He's been dead now for a little over six years, but I hope everyone who watches the Cup race from Richmond remembers the contributions of former Richmond owner Paul Sawyer, my boss for ten years and friend for much longer. Clay Earles, Enoch Staley and Paul Sawyer used to hang out together. They were three of the true NASCAR pioneers,operating NASCAR tracks in Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and Richmond. If you never met Paul, let me tell you... he was loved by the fans and loved by the racers.If you never knew or met him, take a moment to look at just one obituary and see what folks like Richard Petty, Bill France, Jr., Jim Hunter and Mike Helton had to say about Paul when he passed. My two daughters called him "Papa Sawyer" and he always sent them Smithfield Ham (a Virginia delicacy) at Christmas, regardless of where they lived. I wish there were a way for today's fans to appreciate the founders of our sport.
NASCAR pioneer put Richmond on the map
by DUSTIN LONG
Comments .BY DUSTIN LONG
THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Paul Sawyer, a NASCAR pioneer whose vision and resolve turned Richmond International Raceway from a small dirt track into one of the country's finest auto racing venues, died late Saturday. He was 88.
The Norfolk native, among the last of a generation of track owners with ties to stock car racing's early days, had been battling lung cancer since August. He died from complications of pneumonia, son Billy said.
Jim Hunter, former track president at Darlington and a close friend of Sawyer, called Sawyers passing the end of an era.
Yet, Sawyer's contributions are barely noticed by a new generation of fans who occupy the very seats he built. Many have no idea of the impact Sawyer, along with the late Clay Earles in Martinsville and the late Enoch Staley in North Wilkesboro, N.C., had.
They stood with NASCAR when the sport was a modest regional diversion, not the national sport it is today.
He (Sawyer) was such a huge role player with Bill France Sr. in the early days, along with Clay Earles, Enoch Staley and others, to build a foundation for NASCAR that we all enjoy today, NASCAR President Mike Helton said.
During the drivers meeting Sunday in Fontana, Calif., where the Nextel Cup circuit was racing, Helton told competitors to pay attention to what would be written about Sawyer over the next few days. That would help them to learn more about one of the sports great characters.
They will learn about a man who was known to provide drivers with a little extra money when in need, who enjoyed trips to Las Vegas with members of the Wood Brothers race team and who, more than anything, did things his own way.
Richard Petty, who won a record 13 Richmond races, called Sawyer a superstar among track promoters.
There weren't many promoters or owners through the times that really made it for an entire era like Paul did, Petty said. Sure, there might have been a few of them that were around for five or six years, but only superstars like Paul lasted through the times. He was really hard-nosed and worked hard to better the sport and Richmond.
NASCAR Vice Chairman Bill France echoed that.
As NASCAR continues to grow in popularity and potential, all of us are continually reminded of our sports roots, and the many people who were so important to laying the foundation for what we enjoy today, France said. Paul Sawyer was one of those people.
Sawyers path to racing began in Norfolk, where he was born on June 26, 1916. He grew up on Claiborne Avenue near the Elizabeth River and the shipyards. Sawyer was one of six children.
His fascination with automobiles grew as he did. Sawyer worked on engines at Norfolk Farm Supply Co., after leaving Maury High in 1933. He worked at the Naval Air Station from 1939-65, taking early retirement. He also served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Sawyer began building race cars with racing great and Norfolk native Joe Weatherly in the 1940s. That created a partnership that moved into buying tracks in Richmond, Virginia Beach and Wilson, N.C., in 1955. Sawyer bought out Weatherly in 1956.
Sawyer did not rebuild the Wilson track after it burned in 1958, and he allowed the lease to run out at the Virginia Beach track in 1960.
His focus became the Richmond track, known then as Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds. He nearly left racing in 1964 after Weatherly was killed that January in a crash at Riverside, Calif., and another friend, Fireball Roberts, died of burns suffered in the World 600.
Sawyer considered a 1963 photo taken at Darlington of himself with Weatherly, Roberts, Junior Johnson, David Pearson and Jim Paschal one of his greatest possessions. This from a man who once owned more than 20 vintage cars, more than 200 clocks and collected antique coins and watches.
Sawyer's greatest treasure was his track. He was always working to upgrade it. He paved over the dirt track in 1968, despite driver objections, and was forever adding seats.
In the mid-1980s, that drive to expand nearly drove Sawyer and his NASCAR races to Hampton Roads. He grew tired of the obstacles he found to growth in Richmond, so he began working to build a track to bring his two races to Isle of Wight in 1986. He even had an option on 12,000 acres on which he planned to build a 1.75-mile track.
The publicly backed finance deal fell through when NASCAR refused to guarantee that it would run two races a year at the track for at least the next 15 years.
Sawyer took his energy and vision back to RIR, and two years later, he made a more radical decision. Sawyer turned his .542-mile track into a D-shaped three-quarter mile track during the 1988 season. He also expanded the seating to 47,500, but didnt stop there.
I wanted to build something no one else had, and evidently, I did something right because I cant build seats fast enough, Sawyer said in a 1997 interview.
RIR now has nearly 110,000 seats that are annual sellouts for two Nextel Cup races. The track also has two Busch Series, one Craftsman Truck Series and one Indy Racing League event, all run under the lights.
