Forum Activity for @dave-fulton

Racing History Minute - July 12, 1958

Stock Car Racing History

July 12, 1964 was a big day for driver Billy Wade and the Bud Moore organization. In fact, the period of July 10 through July 19, 1964 was as storied a time in the history of car owner Bud Moore as any he ever experienced. During those ten days in July 1964, Moore's driver Billy Wade (replacing Joe Weatherly who was killed at Riverside in Jan. 1964) swept 4 consecutive NASCAR Grand National races on the Northern Tour.

The sweep started at Old Bridge, New Jersey, continuing at Bridgehampton, New York and Islip, New York and concluded at Watkins Glen.

The July 12, 1964 Bridgehampton race would be the first of two road course wins for the Wade/Moore combo on the northern swing.

Richard Petty started on the pole in his hemi Plymouth for Bridgehampton after beating out David Pearson's Cotton Owens Dodge in a ten-lap qualifying race. There was even a ringer, as sports car star, Walt Hansgen placed 3rd on race day in a Ford.

When the checkers dropped, though, it was Billy Wade's Mercury Maruder from Spartanburg taking the trophy.

NASCAR Grand National race number 38 of 62 Sunday, July 12, 1964 at Bridgehampton Raceway , Bridgehampton, NY 50 laps on a 2.850 mile road course (142.5 miles) Time of race: 1:37:29 Average Speed: 87.707 mph Pole Speed: 90.6 mph Cautions: n/a Margin of Victory: 20 sec Attendance: 6,500 Lead changes: 8

Fin	St	#	Driver	Sponsor / Owner	Car	Laps	Money	Status	Led
1	3	1	Billy Wade	Bud Moore	'64 Mercury	50	1,225	running	31
2	7	3	Buck Baker	Ray Fox	'64 Dodge	50	675	running	0
3	9	46	Walt Hansgen	Walt Hansgen	'64 Ford	48	500	running	0
4	22	06	Marvin Panch	Holman-Moody	'64 Ford	44	350	running	0
5	10	02	Curtis Crider	Curtis Crider	'63 Mercury	42	350	running	0
6	6	11	Ned Jarrett	Bondy Long	'64 Ford	41	340	engine	0
7	21	88	Neil Castles	Buck Baker	'62 Chrysler	41	250	running	0
8	2	6	David Pearson	Cotton Owens	'64 Dodge	38	400	engine	17
9	17	9	Roy Tyner	Roy Tyner	'64 Chevrolet	38	200	running	0
10	23	68	Bob Derrington	Bob Derrington	'63 Ford	31	190	running	1
11	14	45	Louis Weathersbee	Louis Weathersbee	'63 Plymouth	31	180	running	0
12	4	16	Darel Dieringer	Bud Moore	'64 Mercury	25	270	oil pump	0
13	1	43	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises	'64 Plymouth	21	385	engine	1
14	19	71	James Hylton	Bondy Long	'64 Ford	21	150	oil pressure	0
15	24	55	Earl Brooks	Wendell Scott	'62 Chevrolet	21	135	spindle	0
16	8	54	Jimmy Pardue	Burton-Robinson ( Charles Robinson )	'64 Plymouth	17	175	transmission	0
17	12	26	Bobby Isaac	Ray Nichels	'64 Dodge	15	115	transmission	0
18	11	03	LeeRoy Yarbrough	Ray Fox	'64 Dodge	14	110	differential	0
19	5	25	Paul Goldsmith	Ray Nichels	'64 Plymouth	13	175	transmission	0
20	16	01	Buddy Baker	Curtis Crider	'62 Mercury	5	100	con rod	0
21	13	10	Bernard Alvarez	Bernard Alvarez	'64 Ford	5	100	brakes	0
22	15	31	Al White	Al White	'62 Ford	3	100	oil pressure	0
23	20	34	Wendell Scott	Wendell Scott	'63 Ford	2		clutch	0
24	18	49	Doug Moore	G.C. Spencer	'64 Chevrolet	1		spin	0

Ken Spooner photo above shows Petty & Pearson on pole with the twin Bud Moore Mercs of Wade and Darel Dieringer lined up for the start on the 2nd row

Billy Wade at Daytona in Feb. 1964

Billy Wade took two Northern Tour road course races for Bud Moore in July 1964.

Below is the entry list from July12, 1964, preserved by the folks at Bridgehampton:

Spartanburg sports editor, Jim Foster followed the northern tour and filed a first person account of Wade's triumph at Bridgehampton on July 12, 1964:

The Associated Press report was very brief in the Fredericksburg, Va. paper, although Fredericksburg was home to the in-laws of entrant Worth McMillion:

My family and I were in New York City around this same time in July 1964, taking in the New York World's Fair and a baseball game between the Chicago Cubs with Ferguson Jenkins pitching against the New York Mets in the brand new Shea Stadium across the way at Flushing Meadows from the grounds of the World's Fair. We were staying at the Hilton in Manhattan across the street from the old Penn Station.

I may have crossed paths with Jim Foster (who I thought I first met 17 years later in 1981) , since he was also checking out the World's Fair and the Mets. Below is a column Foster wrote letting us know that Yankee race fans weren't as excitable as their southern counterparts. I had to laugh at Foster complaining about breakfast prices at the Waldorf-Astoria. Beginning in 1981, Foster was NASCAR's point man for the annual Winston Cup Awards banquet at the Waldorf, in charge of literally everything, especially seating and taking we NASCAR sponsors & our wives out to various Big Apple eateries.

