Listen to How It Really Was 50 Years Ago

Stock Car Racing History

PK... the question is whether there was originally a second 1962 SoBo race scheduled as Bill France mentioned on the broadcast that did not get run.

Thanks.

Listen to How It Really Was 50 Years Ago

Stock Car Racing History

Those are two questions worthy of research.

Anybody have a 1962 Cup schedule to see if a second South Boston race was on it, or do you know if it was cancelled and rescheduled and if so, why??

Listen to How It Really Was 50 Years Ago

Stock Car Racing History

Her career has outlasted most 1962 rookies in any field for sure! Thanks for mentioning that. Great history.

Listen to How It Really Was 50 Years Ago

Stock Car Racing History

A few observations after listening to quite a bit of this broadcast:

* The announcers could no longer describe Junior Johnson as having his "foot in the carburetor." He would now have his foot in the EFI, I guess.

* Fascinating listening to the description of Fred Lorenzen driving through the turns and leaning out the window and being characterized as "Fearless" for so doing. Who else drove Charlotte leaning out the window through his safety net? Hint: His father scored a top-10 finish in this event.

* Loved the Junior Johnson Victory Lane interview. He said he wanted his check first, not like what happened a few weeks earlier at Darlington when his win was reversed and Larry Frank was awarded the money.

* Car owner Ray Fox only said one thing in his interview. Thanked FIRESTONE Tires for winning the race.

* Richard Petty ran the last 3 laps on 3 wheels as he battled Joe Weatherly for the 1962 National Championship with just one big race left - Atlanta.

* Loved hearing names like Rex White, Emanuel Zervakis, Doug Yates, Paul Lewis, Red Foote, Stick Elliott, Sherman Utsman, Bunkie Blackburn and so many others.

Listen to How It Really Was 50 Years Ago

Stock Car Racing History

Came across a link to the live radio broadcast of Charlotte's 1962 National 400 with my old friend Sammy Bland of Rocky Mount, NC as lead announcer and the late Hal Hamrick in the turn and Max Muhleman as statistician and "color" man. Sammy's daughter, Ann Bland Salster, is a member here.

This is the real stuff I used to listen to after church on Sunday afternoon and imagine being there before I saw my first stock car race.

I could picture every one of those cars in my mind.

Close your eyes for a few minutes and listen to the real time description of Fireball Roberts, David Pearson and Junior Johnson battling into the first turn after the green flag falls.

Who will lead the first lap and how??

Click on the link below and tell me it isn't still every bit as exciting as it was 50 years ago!

http://www.motorracingnetwork.com/audio/podcasts/Classic%20Races/1962%20National%20400.mp3

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

Is NASCAR Paying Those Armed Guards Overtime?

General

Ya reckon those armed guards watching over the Hendrick Motorsports / Chad Knaus / Jimmie Johnson / #48 C-Posts at the NASCAR R&D facility in Concord, NC where they were shipped for observation and inspection are now drawing overtime pay?

Just wondering.

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

ARE YOU READY FOR A PARTY?????

Current NASCAR

Ole Bill France, Senior, looking down from those overcast skies, might be so upset over the first postponement of the 500 that the vortex he creates will be large enough to suck two Waltrips out of the broadcast booth!!

History of Easter Weekend NASCAR Points Races

Stock Car Racing History

We had discussed Easter racing regarding Daytona 500 possible rain dates. Here's an interesting article I found on NASCAR.com about NASCAR Cup points races on Easter.

Since 1972, only two races held onEaster weekend

Both memorable for big names involved and not involved

Since the advent of the modern era schedule in 1972, NASCAR officials have taken great pains to avoid scheduling a Cup race on Easter weekend. But on two occasions, weather postponements forced NASCAR to change its plans, and in both instances, a seven-time champion was a major part of the storyline.

There were several instances of races taking place on Easter weekend before the Cup schedule was reduced to eliminate dirt tracks and those shorter than a half-mile in length following the 1971 campaign. The first of Buck Baker 's 46 Cup victories came on Holy Saturday in 1952 at Columbia, S.C.

One year later, Dick Passwater scored his only Cup victory on Easter Sunday before a crowd of 8,500 at the old Charlotte Speedway. That also was the first time Tim Flock carried a Rhesus monkey nicknamed Jocko Flocko inside his car. That experiment came to an abrupt end eight races later when Jocko literally went ape inside the car at Raleigh, scratching and clawing at Flock before he managed to pull into the pits and have the crew pull Jocko off his neck.

