Bill Auman ,Legendary Cylinder Head man passed away
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Found this 1965 Watkins Glen photo with mechanic on right identified as Bob Auman and wondered if it could be the same fellow who helped you?
Forum Activity for @dave-fulton
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Found this 1965 Watkins Glen photo with mechanic on right identified as Bob Auman and wondered if it could be the same fellow who helped you?
Colorful Characters - Dick Beaty's Nose
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Great memories, Jim. What a privilege it must have been for you to have known Dick Beatyall those years like you did. I remember the last few years when Dick's wife, Mae, would sit in a van in the garage and Dick would check on her every so often. It was very sad. When I did the PlastiKote Spray Paint deal I was able to get enough extra cases of dark green paint for Dick to paint all of the outdoor furniture at his mountain cabin. There were a lot of folks in the garage who were extremely nice to me during the years I was around. I especially liked Bill Gazaway - a lot of folks didn't. It may have been because I was working with Bud Moore that Gazaway was so nice, but he always was. Now his brother, Joe could be another case. One time in 1984 when I lived in Dallas, TX, I put on a big racing deal at the mall in Wilson, NC to promote the grand opening of my mother-in-law's new pet store. It was an off weekend after Talladegaand I had a bunch of track pace cars there, along with local racers and the big rigs of the Wood Brothers and Richard Childress. The highlight of the weekend, however, was the big NASCAR rig, with NASCAR starter Harold Kinder (who drove and kept the big rig - in Mint Hill, I guess) on hand to answer questions. Gazaway wouldn't even let me pay for fuel, just Harold's motel and meals. I always thought very highly of Gazaway after that. Speaking of your dad and Piedmont, one of Dale and Whitlock's neighbors was a Piedmont pilot named Lauren, whose last name I don't recall. He had a hat that had two bills/fronts - one Wrangler and one Piedmont that he wore to the races. One season we flew all year on little Piedmont charters out of Winston-Salem that Danny Culler would arrange, sometimes up to three planes.I always flew with Lauren.Usually we hadDale, BarneyHall, Tim Richmond, a Winston rep and Margret Claud, Miss Winston. I got cured of flying in small planes after Lauren tried 3 times to touch down at Pocono and we never saw the runway and diverted to Wilkes-Barre. Flying out of Talladega and Michigan in those little planesin thunderstorms was more than I could handle. I remember dropping Dale off a couple of times in Statesville. But, I grew to hate those little planes. Just before we would land everybody would always start talking about Dick Brooks flipping his plane at Dover when he hit a culvert. I haven't been in a little plane since 1983.
Colorful Characters - Dick Beaty's Nose
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All forms of racing have had their share of colorful characters who could tell colorful stories. One of the best I (semi) remember used to be told by former Winston Cup director Dick Beaty in the presence of Buck Brigance, both now deceased. Dick had become comp director after being an inspector and working as the assistant mgr at the Charlotte airport. Never met a nicer or fairer man. When I met him, Buck was working at Charlotte's Radiator Specialty Co. and would be around the cars of Buddy Baker. Some of you may have known Buck's daughter, Darlene, who used to work for Bruton & Humpy in the CMS marketing department and was in charge of Speedway Club sales before starting a marketing agency. Dick and Buck had both raced some stock cars, but in their heyday, they both raced motorcycles. From what I read and heard, Buck was a real character and hard racer, as was Dick. According to Dick, the two of them had raced motorcycles at the old Richmond Atlantic Rural Exposition Strawberry Hill 1/2- dirt track, site of today's Richmond International Raceway. They were returning from Richmond on U.S. 1 Highwayand at the Route U.S. 58 at South Hill, VA intersection t-boned another vehicle driven by two nurses from Raleigh's Rex Hospital. Accounts say they were driving a woodie - maybe yes or no. Anyway, they were both thrown from the vehicle into a pile of kindling. The highlightof the story was always told by Dick. He'd say, Buck hollared, "Dick, help me find my glasses." Dick answered, "Buck, help me find my nose!" It had been sheared off. Accounts differ as to whether it was at Richmond's Medical College of Virginia or Raleigh's Rex Hospital that Dick Beaty's nose was re-attached. Anyway, Buck Brigance always told him it looked crooked to him!
updated by @dave-fulton: 05/19/21 09:57:45PM
The Hall of Blame
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Jim, you are 110% on the money with your thoughts. Jim Black should still be in prison and it should have been a warning to everybody whenGuv Easley crashed 5-Time's car at CMS not to mix racing and politics. The one thing I used to despise at Darlington on Labor Day was the endless parade of politicians Bob Colvin put on the mike.
