Racing History Minute - July 21, 1956
Stock Car Racing History
A fiery bump
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Racing History Minute - July 20, 1975 - Nashville
Stock Car Racing History
From 1975 through its final Cup race in 1984, Nashville's fairgrounds speedway was slotted as the next race following Daytona's Firecracker 400. The drivers went from the 2-1/2 mile superspeedway to the 5/8 mile, 18-degree banked short track in middle Tennessee. Coincidentally, the two tracks opened within about six months of one another - Nashville in August 1958 and Daytona in February 1959.
The 1975 edition of the Nashville 420 was slated for July 19th - about 2 weeks after the Firecracker and a bit of a season's breather for the teams. Earlier today I blogged about the Sunday afternoon 420. The race had been postponed from Saturday night because of rain.
http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2017/07/july-20-1975-nashville-420.html
A few extras I didn't include in my blog post.
Nashville's version of the Winston Cup newspaper ad seen frequently in the sports section of many local newspapers of the era.
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The track's own ad promoting not only the 420 but the Friday night qualifying and feature races for the local drivers.
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In the 50-lap late model sportsman feature race Friday night,
Darrell Waltrip held off charging Alton Jones of Pleasant Grove, Ala. to capture the 50-lap Late Model Sportsman feature after winning the pole with a 20.57 qualifying time.
Jones, who pressed for the lead from the first to the last lap, had started second with a 20.72 qualifying run.
P.B. “Chubby” Crowell III, who had started in the No. 3 position, ran in third place until the 48th lap when he spun out under a caution flag and had to drop back to the rear.
A back turn crash involving Wendell Webster and Dorris Vaughn had brought out the caution flag with two laps remaining.
Jones, getting the jump on Waltrip at the start, led the first 22 laps mostly by a margin of a matter of feet. Waltrip took over on the 23rd lap, Jones nudged back in front on the 24th, and Waltrip regained the lead for good on the 25th.
Late Model Sportsman point leader Jimmy "Smut" Means ended up in third place, followed by Walter Wallace, Phil Stillings, Flookie Buford, Harold Cole, Charlie Chamblee and A.C. York.
With the race moved from Saturday night to a muggy, middle Tennessee July day, the race took a toll on one of the toughest ones - Cale Yarborough.
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But he rallied to collect his trophy, money, and kisses.
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Racing History Minute - July 19, 1958 part 2
Stock Car Racing History
I found this race report in the archives of the Greenville News. It made the race sound far more entertaining than the blurb I found a few years ago.
Welborn Goes Ahead In Late Laps For Race Win
By FRANK BALLENGER
Bob Welborn, national convertible point leader, gunned his way into first place after Ken Rush, High Point, N.C., wrecked with a little more than five miles remaining, and went on to win last night’s 100-mile National convertible race here at the Greenville-Pickens Speedway before about 5,000 fans.
Welborn, driving a ‘57 Chevrolet, spun his way around the 100-mile distance in one hour, 42 minutes and 20 seconds for an average speed of 58.63 mph. Rush, piloting a ‘57 Chevrolet, had taken the lead and held about a half-track margin until he wrecked with Greenville’s Herb (Tootle) Estes, who was pulling out of the pits, with only 11 laps left around the half-mile oval.
Larry Frank, Angier, N. C. was second in a ‘57 Chevrolet. Buck Baker, driving for Greenville’s Bob Jolley Jr., was third in his 1958 Chevrolet. Rush finished fourth and Glen Wood, Stuart, Va. was fifth in a ‘57 Ford. Estes wound up in sixth position. Baker also hit a spinning car but managed to stay in the race with just a few laps remaining.
Curtis Turner, the wealthy stock car racing veteran from Roanoke, Va., flew into town along with Weatherly, who hails from Norfolk, Va. But Turner, injured several weeks ago, was advised by his doctor against driving in last night’s race. Weatherly started in 8th spot on the inside, piloting a 1957 Ford owned by Red Kalajainen, Charlotte.
Whitey Norman, Winston-Salem, N. C. in a 1957 Ford, turned in the best qualifying time of 29.54 seconds, edging Buck Baker, who turned in 29.55 in his 1958 Ford, for the pole position. Baker started on the outside pole in a field of 18 late model cars. Estes, driving a 1958 Ford, turned the track in 29.87, starting fourth on the outside. Doug Cox, the other Greenville entry in a ‘58 Ford, posted 30.45 seconds to start 7th inside.
Welborn, the national point leader, started 6th inside and was kept well back in the pack as Baker roared out front. Rush, starting second inside, finally jumped into the lead 30 laps as Baker appeared to develop motor troubles. Greenville’s Cox lost a lot of time in the pits as he had tire trouble after 45 laps. Welborn was beginning to gain on Rush at 50 laps, and Larry Frank had moved up to third position.
