Hoss Ellington Passes
Stock Car Racing History
Hoss Ellington, 2nd on the outside, Richard Brickhouse inside ('55 chevy) chase Stan Grimsley at Carolina Beach Speedway in 1964 
Forum Activity for @bobby-williamson
Stock Car Racing History
Hoss Ellington Passes
Stock Car Racing History
Fifty years ago, in the summer of 1964 Hoss was a dirt-track demon at the old Carolina Beach Speedway 
Hoss Ellington Passes
Stock Car Racing History
The ship in the background is the USS North Carolina. Hoss' shop was out on N Kerr Avenue in his hometown of Wilmington, NC.
600 Tops Weekend Sports TV Ratings, But Indy Was Up & Charlotte Down - Busch says Indy Well Promoted
General
I think America has an innate fondness for the Indy 500.......it goes along with baseball, and apple pie. the Indianapolis 500 on Memorial Day,isAmerica. Egos and stubbornness, not withstanding, Indy-car's near-death experience, was overcome becauseof the 500. NASCAR evokes none of those fuzzy feelings anymore. It's no longer the blue-collar fan trying to help build something. No, just the coldness of constant marketing and gizmos, and promo-tricks, all designed tohookthe fan, not really to endear him.
Guess Danica (and NASCAR) need the Wizard of Oz
Administrative
I agree, Tim. Because the "All Star" race is sort of lame, and in a effort to add fluff and glitz, the driver "vote-in" saga has been going on for a while. But, this time, NASCAR appears to have become a victim of its own chicanery. The 18-34 year-old techies won the day.
Guess Danica (and NASCAR) need the Wizard of Oz
Administrative
You know, guys, what we're describing is a monumental culture shift that began somewhere along the way, and continues at full tilt. It's not just NASCAR, virtually no subject can stand alone, on its own merit, there has to be some gimmick attached, to hook, to gain attention. NASCAR, in an effort to survive, has long abandoned the meat-and-potatoes for the frill and the fluff. That's the part that's so strange to us seniors, and another reason NASCAR's appeal lessens and why Mikey does the pit-road walk.
Guess Danica (and NASCAR) need the Wizard of Oz
Administrative
Gosh, I remember when fans followed NASCAR for the racing. What were we thinking?
The TRUE All-Star Race really happened back in 1985
Stock Car Racing History
Johnny, I think you are on the right "track" but Dave's point is well taken too with IROC, ultimately dying from lack of interest/support/etc. etc. Part of the problem is the erroneous assumption that NASCAR-style racing, on big ovals, defines the ultimate level of the sport. Even in identical cars, to take drivers from other disciplines, and put them against NASCAR's best, in stock cars, and on their home turf, still don't make any sense, proved nothing.........and ultimately collapsed on itself. Does driving a winged outlaw Sprint car at Knoxville, IA not count for anything? Or a dirt late model at Eldora, or even a midget at the Chili Bowl? Do these arms of the sport not represent talent and greatness and "all star" status? Until these other venues and vestiges of our sport can somehow be incorporated into the mix, the NASCAR "All-Star" race is pretty lame and meaningless.
The TRUE All-Star Race really happened back in 1985
Stock Car Racing History
Personally, the "All Star" race never made much sense. Obviously, another attempt at borrowing a stick-and-ball tradition and NASCAR-IZINGit. Don't misunderstand, I'm hardly a stick-and-baller, never having watched a Super Bowl, or a World Series. But in the ball-world, there's many different teams, and there's never a chance that the best of the best could wind up on the same field in the same game, except in anALL-STARgame. The concept makes sense, and has merit.
By contrast, NASCAR pits thesame teams against each other every single race. How is the "all star" race any different that any other race? Sure they juggle the parameters,and the entrance requirements and the pay scale and so on.......but it's just another version of every other NASCAR race..........same players every week. Maybe they need to call it something else.