The Hall of Blame
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Pkl, sure don't have a problem with the Hall's location. We just happen to be uncovering a lot of "erroneous" projections and the head of our bureau has admitted that one of his employees has received a $100,000 bonus from a basketball conference all the while the bureau head was sleeping with his DC-area sales rep. It's getting to be a real stinky subject here with funding being cut off to the convention and visitor's bureau.
The Hall of Blame
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A column from today's Charlotte paper where the Convention and Visitors Bureau is under fire for all the lies and bad information they presented to be awarded and fund the NASCAR Hall of Fame:
Another smart idea: Build a Hall of Blame
By Mark Washburn mwashburn@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Jun. 29, 2011
Before we activate the Time Machine, let's do a safety briefing. Some images may be disturbing. As they whiz by, they may not represent the situational reality we have come to accept. There is no need for concern. As we all know, a report from the prestigious PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has firmly fixed the blame for NASCAR Hall of Fame attendance unpleasantness on the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. "We understand from our discussions with CRVA representatives that earlier, more modest attendance projections were revised as the competition between Charlotte, Atlanta, and Daytona intensified for the Hall of Fame," said its report. So that's that. None of the rest of us are to blame. Just check the report. Now, turn off personal electronic devices as we gazoom back to the day Charlotte was named a finalist for the hall. Jan. 4, 2005: "It's the opportunity of a lifetime. ... This is very, very important for this region, and our goal should be to build on the momentum we have ... and accept nothing short of a world-class, winning proposal." - Cathy Bessant, Charlotte Chamber chair. Jan. 22, 2005: "Charlotte is a boisterous, fast-growing city; NASCAR is a boisterous, fast-growing sport. The two share a hard-driving spirit and an urge to get ahead quickly, even if it means a bump or two. ... The NASCAR Hall of Fame belongs here. Let's all unite to make it happen." - editorial, The Charlotte Observer. April 20, 2005: "Everybody's in support of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. ... It shouldn't go anywhere else." - Gov. Mike Easley. April 25, 2005: "Usually, when we try to do something, we make it happen." - House Speaker Jim Black of Matthews, on getting state money for the hall. April 25, 2005: "The engine indeed has started for what will indeed be a huge economic impact for Charlotte and for the region." - Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Cannon, after the City Council endorses a hotel tax to help pay for the Hall. May 12, 2005: "We need to try hard to prove that we deserve it because we want it more. ... In Charlotte, it won't be a fad 10 years from now. It will be the crown jewel." - Luther Cochrane, chairman of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. March 6, 2006: "The key factor all along, for NASCAR and us, was sustainability. ... We're confident this is going to work." - Wachovia bank executive John Tate, who helped assemble the financing plan, after Charlotte is declared the winner. March 8, 2006: "Thank goodness Charlotte was awarded the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Now when they close our children's schools, they will have a place to go." - Some crackpot's comment in The Buzz. That concludes our excursion into the past. If you have any questions about what we saw today, please refer to the auditor's report firmly fixing the blame to the CRVA.
Looking back, nobody else wanted the silly thing anyway.
Mark Washburn: 704-358-5007; mwashburn@charlotteobserver.com Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/06/29/2415161/another-smart-idea-build-a-hall.html#ixzz1QgWKn8a4
updated by @dave-fulton: 03/30/17 05:02:19PM
Bodine Loses Lawsuit - Sounds Kinda Stupid
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I'd be in the let sleeping dogs lie, too, camp on this one. I thought we were all being tongue-in-cheek. I can delete my Darth Vader helmet if that'll help.
Bodine Loses Lawsuit - Sounds Kinda Stupid
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Wally,
How long do you think it will take on Monday before we read of a HOA somewhere not allowing a distinquished veteran to fly their American flag on the 4th of July?
Bodine Loses Lawsuit - Sounds Kinda Stupid
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Wally, thank you for that important correction.
Wally Bell said:
Todd...not Brett