Hey, RR members.... if we can raise $80, we can buy Morgan Shepherd a ticket to a Question & Answer session with Joey Logano at Richmond in September.... unless there's an age limit. Morgan will also have to have a race ticket. This stuff ain't cheap, ya know.
The little spoiled rich kid Logano screwed up and needed somebody to blame. Morgan's age may be greater than Logano's I.Q. Wonder if Denny Hamlin has weighed in on the short memory Logano's comments about Shepherd?
That's a beautiful Cyclone, Blane. Did you patronize 60 Minute Cleaners?!
That's awesome, Blane. Joyce and the girls had driven from Dallas, TX to Wilson and I took a week off and flew to Raleigh from Dallas. I should have hitched a ride with you!!! Len & Eddie Wood couldn't wait for things to be done Saturday afternoon. They had dinner reservations at The Angus Barn near RDU before heading back to Stuart, Virginia.
Our little race shop in Bailey, NC in the early 70s was just off U.S. 264 on Highway 581. Back in those days 264 was still two lanes, but it was the "new" road. 4 lanes came when Wilson's Jim Hunt was elected guv.
Just goes to prove it's a small world. Hope you had a good time. Did you get a "free" goldfish?!
I never think of Bill Gazaway that I don't think of a huge personal favor he did for me in the summer of 1985. I've recounted it previously, but here it goes again.
Bill Gazaway had a very tough reputation (and some might say that his brother, Joe Gazaway - a NASCAR tech inspector - tried to go overboard in that direction) and many in the garage were deathly afraid of Gazaway. I would expect that our RR member, Mike Sykes could paint an accurate picture having worked as an inspector for Gazaway.
Bud Moore (as I'm sure Perry Allen Wood will attest) used to spend a lot of time in the NASCAR truck in the Garage having political "discussions" with Gazaway. Because of that, while sponsoring Bud's team in 1982 and 1983, I became very comfortable with Bill Gazaway.
In the summer of 1985, my late mother-in-law, Wilma Daniels was relocating her Bright Leaf Pet Shop to a brand new location in a strip addition to Parkwood Mall in Wilson, NC .
At the time, I was Motorsports Coordinator for The Southland Corporation in Dallas, representing the various racing sponsorships of 7-Eleven, CITGO and Chief Auto Parts. Our NASCAR team at the time had Kyle Petty in his first year with the Wood Brothers.
In looking at the 1985 NASCAR schedule, I discovered an "off weekend" between the July 28 Talladega race and the August 11 Michigan Cup event. So, to help my mother-in-law promote her new location, I made arrangements to hold a "NASCAR Day" on Saturday, August 3, 1985 in the parking lot of Wilson, NC's Parkwood Mall.
I called in several years worth of favors. I had many cars from the local Wilson County Speedway. I had one of the huge walk-thru mobile kitchens from Bill's Barbecue & Chicken Restaurant in Wilson. I had the NASCAR pace cars from Charlotte, Rockingham, Martinsville, Darlington, North Wilkesboro and Richmond. We gave away tickets to upcoming Cup and Busch Series races. We gave away mini-cars from NASCAR sponsors. We even gave away "free" goldfish, requiring parents to purchase bowls, aquariums, gravel, pumps, etc. from the new pet shop.
I had showcars from several teams, including my own 7-Eleven showcar.
Glen Wood and Richard Childress very graciously sent their Cup big rigs for display. With Wrangler Jeans still having its largest manufacturing location in Wilson, NC at the time, the sight of a blue & yellow 18 wheeler with a Wrangler car beaming out at Ward Boulevard really brought in the crowd.
The biggest hit of NASCAR Day in Wilson was something I never dreamed of. When he learned of my plans and realized it was an off weekend, Bill Gazaway offered to send me the NASCAR control rig - the NASCAR Truck - for a walk-thru display, along with the "Mayor of Mint Hill" - NASCAR flagman, Harold Kinde r. That unexpected gift from NASCAR and Bill Gazaway happened, I'm sure, because of my friendship with Bud Moore.
We had beautiful weather in Wilson, NC on Saturday, August 3, 1985, and the NASCAR Truck with Harold Kinder was the biggest hit of the weekend. I don't think anything bigger has ever happened in Wilson and it is still talked about. I felt forever indebted to the tough talking Bill Gazaway. I figured somewhere along the way I'd done something right for racing.
Harold Kinder's NASCAR Control Truck and cars from Wilson County Speedway on display at Bright Leaf Pet Shop Grand opening 8/3/1985 in Wilson, NC.
Richard Childress Racing and Wood Brothers Racing big rigs, along with show cars and pace cars on display at grand opening of Bright Leaf Pet Shop in Wilson, NC on 8/3/1985.
My older daughter, Gwyn and late nephew, Nick with one of the NASCAR mini-cars we gave away in Wilson, NC on 8/3/1985 for the grand opening of the Bright Leaf Pet Shop.
I felt really bad for Bill Gazaway when NASCAR pushed out Bill and his checked, double-knit, polyester slacks as Vice President of Competition for NASCAR in favor of the more politically connected Les Richter after the closing of Riverside Raceway. I'll always remember tough Bill Gazaway as the man who provided a highly regarded, unsolicited favor for me and my family.
Gazaway sporting the same sunglasses in this uncredited photo on Legends of NASCAR page.
That's definitely an ARCA Race Car decal on the Curtis Turner #13. Here's the same decal in 1969 on Dick Trickle's Daytona ARCA car:
