Hawaii Raceway Park photos
Stock Car Racing History
I think NASCAR's version of the "grass skirt" was that appendage on recent race car noses called by NASCAR a "splitter."
Terry Renna AP photo
Forum Activity for @dave-fulton
Stock Car Racing History
Hawaii Raceway Park photos
Stock Car Racing History
Aerial of former Hawaii Raceway Park from web site Around Hawaii
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, January 27, 2006
Hawai'i Raceway Park closing
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i Raceway Park, which for 42 years has given thousands of car and motorcycle racers Hawai'i's only legal outlet to display their high-speed toys, will close in April, the park's owner said yesterday.
Mike Oakland plans to hold his last events at the raceway in Campbell Industrial Park either March 31 or April 1, followed by a month of cleanup to return the 66-acre parcel to the landowner.
"You don't make money in racing in Hawai'i," Oakland said. "It's a hobby. But we have hobbyists that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their toys."
Maeda Timson, chairwoman of the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board, worries that without Hawai'i Raceway Park drivers will endanger drivers and pedestrians by turning to illegal races on O'ahu streets and freeways.
"I'm real concerned because we get complaints constantly about speeding in our district," Timson said. "Now it's going to be a free-for-all. I know the raceway people have been really professional and talk to the racers to encourage them to do that in the park and not outside. They're the first ones to say, 'Hey, if you see someone racing from our place, call the police.' "
Hawai'i Raceway Park opened on the Fourth of July weekend in 1964. Oakland took over in 1990, and since then Campbell Estate has been granting him a series of lease extensions, the last of which expires in April.
"This is a decision made by Hawai'i Raceway Park and was not caused by Campbell Estate," estate spokeswoman Theresia McMurdo said. "We have not asked Hawai'i Raceway Park to leave and in fact we have been extending the lease."
But with his latest extension soon to expire, Oakland in the last year also received notice from the Environmental Protection Agency that he could no longer allow racers and fans to use the antiquated cesspool system connected to the raceway. And in January 2005, Oakland's zoning variance expired.
"We have an expired variance, we have cesspools closing under federal mandate and we have a lease that's expiring," Oakland said. "All along I've been telling people that we're running out of time. But people have just been looking at me like I've been crying Chicken Little. Well, guess what? Time's up."
The park's impending end comes after years of unsuccessful lobbying by Oakland to develop a permanent, 140-acre center dedicated to a variety of motorcycle and car racing events at the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station, now known as Kalaeloa.
"I am the perennial optimist that it will happen someday," said Oakland, 63. "But am I going to be alive when it happens? Well, I'm an optimist."
With no new home to turn to for now, Oakland said he has told the nine different concessionaires who produce a variety of car, motorcycle and go-kart events that they, too, will be out of business in April.
"Millions of dollars are directly affected by what we do," Oakland said. "There are going to be hundreds of jobs lost because of the downside of not having a motor sports complex."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Racing History Minute - October 25, 1959 - Lee Kirby Memorial
Stock Car Racing History
Clip from October 31, 1955 Spartanburg Herald-Journal with results of race for which Jack Walker posted program cover above:
Racing History Minute - October 25, 1959 - Lee Kirby Memorial
Stock Car Racing History
This is not racing related, but in 1959, television station WBTV aired a 30 minute program celebrating its first ten years on the air as the first television station in North Carolina or South Carolina. Pretty neat stuff here from the opening Charlotte telecast in 1949 including links to the Governors' residences in Raleigh and Columbia (where Strom Thurmond was governor) and an address by Senator Sam Ervin ("I'm just a country lawyer"), who'd later gain national fame during the Watergate hearings in the 1970s. Those who enjoy history might like to see this:
Racing History Minute - October 25, 1959 - Lee Kirby Memorial
Stock Car Racing History
The roster of Charlotte radio station WBT and its companion Jefferson-Pilot Broadcasting ("Sail with the Pilot at the Wheel") WBTV-TV was replete with Kirbys in the early 1950s and both had affiliations with Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children:
8 Va. Weekly Racers, 1 Canadian Thrilled Martinsville Cup Crowd in 1974; Hutchins Led, Hensley Frammed Him & Earl Ross Won on September 29
Stock Car Racing History
R.I.P. Earl Ross on the 40th Anniversary of his Old Dominion 500 win at Martinsville.
