May 3, 1959 - Lee Petty Monopolizes Martinsville
Stock Car Racing History
Thanks, Chase. Stock car racing does seem to heve more than its fair share of coincidences, doesn't it?
Forum Activity for @dave-fulton
Stock Car Racing History
Racing History Minute - May 3, 1968
Stock Car Racing History
It's the personal memories that make it special, Tim. Thanks for taking us to Augusta.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Came across this great photo of Darlington P.A. announcer Ray Melton:
ISC Photo
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
By the way, another racing radio network, the American Racing Network was formed by Rocky Mount, North Carolina, announcer, Sammy Bland and Richmond, Virginia PR man, Kenneth Campbell. When Campbell died in 2001, Ned Jarrett gave Campbell and Bland and their American Racing Network the credit for getting him into broadcasting during NASCAR's 1966 "Northern Tour."
Sammy Bland, with mike in hand is ready for a live radio broadcast during NASCAR's Northern Tour - photo from the Sammy Bland Collection courtesy of his daughter, RR member, Ann Bland Salster
From a Richmond Times Dispatch story following the death of Kenneth Campbell:
Racing drove Campbell's PR skills
TIMES-DISPATCH
Apr 2, 2006
http://www.timesdispatch.com/
In his more than 55 years as a marketing-communications official for
stock car racing in Richmond, Kenneth Campbell had an eye for the
unusual twist, the catchy slogan, the special personality that would
make the sport better.
So it was one spring weekend in the New England area when he and Sammy
Bland put together a radio network to air NASCAR's Northern tour.
"I wasn't running a full schedule that year [1966] and Kenny asked me
to sit in on the broadcast one Sunday," Ned Jarrett recalled. "They
felt it would be a nice addition to have a former champion behind the
mike. That was my start in broadcasting."
Jarrett retired the next season as a Hall of Fame driver with 50
NASCAR Grand National wins and went on to become one of racing's more
popular analysts on the Motor Racing Network and the featured
announcer on a daily commentary show syndicated across the country.
"Who knows, if it wasn't for Kenny, I might never have had that second
career," Jarrett said.
Robert Kenneth Campbell, Jr., who died recently at 83, was the
consummate professional as a sports promoter.
Whether he was dealing with the buxom blondes in Roller Derby, the
genteel folks around the Lawrence Welk Show or the firebrands in auto
racing, Campbell was the savvy, efficient spokesman that could make a
production work.
His real love was auto racing, born in the post-World War II days of
midget cars at City Stadium. Over the years, his imagination,
innovation and tireless efforts touched all corners of the sport. His
many contributions were a key part in the growth of Richmond
International Raceway.
He would try any gimmick to get more fans into the stands. A
visionary, he knew the value of good public relations.
"He would work you hard, going here and there all day," said Jarrett.
"That was his style. He'd go out and beat the bushes trying to focus
as much attention as he could on an upcoming race."
Once, he arranged a train excursion to take fans and dignitaries to
Darlington. Rail officials worried that it wouldn't sell. But the
train was packed to the doors and left with fans standing at the
station.
It was Campbell's way of introducing governmental and civic leaders to
racing.
"He had a knack for getting involved with politicians in a positive,
productive way," said Tim Sullivan, a longtime racing official. "His
persuasive ways got a lot of things done."
Campbell was ahead of the times in many ways.
Long before racing became a television staple, Campbell talked a local
station into running a tape-delay of a race. Then he arranged to put a
tall antenna atop a grandstand to send a live signal, as weak as it
was, back to the station for a live presentation.
When CBS televised its first Daytona 500, Campbell was in the
production truck, keying announcers on what to focus on.
That was the year when Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough were locked
in a duel. A slip by either would bring a crash, so Campbell alerted
the directors to keep a second camera on the trailing cars.
Allison and Yarborough bumped and hit the wall on the final lap, and
Richard Petty slipped through to win. One camera was with Petty, the
other stayed focused on the backstretch where Allison and Yaborough
scampered from their cars and duked it out.
Judge John Dodson, a car owner for some good drivers in this area,
knew Campbell as a straightforward guy whose word was never doubted.
"In the early'70s when Lennie Pond was driving for me," Dodson
recalled, "we went down to Butner Speedway in North Carolina one
Friday night, raced there and drove all night to get back to Kenny's
race at the Fairgrounds."
On the third lap of practice, somebody blew an engine and spread oil
down the backstretch. Pond got into the oil, hit the wall and tore the
car to pieces.
"Kenny knew what we had gone through to get there, and he came down
and told us, 'Get the car fixed, we're going to let you race,'" Dodson
said.
Campbell went back to the P.A. booth, and he and the announcer engaged
in a long conversation, delaying the start, while Pond's car was
repaired.
"That's the way Kenny was, always looking out for the people who
looked out for him," said Dodson.
Small wonder, Kenneth Campbell was so admired by fans, media, drivers,
sponsors and anybody with an interest in racing.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Dick, I thought, always did a good job promoting the Wilson track on WITN and on the URN. He was a frequent shopper at my mother-in-law's Bright Leaf Pet Shp in Wilson.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Journalist, Tom Higgins wrote this wonderful column, titled "A RAY OF COLOR" about Ray Melton a few years back:
A Ray Of Color
There should be a requirement made of every corportate executive, screen star or other VIP selected to give the command to start engines at major NASCAR races:
Prior to undertaking the duty, they would have to listen to a tape of the late Ray Melton performing that chore. And then they'd be asked to emulate it as closely as possible.
No one, before or since, has said, shouted or sing-songed "Gentlemen, start your engines" with the flair and gusto that Ray Melton did from the 1950s into the 1980s.
