Forum Activity For @Tmc-Chase

@tmc-chase
08/15/14 11:24:34AM
4,073 posts

IRISH HILLS 250 August 16, 1969

Stock Car Racing History

Qualifying report from Spartanburg Herald

Race report from Toledo Blade

@tmc-chase
08/14/14 01:19:54PM
4,073 posts

August 14, 1969 - A Secret Meeting Results in a Public Decision

Stock Car Racing History

With NASCAR's Grand National division preparing to race for the second time at the new Michigan International Speedway, several GN and Grand Touring drivers gathered in nearby Ann Arbor to chat on Thursday, August 14, 1969. The meeting wasn't just to banter with one another - and it wasn't open to media, fans, team owners, manufacturer reps ... or NASCAR officials.

The drivers gathered to talk about key issues affecting their livelihoods as professional stock car drivers. Perhaps the meeting was a natural extension of what had happened in auto racing over the past decade:

- a transition from dirt track bullrings towards many new paved superspeedways - fast ones
- deaths of notable drivers in NASCAR, USAC Indy cars, and Formula 1
- the on-again, off-again financial support from Detroit's Big 3 auto makers of stock car racing efforts

The result of the meeting was the formation of the Professional Drivers Association.

Richard Petty was elected as the inaugural president of the PDA. (To my knowledge, I'm not sure the PDA ever had a second one.) - DBMJ

As noted in the article, the PDA's executive committee was made up of Petty, David Pearson, Buddy Baker, James Hylton, Pete Hamilton, Charlie Glotzbach, Lee Roy Yarbrough, and the Allison brothers. It was perhaps the 1st of 2 times in their careers that the King and Bobby Allison were on the same side of an issue (the 2nd being their support of Ronald Reagan as President.)

Bill France Sr's reaction to the news was as expected - a shrug of the shoulders and a defiant reiteration of his "you need us worse than we need you" credo for NASCAR. - DBMJ

As history knows, the PDA quickly grew from an expressed interest in financial stability and track side working conditions (whatever that meant) to a very public confrontation with France at his new monster facility at Talladega.

Though the PDA had an executive committee of 9 drivers, they leveraged over 30 at Talladega to leave the track with safety concerns could not be resolved with the tires and specifically with France.

France of course didn't flinch. He ran his race anyway albeit with a cobbled together field. But as he did with the banishment of Tim Flock and Curtis Turner earlier in the decade, his hard line stance all but neutered the PDA before it ever really got rolling.

The PDA continued as an organization at least through early 1972. I'm uncertain when it was finally dissolved.

updated by @tmc-chase: 08/14/17 11:00:29AM

@tmc-chase
08/14/14 12:37:57AM
4,073 posts

WHERE HAVE ALL THE PHOTOS GONE

Current NASCAR

I'm one of a few who add / edit tags and descriptions on photos. With almost 65,000 photos on RR and a bit of spare time, however, it's tough to get around to them all. I've tagged a boocoodle of them in the past year or two but have hardly put a dent in what the site has to offer. That's why we like to stress from time to time for folks to add tags to their own photos.

We've also had a few folks leave the site. Not just leave as in no longer posting - but also delete their accounts. When that happens, all their photos, forum posts, comments, etc. are also deleted by the site's platform because all that stuff is tied to individual users. I'll notice it occasionally when I revisit one of my posts and realize an image I've embedded no longer shows up. More often that not it's because the user from whom I linked the pic is no longer an RR member.

I THINK what Johnny may be referencing is the general slowdown in new photos added to RR. I'm certain there are far more photos out there of good old school racing. Just a matter of landing new members and having them add their pictures - or having existing members add more stuff already in their possession.

@tmc-chase
08/13/14 11:30:54AM
4,073 posts

3M to Sponsor Jeff Gordon

Current NASCAR

I recall your telling that story a time or two. Great effort on your part to do your race day job AND be the romantic husband from a distance. I bet you were proud as a peacock for pulling off that one.