Finally Found It! DALE EARNHARDT - ONE TOUGH CUSTOMER - 1981 Wrangler TV Show

Stock Car Racing History

August 29, 1981 television listings for Ocala, Florida from Ocala Banner:

Finally Found It! DALE EARNHARDT - ONE TOUGH CUSTOMER - 1981 Wrangler TV Show

Stock Car Racing History

Maybe Legend can get you on a hat deal!

Finally Found It! DALE EARNHARDT - ONE TOUGH CUSTOMER - 1981 Wrangler TV Show

Stock Car Racing History

I have looked for years, but have finally found where a video copy has been posted of DALE EARNHARDT - ONE TOUGH CUSTOMER . This was a 1981 television production that sponsor Wrangler Jeans funded, produced by the Dancer, Fitzgerald, Sample ad agency of New York.

We (Wrangler) distributed this 23 minute special, slotted to run in a 30-minute time slot to the top television stations around the country free of charge. They were able to sell 7 minutes of advertising. We had approval of the time slot and many stations ran it on Saturday afternoon or Sunday afternoon during the summer of 1981. Not an infomercial , but an advomercial, featuring our Wrangler name throughout.

Those were the days when we had our pit crew wearing those super hot 14 ounce denim Wrangler Jeans on pit road.

This is the first time I have seen this piece since it aired in 1981, 32 years ago. Many of you have heard me reference it.

The primary focus was to follow Dale during his spring 1981 "home" weekend at Charlotte during the World 600 Winston Cup and Mello Yello 300 Late Model Sportsman races. There is also footage from the spring 1981 races at Riverside and Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. This may be the first time many of you have ever seen the Winston Cup cars on the Texas World Speedway track. Ironically, Dale finished second that afternoon to Benny Parsons in the same Bud Moore T-bird Dale would drive for Moore the next season.

At Riverside, Dale also finishes second. We thought we had the race won until Junior Johnson walked down to Richard Childress' pit a few laps before the end. The next lap, RC kissed the wall and stopped, bringing out the caution that allowed DW to catch Dale. Ironically again, Dale would be driving for RC before the 1981 season was over.

Regardless of who you pulled for, you'll find interesting stuff here. Earnhardt is in the Rod Osterlund / Wrangler Pontiac and there is good 1981 footage from inside the old Osterlund shop on Old Statesville Road in Charlotte. Also some beautiful footage of the Wrangler sponsored Robert Gee superspeedway Late Model Sportsman ride Dale drove to 2nd in the Saturday Charlotte Mello Yello 300. Good in-car camera stuff, too, from Charlotte.

You'll see a lot of folks in this television special who are no longer with us. You'll also hear folks no longer with us. I just about cried when I heard the late Joe Whitlock's uncontrolled off-camera laughter as a very young 6 year old Dale Earnhardt, Jr. attempts to get up on water skis at Lake Norman and yells out he has torn his butt up!

Youll see RR member Barry Dodson with the #27 Cale Yarborough / MC Anderson ride.

You'll see Kyle Petty before his ponytail!

You'll hear Dale Earnhardt say that Bobby Allison and Richard Petty are the two drivers who've helped him the most. You'll also hear him mention his rivalry with DW as the camera shows a shot of the two.

If you are doing a double take, I can confirm that you are seeing Dale Inman in a blue and yellow Wrangler shirt on Dale Earnhardt's pit box. He went to work for Rod Osterlund as Earnhardt's Team Manager beginning with the March 1981 Atlanta race. In fact, at the charity softball game shown in the film from the Greensboro Hornets baseball park in Greensboro, NC, Dale Inman's wife, Mary hit a home run.

There is so much special stuff to me in this show. I see my old Wrangler show car driver, Ricky Parham who was killed in 1983. Just watching Dale Earnhardt up close in the Osterlund Wrangler Pontiac at Charlotte strapping on those blue tinted bubble goggles brings back a million memories.

Anyhow, as I said, regardless of who you pulled for, there's some great archival stuff in this piece we made for television. It's priceless to watch the Charlotte Motor Speedway security guard try to stop Dale and hear him hollar, "I'm Dale Earnhardt," then apologize to the camera crew for acting like he had the "big head."

I think the very best clip in the whole piece may be the little girl at the Greensboro ball park naming her favorite drivers - led, of course, by The King, Richard Petty. Anyhow, if you find yourself with a little time on your hands over July 4th weekend, I think you'll enjoy the 23 minutes below.

Watch as Dale goes from his 5th starting spot to take the lead at Charlotte's 1981 World 600 in just 1 1/2 laps. It was classic Earnhardt!

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

Racing History Minute - July 5, 2013

Stock Car Racing History

Thanks for the history lesson, Tim and the links, Dennis.

On this date 32 years ago, July 5, 1981, I sponsored Dale Earnhardt in the blue & yellow Wrangler Jeans Pontiac in a NASCAR Winston West race in Portland, Oregon. Earnhardt flew cross country to Portland after competing in the July 4, 1981 Firecracker 400 at Daytona. The GI Joe's Portland 150 race was won by the late Jim Robinson, one of the nicest drivers you'd ever meet at a NASCAR race. His daughter, Brenna Robinson McNeill is a member of the RR family and there is a club here on RR in his memory -

http://stockcar.racersreunion.com/group/rememeberingjamesrobinson

Dale only ran two laps in the Portland race. The rundown lists Rod Osterlund as car owner, but I think that is incorrect. However, I can't remember whose car Ken Clapp arranged to put Dale in. It had to b a Pontiac and I believe the same car was run in another 1981 Winston West race by Bobby Allison.

