NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction

Tonight, in Charlotte, five new members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be “inducted” into the questionably designated “Hall of Fame”. While many of those inducted so far are most worthy of that honor, while a few were inducted FAR ahead of the time they should even have been considered, two of those going in tonight deserve the honor to the fullest. Bobby Isaac and Curtis Turner were both a large part of NASCAR’s glory days as some folks like to call those halcyon days of yore.

Having watched both of these men race over the years, I have no doubt of the impact of both on the sport. Impact for the good of the sport. In spite of the ban of Curtis Turner for those four years, when he returned, so did many fans who had missed the antic, on track and off, of the handsome driver. As for Bobby Isaac, thanks to Larry and JoAnne Regan who worked with K&K Insurance on the team (Larry in the pits and JoAnne as the K&K Insurance Dodge Girl) I got to know Bobby well, shy though he was. Sitting in the back of the box truck hauler with him one day, I believe at Augusta Raceway, I learned just how dedicated he was to the sport.

So, congratulations to all the inductees, but especially to Curtis and Bobby. Your addition to the Hall of Fame, both of you, along withthe other true champions of the sport, give meaning to the glamorous facility which otherwise is an empty building in Charlotte.

Bobby Isaac drove my brother’s #9, red & white, modified ford 1958-61. Won many feature wins NC, SC, VA, & TN. My brother was Frank Steelman Jr. Boonville NC.

Thank you TIm and Billy for the reminder and the update! Much appreciated.

Stay warm!

One of our RR friends, Woody Delbridge, sent me pictures and the newspaper article concerning Curtis Turner’s induction into the Hall of Fame. For all of you automobile enthusiasts I would challenge you to identify the make and model car that is pictured here that Turner is wheeling. I’m pretty sure that I have pinned it down, but am surprised at what I found. It was not a cheap choice of race car, although it did have a lot of motor and was a solid built car. It wasn’t your grand daddy’s car…unless grand daddy was a bit wealthy.

I think that is Ken Rush, High Point in #00

If Pop was alive today, he’d likely make it to his own HOF induction just in the nick of time. But when he got there, he’d deliver!

Here are links to a Roanoke Times newspaper article about Curtis and some pics there.

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/nascar/curtis-turner-lived-at-full-throttle/article_7fb0999d-14fc-5da5-9012-69118a70ebae.html

And some pics

http://www.roanoke.com/photo/curtis-turner-to-be-inducted-into-nascar-hall-of-fame/collection_b27c5732-b209-58fa-9e91-20ec7b5fd833.html

you want the name of the car and the year?ask for it and it will print or would a photo do!! When new they sold for around $29,000

323.5cuin (5.3L)Chrysler Flathead engine130hp

1939 Chrysler Imperial or Royal. My research turned up a dollar figure starting at $1195 in 1939, but never the less, a pretty expensive car to go dirt tracking with. 130 hp was somewhat of an advantage over the 80 hp Fords and such, but can you imagine what this beast weighed? All the better to move the competition aside, I suppose.

Very nice acceptance speech on behalf of Curtis Turner by RR member Margaret Sue Turner Wright.

http://stockcar.racersreunion.com/profile/MargaretSueTurnerWright

It was! She did great, I wanted to hear more from her.

Indeed it was. The speeches of bothMargaret Sue and Terry Labonte exuded pure C L AS S.

IS THERE’S AN STORY TO YOUR #20R CURTIS TURNER, #00 KEN RUSH OF HIGH POINT, NC “HIT FROM BEHIND” PHOTO ?
WHEN AND WHERE WAS THE PHOTO TAKEN ?
PHOTO #01. #20R CURTIS TURNER,#00 KEN RUSH OF HIGH POINT, NC
WAS THIS AN PHOTO OF A “PAID BACK HIT” DURING AN CAUTION FLAG?
PHOTO #02. IS ENLARGEDTOP LEFT SECTION OF PHOTO.
UNIDENTIFIED VECHICLE IN (WHITE OUTLINE)?
WHITE POLE IN (YELLOW OUTLINE)?
AMBULANCE IN (RED)?
PHOTO #03. IS ENLARGED TOP MIDDLE SECTION OF PHOTO.
WHITE POLE IN (YELLOW OUTLINE)?
AMBULANCE IN (RED)?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON IN (GREEN OUTLINE) WALKING TOWARDS RACE CAR IN (BLUE OUTLINE)?
PHOTO #04. ENLARGED PHOTO OF #20R CURTIS TURNER’S RACE CAR SHOWING CURTIS TURNER’S HEAD DOING AN WHIPLASHED MOTION.
PHOTO #05. SHOWS #20R CURTIS TURNER’S “PAID BACK HIT FROM BEHIND” FROM #00 KEN RUSH OF HIGH POINT, NC.
THE IMPACTED OF THE WRECK WAS SO HARD, IT MOVED CURTIS TURNER’S HEAD/B0DY BACKWARD AND KEN RUSH’S HEAD/BODY FORWARD.

Thanks for any information or photos posted.
Dennis Garrett
Richmond,Va.USA

Great Choices..Great Induction Ceremony….

Margaret Sue with “Pops” 1966. Courtesy Virginia International Raceway: