Racing History Minute - October 26, 1958
Stock Car Racing History
Forum Activity for @dave-fulton
Racing History Minute - October 26, 1958
Stock Car Racing History
The 1951 John Naughton Sportsmanship Award winner, Mike Little was photographed for the February 7, 1952 edition of the Daytona Beach Morning Journal:
Note NASCAR Zone rep John Marcum
Racing History Minute - October 26, 1958
Stock Car Racing History
From The Dispatch - Lexington, NC - January 16, 1959:
Racing History Minute - October 26, 1958
Stock Car Racing History
Tim, your recounting the actions of Fred Harb in this race most likely saving the life of fellow driver, Bill Morton and receiving the John Naughton Memorial Sportsmanship Award from NASCAR reminded me of a post I made almost two years ago.
I'd still like to learn more about the John Naughton Award if anyone has more info. This is what I found out back then:
How About NASCAR Sportsmanship?
Did you know that NASCAR used to annually present a "Sportsmanship " award to one of its competitors? For all I know, maybe they still do and it just doesn't receive press coverage. I have had a difficult time gathering any meaningful information. From various newspaper clips I note that the presentation used to be made at the big yearly awards banquet.
Perhaps a list exists of all the award winners and perhaps you have a copy you can share with us. Here is what I have been able in a brief time to find buried in various stories:
NASCAR JOHN NAUGHTON MEMORIAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
1953 - HARRISON WILLIAM S of Greenwood, SC
Rescued E.C. Ramsey of Greenville, SC from a burning stock car at Greenville and was severely burned himself while performing the rescue.
1958 - FRED HARB of High Point, NC
At Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway a young Bill Morton of Bluff City, TN rolled his convertible and lay injured and pinned in the car unconscious. Harb stopped his car and backed across the track blocking Morton's car from oncoming traffic.
1960 - FRIDAY HASSLER of Chattanoogna, TN.
I have been unable to find the reason for Friday's award.
1961 - RAY HENDRICK of Richmond, VA
While leading the race at Richmond's Southside Speedway, Hendrick purposely spun his Modified in front of Emanuel ( The Golden Greek ) Zervakis' overturned Modified to shield it from oncoming cars.
1962 - JOHNNY ROBERTS of Phoenix, MD
During a horrible backstretch crash that burned four NASCAR Modifieds at the Richmond Fairgrounds, Ralph Rose of Norfolk, VA was unable to release his safety belt. Risking death, a severely injured Roberts evacuated his burning car and extricated Rose from his burning Modified. Roberts required 72 stitches and a cast on his broken arm following his heroics.
1963 - BILL WIMBLE of Lisbon, NY
For taking the lead in rescuing Marvin Panch from his overturned and burning sports car, along with Tiny Lund and several others during a Daytona Speedweeks race. Wimble was also presented the Carnegie Medal for this rescue as were Lund and several others involved in saving Panch.
1964 - LLOYD DANE of Buena Park, CA
Ron Hornaday, Sr. was in a torrid battle with Bill Amick for the NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model Championship in October when he destroyed his car during a qualifying wreck at Sacremento, CA. Lloyd Dane withdrew from the event and provided his car for Hornaday to drive.
I wish I had more information on this award and all the competitors who have earned it. I don't know when it started or when it stopped - if it has. To me, this is something worth highlighting. These competitors were selfless in their actions toward their fellow competitors.
If you have information on the NASCAR John Naughton Memorial Sportsmanship Award, please share it with us. All of these folks displayed something deep down much more important than being able to race for a championship.
What do you think?
By the way, many folks are very familiar with K&K Insurance from the time it came into NASCAR in the 60s. The John Naughton named in the NASCAR award title started his insurance business in 1947, became a very close fried of Bill France, SR. and provided liability coverage to NASCAR, its tracks and competitors.
http://www.naughtoninsurance.com/serv_motorsport.html
I was first introduced to the Naughtons in 1981 by Jim Foster of NASCAR. Foster and I had devised a Million Dollar award to present a driver who won 3 major superspeedway events. Naughton, through the Lloyds of London independent insurance consortium agreed to insure AGAINST the probability of such a payout. Our Wrangler Jeans CEO was unwilling to pay that premium and the program was then pitched to RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. and became the highly successful Winston Million.
Because of being introduced to the Naughtons, I was able to put outlandish sums of bonus money into future car owner and driver contracts for various accomplishments, all of which were insured against for pennies on the dollar by Naughton. This was/is another company and family which played a huge, often unacknowledged, part in the growth of NASCAR and its tracks.
Big Bill France had a knack for finding just the right people with whom to form close associations, like the Pure Oil folks, the Pepsi folks, etc. John Naughton and his family were on that list.