A Real Race Broke Out at Kentucky

Current NASCAR

I don't know what worked and what didn't, but I sure did enjoy (for a change) the Quaker State 400 Cup race at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night. That was the kind of racing I want to see.

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM

GRAND AMERICAN 100 July 11, 1970

Stock Car Racing History

The Virgin Islands Daily News ran a brief AP preview piece on the South Boston GA race, even if it did appear several days after the event! Guess they were slowing down and running on Island Time!

GRAND AMERICAN 100 July 11, 1970

Stock Car Racing History

Dennis, I had hoped to see if I could find a pre and/or post race report for this Grand American race in the fold3 newspaper archives for the South Boston Gazette-Virginian. Unfortunately, the final archived edition was the June 30, 1970 issue, 11 days before the Grand American race. The only racing coverage in that edition was a preview of the July 4, 1970 upcoming Late Model Sportsman race at South Boston:

Holland International Speedway July 14, 1970

Stock Car Racing History

Good stuff.

Holland International Speedway July 14, 1970

Stock Car Racing History

The late Jim Hurtibise was honored just this year in North Tonawanda, New York:

The Buffalo News Champion auto racer and North Tonawanda native to be recognized

NORTH TONAWANDA The North Tonawanda History Museum this week will be marking the anniversary of one of the major accomplishments of Jim Herk Hurtibise, a legendary auto racer of the 1950s and 1960s.

On May 21, 1960, as a rookie, he broke the Indianapolis track record by nearly two miles per hour. He came very close to being the first to turn a lap in less than one minute. Unfortunately, mechanical problems kept him from winning.

Hurtibise, who was born in North Tonawanda in 1932, is being celebrated with an exhibit at the museum, 54 Webster St., and on Thursday admission will be reduced to $3 from 1 to 3 p.m. in his honor Thursday .

On June 7, 1964, during a race in Milwaukee, Hurtibise qualified third fastest behind legends Rodger Ward and A.J. Foyt. They were running nose to tail on the 51st lap when Wards car seized up. Foyt jumped on the brakes, causing Hurtibises car to vault over Foyts tail. Hurtibise rammed the wall and his right rear tire snapped off and struck him in the chest, breaking three ribs and puncturing his lung. He was unconscious as methanol flooded his car, erupting into an inferno.

Hurtibise, who was pulled from the flaming wreck, was close to death in a hospital critical care burn unit. He recovered but doctors said his burned hands would remain paralyzed. He directed the doctors to mold his hands so he could put them around a steering wheel and continue to race.

Hurtibise continued to race, but never matched his earlier successes. Still, he remained a fan favorite throughout much of his career.

He died of a heart of a heart attack on Jan. 6, 1989.

Hurtibise, who was called Herk or Hercules by fans, is memorialized in a tune called, The Ballad of Jim Hurtibise, which was written and produced in the 1960s by local radio personality Luther Gieringer, who used the name Dopey Duncan on station WKAP in Allentown, Pa. The song is sung by Dee Dee for Dopey Duncan and the Bee Bees. A CD version of the song will be available for sale for a $25 donation to the museum. A DVD with the song and photos of Hurtibise will be $35.

Donna Zellner Neal, executive director of the museum, researched and provided historical background on the song, which she said was brought to their attention by museum supporter Gary Ranney, who brought them a copy of the 45 record.

The tune, which is also sometimes called Hercules starts out with sounds of race cars zooming by and memorializes that tragic race in Milwaukee in 1964:

They call him the mighty Hercules

Yet he isnt even 6 feet tall.

But when hes in that racing car,

Hes bigger than them all.

Old demon fire struck one day,

and tried to take his life,

but Old Herk, he fought right back

and found another life.

Hercules! Hercules!

There never was a man that stood more tall

than the mighty Hercules.

At Indiana practice lap he had another call.

That might brute of a racing car

was smashed against a wall.

But old Herk he walked away,

determined as could be

hed get another try to qualify

with the fastest 33.

Hercules! Hercules!

There never was a man that stood more tall

than the mighty Hercules.

He saw that Novi standing there.

It beckoned him aboard.

When the crowd hear that he qualified,

they all stood up and roared.

Hercules! Hercules!

There never was a man that stood more tall

than the mighty Hercules.

Five hundred miles is a long way for any man to go.

When he gets to that checkered flag,

hell have done his best.

On a roster of courageous men

with the heart to play the game,

among the bravest of them all,

Im sure youll find his name.

Hercules! Hercules!

There never was a man that stood more tall

than the mighty Hercules.

There are many races yet to run

that will try his very soul,

but the folks who know Jim Hurtubise

are sure hell make his goal.

Hercules! Hercules!

There never was a man that stood more tall

than the mighty Hercules.

Gieringer also had a body shop in Minesite, Pa., near Allentown, which is still there and carries the name of Dopey Duncan, although it is operated by the Horwith Brothers, according information provided to Neal by Herk fans in Pennsylvania.

Holland International Speedway July 14, 1970

Stock Car Racing History

That's a nice story about racers helping racers, Dennis.

'Plate Racing

Current NASCAR

A good column on pack racing, fences and flying cars was posted late this afternoon in the Daytona paper:

http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20150706/SPORTS/150709700/101040?Title=WILLIS-NASCAR-continues-inviting-disaster-at-Daytona

Not What You Ever Want to Find

Stock Car Racing History

Could be our man:

Not What You Ever Want to Find

Stock Car Racing History

I'm not finding any mention of racing in Mr. Clutterham's bios/obits, but I'm still guessing that the Mr. Clutteham from Soldier Field was a Chicago area Clutterham.