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February 20, 1959: Daytona's inaugural race

Stock Car Racing History

Just about any time a Top 10 list of best NASCAR moments is released, the finish of the 1959 Daytona 500 is included. The debate about the winner of the first 500 was the culmination of Bill France's Speedweeks that had moved from the beach-and-road course to his new Daytona International Speedway.

Before the 500 though, other races were held. The first race on DIS was a 40-lap, 100-mile convertible race. The race was the first of a 15-race schedule in what turned out to be the final season for NASCAR's rumblin' ragtops.

Even the pace car for 1959 Speedweeks was a Pontiac convertible. - Getty

Some of the drivers in the race included:

Larry Frank - Getty

1958 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, Shorty Rollins - Getty

Bob Harkey made his one and only start in the convertible division in a #86 Chevy fielded by Buck Baker. - Getty

A couple of drivers who would factor into the finish of the 500 posed for a pre-season photo. Johnny Beachamp and Little Joe Weatherly showed off a couple of Ford Thunderbirds - one a hardtop, the other a convertible. But Weatherly didn't race the convertible during Speedweeks. Instead, he raced a #48 hardtop Chevrolet. - Getty

NASCAR HOFer Glen Wood won the pole in what else...a Ford. Gene White timed 2nd. Ken Rush and Billy Carden made up the 2nd row. And they're off! The first race in DIS history was underway.

The 2nd car in the outside lane is #43 Richard Petty. Though Lee Petty took home the big prize for the 500, Richard got to race on the superspeedway before his dad. - Getty

The race was super-competitive - particularly between three drivers: Rollins, Petty and #98 Marvin Panch. As the race neared the white flag, Richard shot from 4th place to the lead. But on the final lap, Rollins and Panch motored past him. The trio came to the line in a spectacular finish that would only be trumped that year by the one in the 500 two days later.

From  Getty

Bob Harkey started 9th, led a lap and finished 10th in Buck Baker's Chevy. During the race, Harkey spun down the backstretch, kicked up a cloud of sand, but then got things righted to soldier on. Nonetheless, Baker withdrew the car from the 500. As a result, Harkey went home vs. getting to race on Sunday. Carl Tyler raced car #86 in the 500 - but it was a hardtop Ford.

Race report from- Daytona Beach Morning Journal

Rollins legitimate victory was almost limited to a moral victory of just making it the green flag. As the cars were ready to be pushed to the starting line, Shorty and his limited crew were still thrashing to get ready. NASCAR inspector Norris Friel gave him the ultimatum of "get out there or get out of here". - Daytona Beach Morning Journal

Fin	Driver	Sponsor / Owner	Car
1	Shorty Rollins	Shorty Rollins	'58 Ford
2	Marvin Panch	Tom Vernon	'58 Ford
3	Richard Petty	Petty Engineering	'57 Oldsmobile
4	Glen Wood	Wood Brothers	'58 Ford
5	Gene White	Gene White	'57 Chevrolet
6	Larry Frank	Larry Frank	'57 Chevrolet
7	Wilbur Rakestraw	B.J. Jones	'57 Ford
8	Joe Lee Johnson	Joe Lee Johnson	'57 Chevrolet
9	Jimmy Thompson	Bruce Thompson	'57 Chevrolet
10	Bob Harkey	Buck Baker	'58 Chevrolet
11	Joe Eubanks	Don Every	'58 Ford
12	Ken Rush	Manley Britt	'57 Mercury
13	Billy Carden	David Brothers	'57 Mercury
14	Brownie King	Jess Potter	'58 Chevrolet
15	Ben Benz	Bernard Friedland	'57 Chevrolet
16	Pete Kelly	Pete Kelly	'57 Chevrolet
17	George Green	Jess Potter	'58 Chevrolet
18	Gober Sosebee	Cherokee Garage	'57 Chevrolet
19	Fred Hoff	Larry Odo	'57 Ford
20	Paul Bass	Paul Bass	'58 Edsel
21	Ken Marriott	Frank Hayworth	'58 Ford

updated by @tmc-chase: 02/20/17 10:36:07AM

A Wonderful Day in Daytona

Vintage Oval and Road Course Racing

Pics you've shared already made it clear a good time was had by all. Was really surprised and pleased to see Greg Fielden was back in the game. Has been a few years since I'd heard an update on his health. I smile when I see reports of gatherings such as these in FL and NC. But I'll admit I've got a good deal of envy within me that I haven't been able to join them ... so far.

Death with Dignity to be John Jay Hooker's final fight

Stock Car Racing History

John Jay Hooker has been a long-time Tennessee political gadfly. He has always been an advocate for some hot button issue - but rarely if ever an election winner at the polls. In circumstances I don't begin to understand, Hooker was elected as chairman of STP in 1973 as the successor to Andy Granatelli.

He was in victory lane with Richard Petty a few times in 1974 - including the Daytona 500 when the King won it for the 5th time on February 17, 1974.

Hooker served as STP's CEO for a couple of years before resigning in early 1976. I can't help but snicker at this writer's description of Hooker as "quiet and unassuming" - but perhaps he was when cast against the personality of Granatelli. - St. Petersburg Times

Over the weekend, I read where John Jay has learned he has terminal cancer. He says his last political fight will be over yet another controversial subject - but one that often elicits empathy from many - Death With Dignity.

From:

http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/columnists/frank-daniels/2015/02/15/death-dignity-john-jay-hooker-final-fight/23378411/

John Jay Hooker knows intimately what it is like to lose.

As he ruefully, but with a quirky pride, will regale his audiences, whether that be one person or hundreds, "I am the biggest loser in the history of Tennessee politics." His infectious laugh hides the fact that he still harbors a competitive fire at age 84 that younger politicians should envy.

He desperately wanted to be governor of Tennessee, but was defeated by a political newcomer, Winfield Dunn, in 1970. It was his best chance, and one that he believed would have set him on a path to become President of the United States.

In November, Hooker made his final gubernatorial bid, garnering only 2 percent of the vote and finishing third. He had hoped to use his campaign to stump for the defeat of Amendment 2, a constitutional change that would strip Tennessee voters of their right to elect appellate court judges. He lost that battle too.

The morning after the elections, John Jay and I talked briefly about our take on the way Tennesseans seemed so willing to hand over their independence to the legislature and governor, but he had something more important to talk about.

'Ultimate civil right'

"What do you think about euthanasia?" he asked.

I want Tennesseans to have the right to choose how they die, he said, and I want that to be the legacy I leave.

"It is the ultimate civil right," John Jay said, "to be able to die with dignity, while you still have some choice in the matter."

Only three states Oregon, whose citizens passed a law in 1994 and re-confirmed the vote in 1997; Washington, whose voters passed a law in 2008; and Vermont, whose legislature enacted a doctor-assisted suicide law in 2013 allow terminally-ill citizens to choose when they die.

Hooker knows that it will be a difficult fight, but wants Tennessee to be the fourth state.

'I have standing'

On Jan. 6, John Jay told me that he was going to see the doctor about a lump on his arm.

A few days later, he told me the grave news.

"It's malignant melanoma, and it's terminal," he said. He was in surprisingly good spirits.

"Well," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice, "I have standing."

John Jay was referring to his frequent battles in Tennessee courts over the constitutionality of the way we used to choose appellate judges, and how the Attorney General would argue that Hooker had no standing before the court.

Last week, Hooker began telling friends that he had been diagnosed with cancer, and that he wanted to dedicate his remaining months to passing a Tennessee Death with Dignity law, and suing for the right to choose the time of his death.

Thursday, Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, filed a caption bill to start the process in support of Hooker's effort. Fitzhugh is a deacon in his Baptist church and has deep misgivings about death with dignity laws, according to his chief policy advisor, Zachary Kelley.

But, Kelley said, Fitzhugh's respect for Hooker and his fights on behalf of civil rights outweighed the minority leader's personal feelings.

'Engaged, and vital'

Passing the legislation will be a long shot, but Hooker would not know what do to with an easy battle anyway.

"I want to be engaged, and vital, and when I can't be engaged in the debate, then it will be time for me to go," John Jay says. "And I want to be able to make that choice when the time comes."

I sat with John Jay at a dinner recently, when he spoke publicly about his illness and about what had become his passion.

He is a masterful storyteller, but I have not seen him capture a group the way he did that evening. There were few dry eyes as John Jay Hooker talked with raw sincerity about how he wanted to spend his future however long that may be.

Reach Frank Daniels III at 615-881-7039 and on Twitter @fdanielsiii.

updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

1979 Daytona 500 - The Perfect Storm - Tonight!

Stock Car Racing History

Tonight on Fox Sports 1 - 7:30 ET / 6:30 CT / etc.

A look back to arguably the most memorable NASCAR race of all time - the 1979 Daytona 500.

• CBS
• Rain and snow
• Donnie, Bobby and Cale
• The rookie class
• The return of the King

http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/video/a-perfect-storm-fox-sports-1-remembers-the-epic-1979-daytona-500-021215

updated by @tmc-chase: 08/07/18 07:18:22PM

Interview with NASCAR HOFer Rex White

Stock Car Racing History

I don't think I've seen anyone share this here yet. Just found it myself last night. RR member Bill Blair has begun sharing a series of interview videos on YouTube through a group he has organized called Our Racing Heroes.

