Happy Birthday Pete Hamilton
Stock Car Racing History
Race results from URH, comment from Dave.
Forum Activity for @dave-fulton
Happy Birthday Pete Hamilton
Stock Car Racing History
I never did get to see Pete win a GN (Cup) race in person, but I was fortunate to watch him clean house on June 21, 1969 at South Boston, Virginia in that immaculate, super-fast, red Gene White Camaro in a Grand American (GT) race. Pete and that car were in a class by themselves.
That win was particularly memorable because he beat our hometown Richmond hero, Ray Hendrick at a track where "Rapid Ray" ruled in modifieds by a full lap in 2nd place.
GT 100 NASCAR Grand Touring race
South Boston Speedway, South Boston, VA
June 21, 1969
267 laps on 0.375 mile paved oval; 100.125 miles
Fin St Driver # Owner Car Laps Money Status Laps Led
1 1 Pete Hamilton Gene White 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 267 850 running 143
2 Ray Hendrick 1969 Chevrolet Camaro 266 running
3 Jim Paschal 1969 AMC Javelin
4 T.C. Hunt 1968 Chevrolet Camaro
5 Wayne Andrews 1968 Chevrolet Camaro
Tiny Lund
Buck Baker
Notes: 16 of 22 starters running at the finish.
Time of race: 01:15:08
Average Speed: 79.86 MPH
Pole Speed: 15.68 seconds
2 cautions
from Ultimate Racing History
My buddies and I always thought Pete was given the total shaft by Chrysler when the Pettys were forced to drop him and campaign Buddy Baker in the Dodge. Chrysler lost a lot of respect over that move and it sure alienated a lot of fans against Buddy Baker.
I always recall Pete's blood red face when he came out of a car. He always looked as if he was on the verge of a heat stroke.
Leonard Wood Honored with Old Time Car Color at Brickyard - Solid "Candy Apple" Red #21
Stock Car Racing History
There's a very interesting story in Street Rodder about the history of Kandy paint and its California innovators:
http://www.streetrodderweb.com/features/0211sr_kandy_koating_paint/index.html
Leonard Wood Honored with Old Time Car Color at Brickyard - Solid "Candy Apple" Red #21
Stock Car Racing History
Woods Return To Original Colors at Brickyard
Mention the words candy apple red to a race fan and the next thing that comes to mind is the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford.
Bayne's candy apple red No. 21 Ford
The connection between car and color became so embedded in NASCARs group mentality over the years that even now, long after the team switched to a metal-flake red in 1971, most people still refer to the red on the Woods Ford Fusion as candy apple.
When Trevor Bayne pulls the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion onto the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next week, the Wood Brothers car will return to its original, iconic colors. The car will outfitted in the throwback colors to honor long-time crew chief and engine builder Leonard Wood and his election into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Woods picture appears on the hood of the car, along with the Hall of Fame logo.
Leonard, who still works with the family team, said that every time he walks by the car it catches his eye.
Its beautiful, really nice looking, he said.
Being honored at the Brickyard has special meaning for the man many consider one of the smartest ever to walk through the gate of a NASCAR garage. At the 1965 Indianapolis 500, Wood and his family-based pit crew worked for Jim Clark, helping and Ford to their first win in open wheel racings premier event.
Eddie Wood, current co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing, said he has been fascinated with candy apple red -- based on the red caramelized sugar coating found on candied apples -- since he first saw it on his familys race car as a boy.
I was 11 years old then, about the age when I really started noticing a lot of the details of the race cars and how they were painted. I remember it well, he said, adding that putting time, planning and detail into a paint scheme wasnt as common in the early days of the sport as it is today.
It wasnt just the Woods who had colorful cars in 1963. Ned Jarretts cars were painted candy blue, while Fireball Roberts cars were candy lavender. Tiny Lund drove a car painted candy tangerine and Fred Lorenzens Holman-Moody Ford was pearl white, another shade in the candy family. Several drivers, including Hall of Famers Jarrett and Glen Wood (brother of Leonard), ended their driving careers in cars painted in their respective candy colors.
The original candy apple No. 21
Wood, a serious student of the history of the sport, has long wondered about the origins of the candy colored paint schemes. To find out, he went straight to the source. He discovered contact information for former Director of Ford Racing Jacque Passino in his mothers Christmas card list, picked up the phone, and gave him a call. Passino, now 91, answered on the first ring and was ready to talk.
He said he was having trouble following his cars around the race track, because so many of them looked alike, Wood said. So he had them painted candy colors.
Passino also told Wood that he worked with famed car customizer George Barris, who had done work for Ford on the paint schemes.
I was delighted to get to talk to Mr. Passino and get the story from him, Wood said. Its been a mystery to me for a long time.
The original candy apple paint scheme was run in the series now known as Sprint Cup by four drivers; Marvin Panch, Dan Gurney, Dave MacDonald, and Glen Wood, who ran his final Cup race at Starkey, Va., with that color. Sonny Hutchins and Donnie Allison also drove a Wood Brothers Modified 1937 Ford Coupe painted candy apple red.
The Woods ran that paint scheme until the end of the 1966 season, then began painting their cars white on the bottom. They kept the candy apple red on top through the driving tenures of Curtis Turner and Cale Yarborough. In the days before decals and wraps, the Woods painted their numbers white, with the first version of the candy apple car featuring an orange border around the number. Leonard Wood didnt like that particular look, so the border was changed to black for a time. Around 1964, a gold border was added.