BUSINESS: John Naughton passes
John Naughton, 70, president of Naughton Insurance of East Providence and a longtime friend and business associate of NASCAR's founding France family, passed...
By Dave Rodman PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 15, 2000)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 15, 2000) John Naughton, 70, president of Naughton Insurance of East Providence and a longtime friend and business associate of NASCAR's founding France family, passed away Tuesday morning at Rhode Island Hospital following a brief illness. Bill and Jim France, the president and executive vice president, respectively, for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing were particularly touched by Naughton's passing.
Naughton, a native of New York City, had continued as the head of the agency that was one of America's largest and oldest specialists for the motorsports industry until his illness, which resulted in his hospitalization last Friday. He was an early supporter and friend of NASCAR founder William H.G. France and his wife, Anne and maintained a relationship with the family from the earliest days of NASCAR to the present.
"We are saddened to hear today's news regarding John Naughton," the France brothers said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. "John was a very close and dear friend of our father and that relationship continued with the two of us throughout the years.
"NASCAR and American motorsports have lost one of their pioneers as John and his family were among the original developers of insurance programs for American motorsports. We extend our heart and prayers to the entire Naughton family as we all feel this terrible loss."
Naughton is survived by his wife, Barbara (Jones) Naughton; sons John F. Naughton Jr. of Kennebunk, Maine, Michael C. Naughton of Montclair, N.J. and Kevin J. Naughton of Barrington, R.I.; stepsons Kevin J. Vanier and John P. Vanier Jr. of Barrington; stepdaughters Karen J. King of Middletown, R.I. and Marcie Williams of Portsmouth, R.I.; and 15 grandchildren.
His first wife, Mary E. (Delahunt) Naughton, predeceased Naughton. He was born on March 4, 1930 and was the son of the late John and Gladys (Lennon) Naughton.
"John was a very nice gentleman, who was a very close to both Bill and Anne," said Bill France Sr.'s longtime assistant, Bob Mauk. "That relationship had continued with the rest of the family and I never heard anything but nice words about him."
Naughton, who served as president of Naughton Insurance for 43 years, was a pioneer in developing specialty insurance programs for the motorsports and amusement park industries. He had earned national recognition as a leader in both those fields and was well respected in both the domestic and foreign insurance markets.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served in the Korean conflict, earning the Korean service medal with two bronze stars. Naughton was past president of the New England Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions and had served on the Presidents Council of Providence College.
Visitation will be held on Thursday from 4-8 p.m. at the Hambly Funeral Home; "Brick House;" 30 Red Cross Ave.; Newport, R.I. Funeral services will be held on Friday at 9 a.m. from the Hambly Funeral Home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Mary's Church on Spring St. in Newport.
Burial will follow in Gate of Heaven, Wampanoag Trail, East Providence.
Memorial donations may be made in Naughton's memory to the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center; 550 North Broadway; Suite 801; Baltimore, MD 21205-2009.
-nascar.com-
August 15, 2000 at 11:45pm
Can't Make This Up, Legend - "Other Brother" Darryl Works at NASCAR Hall of Fame
Trivia
I thought that was the guy, Tim. Thanks for confirming!
Can't Make This Up, Legend - "Other Brother" Darryl Works at NASCAR Hall of Fame
Trivia
There was a discussion on our RR site just this past week referencing the character "Other brother" Darryl on the classic Newhart television show.
Well, guess what? You can't make this up. The NASCAR Hall of Fame has an employee who may look very familiar to viewers of that show.
The story below appears in the October 26, 2013 Charlotte Observer:
Where you can find the 'other brother Darryl'
By Mark Washburn
The cast of the Bob Newhart show.
Few people recognize John Volstad in his latest role, assisting visitors at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Even those who do arent certain at first.
Photo by Robert Lahser
Theyre not too sure they dont think about it because my hair is combed back now, says Volstad, who played the other brother Darryl in the 1982-90 CBS comedy Newhart.
Volstad, 62, recently moved to Rock Hill with his son and landed a part-time job on the visitor services staff of the Hall of Fame through a longtime acquaintance, the halls historian, Buz McKim.
Volstad says he chose to come to the Charlotte area because he hopes to find work on some of the shows being produced in the region, like Showtimes Homeland. Plus, he likes NASCAR. He once met Darrell Waltrip, and they talked about the name they have in common.
On Newhart, Volstad played one of three brothers who did odd jobs and ran a diner around the Vermont town where the series was set. William Sanderson would introduce the trio, rounded out by Tony Papenfuss, as, Im Larry. This is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.
Neither Darryl would speak. They did reactions what Volstad calls elegant shrugs to whatever was being discussed, until the final episode. They had married garrulous women from Long Island. Fed up with their new spouses, they shouted their only line in eight seasons: Quiet!