The Associated Press carried national coverage of the Portland race as evidenced by the story below that appeared in the Albany, New York newspaper. The rundown following the story is from Racing Reference.

1981 G.I. Joe's Portland 150 NASCAR Winston West Series race number 7 of 14 Sunday, July 5, 1981 at Portland Speedway , Portland, OR 150 laps on a .500 mile paved track (75.0 miles) Time of race: 0:58:01 Average Speed: 77.564 mph Pole Speed: 84.38 mph Cautions: 1 for 6 laps Margin of Victory: 1 lap + Attendance: n/a Lead changes: 4

Fin	St	#	Driver	Sponsor / Owner	Car	Laps	Money	Status	Led
1	8	78	Jim Robinson	Hammer Security (Jack Williams)	Oldsmobile	150	4,000	running	56
2	3	16	Jim Bown	Rose Auto Wrecking (Dick Bown)	Buick	149	2,485	running	0
3	5	01	Hershel McGriff	Industrial Leasing (Gerald Craker)	Buick	149	1,450	running	24
4	10	8	Ross Kusah	McCutcheon Fence	Pontiac	149	900	running	0
5	12	29	Terry Forsythe	Midgley Brothers (Dick Midgley)	Pontiac	147	850	running	0
6	1	95	Derrike Cope	Jefferson Racing (George Jefferson)	Ford	147	1,130	running	0
7	2	73	Bill Schmitt	Pro-Power Engines (Bill Schmitt)	Buick	147	1,020	running	16
8	19	88	Jack Jeffery	Jefferies Racing	Buick	147	650	running	0
9	17	96	Sharon Bishop	Bishop Racing (Sharon Bishop)	Pontiac	143	600	running	0
10	15	35	Pat Mintey	Marv's Chevy Only (Pat Mintey)	Chevrolet	143	500	running	0
11	9	98	John Kieper	Wholesale Truck Parts (John Kieper)	Pontiac	143	490	running	0
12	6	38	Don Waterman	St. John's Auto Parts (Don Waterman)	Buick	139	580	running	0
13	18	07	Gene Thonesen	Thonesen Racing (Gene Thonesen)	Buick	139	450	running	0
14	4	11	Roy Smith	Aircraft Standards (Robert Beadle)	Buick	131	700	running	54
15	14	20	Pappy Pryor	Pryor Racing	Pontiac	121	370	engine	0
16	16	82	Sumner McKnight	T.O.E. (Shirnell Gautsche)	Buick	98	360	transmission	0
17	11	89	Moe Willits	J.R. Edgett (Reg Kennedy)	Pontiac	85	350	overheating	0
18	7	18	Rick O'Dell	Behn's Enterprises (Torsten Behn)	Buick	35	330	oil leak	0
19	13	72	Dale Earnhardt	Wrangler Jeans (Rod Osterlund)	Pontiac	2	320	clutch	0

NASCAR.com article - Timmy Petty

Current NASCAR

I like that story. Stick to it, Tim!

NASCAR.com article - Timmy Petty

Current NASCAR

Thanks for the story link, Chase.

Carolina Celebration of Liberty Telecast Tonight - July 4 - 7pm, 8pm, from Columbia, SC

General

Anyone with with access to South Carolina Public Television and others in selected Georgia and North Carolina markets can watch the outstanding annual "Carolina Celebration of Liberty " telecast tonight put on by the First Baptist Church of Columbia, South Carolina. This is just a terrific event that my wife and I watch every single year. It'll make your hair stand on end as you see the patriots in the audience and hear of those who gave their all.

I highly recommend this 1 hour television special. Other times and stations are noted on the web site below:

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

Kurt Busch - Days of Thunder retro scheme

Current NASCAR

I attended the first big Hollywood premiere of a movie in North Carolina - Stroker Ace at Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte on May 28, 1983 - Saturday night of World 600 weekend. The limo that was to pick us up at the Radisson Hotel broke down and we were almost late. All of the V.I.P. suite scenes in the movie were filmed by Hal Needham in our Wrangler Suite at Talladega in 1982.

Here's news coverage from the Spartanburg paper at the link below:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19830529&id=...

Kurt Busch - Days of Thunder retro scheme

Current NASCAR

I'm glad some good came of the deal for Rick Mast. In spring 1986 Rick got royally worked over when he furnished two cars for a Charlotte ad agency for filming at Charlotte Motor Speedway and then the agency later refused to pay up. I worked at that agency for three months, October - December 1986 and reluctantly fielded one of Rick's telephone calls before I knew all the facts. Jim Cooper had made the arrangements in good faith. I'm guessing you'll know the individual who put the screws to Rick.

Kurt Busch - Days of Thunder retro scheme

Current NASCAR

By the way, Larry came back in 1968 to the Rebel 400 at Darlington with a Rambler with the new, big motor. In an article the day before the race in the Charleston News & Courier, he predicted big things. Unfortunately, he is listed as the last place driver, completing zero laps and exiting with engine problems.