Brief race report from Spartanburg Herald for Roy Hall's win on March 2, 1941
And a pic of Lloyd Seay supposedly from the March 2nd race. I'm guessing the photo was taken BEFORE he rolled it twice. - Getty Images
The Grand National drivers made their third visit to Rambi Raceway in Myrtle Beach on July 23, 1960.
- 1958: Bob Welborn won the first one while driving for Julian Petty. Tim Leeming's RHM:
http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/26440/racing-history-minute-august-23-1958
- 1959: Ned Jarrett won his first career GN race in Rambi's second one. Tim Leeming's RHM :
http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/25862/racing-history-minute-august-1-1959
Jarrett picked up where he'd left off the year before by winning the pole for the 200-lap race on Rambi's dirt half-mile. Junior Johnson started alongside him. Tommy Irwin, Rex White and Lee Petty rounded out the top 5 starters.
Ned took off at the green and led the first quarter of the race. Junior then took over to lead past the halfway mark. Specific lap leaders for the second half of the race have apparently been lost to history, but sounds like the last 100 laps were pretty competitive.
Tommy Irwin found himself in the lead with just a few laps remaining. But as often happens, racing's fickle finger of fate can touch anyone at any time. With 4 laps to go, Irwin blew a tire and hit the fence. He was done and went home with a P8 DNF.
Two-time GN champ Buck Baker eased by Irwin and led the remaining three laps to capture the win. Second place finisher Lee Petty, however, disagreed with the outcome. He insisted HE had won the race vs. Baker and protested the finish.
The protest came at a bit of a risk for Lee. NASCAR officials said Lee's scoring record failed to take into a consideration a pit stop he made during the race. And if NASCAR studied the scoring log further, he risked falling out of second place.
In the end, Lee's protest was denied. Buck remained the winner as he was flagged. Lee kept his 2nd place finish and was the only other car on the lead lap with Baker. Rex White finished third.
Race report from Spartanburg Herald .
Richard Petty finished 5th, but at least he DID finish. In 8 career starts at Rambi, the King had five DNFs. Oof.
I'm not so sure drivers are superstitious any more, but back in the day many of them were. Buck was one who subscribed to the adage of not tempting fate. One of the things many drivers simply didn't do was to have their photo taken before a race. I recall Randy Myers saying Billy Myers believed the same thing. He did allow himself to have his photo snapped before the 1957 Southern 500, but then...
Baker finally compromised his long-held conviction and had his photo taken before the race at Rambi. Of course, the setting wasn't just any random picture. He was asked to have his photo taken with the race beauty queen. Tough gig - but someone had to do it.
As it turned out, violating the superstition did not negatively affect Buck. It actually HELPED him - or so it seemed. After all, he did win the race. But he also wanted to make it clear to all that other superstitions were still off limits such as driving a green race car.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Buck Baker | '60 Chevrolet |
| 2 | Lee Petty | '60 Plymouth |
| 3 | Rex White | '60 Chevrolet |
| 4 | Junior Johnson | '60 Chevrolet |
| 5 | Richard Petty | '60 Plymouth |
| 6 | Ned Jarrett | '60 Ford |
| 7 | Doug Yates | '59 Plymouth |
| 8 | Tommy Irwin | '59 T-Bird |
| 9 | Roy Tyner | '60 Ford |
| 10 | Wilbur Rakestraw | '60 Ford |
| 11 | David Pearson | '59 Chevrolet |
| 12 | Bunkie Blackburn | '58 Ford |
| 13 | Curtis Crider | '58 Ford |
| 14 | Jimmy Pardue | '59 Dodge |
| 15 | Neil Castles | '58 Ford |
| 16 | Jimmy Thompson | '59 T-Bird |
| 17 | Fred Harb | '58 Ford |
The Grand National cars ran two races in three days in the state of South Carolina in July 1961. Cotton Owens won on Thursday night at Columbia, and the teams moved their operations to Myrtle Beach over the next two days. They were scheduled for a 200-lap, 100-mile race at Rambi Raceway. Interestingly, Owens did not make the cross-state drive following his win.