8 Va. Weekly Racers, 1 Canadian Thrilled Martinsville Cup Crowd in 1974; Hutchins Led, Hensley Frammed Him & Earl Ross Won on September 29
Stock Car Racing History
On September 29th at Martinsville Speedways 1974 Old Dominion 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series event, fans were treated to the sight of 8 Virginia weekly modified and sportsman drivers in the 30 car field, but it was a 33 year old Canadian rookie who stole the show.
The battle between the big boys for the 1974 Winston Cup crown had come down to a fight between then 13 time Martinsville winner, Richard Petty and Junior Johnsons driver, Cale Yarborough Dodge vs. Chevy. But the headlines were made by the Virginia local boys and the lone Canadian.
There were a number of story lines that developed around the 1974 Martinsville Old Dominion 500 and we are very fortunate that the archives of MRN Radio have captured this classic event in its entirety. I strongly urge you to click on the link below and listen to the brief pre-race explanations by lead announcer Ken Squier and turn and pit descriptions by Barney Hall and the late Charlie Harville of Channel 2 Television in Greensboro.
The two most famous drivers to ever graduate from Richmonds Southside Speedway were in the Martinsville field, each making a rare Cup start. Running Firestone tires for car owner Emanuel Zervakis (distributor of Late Model Sportsman Firestones), 45 year old Sonny Hutchins had put the beautiful powder blue # 01 Monte Carlo on the outside pole alongside Richard Petty. Sonny was no stranger to Martinsville hed won modified races there for Junie Donlavey and the Wood Brothers, as well as Late Model Sportsman events for Zervakis.
Sonny Hutchins & Richard Petty on Front Row before start of 1974 Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville - Butch Zervakis photo
Richmonds other most famous driver was also 45 years old. He was Radid Ray Hendrick. Richmond race fans were ecstatic when Nord Krauskopf tapped Ray for the drivers seat in the return of the Harry Hyde built K&K Dodge #71 to NASCAR competition with an in-house built 355 cu.in. Dodge motor. Ray, still considered the winningest driver in NASCAR history, put the new Dodge in 10th place on the grid.
Our other local, weekly track Virginians who made the Cup field, listed by age, were as follows:
42 Year Old Paul Radford Ferrum, Va. In Junie Donlaveys #90
34 Year Old Lennie Pond Ettrick, Va. in Ronnie Elders Chevy
33 Year Old PeeWee Wentz Danville, Va.
28 Year Old Jimmy Hensley Horse Pasture, Va. driving with a broken leg
26 Year Old Satch Worley Rocky Mount, Va.
26 Year Old Randy Hutchison Newport News, Va. last minute Bill Champion entry.
Member, Dennis Andrews will remember seeing Randy, as well as PeeWee and Ray in a few NASCAR Grand American races.
Im not going to try to recap the whole race, just paint a picture of how cool it was to have all these local heroes competing against the Big Boys.
33 year old rookie, Earl Ross of Ailsa Craig, Ontario, Canada was Cales teammate in a second Junior Johnson Carling Beer Chevy. The Canadian brewer was high on Earl and kinda came to Junior with the Carling sponsorship. When the 1974 Old Dominion 500 went in the record books, though, it was the name of Earl Ross on the trophy a driver who said he had only heard of Richard Petty and David Pearson in the past several years.
Earl Ross of Ailsa Craig, Ontario, Canada in victory lane at Martinsville - September 1974
The highlight of the race may have been the start and the first 79 laps.
