Racing History Minute - March 19, 1967
Stock Car Racing History
I was at this 1967 race and it was my first visit to Bristol - a real adventure trip.
At the time I was an 18 year old First Year Man (freshman) at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Underclassmen were not allowed to have automobiles, but I couldn't have afforded one and college on my scholarship at the same time anyway. However, I really wanted to see this race and a plan was developed.
Living in my dorm was Art Rouse, who I found out was from Chesterfield County just outside Richmond. He had come to the University from Manchester High School, later to graduate Cup star, Denny Hamlin. Art had never seen a race, but I convinced him he just had to see one.
Art & I caught a Friday night Trailways bus from Charlottesville to Richmond. On Saturday morning Art, my buddy Frank, a freshman at University of Richmond, and I set out on a long haul from Richmond to Roanoke, Virginia. We'd spent Saturday night at my UVA roommate, Jay Sigmon's house. We were traveling in Art's dad's new Dodge Coronet 383.
My Roanoke roommate's family owned insurance and lumber businesses and had a home about ten times the size of those in my Richmond neighborhood. We got the grand Roanoke Saturday late night tour from Jay, including Papa Joe's, the world famous topless bar torn down just last year and the Texas Tavern , known locally in the Star City as the "Ptomaine" Tavern.
We left before dawn Sunday morning, driving from Roanoke to Bristol. There was no Interstate 81 going down, but rather old hilly and curvy U.S. 11, often two lanes only. It was a gray, dreary, cold mountain morning and we were afraid of being rained out.
We didn't have radio stations in Richmond or Charlottesville like they did between Roanoke and Bristol in 1967. We could only find hellfire preaching and the "Funeral Home of the Air" where the announcer read the local obituaries sponsored by the local funeral home.
I remember having to climb a big ramp from the parking area to the top of the Bristol grandstand seating. It was going up that ramp that the bottom fell out of our huge styrofoam cooler resulting in many cans of refreshment rolling down the asphalt ramp.
The place really looked beautiful to Frank and me after going to the dirt races at the half-mile fairgrounds track in Richmond. Bristol featured still new looking white concrete seating compared to splintered bleacher seats in Richmond.
It was a real thrill when Baltimore Col;ts' quarterback Johnny Unitas rode at the head of the parade laps throwing tiny footballs iinto the stands.
We were avid fans of the independent Chevys and Plymouths/Dodges, as well as the factory Chrysler products. We detested the factory Fords.
I shot 8mm color film at this race and had my camera pointed right at the #43 between turns 3 & 4 when calamity struck early. My GN hero, J.T. Putney in the #19 Chevy had early engine problems. The highlight of the race for Frank and me was when small puffs of smoke began emanating from the exhaust dumps of the white #28 Ford. I then pointed my camera at the Fearless Freddie Lorenzen factory Ford mount hoping to capture on film the coming explosion. It never happened. The car shortly went behind pit wall before it blew and never returned. You could hear a roar from the crowd over the cars on the track.
I really don't remember anything else about this race. It took a long time to get out of the parking lot that night and it was a very long drive back to Richmond from Bristol to return the car to Art's parents. We didn't return to classes in Charlottesville until Tuesday morning.
Thanks for the memories, Tim. This was a real road trip for me. I've posted these before, but below are the remnants of a couple of photos I took in the Bristol infield with my Brownie box camera after the March 19, 1967 Southeastern 500:
Flemington, Nwe Jersey's Bob Pickell made one of just a handful of GN starts for the Cozze Brothers in the #80 1966 Chevy Impala.
Tennessean G.C. Spencer always had sharp looking cars and his #49 Bristol Plymouth was no exception.
My GN hero, J.T. Putney lost the engine in his #19 Chevelle.
The Ray Nichels factory Plymouth #99 driven by Paul Goldsmith.
Wendell Scott's team truck waits in infield traffic to make the steep crossing over turn 2 to exit the Bristol infield.
updated by @dave-fulton: 03/18/17 01:44:07PM