Joe Weatherly snagged the pole in Bud Moore's Pontiac, and Junior Johnson lined up alongside him. Buck Baker and Richard Petty comprised the second row. Ned Jarrett rounded out the top 5 starters.
At the green, Buck Baker got around both of the top 2 starters. He led until around lap 100. His Chrysler developed problems with its rear end, however, and he exited after 111 laps to get a P13 DNF.
Ned Jarrett - the 1959 Rambi winner (and who'd later win again in 1962-63) - took over the lead following Baker's problems. His lead was short lived though. After just 8 or 9 laps up front, Little Joe got by Gentleman Ned.
Once he got the lead, Weatherly motored away. He led the remaining 80 laps and lapped all but the second place car. Jim Paschal finished second in Julian Petty's Pontiac. Coincidentally, Paschal also finished second two nights earlier in Columbia.
The car was like the same car he'd drive to the win in the Nashville 500 [ link to my RHM ] two races later at Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway (though it was re-numbered to 44).
Jack Walker's pic of Paschal from Raceplace . Richard Petty's 61 Plymouth can be seen in the background.
Weatherly's win was the first full-on Grand National win for car owner Bud Moore. With Little Joe at the wheel, Moore's #8 Pontiac captured wins in qualifying races for the 1961 Daytona 500 and World 600. Those races were and still are considered 'official' wins by NASCAR. And some could argue the qualifying races on those big tracks were as tough or tougher than muscling the car around the half-mile Rambi.
But in both qualifying races, the full field wasn't entered. At Rambi, the field only had 22 cars. But all teams had a shot at showing up, qualifying and racing. When the checkered flag fell:
I guess it really doesn't matter if one wants to consider Rambi as Bud's first true win as a car owner or his third. I'm sure Bud didn't care because either way he went back to Spartanburg with a trophy.
Race report from Spartanburg Herald .
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Joe Weatherly | '61 Pontiac |
| 2 | Jim Paschal | '61 Pontiac |
| 3 | Ned Jarrett | '61 Chevrolet |
| 4 | George Green | '60 Ford |
| 5 | Emanuel Zervakis | '61 Chevrolet |
| 6 | Herman Beam | '60 Ford |
| 7 | L.D. Austin | '61 Chevrolet |
| 8 | Larry Thomas | '60 Chevrolet |
| 9 | Bob Barron | '60 Dodge |
| 10 | Rex White | '61 Chevrolet |
| 11 | Jimmy Pardue | '60 Chevrolet |
| 12 | Doug Yates | '61 Plymouth |
| 13 | Buck Baker | '61 Chrysler |
| 14 | Lee Reitzel | '60 Ford |
| 15 | Tiny Lund | '60 Ford |
| 16 | G.C. Spencer | '60 Chevrolet |
| 17 | Richard Petty | '61 Plymouth |
| 18 | Maurice Petty | '60 Plymouth |
| 19 | Curtis Crider | '60 Ford |
| 20 | Jack Smith | '61 Pontiac |
| 21 | Fireball Roberts | '61 Pontiac |
| 22 | Junior Johnson | '60 Pontiac |
In July 1959, the Grand National cars rolled into Pennsylvania for a 200-lap race on the half-mile Heidelberg Speedway.
Lee Petty won the first race of his GN career at Heidelberg in 1949. The race was the 7th of an 8-race schedule in the first year of NASCAR's Strictly Stock division. A GN race was run at the track two years later, and Herb Thomas won the 1951 edition. Another 8 years passed before Heidelberg hosted another GN race.
The race was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, July 19th.
Heavy rains turned the track into a mud pit, and track officials and NASCAR had no choice but to postpone the race. Well, it seemed they had no choice. Some fans took issue with the decision - at least the part about rescheduling the race without giving the fans the opportunity to get a refund. What is common practice today apparently wasn't so widely accepted back in the day.
Because of the full GN schedule in 1959 and no more races planned up north, it was unlikely the race could be conveniently rescheduled for later in the year. The decision was made to move the race to Tuesday night, two days after its original date. And to deflect some of the angst, Ed Otto made the decision to offer refunds to those who couldn't stick around the extra two days.
Also, the race was moved from the half-mile track to the inner quarter-mile track which cut the 200-lap race distance from 100 to 50 miles. With the race being moved from Sunday afternoon to Tuesday night, Heidelberg didn't have the necessary lighting for the half-mile track.