Paul took Richmond's race track and created one of the most modern facilities in all of NASCAR, Bill France Jr. said in a statement Sunday. Richmond International Raceway today is considered one of our fans favorite facilities.
Paul made his mark, without a doubt. The racing world, starting with NASCAR, will miss him.
No matter the size or shape of the track, Sawyer remained the same to competitors.
Ive always had a tremendous amount of respect for Paul, said Chesapeake native Ricky Rudd. He never did things the easy way. He was hands-on. He was at that speedway when it opened at the morning and he was the last one to leave at night.
Everyone told him he was crazy when he built a three-quarter mile track. The end result is its one of the best facilities around.
That doesn't surprise longtime friend Al Grinnan of Mechanicsville.
His trademark was that any project or anything he ever started, he would finish, no matter how difficult it was, said Grinnan, who has known Sawyer since they raced together, along with Dale Earnhardt's father, Ralph, at Sawyers track in Wilson.
Clay Campbell, president of Martinsville Speedway and Earles' grandson, appreciates those of Sawyers era.
Its a shame that a lot of people never got to know a Paul Sawyer or a Clay Earles, Campbell said. They suffered through the hard times. Thanks to what they did, we all have a pretty good living now.
Sawyer, who was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, ran Richmond International Raceway with sons Billy and Wayne until December 1999. They sold the track for $215 million to International Speedway Corp.
Sawyer is survived by his two sons, three grandsons, one granddaughter and four great-grandchildren. His wife of 64 years, the former Virginia Weaver of Norfolk, died in 2003.
The Associated Press and John H. Sheally II of the Virginian- Pilot contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005
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From notes in the Richmond Time-Dispatch:
A look back: Flipping over 1953 race
Asked to recall an important moment in Richmond racing, Joe Kelly racing historian and host with his wife, Ruth, of "Let's Talk Racing" on WARV-FM recalled the 1953 race on the half-mile dirt track on the site where RIR sits now. The 200-lap event was the first Richmond race in what would become NASCAR's Sprint Cup series.
"Lee Petty won the race," Kelly said. "Dick Rathman finished second, and he and Lee were beating and banging on each other like crazy.
Kelly said Richmond car owner Junie Donlavey fielded a 1952 Hudson with Californian Ollie Olson at the wheel. "Olson would tell you that he was the world's greatest race driver, and he convinced Junie to let him drive that race. He flipped the car three times. Not three flips in one crash. He flipped three separate times!"
Olson finished 24th of the 27 drivers. Buck Baker's pole qualifying speed was 48.465 mph. Petty's average speed for the race was about 45 mph and the winner's share of the purse was $1,000. The finishers from 12th on back won $25 apiece.
September 10, 1961 Capital City 250 on the 1/2-mile Richmond dirt track:
(Note Maryland racing great Johnny Roberts was piloting Junie Donlavey's #90 Ford)
Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led
1 7 8 Joe Weatherly Bud Moore '61 Pontiac 250 1,350 running
2 1 27 Junior Johnson Holly Farms (Rex Lovette) '60 Pontiac 250 850 running
3 5 4 Rex White White-Clements (Rex White) '61 Chevrolet 249 750 running
4 2 11 Ned Jarrett B.G. Holloway '61 Chevrolet 249 450 running
5 12 44 Jim Paschal Julian Petty '61 Pontiac 248 300 running
6 4 85 Emanuel Zervakis Monroe Shook '60 Chevrolet 246 250 running
7 3 66 Bill Morgan Cafe Burgundy (Ratus Walters) '60 Ford 239 225 running
8 19 61 Elmo Langley Doc White '59 T-Bird 224 200 running
9 9 19 Herman Beam Herman Beam '60 Ford 223 175 running
10 17 48 G.C. Spencer G.C. Spencer '60 Chevrolet 219 150 running
11 11 23 Doug Yates Raeford Johnson '61 Plymouth 217 150 running
12 23 17 Fred Harb Fred Harb '61 Ford 215 125 running
13 14 119 Al Disney '59 Buick 214 125 running
14 10 34 Wendell Scott Wendell Scott '60 Chevrolet 201 110 running
15 13 86 Buck Baker Buck Baker '61 Chrysler 189 110 running
16 20 36 Larry Thomas Wade Younts '60 Chevrolet 176 100 rear end
17 6 6 Cotton Owens Cotton Owens '60 Pontiac 171 90 rear end
18 8 42 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises '61 Plymouth 157 80 engine
19 18 74 L.D. Austin L.D. Austin '61 Chevrolet 155 75 spindle
20 21 57 Harvey Henderson J.I. Divers '61 Chevrolet 153 75 brakes
21 15 90 Johnny Roberts Junie Donlavey '60 Ford 113 75 head gasket
22 22 112 Ronnie Fones '59 Chevrolet 82 75 rear end
23 24 5 Jimmy Pardue '59 Chevrolet 70 75 spindle
24 25 71 Bob Barron Bob Barron '60 Dodge 63 75 rear end
25 16 62 Curtis Crider Curtis Crider '61 Mercury 7 75 overheating
