Forum Activity for @dave-fulton

Who Crossed Over Successfully from Drag Racing to NASCAR?

General

My drag racing knowledge and experience is severely and extremely limited and highly suspect, but I did once meet someone in drag racing I'd probably have to put on my list of most colorful characters. When I wasat Southland Corporation (7-Eleven/CITGO/Chief Auto Parts) in 1984-1986 we were sponsoring Billy Meyer's Funny Car and Bob Glidden's Pro Stock, as well as the Winternationals at Pomona, CA(Chief Auto Parts) and a new venture, the 7-Eleven Cajun Nationals at Baton Rouge, LA. My program management at the time included NASCAR, IMSA, TransAm and NHRA. I was pretty lost outside of NASCAR, but a January visit in 1985 to Pomona was supposed to make me an expert. From there, sometime in early spring, I travelled to Baton Rouge, LA to meet with "Moose" Pearah, the promoter of the NHRA State Capital Dragway in Baton Rouge, home at the time to the Cajun Nationals, which we desired to sponsor under the 7-Eleven colors. It is "Moose" Pearah who goes on my list of most colorful characters. My only experience in Louisana at the time was traversing it from stem to stern diagonally on my way with the family station wagon from Dallas to Daytona Beach 4th of July week 1984. Well, "Moose" was certainly a character. He picked me up when I landed and took me first to his business, then to his home. I had never heard of "Rent to Own" automobiles until I met this colorful drag strip operator. That was his main business, along with an auto insurance agency he was operating on the corner of his rent to own used car lot. He explained to me that under Louisiana law, the Parish Sheriff had to reposess a car for him as soon as a 'rental" payment was missed, then he began the process all over with a new client. I had also never been out in the bayou or eaten crawfish until I met "Moose". With him driving, I did both these things. We were absolutely in the middle of nowhere and I was not very comfortable. I expected any minute to see the ghost of Huey Long or some character from "Look Homeward, Angel." It was very different from going to the barbecue joint in North Carolina. We did over some pitchers of cold refreshment reach a sponsorship agreement. One interesting note is that the dragway was built beside a horse track, something kind of in common with Dover. The only other strip I got to was in Gainesville, Florida for the Gator Nationals.

Who Crossed Over Successfully from Drag Racing to NASCAR?

General

And I had no recollection of a NASCAR Drag Racing Division in the summer of 1966 until I stumbled on these links:

http://www.dragracingonline.com/special/nascar_1.html

http://www.dragracingonline.com/special/nasmin_1.html

Who Crossed Over Successfully from Drag Racing to NASCAR?

General

Wally, how about on the local level? Did places that had both oval tracks and drag strips on the same premises such as the Gore family's Old Dominion in Manassas, Va. have weekly guys who tried their hands at both types of racing, I wonder?

Who Crossed Over Successfully from Drag Racing to NASCAR?

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In 1984 things were going so badly for Kyle Petty running out of the near empty Petty Enterprises shop that his engine for the 1984 World 600 came from Keith Black and also Bob Glidden's wife Etta considered building a motor for Kyle.

Who Crossed Over Successfully from Drag Racing to NASCAR?

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Every time I see posts on RR from our good friend, Wally Bell, I think about folks who made a name for themselves first in drag racing and then also had great success later in NASCAR. The three names that come immediately to my mind are all owners, Raymond Beadle and Kenny Bernstein in Cup and Don Beverley in the Busch Series. I know Jack Roush also had success in drag racing and Rick Hendrick with drag boats before they hit the Cup circuit. And Joe Gibbs and Richard Petty were involved in drag racing, but in Cup first and foremost. I'm out of my league here and wonder are there other car owners or drivers in NASCAR now or before who came with a drag racing background?
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM

The King Pitched Gas on TV in 1984

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One of Richard's 76 gas commercials from 1984:

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

Remember Bobby Allison Pitching Roast Beef Sandwiches?

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When Junior had guys like LeeRoy, Charlie and Cale in his cars, leading every lap was not out of the question. I had to laugh at the line in the 1968 Sports Illustrated article stating that Darlington was obviously not one ofCale's favorite tracks. That observation is about as wrong as any surmising I've ever seen. When Dale beat Cale at Darlington in the spring 1982 CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 by three feet in Bud's car over MC Anderson's, that was as tired as I ever sawDale after he got out of the car. Beating Cale or David at Darlington was like beating the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

Remember Bobby Allison Pitching Roast Beef Sandwiches?

General

Here's a link to a pretty fascinating feature story done on Cale by Sports Illustrated in 1968, when he was 29 and starting to enjoy success with the Wood Brothers.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1081462/1/index.htm

The story is pre-Hardee's, but mentions his 60 Minute Cleaners franchises and recounts he and Betty Jo really slumming after jacques Passino of Ford cut him loose, with the two of them sleeping in the back seat of the car and eating peanut butter sandwiches. Paul Sawyer at Richmond used to tell me how in the early 60s he gave Cale money for a motel and then mpney to buy gas back to SC after a Richmond race. According to Paul, Cale had an extremely short memory later when it came to repaying those favors when Paul needed race entries. The story at the link is well worth the read.

Remember Bobby Allison Pitching Roast Beef Sandwiches?

General

I remember Cale owning a number of Hardee's in the early 80s. I was on the roof of one of the Michigan Infield pit road suite complexes in the early 80s standing next to Cale's wife Betty Jo when he was passed for the lead near the end of and IROC race. She was very vocal as to how not winning that race would cost them another Hardee's franchise. I was NOT impressed.

Remember Bobby Allison Pitching Roast Beef Sandwiches?

General

I do love to eat. Hardee's had the Frisco Burger whn I was at the Richmond track and they sponsored the Hardees Frisco 250 Busch race. The City of San Francisco went after them for portraying the cable car operator and they dropped the whole Frisco thing.