Local driver Dick Bailey won the pole. Bailey ran 4 GN races in his career: two in 1951 (incl the Heidelberg race won by Herb Thomas), the 1958 Daytona Beach & Road Course race, and the 1959 Heidelberg event.
Rex White lined up on the front row with Bailey. Lee Petty timed third, and Russ Gemberling of Kent Ohio qualified 4th for his only career GN start.
A few other drivers made their only career GN start in the race. I don't know if that was the plan all along - or if Otto and others had to rally some local drivers to fill the field after some GN regulars left following Sunday's rainout.
Drivers making their only GN start included Gemberling and:
Sandman finished 21st in the 22-car field driving an Edsel. From what I can tell, it was only the 2nd of 3 times an Edsel raced in GN. The first time was the 1959 Daytona 500 (plus the 100-mile qualifer) when Paul Bass raced a convertible one in his only GN outing. The third time was in 1961 when Mike Saathoff raced one at Marchbanks Speedway in Hanford CA in his only career GN start. ( Click here for Tim Leeming's Racing History Minute.)
The local guys had a brief period of success early in the race. Bailey powered at the green to lead the first three laps from his top starting spot. Gemberling managed to shake Petty and White and got by Bailey to lead three laps himself.
But then the big dogs went to work. Rex took the lead on lap 7 and was GONE. He led nearly 150 laps and seemed to be in a position to close out the night with a win. With about 50 laps to go, however, short track ace Jim Reed slipped by Rex to take the lead.
Reed's car had begun smoking around lap 150. Whether he had a tire rub or possible oil leak isn't known. Either way, the smoke apparently made no difference to the multi-time NASCAR Short Track Division champion. Reed led those final 50 laps and took the checkers. White finished 2nd - the only other car on the lead lap. The 1949 winner, Lee Petty, finished third and was three laps down to the top two. Petty returned a year later and won the 1960 race - the fourth and final GN race at Heidelberg.
| Fin | Driver | Car |
| 1 | Jim Reed | '59 Chevrolet |
| 2 | Rex White | '59 Chevrolet |
| 3 | Lee Petty | '59 Plymouth |
| 4 | Marvin Porter | '57 Ford |
| 5 | Cotton Owens | '59 Pontiac |
| 6 | Don Dahle | '57 Chevrolet |
| 7 | Slim Brown | '56 Chevrolet |
| 8 | Ken Johnson | '57 Ford |
| 9 | Don Strain | '56 Ford |
| 10 | Lennie Page | '57 Ford |
| 11 | Al White | '58 Ford |
| 12 | Jim Austin | '59 Ford |
| 13 | August Sand | '57 Ford |
| 14 | Russ Gemberling | '56 Dodge |
| 15 | Bill Woolkin | '57 Plymouth |
| 16 | Larry Lyndstrom | '57 Ford |
| 17 | Elmo Langley | '57 Ford |
| 18 | Ted Chamberlain | '57 Chevrolet |
| 19 | Dick Bailey | '59 Plymouth |
| 20 | Russ Whitman | '57 Ford |
| 21 | Scott Sandman | '58 Edsel |
| 22 | Jim Bickerstaff | '56 Ford |
We too get The Tennessean but only on Sunday now. I've been trying to cancel it for ages, but wife won't let me. Reason: coupons. *Sigh*
But I can fetch the paper; skim 3 sports pages, 2 business pages and 1 county page; and be done with it literally in 90 seconds.
Racing coverage plummeted after Larry Woody's retirement / forceout a few years ago. All we get our limited wire copy reports including from tracks such as Bristol, Talladega and Kentucky - all within a few hours of Nashville.
Tennessean doesn't even cover the fairgrounds track events anymore. That's as much on Tony Formosa Jr as the leaseholder / promoter as it is the paper. Nonetheless, it's a far cry from the articles I used to clip on a daily basis ages ago.
NASCAR has done a good bit to surprise me the last 10-15 years - but perhaps nothing more than the way it has managed to completely dominate its media coverage. The NFL and MLB have done a lot of it as well, but I'm not sure they've shut down any critical analysis of their respective product as NASCAR has managed to do.
