Racing History Minute - June 27, 1959

I chose the Minute for today to remind us all that Rex White may be having health issues at the time (see Forum Post), but that once upon a time, he was a package of dynamite on the track.

On this date in 1959, the good old boys of the Grand National circuit (now Cup) reported for duty to the quarter-mile paved track known as "Bowman-Gray Stadium" in Winston-Salem, NC. Twenty-four cars would start the race and sixteen would finish.

Lee Petty would park his 1959 Plymouth on the pole with Rex White in a Chevrolet to his outside. Third place starter was Richard Petty in a '57 Oldsmobile, with Bob Welborn fourth and Glen Wood fifth.

When the green flag was waved, Rex White waved "bye, bye" to Lee Petty and set sail with Lee right on his rear bumper. On the 43rd lap, the distributor in Lee's Plymouth had shaken loose (probably from slamming and bamming Rex, just my guess) and Lee had to pit. He jumped from the car himself and repaired the problem and returned to the track 14 laps down. Rex the appeared to be home free on a run to the end.

The race was winding down with only 40 laps to go when out of no where, it seemed, came the Ford of Ken Rush. Rush got to the back bumper of White's Chevy and continously "tagged the bumper" of the Rex White machine. "Tagged" in race talk on a quarter-mile track, for any newcomers to the sport, indicates Rush was slamming into the back of White's Chevy. In those days, it wasn't a matter of getting a driver "aero loose", it was just to get him out of the way. The tactics didn't work with the tough driving Rex White as he would hold on to win the race by less than a car length.

Top five finishers were:

1. Rex White, White Chevrolet, winning $675.00

2. Ken Rush, Manley Britt Ford, winning $480.00

3. Bob Welborn, Welborn Chevrolet, winning $375.00

4. Junior Johnson, Paul Spaulding Ford, winning $270.00

5. Jim Reed, Reed Chevrolet, winning $235.00

Sixth through tenth were Tiny Lund, Barney Shore, G.C. Spencer, Buck Baker and Lee Petty. Cotton Owens would finish 11th, Glen Wood 19th, Roy Tyner 21st, Fred Harb 23rd, and Richard Petty 24th after losing his transmission on the 14th lap.

As most of you readers know, racing continues today at Bowman-Gray and the lore from that track is legendary. Imagine, if you can, 24 cars, the size they were in 1957 through 1959, on a quarter-mile track, with some of the best drivers in the sport racing for position. Those are the kind of races left for us to imagine, and, perhaps, find a video or two to watch. Rex White is such a great guy and a true ambassador for the history of the sport (as pointed out by someone responding to the Forum). His legacy far exceeds the physical size of Rex, but then his heart far exceeds the ability of most to imagine.

Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.

I haven't yet found a clipping for Rex's Bowman Gray win. The race may have ended too late at night to make the deadline for the next morning's paper. But it was referenced in the AP story published in the Spartanburg Herald Journal about Rex's double-up win at Spartanburg the next day.

An article from The Dispatch of Lexington NC previewing the race.

While the Spartanburg paper didn't include about the Bowman Gray race in its June 28 edition, the paper did include a  feature article on David Pearson, an up-and-comer local driver who eventually did all right on the big time circuit.

Rex's win at Bowman Gray wasn't a fluke. Three years later, and he still had a mastery of the stadium track. Perhaps akin to DW's familiarity with Nashville. The Dispatch printed an article about Rex in April 1962 - though its focus is more on his late model wins vs. his Grand National victory.

There sure were a lot of wonderful and great races before I ever saw one. Thanks, Tim for taking us back for another history lesson. It's especially meaningful when the story involves one of our own folks like Rex.

Wow what a purse