Volstad came to the United States at 10 months old from his native Norway, where his mother had been active in the resistance during World War II. He grew up in Brooklyn, Minnesota, Texas, and eventually pursued acting in California.
His first movie was Switchblade Sisters, in which he was beaten up by a girl gang. He had roles in Stripes with Bill Murray and the 1982 Civil War miniseries on CBS, The Blue and the Gray, in which Warren Oates killed him.
After Newhart, he did comedy tours with his TV brothers and landed at a country radio station in Albertville, Ala. Nothing in Alabama was feeding the artist in me, says Volstad.
He hopes Charlotte will cure that. Hall of Fame activities give him small stages, like getting visitors excited about the Pit Crew Challenge and other attractions.
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/10/25/4414555/where-you-can-find-the-other-brother.html#storylink=cpy
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:10:12PM
RIP to the co-owner of the Skoal Bandit, Hal Needham
Stock Car Racing History
Hal was 2nd Unit Director and Stunt Coordinator for the 1974 Burt Reynolds' movie "The Longest Yard."
Ed Lauter, the actor who played the mean Captain Knauer, Captain of the Guards, in that movie, passed last week.
RIP to the co-owner of the Skoal Bandit, Hal Needham
Stock Car Racing History
This interview was done for ESPN Magazine in 2011 after the release of Hal's book:
Needham, Gant colorful asever
Updated: July 25, 2011, 5:46 PM ET
By Ryan McGee | ESPN The Magazine As I have strolled the beach this summer, I've seen people reading all types of books, from grocery store romance novels to teenage vampire epics to politically slanted Washington tell-alls. But as I settled into my beach chair, these were among the words that appeared in my chosen book's very first page:
"The explosion must have been second to only the A-bomb five black-powder bombs shot the Chevy thirty feet in the air and folded it in half I was going upside and backward 'Holy s---, he's alive!' John Wayne would have to finish the movie without me."
Now that's what I call summer reading.
The book is "Stuntman! My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life." The author is Hal Needham, perhaps the greatest Hollywood stuntman who ever lived, though I'm not sure how he managed the living part. He's won an Emmy and an Oscar, appeared in 4,500 television episodes and 350 feature films. He directed "Smokey & The Bandit," "Stroker Ace" and "The Cannonball Run." He's travelled 739.666 mph in a rocket-powered car, broken 56 bones and his back twice, and was the first human being to test the automobile air bag.
Needham also happened to have a pretty nice NASCAR career as co-owner of a Winston Cup team with buddy Burt Reynolds. From 1981 to '89 Hal and Burt's No. 33 Skoal Bandit car won nine races and 13 poles and barely missed winning the 1984 Cup title. The pilot of that ride was Harry Gant.
I had the chance at Daytona to sit down with Needham and Gant to talk about the book, racing, pushing the envelope of innovation, and women in hotel bars who used drugs and feminine wiles to steal Rolex watches.
Ryan McGee: OK, full disclosure. Harry, I grew up with a signed photo of you hanging on my wall. Hal, my cousin and I used to play with a Hal Needham Stuntman action doll. And I can, without a doubt, sit here and recite every line from both "The Cannonball Run" and "Stroker Ace."
Hal Needham: Hell, son, I like you already. You remember Harry's award-winning line from "Stroker"?
[+] Enlarge
Valerie Macon/Getty Images Hal Needham has a book to sell, and our man's opinion is that it's worth the price.
RM: "Oh hell, here we go again "
Harry Gant: [Laughs] That's it.
RM: Hal, you were John Wayne's handpicked stuntman. You started Hollywood's most successful stunt organization. You were directing gigantic box office hits. Why become a NASCAR team owner?
HN: I thought it would be fun. And I thought we could make some money. I had just done this big deal to break the land speed record. I got Budweiser and CBS together and did that deal, had pioneered product placement and sponsorship deals in my movies. So I liked my chances of putting together a NASCAR team.
RM: Was it a hard sell? Oh no, here comes this Hollywood big shot
HN: Nah. I'm a poor kid from Arkansas, first and foremost. I came to Charlotte and fit right in. I went to Humpy Wheeler at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and he got me in touch with Travis Carter, who was working for Junior Johnson at the time and agreed to put the shop and the team together for me. I flew the U.S. Tobacco guys into Los Angeles and really blew them away with the Hollywood thing, limos and Burt Reynolds and all of that. I told them Stan Barrett, a great stuntman and the guy who'd driven my rocket car the second time, would drive the cars. They had the Skoal brand and I suggested the Skoal Bandit idea to take advantage of all the momentum we had from the "Smokey & The Bandit" movies. And there you have it.