And as the France brass severely restricted the story line, the print media has absolutely cratered. One obviously didn't cause the other, but they did seem to happen at the same time.
On the motorsports side, David Poole and Chris Economaki are dead. Larry Woody, Monte Dutton, Mike Mulhern, Tom Higgins, etc. retired or were squeezed out. I just don't know of any prominent writer on the circuit.
Longer term, I'll shrug my shoulders over the declining coverage of racing in the papers. I'll have to accept it for what it is or seek alternate sources such as blogs and websites.
My bigger concern is for the nation as a whole. The number and quality of press outlets are shrinking.The reporting has been condensed to a handful of mega-organizations with the same drivel content syndicated out to a multitude of other outlets.
I realize I'm part of the problem. I really no longer have any interest in a physical paper. But I DO enjoy searching through old newspapers on-line, on microfilm, etc. Whatever was printed - good, bad or ugly - has often been retained for future generations in libraries and such.
With an ever-increasing digital press, I fear many columns, articles, op-ed pieces, historical quotes and images, etc. can be conveniently tidied-up in the future or disappear altogether. Already, it's extremely tough to retrieve articles from traditional papers after more than 90 days - at least without paying a handsome fee to view it.
A couple of years ago, Tim Leeming posted about the July 19, 1958 GN race at Buffalo's Civic Stadium.
http://racersreunion.com/community/forum/stock-car-racing-history/25514/racing-history-minute-july-19-1958
The same day, NASCAR's convertible division raced at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina.
Car owner Julian Petty fielded three cars in the 1958 race. Two-time convertible division champion Bob Welborn drove his customary #49. Ken Rush belted into a #44 Chevy, and Jim Paschal started 9th in #49A.
In looking at the finishing order, one might think the race was uneventful. The top 10 starters finished in the same order except for the third and fourth place finishers who swapped spots from where they began the race.
The race, however, did have some late race drama. Knoxville, TN's Tootle Estes made a late race pit stop with about a dozen laps to go. Ken Rush was leading and headed towards the win. Instead of taking the checkers, however, Rush clipped Estes' car as he pulled back onto the racing surface after completing his stop. The collision caused Rush to hit a dirt bank, and the hit negated his chances for victory.
Welborn assumed the lead and led the remaining laps to claim his fifth convertible win of the season. Teammate Rush recovered from his late race encounter with Estes to finish 3rd - albeit 3 laps down to the winner.
http://bench-racing.blogspot.com/2015/07/july-19-1958-bob-welborn-grabs.html
| Fin | # | Driver | Car |
| 1 | 49 | Bob Welborn | '57 Chevrolet |
| 2 | 76 | Larry Frank | '57 Chevrolet |
| 3 | 44 | Ken Rush | '57 Chevrolet |
| 4 | 87 | Buck Baker | '58 Chevrolet |
| 5 | 21 | Glen Wood | '57 Ford |
| 6 | 36 | Tootle Estes | '58 Ford |
| 7 | 41 | Whitey Norman | '57 Chevrolet |
| 8 | 66 | Roy Tyner | '58 Plymouth |
| 9 | 49A | Jim Paschal | '57 Chevrolet |
| 10 | 999 | Wilbur Rakestraw | '57 Mercury |
| 11 | 78 | Shep Langdon | '56 Ford |
| 12 | 37 | Tiny Lund | '56 Ford |
| 13 | 202 | Johnny Gardner | '56 Ford |
| 14 | 86 | Neil Castles | '56 Ford |
| 15 | 97 | Barney Shore | '57 Chevrolet |
| 16 | 30 | Doug Cox | '57 Ford |
| 17 | 34 | Joe Weatherly | '57 Ford |
| 18 | 17 | Fred Harb | '57 Mercury |
Emanuel Zervakis brought his #01 Pontiac to Oxford Plains and put Mark Martin behind the wheel.
Paul Mauceri from Long Island also brought his #01 Pontiac. Though he ran nine NASCAR North Stroh's Tour races in 1983, he took himself out of the car at Oxford Plains. He turned the car over to Joe Millikan and painted an extra zero to the number.
Thanks to Chris Hussey for both photos.
