A message to Tim from an admirer of his
Current NASCAR
Tim's admirer reminds it's only 15 days to Daytona 500!
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Current NASCAR
Only His Hair Dresser Knows for Sure
Stock Car Racing History
I've been watching various "celebrity" reports this past week about Bruce Jenner . His name always gets my attention because a company I worked for once sponsored race cars that he drove.
A little background is in order.
Bruce Jenner came to worldwide attention when he won the Gold Medal in the Men's Decathalon (10 event track & field trial) at the 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal.
His smiling face was soon featured on every Wheaties cereal box in the USA.
Along the way, Bruce divorced his first wife and married the long-time girlfriend of Elvis Presley. The past few years Jenner has been best known as the husband of Kris Jenner... the one time Kris Kardashian and mother to the daughters of Keeping Up With the Kardashians fame.. or infamy.
Back in 1984-1986, I was Motorsports Coordinator for Dallas, Texas-based Southland Corporation and its family of brands, including 7-Eleven, CITGO and Chief Auto Parts.
My prime interest was the stock car program featuring Kyle Petty and Derrike Cope. However, we had a lot of deals going, including drag racing, Indy cars, unlimited hydroplanes, and TransAm and IMSA racing.
The car program sponsorships were all being done in conjunction with Ford Motor Company. We sponsored the Zakspeed/Roush Ford Probe GTP car in IMSA races and also the Roush Prototype and Roush Racing Mustangs in IMSA GTO.
It was at the 1985 Charlotte IMSA event that I first met Bruce Jenner. He was a rotating co-driver of our 7-Eleven/CITGO GTO Roush entry, usually with Scott Pruett. The IMSA series sponsor at the time was RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company under its Camel cigarette brand.
Charlotte could hardly give away tickets to the sporty car race, even though Camel distributed some 90,000 free tickets.
Jenner spent most of his time riding a bike through the infield and hanging out in one of the new turn one condos bought by a Chief Auto Parts VP, usually the one sublet to Ford's Michael Kranefuss. There the unshaven Jenner complained about everything. He was a total prima donna pain in the butt.
The straw that broke the camel's back... literally... was when RJR's Robertson came to me and said Jenner refused to do a promotional head shot wearing a Camel hat. With 7-Eleven being the country's largest distributor of Camels and Winstons, we quickly explained to the uncooperative Jenner why he needed to cooperate. He finally did, whining all the way.
Exactly one month after Kyle Petty won the first Winston Cup race for 7-Eleven at Richmond in February 1986 (Derrike Cope had already been winning NASCAR Winston West races for us for two years) , Bruce Jenner co-drove the 7-Eleven/CITGO Roush Mustang to a GTO class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Whereas we all cheered Kyle's win, the same wasn't true for Jenner. Some people are just hard to like.
With the completion of the Rolex 24 at Daytona this past weekend, it seemed somewhat ironic to me that Bruce Jenner was once again in the news. Seems he has been getting medical assistance to puff out his lips and other areas. Rumor has it he'll announce a "transformation" on national television this coming week.
Two phrases come to mind... "only his hairdresser knows for sure (paraphrased)" and "you can't tell the drivers without a program."
Back in the 60's, FoMoCo used the ad campaign "Ford has a Better Idea." With Jenner in its race cars, it did not, IMHO.
Now lets move on to stock cars at Daytona!
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/16/16 07:54:05AM
Another long time racer has passed
Stock Car Racing History
Here's the nice Jon Button write-up Bill has told us about in today's Syracuse Post-Standard :
Racing legend Jon Button dies at age 76
Jon Button, of Chittenango, pushes his 1936 Hillegass car onto his flatbed transport trailer after exhibiting it in the Temple Adath Yeshurun classic car show in Dewitt on Aug. 17, 2003. Button got the car from a person in New Bridgeport. "It was in a guy's tiny garage; been there for years". (Marilu Lopez-Fretts | The Post-Standard)
The Central New York racing community lost another member this past Monday with the passing of 76-year-old Jon Button. He was a man who did almost every form of racing you could think of and he did them all well.
Joe Marotta has been working at racetracks for almost 50 years and watched Jon throughout his racing career.
"Jon was a true racer," Marotta said. "Whether it was a dirt track, an asphalt track or a dragstrip, he did it all and he did it well and he really enjoyed it. He was a true friend and I'm really gonna miss the guy."