RM: Harry, were you like, "Who is this movie guy?"
HG: Yeah, pretty much. Travis called and asked me to help out. I met with Hal. They had Stan in the car. But eventually I moved in there. We've had crazy people coming into NASCAR from the outside to start race teams all the time, so I was a little skeptical. But I figured I could go back to my construction job or back to the Busch Series if it didn't work out. But we did pretty good.
HN: We did more than good. We should have won the championship in '84. I can still hear Harry coming over the radio at Riverside [in the season finale] and saying the engine blew. And I still say my voodoo act had nothing to do with that.
RM: Voodoo act?
HN: Yeah, our main competition for the championship that year was Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte. I did a whole press conference in this tent with incense and smoke machines. I put little version of their cars on a table and stuck voodoo pins in them. It was all just to get Skoal some PR. But Earnhardt did blow an engine that weekend.
HG: He took it a lot further than that and NASCAR didn't like it, did they?
HN: Yeah, later that year I hired an actor friend of mine, big black guy, Shakespearean-trained, amazing actor. I had him dress up and follow me around the garage like a voodoo doctor. We walked up to Earnhardt and Labonte's cars and he'd just stand there and stare at them, gave them the crazy eye. A few minutes later I hear over the loud speaker, "Hal Needham, please report to the NASCAR truck!" They said to get him the hell out of there before there was a riot. It was all for PR for Skoal.
RM: But you also got into hot water with NASCAR over some other stuff, too. I remember an issue with telemetry.
HG: Yeah, Hal had run all this telemetry stuff during the land speed record stuff. Like what they run in open-wheel racing. We ran a race at Talladega and that car was so dang wired up
HN: All that data was being fed back to the pits in real time. It blew their damn minds. [NASCAR president] Bill France Jr. had given me permission to run it. But when the race was over and they saw what it could do, he said, "Leave that thing at the shop next week. I don't want to ever see it again." But we still used it when we tested the car. Now everyone does.
RM: Ultimately, do you think that's what you're known for in the Cup garage: innovation? I mean, other than the voodoo act
HN: We were the first modern team to start dressing our crew in matching white uniforms with the sponsor logo all over them, like the driver. And I brought in personal trainers and nutritionists to work with the guys, got them in shape and cut time off the pit stops. That's standard stuff now, but it was way out there back in the 1980s.
HG: You remember the Bandettes, don't you?
RM: I was a 16-year-old boy at the racetrack, what do you think?
HN: [Laughs] Yeah, that's what I thought. We hired cheerleaders to come to the track and I got my Hollywood costume designer to come up with some outfits for them. We also painted up the hauler from top to bottom with that white and green and the Skoal Bandit logos. The back said, "You are following the Skoal Bandit Racing Team" so people on the highway would see it. Richard Petty came up to me and said, "You've got the field lapped with that truck." The next year everyone was doing it.
RM: So the Hal Needham NASCAR legacy is innovation, winning races, and voodoo.
HN: And raising hell on Saturday nights.
HG: That reminds me. You got your watch on? [Laughs]
RM: I wasn't going to bring up the Rolex Queens, but it is in the book after all
HN: Oh hell, OK. We're in Atlanta for the spring race and we stayed over that night to test the car the next day. In the hotel bar I met a lovely young woman and after a few drinks we decided to take it upstairs. Long story short, she hands me a drink and goes into the bathroom to slip into something more comfortable
HG: And she never came back out.
HN: Well, not that I remember. I woke up the next morning with a raging headache and all my rings, my wallet, and my $18,000 Rolex Presidential were gone. Turns out there was this group of women who drugged men they met in hotel bars and relieved them of their valuables. They called them the Rolex Queens.
RM: But you learned your lesson, right?
HG: [Laughs] This guy really did read the book, didn't he, Hal?
HN: So we come back later that year for the second race at Atlanta. Now I'm wearing a Movado, an even nicer watch than the Rolex. [Hollywood producer] Al Ruddy had given it to me. I met another good-looking woman, same hotel bar. This time I'm being more careful, right? We don't take any drinks up to the room. But the next morning, damn if I don't wake up again, no watch, no wallet. I figure she'd drugged my drink downstairs when I was in the bathroom.
HG: From then on, anytime he saw a woman, he'd say, "I like her" or "I'm going to ask her to dance" and
HN: And Harry would always say, "Let me hold your watch."
RM: I thought you were going to say he pulled out his line from "Stroker Ace"
HN: [Laughs hard] Oh hell, here we go again
Ryan McGee, a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine, is the author of "ESPN Ultimate NASCAR: 100 Defining Moments in Stock Car Racing History." He can be reached at mcgeespn@yahoo.com.