Back in the day, painter Ophus Agnew applied the candy apple color to the Woods Fords. The latest paint job is the work of Mike Andretti Smith. Eddie Wood, who has done some painting himself in the past, said Smith nailed the paint job, which can be a difficult one.
You never know how its going to come out, he said. It can be too dark or too light or have streaks, but it came out just perfect.
as posted by Dave Moody at Godfathermotorsports.com
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/16/16 07:54:05AM
Gomer Won't Sing, but "Dopey Opie" will Drive Indy Pace Car
Current NASCAR
Those folks at IMS are still dwelling in Mayberry. No Jim Nabors for the National Anthem, but little Ronny Howard - OPIE - will be in the pace car. The news release says driving the pace car, but even I don't believe NASCAR is THAT stupid. Maybe a secondary "official" car. My gosh, Indy is the place where we've seen folks maimed and killed by the idiots who were selected to drive the pace car in the 500.
From IMS News Release:
Two-Time Academy Award Winning Film Maker Ron Howard To Drive '400' Pace Car At IMS
Two-time Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard will drive the Pace Car and lead the field of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series superstars to the green flag at the Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com on Sunday, July 29, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was announced July 20.
Howard has become an entertainment legend as a director, producer and actor. He has directed worldwide blockbusters including A Beautiful Mind, Angels & Demons, Apollo 13, Backdraft, Cinderella Man, Cocoon, Parenthood, Splash, The Da Vinci Code, Willow and many more. He received Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture in 2001 for A Beautiful Mind and was nominated for Best Director in 2008 for Frost/Nixon.
Howard will be making his first visit to the historic speedway as a guest of, and to shadow, four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger team.
Howards upcoming epic-action drama, Rush, stars Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers) as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brhl (Inglourious Basterds) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives. Rush is currently in postproduction and will be released in 2013.
Its a great honor to welcome a true legend, Ron Howard, to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and chief executive officer. Ron has become immersed in motorsports culture and history through the filming of Rush, so hes an ideal person to pace the field for one of NASCARs biggest races at The Greatest Race Course in the World.
The Pace Car for the 19th annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at IMS will be announced soon.
Ive been a longtime admirer of Jeffs work both on and off the track, Howard said. Not only is he a stellar driver, but his commitment to ending older hunger in America shows his passion for helping others. Im honored to drive the Pace Car at IMS, and I thank NASCAR for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Howard made his screen acting debut when he was 18 months old in the 1956 movie Frontier Woman, which led to a role for Howard at the age of 2 in a stage production of The Seven-Year Itch.
He was introduced to America on a much grander scale at age 6 when in 1960 he was cast in the role of Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show, which led to major motion-picture appearances in the The Music Man in 1962 and The Courtship of Eddies Father in 1963.
Following his run with The Andy Griffith Show that ended in 1968, Howard starred with Henry Fonda in The Smith Family before entering the University of Southern Californias film school in 1972. Howards role in the 1973 George Lucas film, American Graffiti, led him to the leading role of Richie Cunningham in the hit television sitcom Happy Days from 1974-84.
Additional film roles came Howards way, including a starring role in John Waynes final movie, The
Shootist, in 1976 that wrapped in time for Howard to direct his first motion picture, Grand Theft Auto, in 1977.
Howard met Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer in 1981, and they produced and directed Night Shift, a comedy featuring Howards Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler. Two years later, the duo created the hit film Splash, starring Tom Hanks, Darryl Hannah and John Candy. Howard and Grazer created Imagine Films Entertainment, which produced such hit films as Willow (1988), Parenthood (1989), Backdraft (1989), Apollo 13 (1995) and Ransom (1996), all directed by Howard.
|IMS will be the epicenter of American stock car racing and North American sports car racing July 26-29, 2012, as the NASCAR Nationwide Series and GRAND-AM Road Racing will join the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for four exciting races during the inaugural Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard.
It will be the first time in IMS history that races will take place on the 2.5-mile oval and 2.534-mile Grand Prix road course during the same weekend, and GRAND-AM Road Racing and the NASCAR Nationwide Series will make their IMS racing debuts, respectively, Friday, July 27 and Saturday, July 28. The weekend will culminate Sunday, July 29, with the running of the 19th annual Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com.
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM
What's in a Picture
Stock Car Racing History
Those two are like Superman & Clark Kent.... never around at the same time!
What's in a Picture
Stock Car Racing History
Bobby, if anybody ever doubted your description of seeing Carolina Beach Speedway for the first time as a ten year old in 1964, your photo sure puts your money where your mouth is!
They only had one rule, and that was "run what you brung". There were late models, jalopies, some with flathead Ford engines, modifieds, and one '56 Pontiac with the full bench seat still intact. They had just removed the "back" from the passenger's side. There was even a Hudson Hornet sponsored by the "Ball Park Inn, Havelock, NC".
Excerpt from Bobby Williamson post at Ghosts of Southern Dirt Tracks Past
What's in a Picture
Stock Car Racing History
And I have also been to a GN race on the dirt at Richmond and a Grand American race on the dirt at Raleigh where the FANS were asked to help run-in the tracks because they were mud holes from rain.
What's in a Picture
Stock Car Racing History
Studebaker & '57 Chevy rounding the corner side-by-side pursued by the coupes. Dawning of the shift to late models?