Forum Activity for @dave-fulton

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Johnny & Charles....

Here's a Tim Hamm photo of a little different look on the Bud Elliott #77 racing J.E. Beard in the Mitchell Brothers Supermarket #22 down the Wilson backstretch for the lead. J.E. took that #22 Zervakis-built car to Martinsville in asphalt trim and won best appearing car at the Fall Doubleheader. J.E. went to work in Littleton, NC building engines at Jack Tant's and then moved to Kannapolis, NC and built the Cup engines at Lake Speed's shop before winding up in Abingdon, Virginia building engine's for Morgan-McClure Cup cars.

updated by @dave-fulton: 02/21/22 01:11:27PM

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Woody... that does appear to be a Camaro's back end poking out on the other side of the tow truck in Robbie's Trico photo, doesn't it? I hadn't noticed it.

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Thanks, Robbie!

updated by @dave-fulton: 02/21/22 01:09:31PM

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Thanks for the Trico photo, Robbie. I've never saw a white #11 Nova or Camaro. 

updated by @dave-fulton: 02/21/22 01:09:02PM

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Thanks, Dennis. That Martinsville infield was full on those big weekends, but Clayton Mitchell had his trailer in a prime spot, didn't he?

I, too, guessed that the #2 rig was L.D. Ottinger's. Many years after this, 1988-1989, I had the pleasure of handling PR for L.D. when he drove in the Busch Series for Ron Parker and Detroit Gasket. L.D. is a super nice, softspoken fellow. His shop and Detroit Gasket's Tennessee manufacturing plant were both in Newport, TN.

I'm guessing that the late promoter, Joe Carver, who just recently passed was responsible for that Langley Speedway sponsorhip on Ray's Clayton Mitchell ride. Joe had left Nashville Fairgrounds and gone to Langley as promoter at that time.

All very interesting points, Dennis.

updated by @dave-fulton: 02/21/22 01:05:45PM

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Johnny, something else I remember about Bud Elliott. At some point he started towing his trailer with a step van - we called it a bread truck. Outfitted with a little lighted shop/parts area in the back.

Don't remember seeing any of the school bus rigs at Wilson like I had seen over at Sanford. No big high dollar rigs either, like the ones up in Virginia at Southside owned by Junie Donlavey, Emanuel Zervakis or Bob Adams.

I guess the nicest rig I remember at Wilson was the one of Hemingway, South Carolina's Mutt Powell. Here's a partial photo of it from the RR page of Mutt's son, Tony Powell.

Funny thing about that rig. In 1981, when I was at Darlington for the Labor Day Southern 500 with the Earnhardt/Wrangler deal, I came across Mutt's rig, with the racecar on iot, parked in the Darlington infield. They'd raced somewhere and stopped back by Darlington to watch the 500. Seemed like old home week.

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Really interesting, Johnny. Sure y'all weren't related?

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Thank you, Jan, for posting the article and Sam's thoughts.

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Donald's photo from his attachment:

Besides Sam Ard, Monk Tate , Harold Fountain & Wayne Andrews, Many Forget This Thomas Bros. Country Ham Car

Stock Car Racing History

Yep, Bud Elliott (who was the uncle of Hermie & Elliott Sadler) always ran red & white #77s at Wilson County Speedway and our RR member, Johnny Mallonee has several #77 Chevelle photos posted on his home page and in his avatar:

Bud Elliott at Wilson County Speedway by Tim Hamm

Bud Elliott at Wilson County Speedway by Steve Summerlin

Johnny Mallonee's #77 down Georgia way (from Johnny's page)