Here is Waltrip in the car at the start of the fall Charlotte Miller High Life 300. Not the spring Mello Yello 300, but the car probably looked the same. - Ray Lamm
And here is a pic of Waltrip's car from [ Ray Lamm ]. Again, I'm guessing scheme fielded for Bill would have been the same.
George and Harry Jefferson are brothers. - Spokesman-Review
On the day six years following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, World War II veteran Red Byron won a 25-lap feature at Jacksonville Speedway in Florida. The pre-NASCAR race was sanctioned by Bill France as part of his National Championship Stock Car Circuit. Following the race, Fonty Flock was recognized by France as the 1947 season champion.
Glenn Dunaway finished second in the race- the same driver who would be disqualified about 18 months later after winning NASCAR's first Strictly Stock race in Charlotte in June 1949. Johnny Rogers finished third. Ed Samples and Louie Taylor rounded out the top 5. - Daytona Beach Morning Journal
Byron's win earned him the Buck Mathis Memorial trophy from the speedway. Mathis, a Jacksonville driver, was tragically killed in a racing accident in Orlando on October 26, 1947, about six weeks before the Jax race. - Daytona Beach Morning Journal
Mathis won the 100-mile Daytona Beach and Road Course race on Labor Day, September, 1940. In his memory, the August 1948 modified race - sanctioned under the new NASCAR organization - at the Beach and Road course was named the Buck Mathis Memorial.
For several years, NASCAR started it's Grand National seasons in November of the previous calendar year. Sandwiched between 1964 and 1966 seasons that followed that pattern was 1965 that began in January at Riverside.
USAC's stock car division, however, followed the norm of NASCAR for 1965. It began its 1965 season with a 150-mile race at the famed Ascot Park track in Gardena, CA.
Car owner Bill Stroppe entered two Mercury rides for Parnelli Jones and 2-time Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward. Stroppe had been a regular fixture as an owner in NASCAR's GN circuit until mid-1964. He entered a car at Riverside over the next few years for Parnelli, Dan Gurney and Curtis Turner. Otherwise, he was pretty much done with NASCAR after the June 1964 race at Atlanta. But he did field the 2 Mercurys at Ascot Park.
Parnelli claimed the pole for the 300-lap race on the half-mile dirt track. The 1964 series champion led a significant part of the race until breaking a connecting rod. He limped home to a ninth place finish. 1964 Rookie of the Year Joe Leonard took over the lead. He too had a comfortable lead until blowing a tire with 10 laps to go. His crew made the change, and he salvaged a second place finish.
Driving Stroppe's #16 Mercury, Ward then rose to P1 and stayed there to collect the victory. Texan Lloyd Ruby finished 3rd. He'd make his only NASCAR GN start 2 years later in a 1967 Riverside race for car owner Junior Johnson.
Thanks to Russ Thompson for sharing this cover and article from the December 8th issue of Illustrated Speedway News.
Want to know how the cars sounded at Ascot Park in that era? Listen to Junior Johnson turn a couple of laps there - albeit with some fake sound effects by Hollywood.
