In the photo above, that's Bud Moore (Benny Parsons was driving his Melling sponsored car) walking down pit road at Michigan giving Earnhardt and the Childress Pontiac the once over. Wonder what he was thinking??!!
Below is a photo taken by our own RR member, John Betts of the Dale Earnhardt/Richard Childress/Wrangler #3 on pit road on Sunday morning before the start of the August 16, 1981 Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It was Earnhardt's first race in the Childress ride. The following Saturday night in Bristol would be their second race together. Too bad somebody at Wrangler didn't check the facts before they put together that erroneous video piece. But, Wrangler is a different company (name only ) with different people and nobody there who was with the company in the racing days. They had to rely on Richard Childress' memory. Of course, they might have considered checking Racing Reference, lol.
Thanks, Cody.
RC's memory is both good and bad.
He is wrong on the first race. The August 1981 Bristol race was the second race Dale and Wrangler were with Richard Childress. But, Dale did wreck on pit road in that race. The first race was the week before at Michigan in August 1981.
He is exactly right about the $10,000. Every week, beginning at the August 1981 Michigan race I took a $10,000 check made out to RCR to the track. I had it in the hip pocket of my Wrangler jeans on pit road during first round qualifying. Our deal stipulated Richard would get the money ONLY if Dale made the field in first round qualifying. Back then all tracks had at least two rounds of qualifying and most of the superspeedways had three.
We paid the salary for Doug Richert and Robert Gee, as well as buying a ton of shop equipment for Richard. It was a win/win deal for him.
I particularly remember Michigan being the first race because I had two $10,000 checks with me. The other was made out to J.D. Stacy to change the paint scheme on his #2 car so it didn't look identical to the Wrangler design.
I was at Dave's last win... in the rain at Richmond.
Wrecked him. The second pop was one too many.
Was kinda hoping Deac McCaskill might pick up the pieces in the aftermath.
yes... and didn't they pick a fine time to do it, with New Smyrna getting a NASCAR sanction this season?
Anthony Anders was fourth in the No. 36 Chevy followed by Deac McCaskill, No. 08 Chevy. Daytona Beach driver Dalton Zehr, wheeling the No. 30 Chevy, finished eighth, the last car on the lead lap in the 29-car field.
The 150-lap race was slowed by numerous caution flags as the Late Model drivers tried to negotiate the hairpin-like turns, which required heavy braking.
It was like two drag strips connected by turns, said Larson, who swapped the lead with Falk four times over the last 10 laps.
Larson has enjoyed tremendous success in 2013. He has competed in a variety of racing series and won five features in eight starts. The 20-year-old driver from Elk Grove, Calif., finished second in Saturday's ARCA Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona.
I was using my brakes up, Larson said of his battle with Falk. On the last lap, I got a run on him, got underneath him, turned him around. I was glad to win.
It's been a great 2013. Anything goes. I don't do this kind of racing very often, but it seems like the second-place guy always wins.
The Battle At The Beach continues Tuesday night on the Speedway backstretch with a doubleheader featuring the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
The modified race starts at 7:15 p.m. followed by the K&N Pro Series. Both of Tuesday's races are 150 laps.
I watched the final 55 laps, also. Couldn't believe NASCAR would let Larson get away with the final lap double shot spinout of Falk and get the win.
I just tried watching the first few laps of that Whelen UNOH Battle of the Bands or whatever they were calling that Late Model fiasco at Daytona.
Terrible.
ZERO spectators and they didn't even give a starting lineup. Had no idea who was in the field.
The racing on that 4/10-mile flat fake track sucked.
I can't figure how they're gonna get 150 laps done in time for the Richard Petty special at 8:30, but I guess I'll find out when I turn the television back on at 8:30.
If I were that Dr. whoever from the University, I'd hate to go back home and explain how we wound up sponsoring a race nobody attended.
Oh yeah... they had another of those National Anthem fiascos just to top it off.
In 1973, NASCAR Grand National Rookie of the Year candidate, Lennie Pond was drving his own tow truck from Petersburg, Virginia south on Interstate 95 when he was trapped in a freak southern snow storm that ultimately cost him a shot at making his first Daytona 500 start.
I can vouch for the ferocity of that storm. I was moving from Richmond, Virginia back to Wilson, NC the same day and the 150 mile trip took ten hours. We got trapped at Rocky Mount, North Carolina on I-95 when the traffic completely stopped and you could no longer see the Interstate and thought we'd run out of gas.
Even though he didn't start the Daytona 500, at the conclusion of 1973 Pond was voted NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year over Darrell Waltrip.
In a Google News Archive story two years later, Pond tells how he wasn't taking any more weather chances on getting to Daytona. Link below:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wqYfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=edYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=870,1207275&dq=lennie+pond+daytona+500+snow&hl=en
