Forum Activity for @dave-fulton

The future of Racing ?

General

Hey, BB...

Since the 70s/80s, the Old Dominion 4-WD Club has run off-road mud bog races at Bodatious Motorsports Park west of Richmond at Cartersville, Virginia. The events there are every bit as much a rite of Spring and Fall to Richmond motorsports fans as the two NASCAR race weekends at RIR.

The Flavor of Mud

By: Christine McLean

I took a sip from my cup of coffee, got in the truck, and made my way down the road to Cartersville Virginia, where I would be helping photograph the backwoods event, Bodatious. It was still dark, being I left so early in the morning in order to arrive at Bodatious before any of the events started. I was jamming to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and my stomach had butterflies not only from being slightly nervous, but also because I was so excited. I had heard about Bodatious for years from friends, but I never managed to make it out there, so I was finally going to experience it. I made my way off exit 167 and hit a few pretty backroads just as the sun was coming up above the trees. It was such a pretty area, and I was imaging what the Motorsports Park would look like and where it was. I saw Boston Hill Road and made my turn. It was at the end of a long dirt road in a bunch of open fields, which I expected, and I saw nothing but trucks. It was like a dominos effect but only in truck form all lined up one after the other. I parked the truck by a tree and got out and took a deep breath of the cool crisp morning air, and wandered around to see where everything was. The motor cross was supposed to start around 9:00 am, so I had a little bit of time to prep my camera and get the feel for everything I would be doing that day. People were starting to wander around and get moving that had been camping there for the whole weekend, and the sound of car and truck engines revving up gave me cold chills because they sounded so good. I moseyed around and got some images of the fans that were coming in and some of the vendors that were setting up. 9:00 finally came around and the guys who would be racing were starting to line up near the entrance of the track. There were of all age groups, and they all had their 4 wheelers pumped up and ready to go. I could not wait to see them take off and race around the track getting muddy, and going over the jumps. Thankfully, there were not many bad wrecks, only minor ones. Around 11:00, there was a good breaking point so I took a little break and went up to the truck to eat lunch. Everyone there was so friendly, and most of them had been coming to Bodatious for years so they told me stories of crazy things that had happened years ago. It was really interesting meeting people and hearing different stories. The sun finally warmed up that April air, and made the temperature quite pleasant for the occasion. The sand drags were next and I was really looking forward to them. The aroma in the air smelled like high octane and it brought back memories of my dads drag racing days. I found a spot right by the starting line and waited as each car pulled up to take off. I captured the dirt flying in the air making a rooster tail. The engines were so loud that it almost tickled my ears when they took off. It was very exciting. The day went on and the mudbogs were about to start. The bulldozer was preparing the pit for the trucks to run their enormous tires through the slippery mud. I stood by the guardrail and waiting impatiently for the trucks to start coming, and I wished that I could be the one running a truck through there instead. The crowd was getting rowdy and it seemed like they had been waiting all day for this event. One after the other, Chevrolets, Dodges, Fords, you name it were running through the pit. The mud would spray up in the sky like 4th of July fireworks, and you had to watch out because you would get splattered if you didnt. It soon got dark and the air again cooled off, but the night sky was so pretty with all of the stars shining. The Baldy McGreggor Band was performing a bunch of classic and southern rock songs, and they really rocked. They sang some Lynyrd Skynrd, Tom Petty, Hank Williams, and all of the good songs to get down to on a Saturday night. The crowd was really into the band and everyone was singing and dancing. The night finally got old, and it was time for me to hit the road. I was very tired, but satisfied with the shots that I had gotten. Bodatious was funner than I had imagined, and I would love to go back whether making images or just going to have a good time.

1962 Dirt NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model / Dave MacDonald California State Fairgrounds Film

Stock Car Racing History

We've been talking a lot this past week about the possibility of NASCAR returning to its roots on dirt tracks.

I came across a pretty good clip of the late Dave MacDonald getting to and racing in the 1962 NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model 100-miler in Sacramento, California at the California State Fairgrounds. Posted on YouTube by Davemacdonaldnet, the film captures the "old" feel so many of us remember of stock cars at the dirt track.

You'll notice in the recap on Ultimate Racing History , the 3rd place finisher is the father of current Truck Series driver, Ron Hornaday, Jr.

NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model race
California State Fairgrounds, Sacramento, CA
September 9, 1962
100 laps on 1 mile dirt oval; 100 miles

Fin St Driver # Owner Car Laps Money Status Laps Led
1 Eddie Gray 100 1,300 running
2 Don Noel 800
3 Ron Hornaday Sr. 500
4 Mel Larson 400
Bill Amick - Pole Winner
Clem Proctor
Eddie Pagan
Danny Weinberg

Notes: 29 cars started the race.
Time of race: 01:34:01
Average Speed: 63.818 MPH
Pole Speed: 44.29 seconds
7 cautions
Attendance: 12,000

Please forgive me if this has been posted previously:

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

NC State Fair Auto Racing 1940s Video

Stock Car Racing History

The old grandstand and track looked near identical to Richmond, didn't it Ray?

NC State Fair Auto Racing 1940s Video

Stock Car Racing History

From State of NC Archives - a 1937 excerpt from NC State Fair manager, J.S. Dorton (as in Dorton Arena) describing 1937 Fair attractions:

SPECIAL EVENTS

WEDNESDAY ONLY OCTOBER 13
"Lucky" Teter and His Hell Drivers

Legion of the World's Greatest Daredevils

We do not think it good business to repeat any attraction,
but the public has been so lavish in their praise of "Lucky" Teter
and his Hell Drivers that we have made an exception in this
Great Attraction.