| Fin | Driver | Owner | Car |
| 1 | Rodger Ward | Bill Stroppe | 1964 Mercury |
| 2 | Joe Leonard | Unknown | 1964 Dodge |
| 3 | Lloyd Ruby | Norm Nelson | 1964 Plymouth |
| 4 | Billy Cantrell | Doug Caruthers | 1963 Chevrolet |
| 5 | Dempsey Wilson | Unknown | 1963 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Jim Cook | Unknown | 1963 Ford |
| 7 | Jim Steele | Unknown | 1964 Mercury |
| 8 | Joe Clark | Unknown | 1964 Ford |
| 9 | Parnelli Jones | Bill Stroppe | 1964 Mercury |
| 10 | Bruce Worrell | Unknown | 1963 Chevrolet |
| 11 | Jon Ward | Unknown | Unknown |
| 12 | Clem Proctor | Unknown | 1964 Ford |
| 13 | Marvin Porter | Unknown | Unknown |
| 14 | Scotty Cain | Unknown | Unknown |
| 15 | Norm Nelson | Norm Nelson | 1964 Plymouth |
| 16 | Cliff Garner | Unknown | Unknown |
| 17 | Bill Moyer | Unknown | Unknown |
| 18 | Don White | Don White | 1964 Ford |
| 19 | Len Sutton | Unknown | Unknown |
| 20 | Gary Bettenhausen | Gary Bettenhausen | Dodge |
| 21 | Dick James | Unknown | Unknown |
| 22 | Ron Hornaday Sr. | Unknown | Unknown |
| 23 | Dick Powell | Unknown | Unknown |
| 24 | Billy Foster | Unknown | Unknown |
Arrington's arrest was a brief wire service report in many papers. But it was front page news for the Danville Register!
Tip to Russ Thompson for noting a few pics from the 1971 Texas Permatex 200 race were featured on the cover of the December 8 issue of National Speed Sport News. Russ also noted the glaring mistake made in the article about Waltrip's pole-winning car. Bloys Britt said Waltrip was in a 1966 Chevelle vs. the former Holman Moody Mercury he raced in the event.
The 1971 season-ending Texas 500 GN race was scheduled for Sunday, December 5th. The race was rained out, however, and was rescheduled for a week later on December 12th. (The race, by the way, was won by The King.)
http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/29426/december-12-1971-the-king-claims-texas
Though the GN/Cup race was rained out, the late model sportsman drivers were able to complete their race. Darrell Waltrip won the pole for the Permatex 200 - which was scheduled as part of the 1972 season for LMS points. - Times-News
Waltrip was the early rabbit. Around the midpoint of the race, however, he broke an engine and was done for the day. Fifth-place starter Bobby Allison picked up where Waltrip left off, and he pretty well dominated the second half of the race. He easily pocketed the win with a 3-lap victory over second place Jack Ingram. James Hylton, Jimmy Finger and Frank Warren rounded out the top 5 finishers. - Tuscaloosa News
While Allison joyously exited his car in victory lane in Texas, another driver exited his car in Virginia under vastly different circumstances.
On Saturday night December 4th, Buddy Arrington was stopped by law enforcement in Martinsville, VA and arrested for running moonshine. Though the article doesn't say specifically what kind of car Arrington was driving, it sounds an awful lot like it may have been one of his Mopar race cars.
I guess Buddy was able to work things out pretty well because he raced at Daytona in February and competed in about 2/3 of the races in 1972.
Ha! Nice observation!
Wonder if Paschal was represented by the law firm of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe.
The Grand National drivers raced a 100-mile feature on the 3/4 mile Charlotte Speedway dirt track on October 14, 1956. Buck Baker won the race in Carl Kiekhaefer's Chrysler. A couple of Ford fellers - Ralph Moody and Marvin Panch - finished 2nd and 3rd. Finishing 4th was Jim Paschal in a Mercury with sponsorship from C U Later Alligator.
In the middle of the Sunday night before the race, Paschal apparently "endorsed" his sponsor a bit. He took off and was stopped by law enforcement in Lexington NC doing 105 MPH on US Highway 29-70 - presumably on his way from his home in High Point to Charlotte. - from The Dispatch
Paschal appeared in court on Tuesday December 4, 1956, and pleaded no contest to the speeding charge. Records show Paschal earned $365 for finishing 4th at Charlotte. Coincidentally, Paschal had been back in the Charlotte area 2 days earlier. He'd finished 6th in a 200-lap race at the Concord Speedway, the 2nd race of the 1957. I haven't found anything indicating Jim was busted for speeding a 2nd time as he did the loop from High Point to Charlotte and back.
With income taxes, an $80 speeding ticket, and court costs, Jim likely didn't have much left from his winnings. From The Dispatch
