Myrtle Beach, SC has a history of NASCAR racing dating back to the late 1950s with tracks such as Coastal Speedway and Rambi Speedway. Rambi hosted NASCAR sanctioned races from 1958 through 1965. Though racing continued and the track was rebranded as Myrtle Beach Speedway, NASCAR sanctioned events did not continue for a while.
In 1972, NASCAR made its return with with the Sun-Fun 200, a Grand National East race scheduled for Friday, May 19. Several WInston Cup Grand National regulars were expected to race in addition to some of the GNE regulars.
The race was rained out, however, and rescheduled for Saturday, June 17. Anytime a race is rained out, fans, drivers and especially the promoter is disappointed. When NASCAR set the new date, track management recognized the date fell as the Saturday night before the Sunday Golden State 400 Cup race in Riverside, CA.
The drivers went their separate ways and waited for the next race. A few weeks later, the teams arrived for the Riverside Cup race. Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino promoted a race on its quarter-mile bull ring. Some of the drivers who were promoted as participants included a few who had planned to race at Myrtle Beach in May. One of those drivers was Elmo Langley.
Back at Myrtle Beach, it was announced Lee Roy Yarbrough would race in the rescheduled GNE race in a Ford owned by BIll Seifert. The race was to be Yarbrough's first in the still-new GNE series. Another racer expected to compete was Tiger Tom Pistone.
Though the GNE race fell the same weekend as the Cup race, some drivers didn't make the trek to California. Instead, they raced at Myrtle Beach. Some included Baxter Price, Wendell Scott, D.K. Ulrich, and Richard Childress.
Elmo Langley returned from Riverside to race at Myrtle Beach. Though he had been promoted to race in San Bernardino, Elmo made the long flight back east to race. Elmo was a full-time GNE competitor, so the start was needed to stay in the title hunt.
After qualifying at Riverside, he flew back and strapped in his car. In practice, it was clear he had engine issues. Unfortunately, Lee Roy was unable to race as folks had hoped because of illness.
Being without a driver, Bill Seifert offered his car to Langley. The two swapped rides. Langley then went out and won the pole in Seifert's #45 Ford. Soapy Castles qualified second. Jim Paschal, Gary Myers and David Ray Boggs rounded out the top 5 starters.Wayne Andrews lined up 10th in the Thomas Brothers Hams Ford.
Within two laps after the green fell, Langley's concern about his own car were realized. Seifert fell out with what was officially deemed a 'water hose' problem in Elmo's #64 Ford.
Castles and Langley battled back and forth throughout the race. They split the laps as the leader almost right down the middle. As the race neared the 3/4 mark, Elmo passed Soapy's Dodge.
Elmo continued to lead down the stretch, and Soapy continued to push ... and burn gas. Castles finally ran out and hit road for a splash. By the time added fuel and pushed the stalled car to re-fire it, Castles had lost a lap. From there, Langley cruised to the win - his only GNE victory to pair with his two Grand National wins in 1966.
Meanwhile, the race at Orange Show Speedway went off as scheduled. Cup regulars in that race included James Hylton,J.D. McDuffie, and Benny Parsons. Hylton had originally planned to race in the Myrtle Beach GNE race in May.
Though he won the GNE race, the trade-off for Elmo was that he missed the start of the Cup race on Sunday. Logistically, he couldn't a timely return flight to arrive in time. Dick May started the race in Elmo's car and was credited with the official start.
| Fin | Driver | Sponsor / Owner | Car |
| 1 | Elmo Langley | Bill Seifert | '71 Ford |
| 2 | Neil Castles | Neil Castles | '71 Dodge |
| 3 | Randy Hutchison | Warren Prout | '70 Chevrolet |
| 4 | Sam Sommers | Don Miller | '69 Chevrolet |
| 5 | Earl Brooks | Earl Brooks | '70 Ford |
| 6 | Jimmy Vaughn | Wayne Vaughn | '69 Chevrolet |
| 7 | Tiny Lund | Ronnie Hopkins | '72 Pontiac |
| 8 | Baxter Price | Baxter Price | '69 Chevrolet |
| 9 | David Ray Boggs | R.L. Boggs | '70 Dodge |
| 10 | Wendell Scott | Wendell Scott | '70 Ford |
| 11 | Eddie Yarboro | Eddie Yarboro | '70 Plymouth |
| 12 | Ernie Shaw | Ernie Shaw | '70 Ford |
| 13 | Bobby Fleming | Bobby Fleming | '72 Chevrolet |
| 14 | E.J. Trivette | Stan Starr | '72 Chevrolet |
| 15 | D.K. Ulrich | D.K. Ulrich | '71 Ford |
| 16 | H.B. Bailey | H.B. Bailey | '72 Pontiac |
| 17 | Jimmy Hailey | Roscoe Leonard | '71 AMC |
| 18 | Bill Hollar | Bill Hollar | '69 Ford |
| 19 | Buck Baker | Buck Baker | '71 Pontiac |
| 20 | Wayne Andrews | Thomas Brothers Hams | '70 Ford |
| 21 | Dub Simpson | William Strong | '71 Chevrolet |
| 22 | Tom Pistone | '72 Pontiac | |
| 23 | Frank Sessoms | Gwen Blackwell | '70 Chevrolet |
| 24 | Richard Childress | Richard Childress | '72 Chevrolet |
| 25 | Gary Myers | Taylor Myers | '70 Ford |
| 26 | John Sears | J. Marvin Mills | '70 Dodge |
| 27 | Bill Shirey | Bill Shirey | '70 Plymouth |
| 28 | Tommy Lechlider | '69 Chevrolet | |
| 29 | Jim Paschal | H.C. Stewart | '72 Pontiac |
| 30 | Bill Seifert | Elmo Langley | '71 Ford |
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Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 01/06/17 12:00:09PM
