Forum Activity for @dennis-andrews

Dave, I'd call that far more than a little unbalanced. It should be the Greatest Moments in NC NCAA Basketball. Maybe the folks that run it are not aware of the proud racing heritage that is North Carolina. So many top drivers come from there, and so many great tracks have been home to racing since its inception. But hey! We have a fantastic Racing Hall of Fame in Georgia, only 45 minutes from my house, in Dawsonville. We'd be happy to serve both states.

Just by way of a nit to pick, Richard Petty was born in NC, but won that #200 at Daytona, Florida.

There's just no accounting for the thinking of some folks. I'd set fire to the place before I'd vote on a weighted ballot like that...but that's just me.

~PattyKay

The following story was posted onJoel Bailey'sRockingham Remembered web site by Joe Pruitt. I have posted it here with permission. Of course the reason I liked it is because it talks about my hero, Wayne Andrews, my dad and brings back a lot of memories from my youth. I also think it will remind a lot of folks of their evenings spent at their locate race track. Here goes:

Old Rockingham Speedway by Joe Pruitt

I love dirt track racing. I have seen it in Rockingham, Fayetteville, Colorado, Panama and on TV from other places. The old Rockingham Speedway was located just a few miles from the new speedway, just beyond the intersection of Roberdel Road with US1. Some of the best dirt track racing was seen here. Sometime after the construction of the new speedway, it went into history.

My uncle, Clyde McCaskill, took his daughter Sandra McCaskill and me to the car races at the old Rockingham Speedway when we were just youngsters. I have been attracted to fast cars and racing ever since. I remember that the grandstand side where people sat had railroad cross tie fence backed up by dirt to keep the cars in the track, but the far side of the track had no guardrails to keep them in. Sometimes the cars would get bumped off the track on the far side, go over the big drop off, and be lost to view of the spectators. There might be a big cloud of dust, or if they flipped high enough in the air, you could see them briefly. Some of them would just drive back up on the track, and sometimes the race would be stopped to make sure no one was hurt and haul the cars out of the way of the next crash.

Maybe a hundred feet or so away from that back side were some small pine trees where people would save the cost of admission by sitting in the trees. One night I remember a car or two went off the back side. At least one of them stayed on all four wheels and managed to make it into the trees. It was hilarious, and just added some more fun to the outing, as long as no one was hurt.

Since I was too young at the time, I don't remember any of the big names racing there, but I do remember one race with three names that still stand out. Big John Sears, and I believe Bobby Webb were driving in that race. Winding Wayne Andrews, I am pretty sure the other driver's name was. Winding Wayne was from Siler City and drove a '57 Chevrolet that was just slightly better than Big John's car, a Ford, I believe.

This was old dirt track racing at its best. Winding Wayne could pass Big John and get in the front, with Big John just behind. In the turns, Big John could get alongside, but couldn't quite get the pass made. The reason they called Wayne "Winding", was the way he drove that '57 Chevy. He could keep the car in the most power producing gear, and wind up the motor to a high rpm's. He would enter a turn completely sideways in a four wheel slide, and just at the apex of the turn he would get back on the gas with the wheels turned to exit the corner perfectly. I have never seen anyone so good, and I have seen racing in many places. He would get the car straightened out at the middle of the straightaway, only to turn the wheels and take it sideways into the next turn. It was a beautiful ballet at the highest speed possible for that dirt track. If no other car interfered, he could do it time after time and stay in front.

Big John and Bobby were infamous at the track for blocking. If one got in front, the other would be behind and try to keep faster cars from getting in the front to try for the lead. This one particular race, Winding Wayne made it past Big John. John was close on his bumper, and could get beside him in the turn, until Wayne got back fully on the gas and pulled away until the next turn. This went on lap after lap. What came next, whether it was intentional or not, I don't know. Wayne was in his big power slide, and Big John moved over several feet suddenly and tapped Wayne's left rear fender with his car. Wayne's right rear dug in and whipped his car to the right, and with the front wheels turned all the way to the right in the slide, Wayne didn't stand a chance. He ended up driving straight into the front grandstand railroad ties backed by solid earth, head on. The violence of the impact and the sudden stop was so great, that the rear of the '57 Chevrolet came up in the air and back down. In those days, race cars maybe had lap belts, no shoulder belts, no special seats and just helmets for protection.

Wayne must have been one tough guy, because he did come out of that mangled car. I don't ever remember seeing him race again, but I never forgot the thrill of seeing him dancing with that '57 at high speed on dirt.

Dave,

Many times I have struggled to make sense fo the things Nascar has done. While they still don't your comment (NASCAR's Ramsey Poston came from the staff of Jody Powell's Washington DC PR agency that NASCAR hired to advise them after Dale SR.'s death. You'll remember Powell was press chief for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter) helps me understand some of it.