Jim Paschal, Atlanta, was fourth and Baker had slipped into fifth place. Around the 80 lap mark Weatherly pushed his way to sixth place and appeared to be moving on the field. But then he was forced into the pits with transmission trouble and lost three or four laps. Midway Rush continued to hold a half-track margin over Welborn, and Frank, Paschal and Baker followed in order.
After 125 laps it was Rush, Paschal, Welborn, Frank and Baker. Tiny Lund lost a wheel and was forced out of the race. Welborn and Baker, although in different laps, locked fenders coming into the stretch In front of the grandstand but came out without any difficulty.
I did a double-take on the name of Weatherly's car owner Red Kalajainen. I've never heard of him before. I'm unsure if he was involved as an owner or driver in other races - NASCAR sanctioned or not.
However, I did find he made one GN start as a driver in the Buddy Shuman 250 on June 28, 1958 at Hickory. He started 27th and finished 28th in a #34 car in the race won by Lee Petty.
http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/24900/june-28-1958-lee-petty-horse-collars-hickory
Racing-Reference indicates the car Red raced at Hickory as a Chevrolet. However, it notes the car Weatherly raced at Greenville as a #34 Ford fielded by Buck Brigance vs. Red. So the accuracy of the car owner and make for Weatherly and Red may be lost to history.
July 18, 1959 - Nashville
Stock Car Racing History
One of the great names of racing's yesteryear - Crash Bond - had a fortuitous afternoon on July 18, 1958 on the still-relatively new 1/2 mile surface at Nashville's fairgrounds track.
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From the July 19, 1959 edition of The Tennessean
Bond Winner In Stock Spin
By TOM POWELL
The next time you’re out driving in the rain and you feel your tires skid, think of the tough way Jimmy Griggs lost last night’s feature modified stock car race at Fairgrounds Speedway. Crash Bond was the winner when Griggs ran into a stream of water which had come out of a broken radiator in Bill Morton’s car.
A family night crowd of 5,537, of whom were paid, viewed the O Henry ending to what had looked like a routine victory for Griggs. The Cadillac-powered Griggs started in 12th position, zoomed to first by the fifth lap, and was holding a commanding lead over his nearest pursuer.
Bond was about to pass him again, when Morton’s radiator burst. Before he could do anything about it, Griggs had spun completely around.
P. B. Crowell, who had been running fifth, did a yeoman’s job in not tearing into the side of Griggs’ car. P. B. hit his brakes when his mishap occurred on the 22 nd lap and nudged gently against Griggs’ car with Jimmy still in it.
The victory was the second of the season for Crash and put him in the select company of Bob Reuther and Griggs as the only two-time winners at the track. Malcolm Brady, who had been waging a hot battle with Bond for second spot, finished there, with Charley Parrish coming in third, and Bobby Celsor fourth.
Crash won a handful of features at Nashville. And he entered one GN race - the 1961 Nashville 500 won by Jim Paschal.
http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/25962/august-6-1961-jim-paschal-wins-nashville-500
updated by @tmc-chase: 01/18/20 05:20:38AM
July 18, 1954 - Jack Harrison Beats Bob Welborn in Richmond, Va. SAFE Stock Car Race (Must Reading for RTA)
Stock Car Racing History
Was able to extract this brief race report from the July 19, 1954 edition of The Progress-Index from Petersburg, VA.
https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/105569769/
JACK HARRISON WINS 100-MILE STOCK CAR RACE IN RICHMOND
Pit stops, racing's great leveler, played a major factor yesterday in the victory scored by Jack Harrison, of Indianapolis, in the Circuit of Champions 100-mile Mid-Atlantic championship race.
Before a crowd estimated at 3,500, Harrison, called "Farmer Jack" by the trade, beat Pat Kirkwood, of Fort Worth, Texas, to the wire in the 200-lap race by half-a-lap with Bob Welborn of Winston-Salem, N. C., third. Kirkwood drove a 1954 Oldsmobile, Welborn a blunt-nosed, stubby '52 Plymouth coupe.
Twenty-two cars started the stock car race, and all but two had to make emergency calls at the pits at least once. Only eight finished.
Harrison, driving a 54 Ford, profited from three pit stops - two made by drivers who were leading at the time they had to make for first aid and one he had the lead.
updated by @tmc-chase: 07/17/17 05:00:10PM
July 1976 Nashville Fairgrounds: Where have the years gone?
Stock Car Racing History
41 years ago today. Still remember that STP day-glo red burning my retinas on that dusky Nashville summer night.