He first met Jon at the Fulton Raceway dragstrip which was located where the pit area is today. He made an immediate impression.
"In comes this International Carryall and this guy gets out and this woman gets out and a bunch of kids get out," Marotta said. "It was towing this great big, long dragster. A double A Top Fuel Dragster What really impressed me, I watched them unload and push the car alongside of the hauler and everybody, all the kids, Margaret the wife and everybody had a little job to do.
"They prepped the car and they pushed it up onto the racetrack. Margaret was driving the Carryall to push it up and of course they had to push start it. And that baby fired up and it shook everything, the trees, the birds and the raccoons and everything. Jon lined it up and he took a run down and it was really a pretty good run."
Later in the day he got to meet the driver of the car that grabbed his attention earlier.
"A little while later this little short framed guy comes up and he says, 'Hey, can you tell me what I turned?' I said, 'Who are you?' and he says, 'Well I'm Jon Button.' I said, 'Oh, you had the dragster.' He says, 'Yep.' And I gave him his ticket, what he turned and from that day on, I knew Jon and Jon knew Joe."
In the coming years, many people would get to know Jon Button. He raced his dragster locally at tracks in Cicero, Savanna and Utica Rome. Later he bought a former Jimmy Shampine Coupe and raced that on dirt at places like Fulton, Utica Rome, Weedsport and Nazareth, Pa., against legendary drivers like Kenny Brightbill, Gerald Chamberlain and Frankie Schneider.
In the 1990s, he went to the other side of the fence and began working as an inspector for DIRT Motorsports in the sport's glory days when Glenn Donnelly was at the helm. His no-nonsense attitude was perfect for the job and it was tough to sneak something past the former racer who knew the tricks of the trade.
In his later years he became involved in vintage racing and restored two midgets, a sprint car and a champ car, all from the ground up. And he didn't restore them to sit and be looked at. He raced them.
A few years ago he took the cars down south and was named Florida State Champion. He often loaded all four cars onto a trailer and brought them to various cruise nights to show them off and remind people of the sport's roots.
Those cars are currently on display at the DIRT Motorsports Hall of Fame and Classic Car Museum in Weedsport. His sons are still involved in local racing today. His oldest son Gordy is in the Empire Super Sprints Hall of Fame and also successfully drove both modifieds and late models while younger son Mike is the all-time sportsman win leader at the Cayuga County Fairgrounds and still competes today at both Fulton and Utica Rome.
We may have lost a legend but his legacy lives on with his family's involvement and the race cars he so painstakingly restores. He will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace and enjoy racing in heaven.
Another long time racer has passed
Stock Car Racing History
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Button's family and acquaintances.
Bud Moore's Right Hand Man by Perry Allen Wood (a review)
Administrative
My entire family will testify that they don't come any finer (or nicer) than the Moore family, who once gave us a place to live at no charge, bought us two weeks of groceries and gave us a new Ford front end for our rookie Cup operation when Ford Motor Company wouldn't. I look forward to reading Perry's book and seeing Greg's recollections.
