NASCAR Gets Chance at Indy Race Says 1963 Daytona News Headline
Stock Car Racing History
That was exactly my thought, Sandeep.
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Stock Car Racing History
NASCAR Gets Chance at Indy Race Says 1963 Daytona News Headline
Stock Car Racing History
On April 29, 1963, the Daytona Beach Morning Journal ran the USAC stock car race as its lead sports story on the first sports page, including the results. The North Wilkesboro NASCAR AP report was much smaller and below the fold. By the way, Roger Penske was leading the IRP race when he exited - and, it was his first ever stock car race! According to the two AP stories, the IRP stock car race drew a larger crowd than Wilkesboro.
NASCAR Gets Chance at Indy Race Says 1963 Daytona News Headline
Stock Car Racing History
Did you notice Roger Penske ran the IRP stock car race in a 1963 Ray Nichels Pontiac? He qualified 3rd, behind pole sitter, Parnelli Jones and outside pole winner, Fireball Roberts. Penske exited early with a grease seal problem, but certainly established that he was a pretty darned good "shoe" - even in the heavy stock cars.
NASCAR Gets Chance at Indy Race Says 1963 Daytona News Headline
Stock Car Racing History
On January 19, 1963, a headline on the sports pages of the Daytona Beach Morning Journal proclaimed "NASCAR GETS CHANCE AT INDY RACE."
The story (seen below) went on to tell of a huge stock car race planned for April 28, 1963 carrying full FIA International sanction, allowing competitors from NASCAR, USAC and SCCA to butt heads on the Indianapolis Raceway Park road course, just as they would at that weekend's inaugural January 1963 Riverside 500.
IRP and the headline writers evidently didn't bother to check Big Bill France's 1963 NASCAR Grand National schedule, which already had the Gwynn Staley 400 scheduled at his friend, Enoch Staley's North Wilkesboro Speedway on the same date of April 28, 1963.
April 28, 1963 turned into a Tim Leeming "Legend" kind of day, as Richard Petty took Wilkesboro in a Petty PLYMOUTH and AJ Foyt took IRP in a Norm Nelson PLYMOUTH . When the cash was counted, Lee Petty might have wished he'd entered son, Richard in the IRP race, as winner Foyt took home nearly twice what Richard won in chicken country.
Holman-Moody had several factory Fords entered at IRP on April 28 for Fireball Roberts, who qualified 2nd and for Curtis Turner who placed 3rd on the lead lap with Foyt. You'll also see the name of RR member, Reb Wickersham in the IRP rundown, along with Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones and a terrific field of other racers.
Too bad those two fields couldn't have been combined for one stock car race.
Here are the results of each below from Ultimate Racing History - first the IRP Yankee 300 followed by the North Wilkesboro Gwynn Staley 400.
Yankee 300 - Indianapolis Raceway Park Road Course - USAC Stock Cars - April 28, 1963
Gwynn Staley 400 - North Wilkesboro Speedway 5/8th-Mile - NASCAR Stock Cars - April 28, 1963
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
Racing History Minute - 1977 Winston-Western 500
Stock Car Racing History
''The truth is, Bill's a sweetheart,'' Ivan Baldwin, Elliott's crew chief in 1987, told reporters last season. ''I can't tell you about the rest of that family. I feel sorry for Bill.
''Bill is stuck between a rock and a hard, hard place. He doesn't have anyone who he can talk to. No one understands him. The best thing he could do is get away from that team.''
Orlando Sentinel
Racing History Minute - 1977 Winston-Western 500
Stock Car Racing History
There's not a nicer or more knowledgeable guy around than Owen Kearns when it comes to publicizing racing. Owen worked out of the Scott's Valley, California headquarters of NASCAR West when I first met him... which was actually the old Bob Barkheimer & Assocs. west coast race promoting organization that had been taken over by Ken Clapp. Prior to the Truck series, Owen was doing all the leg work for Winston West and the Northwest and Southwest Tour.
The day I met Owen at Seattle International Raceway in 1984, he was capitalizing on Winston West rookie,Derrike Cope's former baseball background. Owen had posed Derrike with catcher's mitt, face mask, shin guardsand chest protector catching a pack of Winstons as David Allio shot publicity photos for RJ Reynolds. I used to have a copy of that photo, but it is long gone.
Owen was so well respected by the Associated Press that he filed his own copy and agate for AP - a pretty extraordinary feat. Owen's wife, Kathy would take care of everything in the press box at Bakersfield and other places. By the way, Bakersfield was in Kearn County, California.
Every SpeedWeeks, NASCAR would bring Owen east to Daytona where he was instrumental in getting really good stuff in the hands of the press corps and doing much of the unpopular behind the scenes media grunt work. I respect Owen Kearns as much as anyone I ever met in automobile racing. Nice to seeOwen's name on the Ivan the Terrible story. Ivan, of course, later came east, hired in 1987 by Bill Elliott as a chassis expert. He stayed less than a year, unable, as many others, to get along with Ernie Elliott.
Racing History Minute - 1977 Winston-Western 500
Stock Car Racing History
The first race I ever attended at Rockingham (on the low banked, original Rockingham configuration) - the March 1966 Peach Blossom 500 - took 4 Hours, 59 Minutes, 55 Seconds to complete with an average speed of 100.027 mph. That was quite a change from the 2 1/2 hour 300 lap dirt track races I'd been going to at Richmond.
Worse though, was being caught in the Dover infield when your car crashed out or had mechanical failure early in one of the 500-mile Dover marathons. There was no infield tunnel to get out of the place and the races just went on and on and on.
3 hours is an excellent time length to shoot for when scheduling a major stock car race and a number the televesion networks can easily work with.
Racing History Minute - 1976 Winston Western 500
Stock Car Racing History
You can listen at the link below to the interview Barney Hall and Jim Phillips did with L.D. Ottinger recapping his career on MRN Radio's "Tailspin" show in the summer of 2015.
http://media.weei.com/a/107681525/mrn-talespin-l-d-ottinger.htm
I had the opportunity at the end of LD's career to do the racing PR for his sponsor Detroit Gasket in the 1989 Busch Series season. LD is a super nice fellow. Detroit Gasket had a large manufacturing plant just down the road from LD's little Newport, Tennessee shop. Jim, who is also from Newport, worked with LD in his shop at one time.
Racing History Minute - 1976 Winston Western 500
Stock Car Racing History
Baldwinwasn't nicknamed "Ivan the Terrible" for nothing.