I have it on good authority that RR's Ruby the Goat is checking Jeff Gilder's schedule for Danica Patrick's handlers to see if he can free himself for this Sunday, January 25. It's go time, Jeff! 
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I saw my first flying Dodge at the 1966 Southern 500 and I thought the race would never go green again while they put up new guard rail in turn 1.
Only thing about those flying Dodges, Johnny, is that you gotta hit the camera's shoot button at the right time to get the car number correct! And, some of those Dodges didn't know if they were at a USAC or NASCAR race or who was driving them!
Here are the group's tributes to Johnny Unitas, Brooks Robinson and Walter Payton:
For some of us, 1969 was a horrible, horrible year. It was the year that Richard Petty uttered a 4-letter word - "FORD" - and switched to that brand in NASCAR Grand National racing, forsaking (for 1 year only) the Plymouth brand that had taken him to fame and an unbelievable string of victories.
Mopar and Richard fans were heart broken. If you weren't around at the time, you can't understand the magnitude of the heartbreak. We can only imagine what might have been had Richard driven for Plymouth in 1969.
You may be familiar with an Upstate South Carolina string band / bluegrass group from Prater's Creek in Aiken County named The Drovers Old Time Medicine Show. I first became aware of them a few years back when I was looking up information about the late Johnny Unitas, quarterback of the Baltimore Colts.
On their 2004 "Dreamland" album, the group paid homage to several sports heroes with songs titled "The Johnny Unitas Song (Grandpa's Dream #19)"; "Brooks Robinson (Grandpa's Dream #5)" and "Never Die Easy - The Walter Payton Song (Grandpa's Dream #34)" - all available to hear on YouTube.
I somehow missed a song that could have provided a little solace in later life to those of us forced to endure the King's 1969 flaunting in our face of the Dearborn nameplate.
I thought folks like TMC-Chase and Tim Leeming might enjoy this 2004 release as well as folks who enjoy hillbilly songs, fast driving songs, bluegrass songs and songs about drinking. If you've heard it before, forgive me. Here's '69 Roadrunner (Grandpa's Dream #1) about a beep beep Plymouth. Enjoy as they cross the Georgia line down into Johnny Mallonee and Bill McPeek territory!
Sonny's eye wear had gotten a bit more stylish in later years, as evidenced by this photo of Sonny snickering in the background as Bobby Allison and Bill Dennis argued at Southside Speedway:
Richmond Newspapers photo
And, Sonny always raced in those thick, black prescription sunglasses on bright, sunny days!
Ha... that used to be Ray Hendrick's favorite phrase after he'd beaten the field at Martinsville yet again and got another grandfather clock... "We cleaned their clock today!"
I was also at Atlanta in 1992 for Jeff's first Cup start and Richard's last, as well as at Rockingham for the Bill Davis/Baby Ruth Busch win by Jeff. I started looking and although I started going to races in 1964, I didn't see the King win for the first time until 1967 at Richmond.