Thats when Sonny Hutchins outraced Richard Petty to turn one and cut him off entering the turn. Sonny would go on to lead the first 79 laps, until his Southside Speedway competitor, Jimmy Hensley knocked him out of the groove for the lead. Following right behind those two at the time was a third Southside Speedway driver, Lennie Pond in the third position.
How did Sonny beat The King to turn one on the start? The son of Sonnys car owner, Butch Zervakis, offered the following explanation right here on RacersReunion several years ago:
Comment by Butch Zervakis on February 27, 2011 at 8:20pm
Richard wouldn't have won the pole but he used special Goodyears that he brought from Level Cross the morning before qualifing that day, the reason the King lost the motor was, Sonny got the jump on him was because Clay Earles told Sonny to jump the start and lead the first lap, Richard over reved the motor trying to keep up with Sonny, Earles told Sonny that there has never been a restart on the start in a Cup race and he had made a bet with the reporters that Sonny was going to lead the first lap and he was planning on winning his bet
Whatever your allegiance or age, I urge you STRONGLY to listen to the opening of the MRN Radio broadcast and the first few laps and see if you cant just feel the excitement.
You can hear the excitement in Ken Squiers voice telling of the short track weekly racers making the show. You can hear the drums of Henry County, Virginias Drewry-Mason High School Band. You can hear the rich tones of Martinsville P.A. announcer, Lewis Compton, Mouth of the South in the background. And when the cars fire and pass by from pit road, you can hear the rumble. Hint turn up the volume and blow your significant other right out of the room at this juncture!!! Your entire lair will be trembling!
Finally, listen to the amazement in Barney Halls voice as old man Sonny Hutchins beats Richard through the first turn on the start! It will be well worth the listen to hear how it really was.
The first 80 laps also produce a couple of wonderfully descriptive phrases from the mouth of Ken Squier to describe the racing action. Heres the two I liked best:
Put your teeth in your purse grandma, this is going to be a rough one!
Theyre pounding on Petty, everybodys taking their shot!
I hope our newer members will listen to just some of this radio broadcast and maybe theyll understand why we long for the racing like it used to be. 
1974 Old Dominion 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race number 27 of 30
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updated by @dave-fulton: 03/03/20 09:50:56AM
Racing History Minute - October 24, 1965
Stock Car Racing History
Earlier in the 1965 season, on March 7, I saw Dick Hutcherson do something in that #29 Ford I've never seen before or since, roll a car over on the Richmond dirt track. It happened on lap 95 of the 1965 Richmond 250 down in turn 1 to the 3rd qualifying Iowan who'd lep 18 laps that day.
That particular race was a stinker short field all Ford show won by Junior Johnson, but it was the first race ever televised from the Commonwealth of Virginia, on tape delay by ABC Wide World of Sports. We used to have a 3/4" tape from ABC of that event in our media archives at Richmond, but the "new" ISC ownership was unable to locate it when I told them about it on the occasion of the track's 60th anniversary.
When "Hutch" rolled the car at Richmond that day in 1965, he scrambled across the track to the old wooden board fence in turn 1 and actually climbed it to keep from being hit by cars. Knowing that he wasn't injured, it was a pretty hilarious moment for me and my buddies Frank and John - all die hard independent Chevy fans - to see a factory Ford driver hanging from the fence for dear life!
That incident was clearly caught by Wide World of Sports and Southern MotorSports Journal ran a sequential photo of Dick scrambling from his overturned factory Ford to the board fence and climbing it in the next SMJ issue of 1965.
If anybody has that March 1965 issue of SMJ covering Richmond, that photo spread would make a cool addition to this site. Who knows, maybe Ray Lamm has it, too.
Anyway, Hutch was a great dirt track racer. Got to work with him the tiniest bit when I was ghost writing all Oldsmobile NASCAR press materials and Hutcherson-Pagan was warehousing the Olds sheet metal and parts for Olds racing manager, Dave Jarrard. Hutch used to also raise horses in a joint venture with a prominent Charlotte doctor and my one time business partner had bought a speedboat from Hutch's business partner, Eddie Pagan.