Forum Activity for @alex-fl-racing-fan

Research Says...

Stock Car Racing History

http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/11726182/

If you can get through this, it appears there was a second race in 1952, which is referred to as a "Grand National" race.

Research Says...

Stock Car Racing History

Here's more about "Sportsmen's Field" near Erie: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/08/sportsmens-field-car-races-...

Definitely GN level field here at Erie: Lee, Tim, Dick Linder, Lloyd, Jack White, Bill Rexford (DNS), Jim Fiebelkorn, and Walt Sprague are there. All have GN experience.

Note the wording, however. The Erie race is referred to as a "championship NASCAR stock car feature" and Bainbridge (a known GN race) is referred to as a "Grand National race." I also observe that everybody in this Erie race was running an older model than they were running in GN at that time.

This is all part of a grand mystery shrouding the 1951 season.

Research Says...

Stock Car Racing History

Indeed the Short Track Division began in 1951. Unfortunately, there is nothing much more about the 1951 season on the web except that Roscoe "Pappy" Hough won the title. I figured you would accept the challenge.

Research Says...

Stock Car Racing History

That NASCAR had a Northwest Series championship back in the 1950s. In fact, it ran for several years. The late Royce Hagerty claimed the 1953 and 1954 titles with Art Watts taking 1957. Indications are the series ran into the 1960s.

There is something of much greater interest, however:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19510718&id=uPktAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xIAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2141,2074158&hl=en

It appears that NASCAR ran a race in Erie, PA, on July 7, won by Lee Petty. Unfortunately, this is all that is known. This would not be a surprise, however, because Greg Fielden's books have in most all 1951 races (or so I am told) notes indicating that all cars outside the top-10, and sometimes even those inside the top-10, are not in the right order. The positions are just assigned to have a number there. Racing-Reference and Ultimate Racing History in some spots report 20 car fields as fact whilst Greg Fielden and newspaper archives indicate 30-40 cars. The errors are abounding.

This is a fascinating prospect: is it possibly that Lee Petty actually has a lost 55th win? The world will probably never know.

updated by @alex-fl-racing-fan: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

Oldest living Cup Series winner, Royce Hagerty, passes away

Stock Car Racing History

The oldest living NASCAR winner, Royce Hagerty, passed away on July 2 this year.

http://obits.columbian.com/obituaries/columbian/obituary.aspx?n=royce-clayton-hagerty&pid=175249418

Hagerty won one of the Grand National races run at Portland Speedway in 1956. He was born on March 25, 1925, making him exactly 4 months older than Glen Wood.

updated by @alex-fl-racing-fan: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

Birthday Greeting

Stock Car Racing History

To Dick Passwater, who turns 90 today. Dick's doing great down here in Florida, gets around like a 65 year old, and drives himself from Sarasota to Daytona in his red Corvette for Living Legends of Auto Racing events. If you go backwards through time, Dick Passwater's victory at the original Charlotte Fairgrounds 0.75 dirt track in 1953 is the oldest victory of living winners. Dick took the lead in that race with 3 laps left after Pop McGinnis lost a tire. Little known is that he also won a lower-tier race at Hickory Speedway in 1952 where he lapped runner-up Buck Baker twice.

Hopefully he sticks around for the birthday cake this time around.

updated by @alex-fl-racing-fan: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

INTERNATIONAL 300 July 25, 1970

Stock Car Racing History

Track website says it's 3/8, but NASCAR used the actual 7/16. Some tracks round to easier numbers just for that... ease; this is in spite of the dangers contained therein.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Current NASCAR

Tim, didn't I predict this about 3 weeks after Kyle Busch broke his leg, probably sometime back in March?

A Heavy Hearted Announcement

Stock Car Racing History

Forza Jules!

I remember when he wasn't even in GP2 yet. A splendid racer who had genuine passion is taken from us too soon.

Glen Wood 90 Birthday 7-18-2015

General

Separate comment about personal confusion: so many sources (particularly historic NASCAR media guides, newspaper preview, and even US Census Records!) spell it "Glenn." Yet somehow in modern sources, it's spelled "Glen."

Which is correct?