The Donlavey and McGriff cars are both seen several times in this 1976 Le Mans film footage. The first time is lined up on pit road around 19-20 seconds into the film. There are later shots of a broken McGriff car and the Donlavey car cornering.
I can only imagine in my wildest dreams Junie and "Brooksie" socializing with "The Beautiful People!"
Story Link to Motor Trend Magazine article including photos on Donlavey's 1976 trip to France with his #90:
http://www.motortrend.com/classic/features/c12_0606_nascar_goes_to_...
During the recent "Stocks for Tots" event in Mooresville, NC at the NASCAR Technical Institute, our site founder, Jeff Gilder interviewed Bill Rhine of Rhine Enterprises during the live "Racing Through History" broadcast.
Here is a short video taken earlier this year (2012) in Lemans, France showing the restored Junie Donlavey Truxmore sponsored American Ford stocker raced in the 1976 24 Hours of Lemans by Dick Brooks and Dick Hutcherson. The car was restored by Rhine in Denver, NC. Notice the car number decal superimposed over the original #90 on the doors. The car carried Donlavey's traditional #90 in the actual 1976 Lemans 24 Hour race.
The "Hendrick Construction Co." sponsorship you see on the top of the car's front fenders is from the construction company owned by Donlavey's fellow Richmonder, Ray Hendrick - NASCAR's "Mr. Modified!" Donlavey's Late Model Sportsman and Cup cars for many years carried sponsorship from his fierce racing rival. Richmond-based Truxmore built custom garbage trucks and at one time was the "Official Clean Up" vehicle of the various NASCAR tracks.
Thanks for the update, Leon.
You've heard me speak many times of the amazing Late Model Sportsman rides built by his father-in-law, Robert Gee for Dale Earnhardt. This opening ESPN segment of the 1983 Coca-Cola 200 Budweiswer Late Model Sportsman Series event at Rockingham shows the car on the pole. That's where it started and that's where it finished. The car carried #15 with its blue & yellow Wrangler colors to match the car number on Dale's Bud Moore Winston Cup ride. This same Pontiac Ventura would later be re-skinned as a Chevy Nova and carry Goodwrench sponsorship.
That last place finisher, John Linville, was the father of Kevin Harvick's wife, Delana.
1983 Coca-Cola 200
NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race number 3 of 35
March 5, 1983 at North Carolina Motor Speedway, Rockingham, NC
197 laps* on a 1.017 mile paved track (200.3 miles)
Time of race: 1:36:57
Average Speed: 91.892 mph
Pole Speed: 141.027 mph Cautions: n/a
Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led Points
1 1 15 Dale Earnhardt Wrangler (Robert Gee) Pontiac 148 7,500 running 92 180
2 7 88 Bobby Allison Frank Plessinger Pontiac 148 4,250 running 0 170
3 14 01 Butch Lindley Oldsmobile 148 4,250 running 0 165
4 23 34 L.D. Ottinger Fred Kelly Pontiac 148 2,550 running 0 160
5 32 70 Bosco Lowe Pontiac 148 1,900 running 0 155
6 2 75 Neil Bonnett Hodgdon (Butch Mock) Pontiac 148 1,700 running 41 150
7 17 6 Tommy Houston Mike Day Oldsmobile 147 2,300 running 0 146
8 4 11 Jack Ingram J.W. Hunt Produce (Jack Ingram) Oldsmobile 147 2,500 running 0 142
9 10 28 Phil Parsons Johnny Hayes Pontiac 146 900 running 0 138
10 8 1 Pete Silva Pontiac 146 850 running 0 134
11 11 12 Tommy Ellis Pontiac 146 1,770 running 0 130
12 6 00 Sam Ard Howard Thomas Oldsmobile 146 1,750 running 15 127
13 12 32 Dale Jarrett PET Dairy (Horace Isenhower) Pontiac 144 725 running 0 124
14 9 26 John Utsman Oldsmobile 144 700 running 0 121
15 20 35 Barry Bostick Pontiac 141 675 crash 0 118
16 33 69 Junior Miller Junior Miller Buick 140 650 running 0 115
17 29 56 Howard Rose Pontiac 139 600 running 0 112
18 26 67 Glen Armstrong Chevrolet 139 575 running 0 109
19 18 95 Bubba Nissen Pontiac 138 550 crash 0 106
20 28 97 Harry Lee Hill Harry Lee Hill Pontiac 135 525 crash 0 103
21 36 61 Ronnie Silver Pontiac 133 450 crash 0 100
22 35 91 Danny Weese Pontiac 131 425 running 0 97
23 5 89 Geoffrey Bodine Pontiac 118 420 crash 0 94
24 30 37 Chip Lain Pontiac 103 415 engine 0 91
25 15 23 Davey Allison Bobby Allison Pontiac 91 410 crash 0 88
26 13 52 Morgan Shepherd Ed Whitaker Pontiac 90 405 crash 0 85
27 24 86 Mike Watts Pontiac 87 400 crash 0 82
28 21 29 Satch Worley Buddy Arrington Dodge 73 395 transmission 0 79
29 16 24 Glenn Jarrett Marvin Thackston Ford 69 385 rear end 0 76
30 19 50 Larry Hoopaugh Ford 67 380 engine 0 73
31 3 21 Larry Pearson Chattanooga Chew (David Pearson) Pontiac 37 380 crash 0 70
32 31 03 J.D. McDuffie Chevrolet 28 375 steering 0 67
33 25 33 George Dalton Pontiac 21 360 engine 0 64
34 22 42 Allan Powell Pontiac 19 355 brakes 0 61
35 34 68 Lamar Grover Pontiac 8 350 crash 0 58
36 27 62 John Linville John Linville Pontiac 3 350 oil pump 0 55
Stats from Racing Reference
Longtime Richmond, Virginia car owner, Junie Donlavey turned 88 this past April and the folks at the retirement village where he resides gave him a special birthday treat - a couple of laps around Richmond International Raceway.
They ought to have painted #90 on that bus, though!
Ya think that will increase Bopper's business? He might need to pay you a promo fee if it does!
I'm sure the rest of you are not interested in what Danica is doing, but since she was on the Jeff Probst Show on Tuesday, December 18, 2012, I thought I'd give Jeff Gilder his daily Danica fix! If one Jeff can get her for his show on Tuesday, it stands to reason that another Jeff could get get her in the Goat Corral one Tuesday night in the New Year!
When Chase talks about new drivers, you never know if he's talking about a new shoe in #43 or in the Schaefer Beer Truck!
Congrats, Chase, on the 4th Anniversary of Bench Racing. I look forward to your future efforts to document wins by PE drivers in depth.
