Forum Activity for @dave-fulton

Miss My Hometown Car at Daytona

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From his 3 consecutive Permatex 300 victories with Bill Dennis to Kenny Schrader crossing the Daytona 500 finish line on his roof contesting the win, Speedweeks just isn't quite the same without our old Richmond hometown #90 team at of Junie Donlavey at the beach. This story was published in November.

Countdown to Daytona: 90
Published on November 28, 2011 by Mark Odor

As 2011 wraps up and Tony Stewart enjoys his third Sprint Cup title, many teams are already looking to Daytona and the 2012 season, hoping theyll be the team seated at the champions table next year. Well count you down to next years Daytona 500 (its only 90 days away!) with some numberology for each number as the Super Bowl of NASCAR draws closer.

A car no. 90 was entered in NASCARs first-ever race by none other than future two-time champion Tim Flock. Flock finished fifth in that race at Charlotte Speedway (not the same as the current track). He would use the number 90 just eight more times before changing to 91; then his famous number 300. However, the name most associated with car no. 90 is Junie Donlavey .

A longtime resident of Richmond, Donlavey fielded his first car in 1950 with Runt Harris. Donlavey would dabble in the sport over the next 15 years, but began his long association with the number in 1965 with driver Sonny Hutchins.

Donlaveys sole win as an owner came in the 1981 Mason-Dixon 500, when driver Jody Ridley outran Bobby Allison over the last 20 laps to earn both his and Donlaveys only victory. The victory didnt come without controversy, however, as Allisons car owner, Harry Rainer filed a protest, claiming that No question we were a lap ahead of Ridley. Although NASCAR admitted to a scoring communication difficulty, they upheld Ridleys victory after 20 minutes.

This has got to be a bigger thrill for Junie than me, said Ridley. Im a rookie in the Grand Nationals. I just cant believe it. This is the biggest thrill of my life. Ridley raced for Donlavey through the 1982 season before driving for Robert Mcentrye and Rahmoc. His final Cup race came in 1986.

Donlavey was well known for giving young drivers a start in racing. Notably, Ken Schrader drove for Donlavey for a three year stint, garnering Rookie of the Year honors in 1985 and nearly winning the 1987 Firecracker 400, losing the lead with two laps to go. Coincidentally, the loss came to Allison, who changed tires during a late caution and stole the victory.

Ricky Rudd, Ernie Irvan, and Mike Wallace all drove for Donlavey in the early parts of their career. Notable drivers who made their debut for Donlavey include Joe Weatherly, Harry Gant, Robby Gordon and current TNT analyst Wally Dallenbach Jr.

In a recent interview I conducted, Dallenbach said he had Nothing but great memories in his time with Donlavey. I drove for him in my rookie deal into NASCAR, and Junie and the whole team were fantastic. I learned a lot and they were great people. Junie has given a lot of guys opportunities; opportunities they wouldnt have gotten otherwise. For what he had to work with, he did a great job. Junie never really had what you could call a major sponsor. Orkin Pest Control and Ford Motorsports Sportswear were the only major primary sponsors Dallenbach had for his rookie season.

Donlavey was also notable for giving older drivers a shot behind the wheel. Benny Parsons, Lennie Pond, Buddy Baker, Dick Trickle, and Charlie Glotzbach all drove Donlavey livery towards the end of their careers.

Donlaveys last start as a car owner came in the 2002 UAW-GM Quality 500 where Jason Hedlesky, current spotter for Carl Edwards drove a Lucas Oil backed machine; dropping out early due to handling issues.

His former crew chief and current owner Tommy Baldwin Jr., told a USA Today reporter at the time Its kind of a shame that hes gotten to this point where he cant run successfully week in and week out, But Junie never really cared about that. Donlavey seemed to agree, saying that I have met so many nice people that, if I had to trade the people I met for money, there wouldnt be enough money around.

Dallenbach also agreed, saying Junie liked [having] the team in Virginia, with friends and family working on the car. In his time, you could do that, but I dont think Junie wanted to become a big-time Cup team. I think he had the opportunity to do that, but that would have required moving the operation to Charlotte.

That was indeed the case, as Sara Lee reportedly pulled their sponsorship after the 2001 season when Donlavey refused to move his team to North Carolina.

Since then, the no. 90 has been used sparingly, most recently with Scott Riggs driving for Raymond Key at Phoenix in 2010. In total, car no. 90 has obtained two poles, one victory, 64 top five, and 231 top-ten finishes in the course of 918 starts.