I wanted to share this one in particular as it is a 30 minute interview with one of the most recent inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame: Rex White.

updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

February 10, 1952: Teague Tames The Beach...Again

Stock Car Racing History

Brandon Reed has a nice column at GeorgiaRacingHistory.com about Flock's DQ - for roll bars approved and installed by Bill France and his workers before the race!

http://georgiaracinghistory.com/2011/06/17/post-race-fines-were-much-harsher-in-tim-flocks-day/

February 10, 1952: Teague Tames The Beach...Again

Stock Car Racing History

Tim Flock won the modified-sportsman preliminary event on Saturday, February 9th. Or at least he THOUGHT he did. Sometime afterwards, Flock was stripped of his win for some sort of roll bar infraction. Jack Smith was then awarded the victory. I haven't found any articles yet to more fully explain Flock's DQ.

The race had nearly 100 entries!

February 10, 1952: Teague Tames The Beach...Again

Stock Car Racing History

Promo pic of car owner Bud Berry and driver Leo Caldwell from Fort Pierce paper. The race would be Caldwell's 4th and final GN race. He continued to race until retiring in 1967.

February 10, 1952: Teague Tames The Beach...Again

Stock Car Racing History

The culmination of 1952 Speedweeks in Daytona Beach was the 200-mile Grand National race on the combination beach and road course on February 10th.

Three days earlier, the NASCAR contingent met for the annual awards dinner. Herb Thomas was recognized as the 1951 Grand National champion. Fonty Flock was on hand as well to receive his check as the runner-up.

One driver who was not in attendance was Marshall Teague,the 1951 beach and road course race winner. The official line was he was too busy tweaking his four Hudson Hornets for Sunday's race. But one had to wonder if there was another reason. Teague had been suspended by Bill France for running an "outlaw" Pan-American race in Mexico. France warned Teague not to go "outside the family", but Marshall did what racers do: he raced. But France wasn't bluffing, and he suspended Teague. But Teague wsa allowed to return to the family after paying France $575 fine.

Race preview for the 100-mile Saturday modified-sportsman race and 200-mile GN race from [  Daytona Beach Morning Journal  ]. Pat Kirkwood in only his 2nd GN race, his 1st in 3 years and his 1st on Daytona's track in a GN car won the pole driving a #99 1951 Chrysler.

Kirkwood getting an assist in getting his belts adjusted. - [  FloridaMemory.com  ]

Lloyd Moore started 2nd in his #59 Chrysler to make it all Mopar front row.- from [  OldSchool59  ]

Tommy Thompson started third. He was likely still on cloud 9 from having what turned out to be his only career GN win at Detroit on August 12, 1951. Tim Leeming [ posted about Detroit's Motor City 250   ] in 2013.

With his fine paid, Teague qualified 11th in his Hudson. He owned the team Hudson for the 1951 GN champion, Herb Thomas, who qualified 4th. - [  FloridaMemory.com  ]

Starting 44th in the incredible 61-car field was the hometown boy, Fireball Roberts. Though he didn't master the 4-mile course in 1952, he'd soon learn to master the 2.5 mile superspeedway that would replace it by the end of the decade.

On the first lap, Thomas leveraged his P4 start to get around the first three starters and lead the first lap. On lap 2, however, Thomas' car owner and teammate Teague got around him and quite frankly wasn't challenged the rest of the afternoon.

Though Teague set sail up front, it didn't mean that the racing behind him was boring. As expected, the fans were thrilled by some of the spills. Smokey Purser made it only a quarter of a lap before spinning his #19 Oldsmobile through the north turn and getting stuck. Painfully, Purser broke his arm in the accident and was obviously done for the day - and for good. The race was his one and only career GN start.

Kirkwood and Fonty Flock in #14 had to take evasive action to split and avoid Buck Baker whose car stalled in the stand. -[  FloridaMemory.com  ]

Jim Mayes took a header into the sand and finished 34th.

One of the drivers most appreciated by the large crowd was a name we most recently heard from Rex White's lips during his NASCAR Hall of Fame induction speech: Frankie Schneider. His broadsliding technique through the corners in his Oldsmobile brought a cheer from the fans each lap.

Tommy Thompson had one of the more exciting days of the contestants. On the 29th lap of the 49-lap race, lost his left front wheel going through the south turn. He managed to ride on the rim down part of the beach until he could stop to get the wheel replaced. Then as the the race reached its conclusion, Thompson hooked his left front - the one he'd lost earlier - on the road's edge, and he was pitched into a spin. He narrowly missed starter Johnny Bruner who still managed to flag the race to an end. Even with all that, Thompson managed a 7th place finish.

Though the race was scheduled for 200 miles and 49 laps, nature intervened. The oceans tides began to come in sooner than expected, and NASCAR flagged the race complete after 37 laps. France, race officials and local law enforcement weren't concerned about the drivers' ability to race on the sand. However, they were concerned about the hundreds of spectator cars parked along the surf's edge - cars that would likely be lost to the sea if they weren't moved before the tides arrived.