Dave Fulton said:

NASCAR deserves what it has gotten... The points leaders of its top-3 series were not the winners of the top-3 Daytona races! What idiots. NASCAR's Ramsey Poston calls it an "anomaly". He further states that the new system will encourage sponsors to sign on with younger drivers. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! What would cause sponsors to sign on with younger drivers and new car owners would be to abandon the guaranteed starting positions that fill up the field and open the competition to the best cars, drivers, owners and let us see some real racing again. NASCAR's Ramsey Poston came from the staff of Jody Powell's Washington DC PR agency that NASCAR hired to advise them after Dale SR.'s death. You'll remember Powell was press chief for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter - and we all know how that turned out.Not to talk politics, but maybeNASCAR should have hired someone from a place that advised Reagan, not Carter, if they truly wanted a finger on the pulse of race fans. Some real racing and fields open to all comers would fix a lot of the problems with the empty grandstands. A lot of us are old enough to remember when we followed drivers from the ranks of hobby cars, modifieds, sportsman, late models, etc at our local tracks. We remember when those same drivers went to big races at other regional tracks and the really big shows at Martinsville, etc. We followed them in the pages of Southern Motorsports Journal and Southern MotoRacing, both of which provided coverage of hundred of weekly races. We knew about those hot drivers at other tracks in other states long before they started running regional and national events. Those of us in Richmond, Virginialived to see the Eastern Bandits from Connecticut & Massachusetts come down to our Southside Speedway for the big money events. We loved to see our local Ray Hendrick and Sonny Hutchins run against North Carolina's Harry Gant, Bob Pressley, Sam Ard, etc. in a big money/points show. When I lived in Wilson, NC, we wanted to see the South Carolinians and Virginians come to town for our big late model shows. Now the local tracks don't get the national coverage or even regional coverage. We don't know who the top dogs are at hundreds of tracks and look forward to having them pay a visit at our own local track. Today, car owners such as Roush, who came from the pony car circuit and Ganassi from the Indy car circuit hire drivers we've never seen at our local track. There is no continuity today of fans following a driver through the ranks like fans did with a Gant or Earnhardt, Sr. No disrespect, but I'd rather see the driver who paid his dues at my area Saturday night tracks than a South American import, i.e. Juan Pablo Montoya. There is no question in my mind that the racing today sucks and there seems to be nobody left in NASCAR who remembers how things worked when it was good.

Here are the articles Will.

I found a 1947 article that confirms what Will Tate and David Feezor have stated. In the fall of 1947 Zeb Grubb Enterprises had 3 projects under construction. A 3100 foot airport, bulk oil and gas distribution station and Lakeview Speedway half way between Lexington and Salisbury. The 5/8 mile banked dirt track was planning to open in the spring of 1948 and was located on a portion of the old Lexington Golf Course property and was flanked on three sides by paved roads US 29 (now I-85), old hwy. 29 and NC 150. A 4,000 capacity grand stand was under construction on the North side of the track. The incorporators of the speedway were J.M. Smith, Tommy Picket and Zeb Little, all of Lexington. AT the time Little was a student at UNC Chapel Hill. Stock cars, midgets and motorcycle races were being planned. The airport and distribution station were located closer to Lexington.

Bobby,

I asked dad if he ever ran at a track near Salisbury and he said he did. It would have been in the late 50's and he remembered it as Lakewood(50 years is a long time to remember) so if it isthe same track then it lasted more than a few years. Could have been it was only Nascar sanctioned a couple of years and then went outlaw.

Dad said the promoter paid by this formula, he got 50% of the gate and the rest went to the purse.Dad won a feature there on night in '58 or '59and got 25 or 30 bucks.

Bobby,

I asked my dad if he ran at the Wadesboro Speedway and he said that he did a few times in the late 50's. This was before late model cars were run in this part of the state, outlaw (non Nascar) modified and sportsman cars. He said that John McNeil promoted some races there. John was the promoter that was running the old Rockingham Speedway at the time. John's son Larry is a member of Racers Reunion and may be able to give you some more history on the track. It sounds like it would have been Wadesboro II from the dates you have posted. Dad said the track did not survive into the late model days and I think they started running late models as the featured class in 1962 at Rockingham.

The shop that BB noted, Sheppards Auto Parts and Machine is no longer standing. Old man Sheppard (as I have heard him called) ran the machine shop and built a lot of motors that ran in that time and area. His son Roy ran the parts store.

We can't think of anyone else except maybe Edsel Kiker that may know more history on the track. Edsel was from Peachland which is closer to Wadesboro than Rockingham. As far as I know he is still living, maybe he is in the phone book. Finding him should not be hard for you as I am constantly amazed at the amount of information you are able to dig up about these old ghost tracks.

Anyway that's my 2 cents worth, keep up the good work.

Dennis Andrews

I'm with you Jeff. Political correctness, the new order of the day for NASCAR......further distancing themselves from the Christian, middle-class working folks. Those same folks that brought NASCAR from the beach-road course to the Waldorf-Astoria.

Jeff Gilder said:

This is just a guess...but it is probably because they think it might alienate some of their new fans and those they wish to woo who may have different beliefs. You know...it might be they are trying to be "politically" correct. Just a guess...I doubt you could get a "real" answer from anyone who is employed by them.