R.I.P. Bill Schmitt - 4-Time NASCAR Winston West Champ
General
1984 7-Eleven NASCAR 250
NASCAR Winston West Series race number 11 of 11
Sunday, November 25, 1984 at Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, AZ
156 laps on a 1.000 mile paved track (156.0 miles)
Time of race: 1:34:05
Average Speed: 99.486 mph
Pole Speed: 116.849 mph Cautions: 3 for 16 laps
Margin of Victory: 29 sec
Attendance: n/a
Lead changes: 3
Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led
1 9 73 Bill Schmitt Mountain Dew (Bill Schmitt) Chevrolet 156 5,090 running 117
2 6 78 Jim Robinson Hammer Security (Lois Williams) Oldsmobile 156 3,545 running 1
3 5 98 Jim Bown Wholesale Truck Parts (John Kieper) Buick 156 2,035 running 0
4 16 94 Harry Goularte Mountain Dew (Harry Goularte) Chevrolet 155 1,435 running 1
5 8 56 Ron Esau McDonald's (Jack Lee) Buick 154 1,450 running 0
6 7 83 Sumner McKnight Aero Wash (Sumner McKnight) Chevrolet 153 1,100 running 0
7 10 93 Jimmy Insolo Saied Contractors / Dry Sys. Buick 152 800 running 0
8 15 51 Scott Miller MDB Systems (Scott Miller) Pontiac 151 750 running 0
9 11 32 Ruben Garcia Suncrest Motorhomes (Fred Stoke) Buick 151 800 running 0
10 3 04 Hershel McGriff Mark C. Bloome / Stanton Industries (Gary Smith) Pontiac 151 1,010 running 0
11 18 28 Randy Olson RAO Construction (Rich Olson) Chevrolet 150 600 running 0
12 25 96 Pappy Pryor California Blending Dodge 149 550 running 0
13 20 45 Bob Kennedy Erlich Motors (Myung Suk Lee) Chevrolet 148 700 running 0
14 17 24 Buddie Boys Clements Automotive (Buddie Boys) Buick 144 450 running 0
15 23 41 Kevin Terris Lone Star Auto Brokers Buick 144 425 running 0
16 4 95 Derrike Cope 7-Eleven / Jefferson Racing (George Jefferson) Ford 138 400 running 0
17 24 91 John Krebs KC Racing (John Krebs) Oldsmobile 133 375 oil pump 0
18 22 86 Eldon Dotson Stoner-Hurst Racing Buick 131 350 running 0
19 14 71 Scott Autrey McIntosh Ranch (Dick Midgley) Oldsmobile 108 325 engine 0
20 12 12 Terry Petris Petris Custom Homes (John & Terry Petris) Oldsmobile 108 300 rear end 0
21 2 2 Bobby Allison Miller High Life (DiGard) Buick 54 550 rear end 37
22 1 7 Ron Eaton Bondo / Lake's Body Shop (Ron Eaton) Buick 24 225 engine 0
23 21 16 Bill Osborne Pete Ellis Dodge (Mike Brown) Buick 24 220 engine 0
24 19 35 Pat Mintey Valencia Machine / Stick Only (Pat Mintey) Chevrolet 19 415 overheating 0
25 26 22 St. James Davis St. James Racing (LaDonna Davis) Chrysler 7 210 clutch 0
26 13 5 Tim Richmond 7-Eleven / Jefferson Racing (George Jefferson) Ford 7 205 engine 0
Failed to qualify or withdrew:
R.I.P. Bill Schmitt - 4-Time NASCAR Winston West Champ
General
Bill Schmitt
Obituary
Bill Schmitt ~
Bill Schmitt, loving husband, dad and grandpa, respected businessman, NASCAR Champion, and community supporter in his home city of Redding, made his last lap here on earth, and headed to his final pit stop in heaven on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at the age of 78.
Bill was a prolific businessman, starting or buying more than two dozen businesses over his lifetime, and driving the majority to success. He was well-known as one of the leaders in the North State logging industry in the 1980s and was chosen Logger of the Year in 2007. He wasn't all work, though, and made time to play hard at his dual passions, fishing and NASCAR racing. Bill and Sylvia hosted dozens of their friends and family on their Alaskan King Salmon fishing trips annually. He was also a constant presence on the NASCAR circuit from the late 1970's into the 1990's, powering his way to NASCAR Winston West Champion four times with the help of Sylvia, his family, and many friends. He was inducted into the Gatorade Circle of Champions in 1989 and competed in the very first International NASCAR race.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Sylvia, his children and their spouses, Jim & Karen, Steve & Rhonda, Kathie & Frank, Kenny, his nine grandchildren and their spouses, Jimmy, Tracie, Kristi, Melanie, Denise & Joe, Frankie, Jon & Beth, Megan & Steve, Amber & Dustyn, and seven great-grandchildren Kevin, Matthew, Addison, Ryder, Jaylen, Baylie, and Kynzie.
There will be a public celebration of his life on Saturday December 6th, 2014 from 1pm-3pm at the Shasta Baptist Church at 6600 Westside Road in Redding. If they wish, parties can make a donation in his memory to the schools he supported Shasta Baptist School, 6600 Westside Road, Redding, CA 96001, or the school his granddaughter Megan teaches at: Fort Bragg High, Ag Department, 300 Dana St, Fort Bragg, CA 95437.
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/redding/obituary.aspx?pid=173158089#sthash.Dyl9XcWI.dpuf