NASCAR announced at lap 27 that the race would end after lap 37. Upon hearing this, Teague backed down his pace. Remarkably, he ended up going the whole race without a pit stop for tires or even for fuel.

When the checkers fell, teammates Teague and Thomas were running first and second. Teague had just enough fuel to make it to the shortened finish but no more. He ran out on the cool down lap heading down A1A.

The Hudson teammates pose in victory lane.

From [  Tommie Clinard's  ] pics

In today's web-connected and digital world, we don't think twice about immediate marketing opportunities for the winner of any sporting event. Back in the 1950s, it seems to me things might have moved a bit slower. But Pure Oil was all over Teague as the winner. And ad featuring him and his winning Hudson were featured in an ad in the next day's newspaper.

Race report from [  Daytona Beach Morning Journal  ]. (Click article to open larger version in new tab.)

A pretty witty "human interest" story accompanied the race report in the [  DBMJ  ].

Teague backed up his Daytona win with a victory in the next scheduled race at Speedway Park in Jacksonville on March 6. Tim Leeming [ posted about that race as well  ] about a year ago. But his days in NASCAR were coming to an end.

France penalized Teague again in April and stripped him of his points. Teague had an eye on Indy anyway. So he left NASCAR and joined AAA in an effort to land a ride in the Indy 500. Tragically, Teague would return to Daytona in 1959 to the new superspeedway and became the first fatality at Big Bill's new track - 7 years and 1 day after his win on the beach. Dave Fulton [ posted about that tragedy here . ]

Race rundown

Fin	Driver	Car
1	Marshall Teague	'52 Hudson
2	Herb Thomas	'52 Hudson
3	Pat Kirkwood	'51 Chrysler
4	Fonty Flock	'51 Oldsmobile
5	Gober Sosebee	'51 Oldsmobile
6	Bill Blair	'52 Oldsmobile
7	Tommy Thompson	'51 Chrysler
8	Tommy Moon	'51 Hudson
9	Lee Petty	'50 Lincoln
10	Lloyd Moore	'52 Chrysler
11	Frankie Schneider	'50 Oldsmobile
12	Larry Shurter	'50 Oldsmobile
13	Leonard Tippett	'51 Hudson
14	Donald Thomas	'51 Ford
15	Bruce Atchley	'51 Hudson
16	Jimmie Lewallen	'51 Plymouth
17	Dick Meyer	'50 Lincoln
18	E.C. Ramsey	'50 Nash
19	Al Keller	'51 Studebaker
20	Leo Caldwell	'50 Mercury
21	Ray Janelle	'51 Chrysler
22	Paul Pettit	'51 Oldsmobile
23	Ray Duhigg	'50 Oldsmobile
24	Don Oldenberg	'51 Packard
25	Roscoe Thompson	'51 Oldsmobile
26	Pepper Cunningham	'51 Hudson
27	Ed Samples	'51 Oldsmobile
28	Buck Baker	'50 Oldsmobile
29	Joe Eubanks	'50 Oldsmobile
30	Bill Snowden	'51 Cadillac
31	Jack Smith	'51 Chrysler
32	Thomas Lechlider	'50 Oldsmobile
33	Jack Goodwin	'51 Lincoln
34	Jim Mayes	'51 Chrysler
35	Red Duvall	'50 Packard
36	Bob Apperson	'51 Chrysler
37	Buck McCardell	'52 Chrysler
38	Doug Yates	'52 Chrysler
39	Buddy Shuman	'51 Ford
40	Jimmy Ayers	'51 Studebaker
41	Curtis Turner	'52 Oldsmobile
42	Jimmy Florian	'51 Oldsmobile
43	Tom Gifford	'51 Studebaker
44	Bill Miller	'51 Ford
45	J.E. Hardie	'52 Studebaker
46	George Gallup	'50 Oldsmobile
47	Mike Klapak	'51 Hudson
48	Billy Carden	'51 Oldsmobile
49	George Fleming	'51 Hudson
50	Mooney Williamson	'51 Hudson
51	Joie Ray	'52 Henry J
52	Fireball Roberts	'51 Ford
53	Jim Reed	'51 Lincoln
54	Johnny Thompson	'50 Oldsmobile
55	Tim Flock	'51 Hudson
56	Gordon Bishop	'51 Oldsmobile
57	Leon Sales	'51 Hudson
58	Joe Guide	'51 Hudson
59	L.C. Rigsby	'49 Plymouth
60	Dick Rathman	'51 Hudson
61	Smokey Purser	'50 Oldsmobile

updated by @tmc-chase: 02/07/17 03:00:57PM

Anyone have 1983 Martinsville Cup programs?

Stock Car Racing History

Arranged it - but was for naught. Bryan DNQ'd at Wilkesboro. Adding insult to injury for the Baker bunch was that Bryan's uncle, Randy Baker, also DNQ'd for that race.