Randy, as for the "too much" comment, please be advised that I have lost almost 30 pounds since January 1st so that may no longer apply. If you are referring to some other aspect, many tell me I am "too much" but always fail to elaborate further!!!!!
Thank you my friend.
Dave, the reason I don't tell all the stories of things that have happened to me over all these years around racing is that most of them are unbelieveable. Rather than try to prove the truthfulness of those stories, I just keep them to myself. I have led a "charmed" life when it comes to racing. Thanks to my Uncle Bobby introducing me to the sport. I was able to get away with so much all those years because I always had the philosophy that if I acted like I knew what I was doing, I could get away with it. I met more movie stars, VIPs, and even a couple or three Presidents, several Senators, and many other celebrities over the years using that same philosophy. Not as many as you have, but for me, growing up as I did, it has been amazing. And it continues to be amazing thanks to RacersReunion.
You know, I wish I had been wearing the cowboy hat for that photo.
Randy! My sincere and heartfelt apologies to you. Please go back and re-read the Minute.
Yep, Dave, as Chase says, I told this story long ago. But a closet D.W. fan????? Come on Dude, you certainly know me better than that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Chase, I do have the brochure advertising the race in my scrap book. Why? Because the picture of D.W. in Victory Lane was actually taken when he won Talladega and the guy sitting on the hood, with the Petty cap and the long hair, would be yours truly. D.W. almost ran over me cutting through to get to Victory Lane so I grabbed his roll bar and was having a little "discussion" with him and just went right through the gate and into Victory Lane. They were handing out free Gatorade so I got a bottle.
I left Victory Lane and walked into the driver's area where Lynda Petty was serving the after the race meal. As I walked up for my sandwich, Richard saw the Gatorade bottle and says "so, you're switching over to the enemy?" We laughed about that for sure. But I still laugh at sitting on the Gatorade car in Victory Lane wearing a Petty cap and Petty t-shirt.
Music City. Music Row. Grand Ole Opry. All those wonderful things in Nashville, TN but we aren't going into any of those today. On this date, in 1977, race fans were on site at The Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway for 420 laps/250 miles on the .596 mile asphalt speedway. Cale Yarborough would be going for his ninth consecutive short track win in this event, and as the points leader going in, he was a terror in his Junior Johnson Chevrolet.
It was Darrell Waltrip putting his DiGard Chevy on the pole which was the first indication that Cale's dominance on the short tracks may be in jeopardy. Benny Parsons, however, made short work of D.W. when Benny moved his Chevrolet into the lead on lap 3 and would lead to lap 107. Cale didn't get his first shot at the lead until lap 108, but once there it appeared his Chevy would prove the strong car in the field and Cale would continue his mastery of the short tracks. Cale had built up a lead of almost a full lap over second place Parsons, and had, in fact, led the race for 275 consecutive laps.
There were only three cautions for a total of 27 laps but one of those cautions came with less than 50 laps to go when Ralph Jones spun his Ford. As the cars took the caution, Benny Parsons dove for the pits to replace his tires which had considerable wear by that point. Cale elected to maintain track position and did not pit. When the green flew again, Benny, on those fresh tires, began slicing through the field like a hot knife through butter and with 39 laps to go, was pushing Cale down the straights. With 38 laps remaining, Benny slipped by Cale and moved out to a 1 second lead he would hold until the end of the race.
Benny said, from Victory Lane, "I was surprised Cale didn't pit. We have run a pretty good distance and I knew my new tires would stick better than his worn tires". Cale did, however, leave the track with a 192 point lead over second place Richard Petty. Cale had been leading the standing since the first race and was bidding to become the first driver in NASCAR history to lead the points for the entire season.
Top five finishers were:
1. Benny Parsons, L.G. DeWitt Chevrolet, winning $9,565.00
2. Cale Yarborough, Junior Johnson Chevrolet, winning $7,965.00
3. Darrell Waltrip, DiGard Chevrolet, winning $5,215.00
4. Dave Marcis, Roger Penske Chevrolet, winning $3,565.00
5. Richard Petty, Petty Enterprises Dodge, winning $3,465.00
Sixth through tenth were Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison, Coo Coo Marlin, Jimmy Means and Ricky Rudd. Other finishers of note were James Hylton 11th,Gary Myers finished 12th after a spectacular run, D.K. Ulrich 14th, Buddy Arrington 15th, Earl Brooks 17th, and Richard Childress 26th.
Thirty cars started the event and 20 finished although only first and second were on the same lap at the end.
Nashville is known for country music. For a race fan, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is/was known for music of another kind. The music of horsepower controlled by the heroes of the era as they competed for the prize. To some of us, the most beautiful music is the sound of that racing engine at full song.
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future
Wow,Chase! Thank you! Being able to put pictures with my writing, which I am incapable of doing, makes this attempt to record history even better. I know you work hard to make this happen and I deeply appreciate it.
Just one other note here. The following year, 1962, would be the final convertible race at Darlington. That would mark the end of the era.