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

When Drivers Go Out of Their Way to be Nice

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Max, during NASCAR's 50th Anniversary season of 1998, we held the Associated Press Sports Editors National Convention in Richmond.

Bill France, Jr. gave the keynote speech and we held a picnic and drive the track day for the sports editors.

Cup & Busch Series were off racing somewhere, but it was an open date on the Truck schedule.

Stacy Compton and Joe Ruttman volunteered to come to RIR and spent the entire day giving rides in two seater trucks. They were both just great and helped convert a lot of folks to covering NASCAR races that day.

When Drivers Go Out of Their Way to be Nice

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Not to give all the credit to Dale, I had very nice experiences with lots of drivers.

Derrike Cope used to volunteer to babysit our two daughters in Spartanburg so my wife and I could have a night out.

Kyle Petty went out of his way to be nice and attend functions and go over and beyond what you would expect any driver to do. Of, course, he had the very best teacher in the business. One thing that really impressed me with Kyle was his manners. Everything was always "yes sir" or "no sir" and he ALWAYS asked if there was anything else you needed him to do.

I have driven Davey Allison and Robert Yates to Orlando and back for dinner with sponsors on the eve of the Daytona 500 without complaint. They were gracious and understood the business.

Harry Gant was a pleasure to work with. Do anything you asked.

I've taken Richard, Kyle, Terry Labonte and brother, Bobby unannounced and unpublicized to Children's Hospital in Richmond and marveled at their interaction with kids. A lot of other drivers were "too busy" to go with us.

I even had DW, unsolicited, get in our car and shake it down at Charlotte for our rookie driver while he was driving for Junior.

I believe when folks see you try to do things the right way, they often return the favor.

When Drivers Go Out of Their Way to be Nice

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Get accused sometimes of bashing when we talk about drivers.

And, I posted today about my feelings of asking for driver autographs while "working" in the business. Don't.

Those subjects and the recent anniversary of a very black day in NASCAR's Daytona history reminded me of a couple of really nice things that someone who could be very intimidating did.

1) Sometime in the mid-90s, very, very early on a crisp November Sunday morning in the infield at Atlanta I was walking from the infield media center to the track cafeteria on the road that also ran in from the old turn one vehicle tunnel. As I walked by a black Chevy Yukon with the windows blacked out, the horn blew loudly and I about jumped out of my skin.

The driver side window rolled down and Dale Earnhardt with that impish smile and crows feet congregating around his eyes "ordered" me to get in the vehicle. At the time I was working for the Richmond track and hadn't worked with Dale directly since 1983. Teresa was in the passenger seat. Dale said, "I just wanted to tell you in person in front of Teresa how much I appreciate the things you did for me at Wrangler. You need to hear it and so does she." Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather, but it was a very special moment.

2) Also, in the late 90s, my wife managed a one of a kind boutique owned by a major department store chain in downtown Charlotte that sold only cosmetics and fragrances primarily to customers from the surrounding big bank headquarters buildings.

The high performance of her store one year was rewarded by dinner with a group of about ten other high achieving ladies at a very pricey and exclusive Morton's Steakhouse in downtown Charlotte. Unknown to her was the fact Dale and Teresa were also eating there that evening. She hadn't seen Dale in years.

As she described it to me, someone suddenly put their hands on her shoulders while all the other ladies at the table gasped in astonishment! Of, course, it was Dale, who proceeded to inquire about her and our daughters who used to swim with his kids in the motel pools at Bristol and Nashville in the summer.

Before he left the table, Dale graciously signed several cocktail napkins for the ladies.

My wife still gets tickled remembering those ladies almost peeing in their pants!

Kind of like the old Candid Camera television show slogan... "When you least expect it, you're elected, it's your lucky day..."

Drivers aren't always as intimidating as they seem and I will forever appreciate what Dale did for my wife and her group.

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

The Bill Elliott Wish List

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I will say this about that:

NASCAR has never had two finer representatives of what racing is all about than Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte.

Wish success to both those old school racers.

Too Young for Coffee with those Doughnuts?

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I loved it back when Krispy Kreme Doughnuts were an associate sponsor for Robert Yates. There was good eating in the garage. With their latest driver, they may have to hold the coffee with those doughnuts until he gets a little age on him.

14 year old Gray Gaulding in his new Krispy Kreme driving firesuit

14-year-old 'a different kid' when he puts racing helmet on

By BRENT WORONOFF

Daytona Beach News-Journal
February 22, 2012 12:05 AM

DAYTONA BEACH -- Stock-car driver Gray Gaulding has a personal assistant, a grilled cheese sandwich named after him and a brand new five-year sponsorship deal with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

The Krispy Kreme deal was a pretty good present for his 14th birthday.