The Thomas brothers -- Herb and Donald -- finished 1-2 in an Easter Sunday event at Hillsboro in 1954. The only Good Friday race in NASCAR's history books was run three years later at Charlotte's Southern States Fairgrounds, with Fireball Roberts taking the checkered flag.

In 1959 and '60, Wilson's fairgrounds track hosted a pair of Easter Sunday races, with Junior Johnson and Joe Weatherly winning. The following year, Emanuel Zervakis won at Greenville on Holy Saturday and Cotton Owens followed with an Easter Sunday victory at Hillsboro.

During the '60s, Greenville hosted a number of races on Easter weekend, usually on Saturdays with a companion race being run on the Monday after Easter. In 1965, Dick Hutcherson won at Greenville and Junior Johnson followed two days later with a victory at North Wilkesboro.

In 1966, David Pearson completed the Easter weekend sweep, winning at Greenville on Saturday and Winston-Salem on Monday. Pearson successfully defended his Greenville victory in '67, but Bobby Allison captured the flag at Winston-Salem that season. ( Continued )

In 1969, Bobby Isaac led the entire 250-lap distance at Hickory to win on Easter Sunday, with Dave Marcis scoring his first career top-five finish. One year later, Bobby Allison took the checkered first at Atlanta. And in '71, ABC's Wide World of Sports first showed a NASCAR event live in its entirety when it broadcast Isaac's win in a 200-lapper at Greenville on Holy Saturday.

NASCAR didn't race on Easter weekend again until 1985, when a rainout forced the Bristol race to be rescheduled for the day before Easter. Despite losing the power steering in his Chevrolet within the first 100 laps, Dale Earnhardt literally muscled his car past Ricky Rudd with 17 laps remaining to win.

After leading at least one lap in every Bristol race during a 10-race period, Darrell Waltrip's amazing streak was snapped that day, mainly because he and Bill Elliott were collected in an early race incident involving Terry Labonte and Lake Speed. Waltrip then retired with engine problems.

Weather also played a factor in the most recent Cup race run on Easter Sunday. In 1989, snow forced Richmond to reschedule, and a crowd estimated by The Associated Press at 50,000 turned out under sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s to see a race that didn't include Richard Petty.

Petty failed to qualify, snapping his Cup starting streak at 513 races. Because of that, NASCAR's rules for provisional starting spots later would be amended to include one for past champions.

Rusty Wallace wound up edging Alan Kulwicki for the win, taking advantage of a late-race caution to beat Kulwicki out of the pits and then maintain the lead for the final 20 laps following the restart.

"If it wasn't for that caution flag, he would have won the race," Wallace said. "There's no question about that."

But Wallace's win didn't come easily. He had to pit twice under green because of vibrations caused by loose lug nuts, and somehow was able to remain on the lead lap.

"We finally figured out it was a malfunction of the air gun and not the tires," Wallace said. "We kept going back out with loose lug nuts because the gun would only tighten the nuts about half of what they were supposed to be."

Kulwicki had his share of problems as well, spinning out after blowing a tire near the midway point, then being assessed with a pair of pit-road penalties for missing the stop sign at the end of pit road. Still, victory was within his grasp until Dick Trickle blew an engine late in the going.

"You're in a situation where you know your tires are better after they wear in a little, but you can't afford not to change them when you have the chance," Kulwicki said. ''It looked like we had the race won and then all those cautions came out. I used to be happy with second, but we had this race won. This time, to finish second is a little frustrating for us."

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

HEADLINES FOR TODAY

General

TOUGH TIM TOPS

Dick Trickle Heart Attack Rumor is False

General

Reposting this "tweet" as posted on SPEED.com:

Bob Pockrass @bobpockrass
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RT @Kenny_Wallace: I talked to dick trickle last night for 30 minutes, rumors are false...dick trickle has no idea where this has started

Folks can sure run with a rumor, can't they?

When I was a kid we'd hear all the Mouseketeers on Mickey Mouse Club had been hit and killed in a bus by a train and Annette had been decapitated.

Thankful our Dick Trickle is fine.