"All Negro Stock Car Race" - 1949
Stock Car Racing History
Robert, very interesting, and news to me. Good work.
Forum Activity for @bobby-williamson
Stock Car Racing History
Robert, very interesting, and news to me. Good work.
Teresa Earnhardt's Father / Tommy Houston's Brother Passed
Current NASCAR
Very sorry to learn of Hal's death. He had a vacation home at Holden Beach, NC and would often drop by my auto parts store in Shallotte, when he was at the beach. Just a down-to-earth guy that drove about a 1992 S-10. Other than the "#3" cap he usually wore and the "Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet" tag on the S-10, there was no evidence of any celebrity connections. A real old-school racing family. In addition to Teresa, Hal's other daughter was the promoter of Hickory Speedway for several years. Thought's and prayers to Hal's family.
Time to move on
General
Ronda, please know that you're always welcome to race with us. We'd be honored. We are racing once a month at the ultra smooth Carolina Speedway in Lakeview, SC. Kenneth McGee, from your neighborhood, is already one of our "regulars", and you could caravan together. Also, we already have a commitment from a flathead racer (Ronnie Hockaday and his immaculate '37 coupe) so you can have your own division! Give it some thought. The welcome mat is out, and always will be, for the First Lady of Vintage Racing.
I Remember 1964 and 1974
General
It's hardly news that NASCAR's popularity is, and has been, waning: the all-important TV numbers, the fans-in-the-stands, the souvenir sales, etc. Lot's of canned reasons have been offered, the economy, the economy, and the economy, and that universal fix-all, the CHASEneeds more tweaking.
So, after months of exploring their various NASCAR promotional options, and their very own TV package, it's simply head-banging that FOX sports would ultimately settle upon promoting the Daytona 500 by focusing on a death that occurred during, and as a result of, a previous rendition. Can anybody imagine this warped technique being applied to another sport? I can't. Imagine: a NFL player is fatally injured in the Super Bowl, 10 years later, the total game experience revolves around the player's death! What the.....???!!! I can just see the NFL endorsing such a thinly disguised cash-cow snake-oil technique....NOT!!
Here's a news flash: The general public is not too history conscious or history literate. The professional media-types were covering this year's '500' with syrupy feel-good stories of a 1944 Ford Coupe and a 2006 'cup car that became a 2011 COT LOL!!! How many casual fans would have even known 2011 was the ultra-significant 10-year anniversary of Dale's death?
But everybody that read anything, was blasted with this chronological fact months in advance ".......of course, with this being the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's death, fans will be aware and focusing on this........"blah, blah, blah. Let the dog-and-pony-show begin. Throw in the Waltrip brothers and Mikey even winning the truck race, it could not have worked out much 'better'.
What a disgrace. And still they wonder what is the problem with NASCAR?
I Remember 1964 and 1974
General
I've been a NASCAR fan for about as long as I can remember, and started attending races in 1962. I knew who Ralph Earnhardt was, and that he had a son, Dale, and as the 1960's became the 1970's I knew Ralph had died of heart failure and Dale was trying to establish his own career. I was hardly unique, me and thousands of others were abreast of this story. It was part of the sport, not necessarily the head lines, they were largely reserved for the Petty's, Pearson's etc. but it was common knowledge.
I watched Dale win the track championship at Myrtle Beach Speedway in 1978, driving a Robert Gee colored #8 Nova. And I was proud the very next season when he was crowned NASCAR rookie of the year driving the Rod Osterlund #2. He had cut his teeth in my neck of the woods and I felt a special kin-ship.
But, I was as committed a NASCAR fan in 1964, at 10 years old, as I am now. In that awful season, the racing world lost Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts, and Jimmy Pardue from NASCAR, and Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs from USAC/Championship racing. In early 1965, the NASCAR world lost up-and-coming Billy Wade in a Daytona tire test.
At the time of their deaths, Joe Weatherly was the two-time defending Grand National champion....and Fireball was Fireball. They were the superstars of their day. Richard Petty was coming into focus, but Little Joe and Fireball carried NASCAR andNASCAR racing took both of them in the same season.
Looking back, it's difficult to connect the dots with what been happening in NASCAR for the last decade. There was no 1974 ten-year-'celebration' of The Day.Fans never stood on lap 8 for Weatherly, or lap 22 for Fireball. Nope, the sport accepted the grim reality and moved on!It had to!If racing had mired itself in those 1964 tragedies, all that we have enjoyed, the Winston era, the Earnhardt era, may have never happened. Why would a title sponsor be drawn to a tragedy stuck subject?
Granted, Big E's timing and style had tremendous appeal and was the very face that sold millions on the sport. But it was not unique. The story is not unique. The first NASCAR driver fatality occurred in the very first season, 1948, at Greensboro, NC. with the death of W.R. "Slick" Davis.
The sport must move on.That's simply all that it can do. All the tributes in the world, won't change anything, or really help anything, anymore. However, take comfort in the fact that wehave done this before.The future is now, it's all there is.
updated by @bobby-williamson: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
Fantasy League?
General
S.T.A.R.S. Radio said:
You have been invited to join S.T.A.R.S.'s Private Group in Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Auto Racing.Group ID#: 1599Password: holla22 Entries so far Hurry up and join.Thanks, Jerry
Fantasy League?
General
The (yahoo-sports based) RacersReunion.com 'fantasy league', will it exist this season?
updated by @bobby-williamson: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
Bud Shootout? More like Dancing with the Stars!
General
I liked veteran writer Monte Dutton's (Gaston Gazette) comment: "it was a stupid ending to a stupid race..."
RIP JIMMY (PORKY) EDWARDS, JR. CAROLINA DIRT TRACK RACER
General
Thoughts and prayers for the Edwards family.