"It's amazing how young he is," said Joey Coulter, a pretty precocious racer himself who at 21 claimed last season's Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year title.

"I remember when I started coming up through stock-car racing, everyone was looking at me going, 'Gosh, you're so young,' " Coulter said. "But when I was Gray's age, I was still racing go-karts, trying to figure out whether I could do it or not.

"It seems like drivers are just getting younger."

Gray is scheduled to unveil his new super late model showcar and sign autographs Thursday morning at the Daytona Beach Krispy Kreme at 980 W. International Speedway Blvd. Next month, he'll hit the short tracks in the Carolinas, Virginia, Maine and New Hampshire, driving the Krispy Kreme Chevy for Coulter Motorsports on the Pro All Stars Series South Super Late Model Series.

Gray's career began at age 3, when he started racing dirt bikes.

"These days, a lot of people are starting at older ages, like 5 or 6," Gray said. "But I think 3 was probably the perfect age for myself, from throttle control to just how everything works."

For his 8th birthday, Gray's parents got him two Bandolero cars -- miniature stock cars that can reach speeds of 70-plus mph -- and he won nine championships in those.

Then, he moved onto Legend Cars, which are 5/8th-scaled replicas of 1930s coupes.

Gray is the youngest driver to win a Legend Car race and the youngest to win a Legend Car national championship -- both at age 12.

He was the youngest driver to make the field in the inaugural Legends Million in 2010 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

At age 13, he was the Pro All Stars Series Rookie of the Year.

"That's a 650-horsepower, 2,800-pound race car," said Gray's father, Dwayne Gaulding, a former Truck Series owner. "And, they were hitting speeds at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) at 150-plus mph.

"I know he's safe. It's pretty intense seeing Gray do his thing. When he puts that helmet on, he's a different kid. He's focused and he's mentally and physically prepared."

Gray turned 14 on Feb. 10, but at 5-foot-1 1/2 he could pass for much younger.

No one would bat an eye if he ordered off the kids menu at a restaurant.

At the Red Rocks Caf in Huntersville, N.C., that's exactly what he does. He orders "Gray Gaulding's Grilled Cheese."

"The grilled cheese sandwich is pretty sweet," Gray said. "It's not like a grilled cheese you get at some regular place. They really make it special. It comes with tomato soup, and it's named after me, and I get it every time."

Gray raced for Sprint Cup driver Kevin Harvick and his wife, DeLana, in their driver development program last year, but the Harvicks sold their shop in September and Gray signed on with Coulter Motorsports, which is owned by Joey's father, Joe Coulter.

Joey Coulter raced full time for his father before joining Richard Childress Racing last season to race in the Truck Series.

"I've been racing for my parents for 12 out of the 14 years I've been racing," Joey said. "When I was hired by RCR, we decided to keep the lights on at our shop and start a development program and take kids like Gray and even older drivers like Matt Lofton (27, who drives in the ARCA Series for the Coulters)."

INVOLVED, POISED

Gray, of course, is too young to have a driver's license.

Normally, he is driven around the Charlotte, N.C., area -- his family moved from Colonial Heights, Va., in 2008 to be closer to stock-car racing's hub -- by Rusty Davidson, Gray's personal PR man and home-school tutor.

Gray is also too young to join his teammate Lofton in the ARCA Series, which requires its stock car drivers to be 18. But he now has something most ARCA drivers only dream about -- a five-year sponsorship deal with a major corporation.

Dwayne Chambers, Krispy Kreme's chief marketing officer and senior vice president, said it has been 20 years since the Winston-Salem, N.C., company sponsored a race car (in 1992 it was an associate sponsor for Davey Allison's No. 28 Robert Yates Racing Ford Cup car).

The company had no plans to get back in, Chambers said.

But Chambers met the Gauldings when they were volunteering at the Petty family's Victory Junction Gang Camp for terminally and chronically ill children last year and was impressed by Gray's maturity and generosity.

A letter from Kevin Harvick helped the Gauldings get a meeting with Chambers.

"I've been friends with Kevin and DeLana for about 10 years," Chambers said. "That letter got them the interview. But the first thing I was going to tell them was we wouldn't be able to sponsor them."

Throughout the meeting, Chambers kept delaying the inevitable as Gray stole the show. Gray never talked about himself, Chambers said. He talked about his family and his involvement in other people's lives.

