I Attended FT. Worth, TX Race Planning Session 12 Years Before TMS 1st Cup Race
Stock Car Racing History
During the 2 1/2 years we lived in Dallas, we were always amazed to return east and see trees and green grass.
Forum Activity for @dave-fulton
Stock Car Racing History
I Attended FT. Worth, TX Race Planning Session 12 Years Before TMS 1st Cup Race
Stock Car Racing History
When we think of Fort Worth, Texas, we think of the big NASCAR races at today's Texas Motor Speedway.
Before the first Cup race at TMS, most folks thought of cow town, stockyards and Billy Bob's night club when they thought of Fort Worth.
Back in 1985, however, I attended a racing meeting in Fort Worth hosted by the famed newsman, Walter Cronkite .
At the time I was Motorsports Coordinator for Southland Corporation in Dallas and I handled our sponsorships in NASCAR, IMSA, TransAm, & NHRA. Sometimes I also got an assignment nobody else wanted. The 1985 meeting in Fort Worth was one of them.
The then Thompson family that owned Southland (7-Eleven Stores, CITGO, Chief Auto Parts) was good friends with the head of the TransUnion Credit Bureau in Dallas. This gentleman was into big-time yacht racing and was a member of the Fort Worth Boat Club - a yacht club of note, headed by a Commodore, etc.
If you didn't know Fort Worth, Texas had a yacht club, you are not alone. Neither did I. Anyway, my wife and I were picked up by the gentleman and his wife at my Dallas office and driven in their new British Racing Green Jaguar to Fort Worth.
The purpose of the presentation by Walter Cronkite was to raise money for Captain Dennis Connor to mount a challenge in 1987 to regain the famed America's Cup , piloting the new yacht Stars & Stripes . I'd always been a Walter Cronkite fan and my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed rubbing elbows and shoulders for one evening at the yacht club with a bunch of mostly millionaire oil men and cattlemen.
On the ride back to Dallas, our host's wife wanted to demonstrate their new car phone and she called Miami to check on the weather. They were flying there the next morning to board their own yacht for some sailing in the Atlantic.
As for me, I was headed back to stock cars after my brief flirtation with yacht racing.
But, I am here to tell you, they were racing boats in Fort Worth before they raced cars!
The Fort Worth Boat Club (FWBC) is located on the shores of beautiful Eagle Mountain Lake, a 9,200-acre recreational lake in North Texas. Boasting a large harbor with sailboat slips, covered boathouses and full harbor services, the FWBC features 14 acres of amenities including a full-service restaurant and bar, plus a pool and tennis court.
One of the oldest yacht clubs in Texas, the FWBC was established in 1929 by a group of businessmen who simply wanted to sail. Today the club is still dedicated to the promotion of sailing and recreational boating. Many members participate in national and international regattas annually.
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
Texas/Rock - Cup/Nationwide/Trucks TV Schedule Fri - Sun April 12-14
Current NASCAR
From NASCAR.com
SPRINT CUP SERIES - TEXAS:
Friday, April 12:
Final practice on SPEED, 3 p.m.
Coors Light Pole qualifying on SPEED, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 13:
Texas 500 on FOX, 7 p.m.
NATIONWIDE SERIES - TEXAS:
Friday, April 12:
Coors Light Pole qualifying on ESPN2, 5 p.m.
O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 on ESPN2, 8:30 p.m.
CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES - ROCKINGHAM:
Sunday, April 14:
North Carolina Education 200 on SPEED, 2 p.m.
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM
What I remember about Nascar's short lived Speedway Car Division.
Stock Car Racing History
Here's a Google News Archive link to the Associated Press coverage in the Charleston, SC paper of the July 4th, 1952 AAA Speedway car race at Raleigh that drew 20,000 spectators:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZglZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JkYNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3271,799543&dq=southern+speedway+raleigh&hl=en
What I remember about Nascar's short lived Speedway Car Division.
Stock Car Racing History
Thank you for sharing, Jim. A terrific memory.
Happy Birthday Curtis Turner
Stock Car Racing History
Happy Birthday! Hope this weekend's Roanoke festivities have a huge turnout and wonderful weather!
A Racing History Minute - April 12th, 1958, 1963, 1970 - Very Special
Stock Car Racing History
Randy,
I forwarded those two photos Saturday morning to Bill Sawyer at Virginia Motor Speedway. Got an immediate "Thanks" back, with a note that they brought back a lot of memories.
A Racing History Minute - April 12th, 1958, 1963, 1970 - Very Special
Stock Car Racing History
Randy, here's a link to an excellent column written regarding the night of Tom's fatal crash. It gets into the relationship between Bill Sawyer and Tom Baldwin:
A Racing History Minute - April 12th, 1958, 1963, 1970 - Very Special
Stock Car Racing History
One small correction... it's Bill who has the VMS track and you are right, the late "Tiger" Tom Baldwin's black #7NY Modified could often be seen sporting RIR sponsorship courtesy of Bill Sawyer.
Richmond at one time staged the Tom Baldwin 100 Modified race also.