Ga Racing Hall of Fame announces Fast Fifteen semi finalists for 2013
Stock Car Racing History
I'm sure glad y'all didn't have no durned "Slow 15" semi finalists, lol!
Forum Activity for @dave-fulton
Stock Car Racing History
Ga Racing Hall of Fame announces Fast Fifteen semi finalists for 2013
Stock Car Racing History
Give 'em heck, Tommie!
And here's a photo of the great Hershel McGriff when he came east from Bridal Veil, Oregon at Big Bill France's request to Dahlonega, Georgia to drive for Frank Christian sitting on the car in Victory Lane in September 1954 at Charlotte's Southern States Fairgrounds. Hershel scored 4 Grand National wins and 13 top-5s for Frank in 21 1954 starts. I'll be pulling for Frank Christian.
Chicken Bone Alley
General
Just thinking out loud.
With the advent of this new KFC "Boneless Chicken" product, will we have to change the name of that area between the lower rows and the fence in turn one at Martinsville from "Chicken Bone Alley" to something else?
Time was when the Martinsville grandstand would erupt with cheers if some fan was able to toss a chicken bone into one of the buckets hung on the Martinsville fence by promoter, Clay Earles to collect stubs for the fan grandfather clock drawing.
Just wondering and reminiscing.
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
Racing History Minute - May 15, 1964
Stock Car Racing History
Dennis, I do have one of the "Original Asphalt" trophies. Paul had then office manager, Maggie Hardesty mail one to me in Charlotte at the time. Little did I know I'd be going back to Richmond to work for Paul.
Racing History Minute - May 15, 1964
Stock Car Racing History
Aha, Dennis... I think one of your guesses was correct about pole qualifying being cancelled for the 1991 Winston Twin 200 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour race at Richmond. There was NO pole qualifying. Sorry my memory isn't sharp about the particular race weekend. Could have been rain, or it might even have been snow that cancelled qualifying. I managed to find race and pole results for the 1991 season at NASCAR.com.
The Richmond race was the second race of the 1991 NASCAR modified tour season. Since Jeff Fuller won the only 1991 race preceding Richmond (at Martinsville) the Mod Tour rules must have dropped back to 1990 points for the Richmond starting positions, resulting in Jamie "Tomato Head" Tomaino, 1990 Winston Modified Tour champ, starting from the pole.
I want to say that the name of the folks who did all the Richmond trophies while I worked there was West End Trophies out on West Broad Street, but don't hold me to that since I had nothing to do with trophies.
Click results/pole results below to enlarge:
Racing History Minute - May 15, 1964
Stock Car Racing History
Dennis, I sure wish I could remember, but I can't answer your questions above. What was the source of the nameplate, anyway?
Racing History Minute - May 15, 1964
Stock Car Racing History
Dennis,
I worked for Paul Sawyer at Richmond International Raceway as Director of Media Relations from 1990-1999. Prior to that, when I was Manager of Wrangler NASCAR Special Events, I began in 1981 sponsoring Paul's September Cup race and when I went to work for 7-Eleven as Motorsports Coordinator I sponsored a September Busch race at RFR. At Wrangler, I also paid to build the infield media center, the infield scoring stand, the infield drivers' lounge and restrooms and the Wrangler grandstand at the half-mile track. I also paid to double tier the old armco guard rail and triple the number of supports behind it. In 1985 I paid Paul to take down the remaining backstretch wooden fence and erected chain link down the backstretch with permanent rights to hang 7-Eleven banners. That one really chapped Winston.
I can't tell you anything about the bend in the 1991 Winston Twin 200 Modified fastest Qualifier nameplate. That trophy would have gone to fastest qualifier Jamie "Tomato Head" Tomaino . We ran the first Winston Twin 200 in 1990 and George Kent came out of a mysterious retirement and suspicious disappearance to win the pole for that one.
Jamie "Tomato Head" Tomaino 1991 Winston Twin 200 Modified Pole Winner at Richmond International Raceway with his pole winning Winston Modified Tour ride.
Racing History Minute - May 15, 1964
Stock Car Racing History
Jarrett Among Drivers Who Have Won A Race At Langley
The facility now known as Langley Speedway hosted stock car races for 14 years before getting its first NASCAR-sanctioned Grand National (now, Winston Cup) event. The Tidewater 250 was run on May 15, 1964, and was the 22nd race of the season.
With Langley Field Speedway's lap distance of four-tenths of a mile, 250 laps were 100 miles, the standard distance for short-track races of that era. The Tidewater 250 was on a Friday night, six days after the Rebel 300 in Darlington, S.C. It was the first of three races that weekend: Langley's, then a 250-lapper on Saturday night in Hickory, N.C., and a 267-lapper on Sunday afternoon at South Boston.
It was a good weekend for Ned Jarrett, who won at Langley and Hickory, and was third behind Richard Petty and Marvin Panch at South Boston.
Dodge driver David Pearson won the pole and led the first 23 laps of the Tidewater 250. Jarrett, who started fourth in a Ford, took the lead on lap 24 and led the rest of the way. He finished three laps ahead of Panch in a Ford, Buddy Baker in a Dodge, Wendell Scott in a Ford and Curtis Crider in a Mercury. Panch was five laps ahead of Baker, who was two laps ahead of Scott, who was six laps ahead of Crider.
The second five were Elmo Langley, Earl Brooks, Worth McMillan, LeeRoy Yarbrough and Neil Castles, who was 46 laps behind and the last driver still moving at the finish.
The rest of the field: Newport News native Gene Lovelace, Pearson (who quit after 87 laps with no oil pressure), Doug Yates, Jimmy Pardue, Roy Mayne, Doug Cooper and Petty, whose Plymouth started 15th and blew an engine on the first lap.
Jarrett averaged 65.300 mph, only slightly slower than Pearson's pole-winning speed of 67.542 mph. (Today, on asphalt, Late Models qualify about 20 mph faster than that). The caution-free race took 1 hour, 31 minutes, 53 seconds. Jarrett's first-place payoff was $1,000 from the total purse of $4,240.
It was the fourth victory of the season for Jarrett, who would win 11 more but still finish second to Petty in points. All told, he competed in 59 of 62 races that year, two fewer than Petty and Pearson.
Contact Al Pearce at 247-4641 or by e-mail at apearce@dailypress.com if you have a special Langley memory or story for this weekly series.
Racing History Minute - May 15, 1964
Stock Car Racing History
The Associated press report in the Daytona paper.