"Lucky" is not a daredevil, but a precision driver. One whose
business it is to be "Perfectly" Reckless. His driving is Per-
fection. His timing of all of his stunts is to a split second. See
him do his whirl-wind spiral roll-over, the "Head-on Crash"
(drivers remaining in cars), automobile doing a Truck Leap,
"The Race of Flaming Death," leaping a car off a ramp through
space, into and through a solid wall of fire. "Lucky" driving
his car in Reverse Spins, Triple Ski Jumps, Truck Jumps, and
dozens of other spine tingling and thrill-giving performances.

NC State Fair Auto Racing 1940s Video

Stock Car Racing History

More Lucky Teter:

NC State Fair Auto Racing 1940s Video

Stock Car Racing History

From the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, here is amateur black & white film shot at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh in the 1940s. Non-text DVD.43 (copy of VT.30)

Some of the subjects included are :

* Open Wheel racing on Raleigh State Fairgrounds dirt track

* Wall of Death

* Lucky Teter Hell Drivers

* Hootchie Kootchie Girls (Don't look, Cody!)

* High Wire acts

Look how well trained and synchronized the Lucky Teeter bunch is. Today's NASCAR pit crews have nothing on how well these men orchestrated their stunts.

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM

315 To Go To Reach 10,000 Members

Administrative

Gonna have to have a goat roundup!

Who's Responsible for Bobby & Judy Allison's Current Problem?

General

Aha! Here's the link to the Problem Solver Investigation Video Story Conclusion:

The villain is Lowe's Home Improvement's new corporate headquarters!!! So all you Bobby Allison fans can now start booing Jimmie Johnson!!!

http://www.wbtv.com/story/19944215/psi-nascar-legends-dried-up-wate...

PSI: NASCAR legend's dried up waterfront
Posted: Oct 29, 2012 1:38 PM EDT Updated: Oct 30, 2012 2:29 PM EDT
By Jamie Boll

MOORESVILLE, NC (WBTV) -

It was a mid-September morning. It was sunny, there was just a light breeze and temps were in the low 70's. Another beautiful day around Lake Norman. A perfect day to go fishing, but Bobby Allison couldn't get his boat on the water.

"It's landlocked at the moment," said Allison.

Bobby and his Judy moved to Lake Norman back in 1999.

"This became a source of therapy for us," said Judy Allison.

The Allison story is one of triumph and tragedy. Bobby, a NASCAR Hall of Famer won 84 races and a championship. He also nearly lost his life in a crash at Pocono Raceway in 1988. He did lose nearly all he had earned in racing in his battle to recover. Prize money and insurance wasn't anything like it is now in NASCAR.

Things only got worse for the Allisons in 1992. Their son Clifford died in a racing accident, 11 months later, they lost son Davey in a helicopter crash.

"I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," said Judy.

Over time Judy and Bobby put their lives back together. Their move from Alabama to Lake Norman helped. Judy loved the lake view. Bobby loved to fish.

"I've always loved to fish," said Bobby as he showed us a picture of a bass he had caught. "It was about 3-and-a-half pounds."

Unfortunately he can't fish as much as he used to. He says he can only launch his boat from his dock a few months out of the year. He says when they moved to the lake he could hit the water year round. Now, all too often, his cove is just dry land.

"We've had to mow this," said Judy. "We've had to mow the lake."

So, what's happened to the cove? The answer may be in what happened about 500 feet to the east of the cove. There's been development. A lot of it. Among the projects, a widened Interstate 77 and construction of a corporate headquarters for Lowe's Home Improvement.

"So, it's a lot of extra runoff," said Catawba Riverkeeper Rick Gaskins.

Gaskins says nature's balance has been uprooted. Trees and brush replaced with roofs and parking lots.

"An acre of trees verses an area of impervious area you get 26,000 gallons of additional runoff per inch of rain," said Gaskins.

The Lowe's complex alone is 228 acres. So, now when it rains hard you see a river of muddy water dumping into the cove.

"It's typical where you have a lot of development," said Gaskins.

Lowe's gave us an emailed response to our questions about whether its office complex is a factor in the cove slowly filling in. The company said it "has focused on the environment since beginning work on the Mooresville campus." The company also said it "met and complied with all requirements" set by the state.

It is true, but state environmental inspectors also tell us there's "no doubt" increased runoff has contributed to the problems now seen in the cove. It's also true the state hit Lowe's with a "Notice of Violation" back in 2009. The state said the company was not maintaining erosion control measures. An inspection found sixteen inches to three feet of sediment in a tributary leading to Lake Norman. Gaskins called that amount, "stunning."

Tougher runoff mitigation rules have been put into effect since the Lowe's construction, too late to further protect the Allisons.

They get by on Social Security and the appearances Bobby makes for a few race sponsors. They don't have the millions of today's race car drivers. They can't afford the costly dredging needed to get their boat back on the water.

"We didn't create (the problem)," said Judy Allison. "Several other people did and several people need to fix it."

Copyright 2012 WBTV. All rights reserved.

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Who's Responsible for Bobby & Judy Allison's Current Problem?

General

I figured you'd pick up on that. Actually brought a couple of gallon plastic containers of sauce back up to Charlotte.

Seems like a million years ago. Tommy had been dating Patty Moise pre-Elton Sawyer.

Who's Responsible for Bobby & Judy Allison's Current Problem?

General

Back in the late 1980s, I did a little work for TransAm sports car racer Tommy Kendall, who was trying to break into NASCAR. Went down and spent a couple of nights at a place he had on a lake in central Florida. Beautiful area. Only problem was there was absolutely not one single drop of water in the lake. Beautiful dock to nowhere. All the lakes in the area at that time had dried up.

We turned lemons into lemonade, though. Found a wonderful backwoods bbq joint. Ceiling so low I had to stoop. Great sauce. Never been back. Ought to have.