The good old boys will be in Darlington this coming weekend to run the faux "Bojangles Southern 500". It is not the Labor Day race which began in Darlington in 1950 and it has none of the tradition and spectacle of those Labor Day afternoons in the hot and humid Carolina Pee Dee. But, it is Darlington, and as such, deserves the respect of all race fans.
Today we are going back to May 6, 1961, when convertibles would run 300 miles on that 1.375 mile track in what was known as "The Rebel 300". The pre-race show included many displays of the Battle Flag of the Confederate States of America along with beauty queens and even Johnny Reb. I was there, tucked up against the fence in turn three (now turn one) to witness 32 cars battle it out for 219 laps on the slippery asphalt that was Darlington.
Fred Lorenzen, a young, blond haired "yankee" from Elmhurst, Illinois would start on the pole in a Ford. Fireball Roberts would be to his outside in a Pontiac. Fred led the first five laps before Fireball slipped by him. On lap 10, Lorenzen would go back to the lead and would hold it until lap 71. Joe Weatherly took over when Lorenzen pitted and Joe would stay out front for two laps before making his pit stop leaving Ralph Earnhardt to lead a lap. During the course of pit stops, Curtis Turner, Johnny Allen and Banjo Matthews would take turns out front until Fireball restablished his dominance on lap 81. Fireball would lead until the next round of pit stops when Turner, Weatherly, Bob Burdick, Earnhardt and Johnny Allen would get turns out front. Fireball was back in front on lap 157 and would remain there until lap 198 when he lost a lap in the pitswith tire problems.
The race was now between veteran Curtis Turner in a 1961 Wood Brothers Ford and upstart Fred Lorenzen in a 1961 Holman Moody Ford. Laps 199 through 219 of the 1961 Rebel 300 have often been called the "most exciting stock car race of all time" but I'm sure such a description has long been lost to history. But let me tell you what I remember.
From my vantage point against the infield fence going into turn three, I could see the cars as they exited turn two and headed down the back straight. I could see them all the way through turn three and all the way to the exit of turn four on the high side. What I witnessed between those two Ford drivers that day makes me tingle with excitement as I sit here writing this.
The red Ford of Turner and the white Ford of Lorenzen would run nose-to-tail or side-by-side, slamming and banging into each other over and over. Going into three, Lorenzen would go high to pass as Turner has the low grove but as Lorenze would pull up, Turner would drift up and close the door. More than once, Lorenzen would bang Turner, then the guard rail. It was cloudy that day and that made the shower of sparks coming off the side of the car as it slid on the rail even more noticeable.
Although you could really see the drivers in the convertible cars, and you could even see their faces with those open face helmets, it was impossible to tell what expression was on the faces of those two competitors. There was, however, no question as to the tempers flaring in both those Fords as the laps ran down.
With two laps to go, coming into three, Lorenzen made his once again move to the high side to pass Turner and Turner once again moved high to block. Immediately, Lorenzen shot to the inside and was around Turner before Curtis knew what happened. When the two entered turns one and two, there was more slamming and banging and the two literally beat each other's cars to scrap. Lorenzen scooted out of turn two with a six car length lead which Turner could not overcome. I remember when the two came into my sight with two laps to go and Lorenzen was now out front it was exciting and to watch Turner throw his Ford into turn three with wild abandon was more than exciting.
Turner is quoted as saying, after the race, that "if I could have caught him before he got to the checked flag, he never would have finished the race". I have no doubt of that statement. But, in 1961, that two car battle was one of the record books for sure.
Top five finishers were:
1. Fred Lorenzen, Holman Moody Ford, winning $8,420.00
2. Curtis Turner, Wood Brothers Ford, winning $4,600.00
3. Johnny Allen, B. G. Holloway Chevrolet, winning $3,200.00
4, Bob Burdick, Roy Burdick Garage Pontiac, winning $2,400.00
5. Fireball Roberts, Bud Moore Pontiac, winning $1,865.00
Sixth through tenth were Marvin Panch, Ralph Earnhardt, Banjo Matthews, Bobby Johns and Ned Jarrett. Eleventh was Nelson Stacy who would come back Labor Day weekend and put on another awesome show. Larry Frank was 12th and he would win the 1962 Southern 500. Emanuel Zervakis was 14th. Rex White, the defending National Champion was leading the points going into the race by a large margin over Ned Jarrett, but Rex was eliminated in a crash on lap 173 while Jarrett would finish tenth. Rex still led the points by 262 after the race but Ned would go on to win the 1961 title.
For those of you who have seen "Days of Thunder", you may remember the "hero" of the movie, Cole Trickle, running Darlington and fighting with the "star" when Harry Hogg convinced Cole to try a move with the "special tires". That is pretty much a battle scene in the movie loosely based on the Turner-Lorenzen fight in this 1961 Rebel 300.
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.
Chase, it is very possible that my memories are starting to run together. I remember that my Uncle Bobby found out they were racing up there on Thanksgiving so he talked my mother into me missing Thanksgiving and heading up that way. I remember it was mostly two lane highway and a long trip but when the Petty car won, I was a happy camper. One thing for sure, my Mama didn't allow no giblet gravy eating six weeks early.
I'm going to start signing my posts to you with Bob Hope's old line "Thanks for the Memories".