One meeting led to another, and Chambers gradually realized this kid was a perfect fit to Krispy Kreme's mission statement to "touch and enhance lives."

Perhaps the clincher, Chambers said, was finding a YouTube clip that showed Gray's poise. He passed another driver under the checkered flag to win a race and then got plowed into the wall by the car he passed.

"I wanted to see his reaction," Chambers said. "It was like it never happened. Gray just jumped up and down and celebrated."

Gray will make appearances this year at the Krispy Kremes near each track he visits.

Chambers said he hopes his company's association with Gray lasts much longer than the five years written on the contract.

In five years, Dwayne Gaulding said he hopes his son will be driving in NASCAR's Trucks or Nationwide series and by age 21 in the Sprint Cup Series.

Drivers must be 18 to compete in one of NASCAR's top touring series (Cup, Nationwide and Truck).

"Right now, the plan is to move Gray up as fast but as safe as we can without moving too fast," said Joey Coulter, who won't turn 22 until June 8. "There's a lot of people in the (Cup Series) who get their shot right away and they try to go too fast, and they end up disappearing."

During Speedweeks next year, Dwayne Gaulding would like to see his son race on Daytona International Speedway's future short track that will incorporate part of the Speedway's backstretch.

But Gray has his sights set higher -- the Speedway's high banks.

"I'll probably be able to run this," Gray said, standing in the garage area at DIS last week.

There is no doubt Gray Gaulding is way ahead of the curve. His crew chief, a grizzled 54-year-old Randy Renfrow, who has been racing himself since the age of 14, compares Gray to another wunderkind racer from 27 years ago.

"I remember watching this kid win a sprint car race," Renfrow said. "And after he won, he stood up in the car with those arm restraints that you wear with sprint cars and he was double-fisting in the air that he had won. And the announcer said, 'That's 13-year-old Jeff Gordon.'

"Gray's an exceptional talent," Renfrow said. "You don't see them come along like Gray but once in a Jeff Gordon. It's like he's been doing it forever. And everyone can see how well-mannered and what a good person he is. You'll hear from him in the future. He is the future of this stuff."

Gravy for Gray

12: Youngest driver to win a Legend Car race and youngest to win a Legend Car national championship

12: Youngest driver to make the field in the 2010 Legends Million at Charlotte Motor Speedway

13: Youngest Pro All-Stars Series Rookie of the Year

Young NASCAR Starters

A look at some of the drivers who started their NASCAR careers at a young age:

Joey Logano

- Youngest driver to win a Nationwide Series race at Kentucky on June 14, 2008 at age 18 and 21 days.

- Has raced full-time in Sprint Cup Series for Joe Gibbs Racing since 2009. He has one career win. His highest finish in the points standings was 16th in 2010.

Reed Sorenson

- Drove his first Sprint Cup race at age 19 in 2005 for owner Chip Ganassi. Has four wins in eight seasons in the Nationwide Series. Has 15 top-10 finishes in 164 Sprint Cup starts.

Kyle Busch

- Made six Truck Series starts for Roush Racing in 2001 when he was just a junior in high school. Began Cup career at age 18 on March 7, 2004 for Rick Hendrick Motorsports.

- Has finished in the top 10 in the Cup standings four times, including fifth in 2007 at age 22. Has 23 Sprint Cup victories and is the Nationwide Series career race winner with 51.

Casey Atwood

- Made first Nationwide Series start in 1998 at age 17. Made first Cup start in 2000 at age 19 for owner Ray Evernham.

- Has one top-five finish in Cup 75 starts. Made last Cup start in 2003. Most recent Nationwide Series season was 2009 when his best finish in 20 starts was 22nd place.

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

Now you can't smoke in the stands in Daytona beginning in July

General

R.I.P. Winston Cup Series.

How about all those dumbasses in the video standing against the fence at Daytona with the cars going by at speed?

Has Chitwood III also done away with Security as well as smoking at Daytona? The Naughton Insurance Agency is gonna love to show ISC this video when it justifies raising the liability insurance rates for Daytona.

Services Rendered

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How could I have forgotten the ice cold beverages served to me by Sonny Hutchins and his brother Piggy at several Richmond establishments?!

Services Rendered

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Bought a tail light assembly from Al Grinnan at his Mechanicsville, Virginia parts yard.

Please ID Photos

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This request has been made numerous times.

I just saw 84 great looking new pictures posted, none of which, unfortunately have any identification attached as to where, when, what or who.

I'd love to know.

updated by @dave-fulton: 04/01/17 09:59:50PM