With great exaggeration, Ray, a gravel-voiced former Marine sergeant, prolonged every syllable of "gentlemen" and "engines." Heck, he even turned "start" and "your" into multi-syllable words.
Even now, almost three decades later, I can still hear him at the tracks where he manned the microphone of the public address system: "Gennnnnnn-tulllllll-mennnnnn, star-ttttttt, yo-uuuuuur ennnnnnn-ginesssssss!"
Melton comes to mind this week because the Nextel Cup teams are at Richmond Raceway, among the tracks where this colorful character "performed" earliest and endured the longest.
NASCAR is rich in history, and some of that lore's most amusing tales involve Ray Melton, a native of Virginia's Tidewater and a man with a deep drawl that seems particular to that area.
My favorite of these anecdotes:
Ray was a friend of NASCAR founder-leader Bill France, Sr., and as such was the PA announcer at Daytona International Speedway, which France opened in 1959.
One season in the 1960s the speedway was using International Scout trucks as utility vehicles. France wanted to give the trucks some special publicity during the Firecracker 400 week so he phoned the PA booth with an order to Melton. "Plug the International Scouts," Ray was told.
Melton yammered on and on with no mention of the Scouts. France phoned again. Still no mention.
Finally, an exasperated France sent a high-ranking aide to the PA station above the track with an explicit message: "Mr. France says to plug the International Scouts or else you're fired!"
With stentorian voice, Ray grandly proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have with us today a group of International Scouts! Stand up boys so we can give you a hand!"
The faux pas was so humorous that Big Bill France led it slide.
Melton had a passel of favorite sayings--some of them quite corny--that he regularly intoned over PA systems at Bristol, Darlington, Richmond, Rockingham and many other tracks. One of his staples: "And here David Pearson (or whatever driver was on the track at the time) comes off the fourth turn, flat out and belly to the ground like the true champion that he is!"
Ray was proudest, though, of his distinctive version of "Gentlemen, start your engines!" For many years, most tracks simply had the PA announcer give the order before bestowing the honor on VIPs.
Once at Richmond the drivers flipped their ignition switches before Ray could give the command. Through the roar of the engines he could be heard shouting, "Cut them off! Cut them off! I haven't said it yet!"
Ray remained angered about his missed cue throughout the race. After the race was over he keyed his microphone and apologized that his command to start the show couldn't be heard. "For all of you who came to the track today just to hear my words, here goes again," he said. "Gennnnnnn-tulllllll-mennnnnnn, star-ttttttt yo-uuuuuur ennnnnnn-ginesssssss!"
As Melton's career and life were winding down, he wrote a letter to the president of the National Motorsports Press Association, ostensibly to extol the reasons that an announcing associate should be inducted into the group's Stock Car Racing Hall Of Fame at Darlington. "Modesty," read the last sentence, "prevents the writer from listing his own qualifications."
Ray Melton was a good guy and a fine man, but modesty wasn't one of his characteristics. Why, the cars he drove usually had "NASCAR's Chief Announcer" emblazoned on the sides.
Ray hasn't yet made it into the NMPA hall of fame. However, if a category ever is created for NASCAR's colorful characters, he should be among the first inductees.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Very interesting facts, Robert. Melton, who had at one time been a carnival barker, was a good friend of the Richmond track's Paul Sawyer, both having come out of the Tidewater, Virginia area. Paul continued to let Ray announce (with Sammy Bland) long after all the other tracks had stopped using him. The final year or two it got pretty bad with all of his P.A. system announcements for Norfolk dental clinics, the El Toro restaurant on North Military Highway, etc. But Paul never deserted old friends and stuck with Ray until the very end.
When I first sponsored the September 1981 Richmond Cup race for Wrangler in 1981, we had a Grand Marshal who was to give the "Start Engines" command, which, of course, Ray had always given previously. Ray was highly offended and never really came to terms with it.
Ann Bland Salster posted the photo below on our site in 2011. It was taken at Richmond for a Miller 400 Cup race very near the end of Ray Melton's announcing career in the 90s. Seated on the bench are Ray (R-with glasses wearing Miller hat) and Ann's father, Sammy Bland. That's the 3rd Richmond P.A. announcer, Joe Moore of Hampton, standing directly behind Ray. Ann herself is standing with head bowed in front of the stage.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
I always loved to hear the terminology "Eye in the Sky." It painted a picture of that broadcast location in the mind of the listener.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Keep learning more tidbits about racing radio broadcaster Bob Montgomery. According to a Larry Woody article in The Tennesean on Barney Hall, it was Montgomery who influenced Hall's style of radio racing broadcasting.
Turns out, also, that Bob Montgomery was elected the first President of the Southen Motorsports Press Accociation at its inaugural meeting at Joe Littlejohn's Pine Street Motel in Spartanburg. That organization is now the National Motorsports Press Association.
Following Bob Montgomery's untimely death at age 45 on July 17, 1970, the NMPA established its first permanent memorial award.
Here is a link to a story about Montgomery's passing in the Anson Record:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G1VDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uK0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=1942,3640572&dq=bob+montgomery+broadcaster+greensboro&hl=en
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
By the way, here's a couple more Bob Montgomery tidbits...
According to Ned Jarrett, it was Bob Montgomery who anchored the 1967 and 1968 TelePrompter closed circuit telecasts of the Daytona 500. Jarrett worked in the booth.
Also, found this quote by Bill Connell, the late Charlotte Motor Speedway Public Address announcer:
"I patterned my style after the late Bob Montgomery who worked for the Universal Racing Network," Connell recalled. "Bob would always close with that deep voice, 'This is Bob Montgomery, for the Universal Racing Network.' His delivery added an element of excitement to his words and that's what I always tried to do."
We really need a stock car racing radio announcer Hall of Fame. I think we can all think of a number of suitable nominees.