A NEW TYPE OF RACING AT HICKORY SPEEDWAY---Maybe
General
Years ago I raced Hydroplanes with the American Powerboat ASC.
I'M to old to come out of retirement.
Forum Activity for @jim-streeter
General
Racing History Minute - July 4, 1956
Stock Car Racing History
Most every Friday night we raced at the 1/4 mile flat paved track.
Curtis Turner brought in his 180% crankshaft flat head most of the time.
Glen Wood ran his 312 cu Overhead Ford in a 39 Coupe for the first time.
Ralph Ligouri got 2nd with an overhead and I got 3rd with an overhead. The rest were flatheads.
The next week about 20 converted overheads showed up!
Kyle Petty and Paula Deen related?
Current NASCAR
The last time I got stopped for speeding I unzipped and got arrested for indecent exposer. LOL
Kyle Petty and Paula Deen related?
Current NASCAR
The first 10 or 12 Races I drove MY car, I was a Racer until I went broke.
From then on if I drove MY car I was a Driver.
If I drove someoneelse's car depending on what they told me to do I was either a Racer or a Driver.
Racing History MInute - April 19, 1953
Stock Car Racing History
I saw Ted Horn Win at the North Carolina Fairgrounds Track in 1946. The Promoter was Sam Nunis.
When Champion Speedway was Built. there became a problem.
Stock Car Racing History
Fords had 3 speeds. Sportsman Flat heads wouldn't turn very high. The 667 was so heavy it was a great disadvantage. I was wrong on the 1940 sedan delivery it was a 456 not 444.
Because the track was so high banked we ran in high.
remember this was in the early stages of sportsman (limited sportsman).
2nd gear on 1/4 mile flats.
Hook on dashboard for gearshift.
I'll be 85 in three months and my memory isn't as good as it use to be.
When Champion Speedway was Built. there became a problem.
Stock Car Racing History
It was a paved1/3 of a mile banked track. Most of the tracks back then were 1/4 paved flat tracks or 1/2 mile dirt tracks. Sportsman cars were not allowed quick changed rear ends, so to find a correct gear with a stock rear end proved difficult.
Standard rear ends were 378, V 6s were 411, 1940 Sedan Deliverys were 444 and some 3/4 Ton Pick ups were 667.
Diameter of rear tires helped a little.
Problems,Problems Problems!
Of course you could always run Lincoln gears in the transmission with a Mercury rear end 327.
updated by @jim-streeter: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
April 15, 1963 - Jim Paschal bags Bowman Gray
Stock Car Racing History
I have two bad knees, one from Football the other from Bunkie Blackburn hitting me when I had spun out at Coastal Speedway Mrytle Beach in the 50s.
What I remember about Nascar's short lived Speedway Car Division.
Stock Car Racing History
After making the post about the NASCAR Speedway Division yesterday, I tried to remember more.
Today I went to Google,what little I could find helped me some. The only records Google had ended in June of 53.The Raleigh race happened after that. It was the last gasp. Not well attended. Buck Baker didn't compete with his Cadilac , Ralph Ligouri did, none of the California drivers, a few Yankee Modified Drivers. Big Bill had dig into his pocket to pay the small purse.
The Friday night Races were still well attended. After the bad crash in September on the mile track, it was never used again except for Late Model Cars. Sportsman were very popular on the 1/4 mile flat track.
I'll try to tell more at a later time.
What I remember about Nascar's short lived Speedway Car Division.
Stock Car Racing History
One of the first races of the Speedway Cars was held at the old Raleigh Speedway. The track was fairly new and Big Bill knew that Sam Nunis had been promoting AAA Speedway Cars for years at the North Carolina Fairgrounds Race Track .
At the time I was spending as much time as I could around Joe Epton, Track Mgr. ( NASCAR'S Chief Scorer) of the Raleigh Speedway.
Two weeks before the scheduled race they only had 13 entries. The call went out to all the modified car owners for help. They found 5 Speedway Cars that had races back in the 30s and pulled the old Offenhauser enginesand replaced them with Modified Ford Engines.
The one outstanding thing I remember was at the last minute a man showed up with an old Speedway Car powered by a Model T Ford that had been converted with an overhead cam.
60 years later I can still remember the sound of that 4 Banger going down the backstrech during the Time Trials. A sound thet I'll never forget. Beautiful!
That old car with it's poured bearings didn't last long, but it ran with the pack for about 30 LAPS.
I don't remember whowon the race, but I realize now I saw a part of NASCAR History.
updated by @jim-streeter: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM