Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
What's wrong with our memories, Perry?! I don't turn 65 'til October!
Forum Activity for @dave-fulton
Stock Car Racing History
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Montgomery , who was co-owner of Universal Racing Network with Hank Schoolfield, passed in 1971 and Schoolfield became sole owner of URN. Montgomery was replaced on URN by Hal Hamrick as lead announcer. I used to do a lot of work with Dick Jones, who was the sports anchor at WITN in "Little Washington" NC and a big supporter of Wilson County Speedway. Earl Kelley was a former CMS PR guy who happens to be the father of NASCAR HOF's ( and MRN's ) Winston Kelley. Winston got his broadcast start as a statistician for Hank at URN.
Perry & Robert - whoever I listened to broadcasting Darlington in the mid-60s was dynamic and sure hooked me. It was the one broadcast each year I really looked forward to hearing. I'm anxious to read more of Don Smyle's history aand reall have enjoyed what you guys are posting on the subject.
Hal Hamrick was one of the funniest guys and best storytellers I ever met in racing. Here is a piece about himself he wrote for Circle Track Magazine before he passed:
First Daytona 500 Hal Hamrick 1959 Broadcast
Of Football On Racetracks And Fans Falling From Trees
From the February, 2009 issue of Circle Track
By Hal Hamrick
Broadcasting First Daytona 500 More Hal Hamrick
Meet Hal Hamrick - Hal Hamrick, born in Asheville, North Carolina, began broadcasting races in 1952 with a network that had only six stations. He considered himself "big time" when he moved up to the Darlington Raceway Network in the mid-'50s, and took an even bigger step in 1959, when he was on the team for the broadcast of the first Daytona 500 when Daytona International Speedway opened. After that, he joined Universal Racing Network, owned and directed by Hank Schoolfield. The late Bob Montgomery was anchor. After the death of Montgomery, Hamrick took over as anchor. Universal Network remained in business until the early '80s.
But radio was not a full-time job for Hamrick. In 1960 he was Bristol Speedway's first public relations director. He later became the track's general manager. In 1965 the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) hired him as public relations director, where he stayed until 1967 when he joined Atlanta Raceway as general manager. For a period in the '70s he ran Dixie Speedway on the north side of Atlanta, and in 1977 he bought into Hickory Speedway. Today, he owns and operates a weekly race publication called Fast Track.
Hamrick is married to the former Selma Melton of Rutherford County, North Carolina. They have two children, Leon and Debra.
I was the general manager of Bristol Raceway when the first races were held in 1961. Well, I had broadcast football and basketball games at Kingsport, Tennessee, and I knew the football and basketball coaches there. We didn't have any security, so I hired these coaches to handle security at key places around the track. This one football coach had been an All Southern linebacker. His name was Tom Brixey, and he weighed about 270 pounds. I put him on the press-box door.
The first day the track opened, Bill France Sr. came up and tried to go into the press box, but Brixey would not let him enter. They passed a few words, and Brixey ended up telling France that there were two ways he could get in the press box: "either with the right credential or through me."
France came back down the hill to my office. He was laughing and saying this is the kind of security guard you want. "Now give me a credential," he said.
The Football GameWhen you look at Bristol Speedway today, it's hard to imagine that it wasn't always just a raceway. When it was first built, there was actually a football field in the middle of the track. The field was watered by an irrigation system under the infield, which probably still exists. Believe it or not, we had an NFL exhibition game between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles right in the middle of the speedway. It was a year when football great Norm Van Blocklin was quarterback of the Eagles. We put up lights for the game, and I think all we paid was $4,500 to the Redskins. It was their home game, and it was the last for Bristol.
Wrong TurnDuring my years in Atlanta I remember one event where I got a call from the staff on the infield. It was before the race began, and they told me that a man, his wife, and two kids were trying to get out of the infield. It seems that they were on their way to Florida and followed the traffic right into the track and onto the infield. We let them out and gave them their money back.
Burn It to Get A New OneAnother time in Atlanta, in 1968, there was this great big guy who was with the media. He walked in the old, dilapidated press box we had, and his foot went through the floor. I went to the board of directors after the race and told them we had to do something. The board said tear it down and build another one.
So before they could change their minds, we poured gasoline all over the press box, lit it, and let it burn to the ground. That way, they had to build another press box.
The Woods At HickoryUp behind the fourth turn at Hickory Speedway there was a hill with trees, and people would climb up in these trees and watch the race. They were not on speedway property, but one Monday morning this lawyer came into my office and said he was going to sue. He said a client of his fell out of one of these trees while watching the race. I told him the tree wasn't even on our land and besides that, the guy got to see the race for free!
Later, I leased the hill from the guy who owned it. Ned Jarrett's dad cut it down and pushed up the stumps, and we built a parking lot there.
He Fell AsleepI was broadcasting at Charlotte Speedway in either 1962 or 1963. They had a big rock hill in Turns 1 and 2. We put an announcer on the hill, and during the course of the race we kept calling on him, but nobody would answer. We were concerned, so we sent an engineer over there to see if everything was OK. To our amazement, we learned from the engineer that the announcer was asleep.
Wrong AccentI was helping ABC Television at Darlington the year Junior Johnson was flagged the winner, but Larry Frank was later given the win. I told the people in production that Frank was leading the race, not Johnson. They shot a lot of footage of Frank, and after it was over, the director called me and told me I should apply for a job with ABC. I called the network and spoke with them, but they said I had too much of an accent, so they hired Jackie Stewart. I don't guess they could pick up on his accent.
The Long BroadcastNed Jarrett and I were broadcasting a race at Richmond one year. We went on the air at 12:45 and went off at 7:30 that night. They had a wreck in the fourth turn and had 13 cars involved, with some of them catching fire. It was a mess. We stayed on while they cleaned up the track. Then we had rain, and we stayed on during the showers. It was an all-day affair-more than seven hours. We'd take turns going to the bathroom during commercials.
Read more: http://www.circletrack.com/thehistoryof/ctrp_0008_daytona_500_hal_h...
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Perry, you mentioned your time interning at WSPA in Spartanburg.
Found this writeup of WSPA's Walter Brown at the South Carolina Broadcasters Association (SCBA) Hall of Fame:
WALTER J. BROWN
(1905-1995)
WSPA-AM/FM/TV, Spartan Radiocasting Co., Spartanburg
SCBA President, 1953-54
Inducted SCBA Hall of Fame, 1975
Walter J. Brown claimed fame as the founder and president of Spartan Radiocasting, Inc. While an assistant to Jimmie Byrnes during the WWII mobilization effort, Brown may have had an opportunity to put in his "two cents worth" into discussions that shaped post World War II. He always had an opinion, underscored with an acceptable four letter word. Brown had a futuristic view of most everything and was among the first to see the advantages of FM. He staked out an early claim to a choice frequency for Spartanburg.
His charming personality helped make him a friend of the publisher of "Broadcasting Magazine," Sol Tishoff, who advised Brown to give up his Washington Journalism Career and return to Spartanburg and start a radio station. He took his advice and developed WSPA (950 AM) and WORD (1400 KC) into important information and entertainment sources. Later in the 1940s, the FCC began limiting ownership to one station per market. Brown was required to make a difficult decision and choose between 5000-watt WSPA and 250-watt WORD. He chose WSPA and developed the station into the FIRST WORD in news in Spartanburg. WSPA Morning Man Cliff "Farmer" Gray would say "Spartanburg runs on WSPA time." During the advent of television, he worked tirelessly to get Channel 7 assigned to Spartanburg and was among the first upstate broadcasters to see Greenville-Spartanburg as a hyphenated market. Air travelers often saw Walter Brown walking through the newly constructed Greenville/Spartanburg airport on his way to an important CBS meeting, an industry hunting trip, a golf match or a friend's funeral. He invited advertising executives to his Georgia plantation for a round of golf and his sales pitch about the Greenville/Spartanburg market or WSPA-AM/FM/TV.
Brown is remembered as a successful broadcaster, an active Spartanburg businessman and a superb civic leader. He was also a strong political activist and reportedly worked the phones diligently during election cycles. US Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings affectionately called him "Marconi." Former South Carolina Governors Jimmie Byrnes and Donald Russell were close friends.
Brown was active into his mid-80s and at the time of his death in 1995, Spartan Radiocasting, Inc. had grown into a large radio and telecasting enterprise with properties in Iowa, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. He as an active supporter of SCBA and served as president in 1953-54. Brown was inducted into the South Carolina Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1975--the third member to be selected.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Don, look forward to hearing the Paul Harvey wrap-up - the rest of the story, lol! Look forward to reading the rest of your series on the Darlington broadcasts. It has been very interesting.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
The August 2006 issue of "Trading Paint" - a publication of North Carolina's Appalachian State University Belk Library Stock Car Racing Collection- Boone, NC - tells of Hank Schoolfield, before his passing, donating 100 reel-to-reel tapes of Universal Racing Network NASCAR broadcasts from 1963 through 1982 . In the photo accompanying the news item there is a photo of Schoolfield in the broadcast booth seated next to Bob Montgomery. I'd love to listen to some of those tapes. Here's a link: http://collections.library.appstate.edu/stockcar/trading_Paint2006.pdf
The library also houses a photo collection donated by photographer, T.Taylor Warren's widow.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Perry, the more I have thought about you setting the record straight regarding Bob Montgomery NOT broadcasting Darlington's Southern 500, the stupidier I have felt.
I have gone through my entire adult life relating to folks how he sounded on those broadcasts!
Thankfully, Chase initiated the subject with the Don Smyle series and you brought us up to speed.
What is it they say about teaching an old dog new tricks?!
Thanks, Perry, for saving me from embarassing myself again on the subject of the Southern 500 broadcasts. The more our members post, the more I learn. Thiis has been a particularly educating topic for me.
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
I apologize if I am wrong about Bob Montgomery... but I woulda sworn.
Title:
Bob Montgomery
Caption: UNKNOWN: Along with partner Hank Schoolfield, the late Bob Montgomery started the Universal Racing Network in 1963 to broadcast NASCAR Grand National races. (Photo by ISC Archives via Getty Images)
Darlington Raceway Radio Network by Don Smyle
Stock Car Racing History
Thank you, Chase, for the links to a tremendously interesting history of the early Darlington radio broadcasts. I didn't start listening to the Darlington radio broadcasts until around 1963 when the contract had gone to the Universal Racing Network Hank Schoolfield of Winston-Salem had established in 1961. The late Bob Montgomery, a radio announcer in Greensboro, anchored those broadcasts to over 300 affiliate stations for the Southern 500 broadcast.
Bob is still the best I ever heard describe a race. When I helped my Dad paint our two story frame house Labor day weekend of 1965, I had a Philco twin speaker radio in the upstairs bathroom window aimed out at the backyard. After Eddie Anderson's local pre-race show on WXGI radio in Richmond, the strains of "DIXIE" began to waft through our neighborhood. Slowly at first, with drumrolled opening bursts, then a full fledged assault that had my Mom running into the backyard, where I was on an extension ladder, to tell me to go in the house and turn down the radio upstairs.
But, I didn't turn it down until Bob Montgomery had signed on the air and painted a vivid picture of a place I wouldn't see in person until the following Labor Day of 1966. Bob Montgomery's radio broadcast of the Southern 500 at Darlington sold more tickets than all the promotions ever conceived by Bob Colvin and Russ Catlin. In my mind I have never heard a better race announcer on the radio or television than Bob Montgomery doing Darlington.
Marty Robbins' Movie "Country Music" - 1972 Ontario Motor Speedway Footage / Richard & Bobby Interview
Stock Car Racing History
In 1967, I saw the Marty Robbins' racing movie "Hell on Wheels" at a movie theater in Dunn, NC.
It featured weekly racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds and was (in my opinion) a pretty bad movie.
Until I stumbled on a six minute opening clip on YouTube , I was not aware of a movie Marty made in 1972, titled "Country Music" in which he takes west coast country music DJ Sammy Jackson of radio station KLAC on a tour of country music life.
The movie opens with scenes shot at Ontario Motor Speedway - specifically the 1972 Miller High Life 500 on March 5, 1972. Marty was actually entered in the race in his #42 Dodge and posted an exemplary 8th place finish in the 51-car field! Marty's car was sponsored by station KLAC for the race, so they got a double pop.
In the brief clip, which is the movie opening, you'll be introduced to the DJ and hear an interview with Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. Richard would finish one position behind teammate, Buddy Baker's STP Dodge. If you listen closely during the interview segment, you'll hear the race track P.A. announcer giving the qualifying time of 6th place finisher, Hershel McGriff.
From the lost movie vault, the opening of "Country Music" follows. Enjoy!
In addition to the 51 starters in the race won by AJ Foyt for the Wood Brothers, over 50 other drivers failed to make the field! Over 100 cars attempeted qualifying runs. You'll see the drivers who didn't make it (many you'll recognize) listed below the results from Racing Reference:
1972 Miller High Life 500
NASCAR Winston Cup race number 4 of 31
March 5, 1972 at Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, CA
200 laps on a 2.500 mile paved track (500.0 miles)
Time of race: 3:56:04
Average Speed: 127.082 mph
Pole Speed: 153.217 mph Cautions: 4 for 31 laps
Margin of Victory: 4.2 sec
Attendance: 68,498
Lead changes: 36
Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led
1 1 21 A.J. Foyt Purolator (Wood Brothers) '71 Mercury 200 31,695 running 132
2 2 12 Bobby Allison Coca-Cola (Richard Howard) '72 Chevrolet 200 16,945 running 20
3 4 11 Buddy Baker STP (Petty Enterprises) '72 Dodge 200 11,670 running 6
4 3 43 Richard Petty STP (Petty Enterprises) '72 Plymouth 199 9,970 running 17
5 8 96W Ray Elder Olympia Brewing Company (Fred Elder) '72 Dodge 194 5,845 running 3
6 11 4W Hershel McGriff The Cousins (Beryl Jackson) '70 Plymouth 193 4,470 running 0
7 25 48 James Hylton Madden Food Systems / Pop Kola (James Hylton) '71 Ford 191 4,435 running 0
8 22 42 Marty Robbins KLAC 570 Radio (Marty Robbins) '72 Dodge 190 3,445 running 0
9 24 64 Elmo Langley Elmo Langley '71 Ford 188 3,370 running 0
10 10 9 Ramo Stott Housby Racing (Jack Housby) '72 Plymouth 188 2,575 running 0
11 26 61 Jimmy Finger Brookehill-Dellcrest Funeral Homes (Don Bierschwale) '71 Ford 188 2,480 running 0
12 15 17W Jack McCoy Ernie Conn '71 Dodge 186 2,420 running 0
13 19 3W John Soares, Jr. John Soares Racing Enterprises (John Soares, Jr.) '70 Dodge 186 2,345 running 0
14 9 72 Benny Parsons L.G. DeWitt '71 Mercury 185 2,845 running 13
15 40 6W Bill Butts Speedway Eng. / Floyd & Howerton Plumbing (Gary Sigman) '72 Dodge 185 2,220 running 0
16 48 1W Cliff Garner Bill Champion '71 Ford 185 1,495 running 0
17 33 91W Johnny Anderson Conner's Muffler / Adams Machine Shop (Don Nuzum) '72 Chevrolet 184 2,170 running 0
18 13 2W Dick Bown Ober Logging (Mike Ober) '72 Plymouth 184 2,170 running 0
19 35 84W Jim Danielson J&L Body Shop (Jim Danielson) '71 Mercury 184 2,120 running 0
20 17 10 Bill Champion Bill Champion '71 Ford 182 2,620 running 0
21 31 76 Ben Arnold Ben Arnold '71 Ford 182 2,085 running 0
22 28 32W Kevin Terris Sta-Power / Brunswick Industries (Dean Barnicle) '72 Plymouth 180 2,070 running 0
23 43 70 J.D. McDuffie McDuffie Engineering (J.D. McDuffie) '71 Chevrolet 180 2,545 running 0
24 39 34W Markey James Tony Oddo '72 Chevrolet 179 1,995 running 0
25 42 7 Dean Dalton Dean Dalton '71 Mercury 179 2,025 running 0
26 30 47 Raymond Williams Raymond Williams '71 Ford 179 1,970 flagged 0
27 37 44W Jim Whitt Dean Barnicle '71 Ford 178 1,920 running 0
28 12 20 George Altheide George Altheide '70 Dodge 178 1,920 running 0
29 38 95W Bob Kauf Wrought Iron Company (Paul Stockwell) '72 Chevrolet 174 1,870 engine 0
30 47 39W Carl Adams Paul Burchard '71 Ford 174 1,845 running 0
31 32 19 Henley Gray Henley Gray '71 Ford 173 2,330 running 0
32 34 77 Charlie Roberts Charlie Roberts '71 Ford 173 1,795 running 0
33 49 27W Chuck Bown Rose Auto Wrecking (Dick Bown) '70 Plymouth 165 1,770 engine 0
34 46 40W Les Loeser San Fernando Valley Lumber Co. (Jerry Lankford) '72 Chevrolet 164 1,745 tires 0
35 51 82W Ron Gautsche Tognotti's Speed Shop (Ron Gautsche) '71 Ford 160 1,720 running 0
36 14 24 Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon '71 Mercury 138 2,220 crash 0
37 45 14 Dick Kranzler Goodyear Tire Center (Dick Kranzler) '72 Chevrolet 137 1,670 running 0
38 21 99 Don White Nichels-Goldsmith (Ray Nichels) '72 Plymouth 114 1,745 fuel pump 0
39 36 52W Gene Romero Sta-Power (Kevin Terris) '70 Plymouth 105 1,620 engine 0
40 20 23W G.T. Tallas Richard's Service Center (G.T. Tallas) '71 Ford 88 1,620 clutch 0
41 6 97 Red Farmer Long-Lewis Ford (Willie Humphries) '72 Ford 69 1,720 engine 0
42 27 41 Earle Canavan Budget Tapes / River Oaks Chrysler-Plymouth (Earle Canavan) '72 Plymouth 65 1,570 running 0
43 29 79 Frank Warren Frank Warren '70 Dodge 55 2,040 clutch 0
44 7 16 Mark Donohue American Motors (Roger Penske) '72 Matador 45 1,615 crash 0
45 5 71 Bobby Isaac K & K Insurance (Nord Krauskopf) '72 Dodge 45 3,665 crash 9
46 50 29W Bill Osborne Paul Burchard '72 Ford 36 1,440 a frame 0
47 44 30 Walter Ballard Hekiman Foreign Car Service (Vic Ballard) '70 Plymouth 33 1,915 crash 0
48 16 89W Don Noel Rainbow Western Sales Co. (Don Noel) '71 Ford 27 1,415 engine 0
49 41 18W George Follmer Norris Industries / Roy Woods Racing (Joe Frasson) '72 Dodge 4 1,440 engine 0
50 18 57 David Ray Boggs Boggs Racing Enterprises (David Ray Boggs) '70 Dodge 2 1,365 clutch 0
51 23 31 Jim Vandiver O.L. Nixon '70 Dodge 1 1,375 engine 0
Failed to qualify : Pat Fay (#99), Bill Shirey (#74), Perry Cottingham (#73), Dale Lee (#65), Tru Cheek (#62), Don Graham (#57W), Ken Shoemaker (#56), Jerry Barnett (#55), John Fairchild (#50), Sam Stanley (#47W), Bill Seifert (#45), D.K. Ulrich (#40), George Wiltshire (#39), Jimmy Insolo (#38), Joe Frasson (#78), Marion Collins (#78W), Dick May (#84), Richard Childress (#96), Harry Jefferson (#94), Larry Smith (#92), Verlin Eaker (#91), Richard D. Brown (#91), Bill Dennis (#90), Clint Hutchins (#89W), Les Covey (#89), Mike Saint (#88W), Ron Keselowski (#88), Allen Jennings (#86), Dan Geiger (#85), Harry Schilling (#84W), Don Tarr (#37), Frank Burnett (#36), Ed Negre (#8), Bob England (#8W), Steve Pfeifer (#08), Ivan Baldwin (#07), Charlie Glotzbach (#6), Jerry Oliver (#6W), Neil Castles (#06), Doc Faustina (#5), John Sears (#4), Emiliano Zapata (#04), Tommy Gale (#03), Johnny Steele (#2), Frank James (#00W), John Lyons (#9), Phillip Pedlar (#11W), Larry Esau (#12W), Bub Strickler (#35), Gene Riniker (#34W), Wendell Scott (#34), Glenn Francis (#33), Johnny Halford (#32), Carl Joiner (#26), Chuck Hetrick (#25W), Jabe Thomas (#25), Jim Gilliam (#24W), Nels Miller (#21W), Paul Dorrity (#15), Arnie Krueger (#14W), Willie McNeal (#14), Bobby Mausgrover (#00)
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM