Video Link Below shows Bob with Sam Ard's #00, with Neil Bonnett and with the #5 All Star Racing Transporter of Geoff Bodine in Hendrick Motorsports first year in NASCAR.
http://www.wbtv.com/category/240205/video-landing-page?clipId=8349669&autostart=true
I saw an obituary in today's Charlotte paper for Bob Hice . After years as an award winning television sportscaster in both Charlotte and Raleigh, Bob went to work for Max Muhleman who put together Rick Hendrick's racing deals and Jerry Richardson's Carolina Panthers' deal.
In the 80s & 90s, Bob would often be seen cleaning the windshield of various NASCAR Hendrick teams on their pit stops. After retiring, Bob gave tours of the Hendrick Museum and complex, specializing in organizing tours for distinguished military veterans. He was another face I saw on a weekly basis for a number of years at the races.
He was another of those folks behind the scenes at the track and on the Cup tour, not seen by the fans or the public, who secured the funding and made things go smoothly for sponsors and teams.
R.I.P. Bob.
Robert Harrison Hice | |
Robert Harrison Hice
Robert Harrison Hice "Bob" CHARLOTTE - Robert "Bob" Harrison Hice, 78, of Charlotte, NC, passed away on February 9, 2013. He was a born sportscaster. Bob was present when the first words were broadcast on live television in Charlotte. He worked for WBTV while still in high school as a member of the floor crew and went on to win Sportscaster of the Year in 1975 for his work.
He was born in Charlotte, NC. to Harrison Alexander and Gwendolyn Severs Hice and proud grandparents Lemuel Evander and Morgan Pyron Hice on August 24, 1934. Bob graduated from Central High School in 1952 and went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he studied radio and television.
Bob then joined the Air Force in February 1957 where he served until December 1961. During his years of service he worked at the Air Force Petroleum Headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA. He also served as a base supply sergeant in Killeen, TX. on a top-security base.
Bob worked for WRAL in Raleigh, NC, WSOC in Charlotte, NC, as a radio disc jockey, and went on to become a television weatherman and sportscaster for WSOC before going on to work for WBTV again, but this time as their award winning sportscaster.
He was awarded Golfcaster of the Year in 1975, the Charlotte WBTV Presidential Plaque in 1981, and the Electronic Media Award of Excellence in 1987. He also won 1st Place for Feature News TV Broadcast in 1987.
Following his work in television, Bob went on to work for Muhleman Marketing where he worked in public relations for several NASCAR teams and began to follow the racing circuit full time. One of the numerous clients he represented was Hendrick Motor Sports. Following Muhleman he worked for Keystone Sports and Marketing.
Bob's love for the sport of racing was evident when he retired from his career and went on to work in the Hendrick Motor Sports Museum and give tours around the complex. One of Bob's favorite groups to provide tours for was the Medal of Honor veterans who came to tour the complex.
He was a talented bowler and played with several winning teams in the Charlotte area. He also enjoyed golf and rubbed elbows with the professionals. He even got a hole-in-one on the Raintree Country Club course once when playing with friends.
Bob sang in the bass section of the Charlotte Choral Society for years and enjoyed being a part of their annual "Singing Christmas Tree." He enjoyed flying, building model planes, and was an avid reader.
In 1961 Bob met the girl who would become the love of his life, Frances Louise Robinson, whom he asked on a date to the Plaza Theater. He went on to marry Frances on June 16, 1963. Throughout their marriage and careers, Bob and Frances travelled across the United States and around the world covering news, sporting events and vacationing.
Bob was an active member of Myers Park United Methodist Church and was a pillar of faith and love to his friends and family. He passed away at home surrounded by family and with his loving cat, Scooter. He is survived and missed by his wife Frances, as well as his neighbors, friends and family.
Bob will be buried in a private ceremony followed by a celebratory service to which all are invited at 2:00 PM, Wednesday, February 13, 2013, at Myers Park United Methodist Church, 1501 Queens Road, Charlotte, NC 28207. A reception will follow the service in Jubilee Hall at the church.
Arrangements are in the care of Hankins & Whittington Funeral Service; please share condolences online at www.hankinswhittington.com .
Am I allowed to quit trying to figure it out since I'm a member of the "Baby Boomer" Gen??!!
Yep, Bobby Allison and all his fellow IROC drivers agree they've seen that trick before.
We always remember Wendell's Talladega crash, but the photos you posted from Trenton are very frightening.
Thanks, Chase. I bet a lot of our RR members have never seen a winged NASCAR racer in action... or a solid blue #43!
Thanks, Charles. I'd put that group of NASCAR modified cars and drivers assembled in the Trenton infield up against any group of cars and drivers on any track, anytime, anyplace and bet on 'em.
This has been around the horn before, but it is one of my favorite videos and we are faced with a little "down" time.
George Meade did a great splicing of some old Trenton footage of NASCAR modified and Grand National racing.
It must be the 1970 Schaefer 300 (got yer ears on, TMC?) at the GN portion because Richard Petty has the solid blue #43 Plymouth Superbird and Bobby Allison the winged Mario Rossi CocaCola #22 Dodge. I see Elmo's green Ford and Bill Champion's unsponsored Ford #10. Though he isn't entered, a young, ruddy faced Pete Hamilton is seen with an equally young Linda Vaughn.
The Donlavey #90 Merc driven that weekend by Lee Roy Yarbrough is seen along with the Richard Brooks #32 Plymouth and Frank Warren #74 Chevy Grand Nationals.
Being prejudiced, I am partial to the shots that show so many of the cars I watched every Friday night at my hometown Southside Speedway in Richmond. The footage shows the twin Junie Donlavey blue #90 & #91 Modified Ford coupes of Sonny Hutchins and Lee Roy Yarbrough, Ray Hendrick with the Tant/Mitchell "Flying #11 " Modified, the #45 &# 46 mods out of William Mason's garage and so many more. I see Joe Henry Thurman's #3Va modified and Wild Bill Slater. Also seen up close is the famed red #2X of "Steady Eddie" Flemke with its "Flemke front end" that beat the pants off all the southern mod drivers at tracks below the Mason-Dixon line for a season or two in the early 60s.
There's the Bug Man, Perk Brown, Carl Burris, Lennie Pond, Bill Wimble, Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Al Grinnan, Bill Dennis, Paul Radford, Eddie Crouse, Melvin Creasey, Runt Harris, Eddie Royster and on and on.
The piece closes with late model bodied modifieds, with William Mason's #45 leading again, perhaps with Satch Worley at the wheel by this point in time.
You HAVE TO HAVE YOUR VOLUME ON . Listening to the sound track and seeing the old cars and drivers at the same time gets me every single time.
I absolutely love this piece and getting a chance one more time to see so many cars I watched race on Friday nights.
Frankly, my dear.... I hope she has a good season. Might do wonders for ticket sales and television ratings.
When I watched Danica Sue's current boss, Tony the Pony, on the track during his 1996 NASCAR rookie year in the "Non Premier" Busch Series he absolutely sucked. He looked terrible. He was AWFUL with a capital A. I woudn't have hired him to drive a dump truck, much less a Mobil heating oil truck. He was pitiful. He couldn't get out of his own way. He posted an average finish of 26.4 All the Clabber Girl baking powder in Indiana and all its money couldn't make him look like a race car driver.
Tony posted ZERO Top-10 finishes in those nine rookie season races. He might have had two other shots at Top-10s, but he DNQ'd twice that rookie year. How many DNQs did Danica have? Oh, yeah, she was guaranteed starting positions, wasn't she?
Tony Stewart is living proof that a rookie NASCAR season does not a career make. Amazing what a Joe Gibbs car and a Home Depot sponsorship can do for your on track results, isn't it?
