for @jerry-sims

HELP - History/photos of former Fireball Roberts short track / Modified Sportsman 57 Ford

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But you've still got to factor in that shorter, lighter car when thinking about all those short track races and on dirt. Just going by what I know was raced and why back then. Maybe he got a really good deal on a car lot Fairlane that may have been wrecked or a trashed interior or bad engine. It would have had to be a lot cheaper though to fight the weight penalty and longer wheelbase though.

HELP - History/photos of former Fireball Roberts short track / Modified Sportsman 57 Ford

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Shaun, not trying to be a smart butt, but I didn't just get involved in the racing world in the last few years. I know that Smokey built two Fairlanes to run for Ford in '57 but almost all of the other cars that I'm aware of were the shorter wheelbase Customs. I've seen a few Fairlanes but most, if not all of them were zippertops made to run in the convertible division and do double duty with the GN cars.The only time I've found him to run a Ford in '58 in the GN division is at Lakewood on April 13. No pics but the owner is listed as Beau Morgan and the car number was 494 for that race. Pretty much the only thing I find him running in the '59 races that Smokey didn't enter the Pontiac in is Buck Baker's Chevy. Hope this helps in your search for info on the car.

HELP - History/photos of former Fireball Roberts short track / Modified Sportsman 57 Ford

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It may be exactly what it's purported to be but I see two serious red flags in the pics.One-if it was last raced in '62 then there's way too many door bars (only one required through '62 IIRC) and those rear "kicker" bars off the main roll bar also are a later touch.Two- most of the Fords run in that era were the Custom bodies and this is a Fairlane- two inch longer wheelbase, heavier hardtop bodystyle

How'd this thing wind up at my shop?

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No rollbars, no numbers or lettering, all the seats and fancy wheels to boot!

A reminder to some of us old geezers and news to the "young'uns" that "Stock Car" used to at least pay lip service to the name. Even when the factorys were turning out some pretty exotic heavy metal they would have to offer at least 500 of the street version for sale to the public through their regular dealer network.

I was going through some pics and ran across some images from a shoot I did with one of the high dollar diecasts and wanted to share some of them. One of the prettiest Mercurys ever built, in my humble Wood Bros biased opinion.

And here's her sister, the blue topped Dan Gurney Special.



Anybody up for a ride?

updated by @jerry-sims: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

Bye Bye Miss Amercan Pie

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This was Nascar's version of "The Day the Music Died". I can remember exactly where I was as a kid of fourteen when the news came over my brand new pocket transistor radio. The Clown Prince of Stock Car Racing ( 2 time champion Joe Weatherly)and the sport's first superstar, both gone within a six month period.

Wonder how different racing would have become if Bill France hadn't made Ralph Moody tear out that first "fuel cell" tank in '64 because it wasn't "stock" while leaving those non-production Hemis in the Mopars because he knew what a Chrysler boycott would do to the "gate". Sad thing is that is happened anyway the next season.

updated by @jerry-sims: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

A Father's Day Story........of sorts.

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Not even close. The cars were STOCK! Or at least stock appearing and not this new "let's rewrite history with these show pieces" style of forty coats of hand rubbed laquer "re-creations" that are showing up way to often these days.I know that I may be stepping on some toes here but I was there and saw all the heart that was invested in those cars back then and no amount of today's "spare no expense dirt latemodel with what's left of a hacked up vintage body draped over it" can approach the wonderment of the spit and bailing wire back yard creations I watched being raced on the Carolina clay of my youth.I know I may get kicked off here for having such a narrow and biased view of what is my favorite sport, and has been since I first was blessed to much on a red dirt sprinkled Stewart Sandwiches hot dog washed down by a Coke with that film of clay and calcium chloride on top. I just think that the memories of these creative people who did so much with just junkyard parts and determination deserve better.I didn't say I couldn't find a picture, I said I couldn't find the model to use. This is what the car looked like. Notice the fancy "yea, I'm a whiskey runner, what of it" standard black paint job and the very striking and professional race car graphics rendered by a roll of 3M masking tape? Now that is real Vintage stock car racing!If I have to go then so be it but I thought you'd like to see what that first winner really looked like before I go. BTW, I know Kim Haynes and consider him a friend but his background is mostly in Mustang restoration and he goes just a little overboard in making in look neat and proper. Very neccesary on the Mustangs but a little over the top on some of the old stock cars

A Father's Day Story........of sorts.

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It all began sixty one years ago today just a few miles up the road from me.in a little place called Charlotte NC kicking the whole thing off with what will probably be the only "Luxury Car" era in stock car racing with the powerful Cadillac, Lincoln and Hudson entries setting the pace.

Another first could be argued with the introduction of the "Rocket 88" Oldsmobile, one of, if not the very first, "Muscle Car", that put a luxury styled big V-8 in a smaller and lighter Oldsmobile coupe body.


By now you've probably guessed that I'm talking about the very first race for Nascar's top division, today's "whoever wrote the biggest check" Cup that started out with the unassuming moniker, "Strickly Stock Division".

That first race was on dirt and won by Glen Dunnaway, the father of a friend of mine, who followed quite ably in his dad's tire tracks, named Harold Dunnaway, who outran all those big powerful new cars in a lowly little two year old Ford coupe.

Now if you look up the results of that first race you may wonder why Jim Roper is named the winner driving a Lincoln. Well, it seems that Glen's borrowed ride for that race happened to be one of Hubert Westmoreland's "business" coupes (althought NOT a Business Coupe model, there is a difference) and his business was liquid corn refreshment, so to speak, and its transportation.

When the post race inspection was over it seems that the "wedges" in the Ford's rear springs, so helpful in handling the extra weight of its usual "cargo", turned out to be a no-no in the new division because it also helped the handling when the car was "empty". Remember, it was called Strictly Stock for a reason.

Well, it wound up in court but after all the dust settled, both figuratively and literally, the division survived all the controversy and even prospered and turned out to be somewhat of a success. Kind of like King Kong being a monkey with a small pituatary gland problem.

Since I haven't been able to build a copy of Harold's dad's car, just no model of a '47 Ford "business" Coupe out there, which, in this case, was really an "Opera Coupe", I'll have to post this shot of a diecast "Rocket 88" to commemorate Father's Day "Southern Style" and mark the beginning of the France Dynasty that began with a bunch of "car guys" and a dream.




updated by @jerry-sims: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

Happy Memorial Day- June Calendar Page

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This has got to be the most aggravating place on the 'net to post a pic in the message! I had it figured out at one time and now it doesn't seem to work anymore. What is the procedure now to get a pic to show in the message body?

Happy Memorial Day- June Calendar Page

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Happy Memorial Day- June Calendar Page


Almost let this one slip by, thanks for the reminder Tony T. In honor of my friend's first ballot induction to the new Hall of Fame, here's here's one of the most successful, revered, feared and respected mountain men to ever don a helmet or field an entry in the premier stock car sanctioning body of our time, Mr. Robert Glen Johnson, Jr. Better know around here as "ol' June-yer". Hey, how'd you like the way I got around that pesky ol' Copyright Infringement thingy with that sanctioning body? LOL



Here's the link to the large printable file for your calendar page.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v69/mitchum/JUNE/JUNE.jpg
updated by @jerry-sims: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

Today is 5-7, wanna see my favorite '57?

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Thanks Jeff, I kinda think he is too. LOL Jeff Gilder said:

Awesome!!