A SPECIAL ANOUNCEMENT WILL BE MADE IN THE DRIVERS MEETING TODAY
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Response to Duck Boy's obvious, although uncalled jumping of the start last Saturday. The fan count at today's race may be very interesting as well.
Forum Activity for @tim-leeming
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Racing HIstory Minute - September 15,1960
Stock Car Racing History
Incidentally, the Gamecock Football Team won last night, although not in a spectacular fashion.
Racing HIstory Minute - September 15,1960
Stock Car Racing History
During this time of year, the word "Gamecock" is associated with that football team from The University of South Carolina. On this date in 1960, while certainly the football Gamecocks existed, the focus to today's Minute will be Gamecock Speedway in Sumter, SC. Gamecock Speedway was a quarter mile dirt track located outside the City of Sumter, which is also the home of Shaw Air Force Base, a major military installation.
If you recall our Southern 500 series recently, we featured the 1960 Southern 500 which was won by Buck Baker on three tires after blowing one before the checkered flag. What was not featured in that story is that only 18 of the 48 starters finished, and of those 18 finishers, about half of those were in less than good "repair". So, ten days after that Southern 500, only 13 cars came through the games to race the 50 miles/300 laps on the tight track.
Rookie David Pearson qualified his Chevrolet on the pole with a speed of 45.07 mph with Ned Jarrett starting on his outside. Doug Yates would start his Plymouth 3rd, Richard Petty started 4th in his Plymouth and L.D. Austin placed his Chevy in fifth starting position.
The race was a two man show, for the most part, between Jarrett and Pearson but my source for information has no breakdown of lap leaders. I do know that Doug Yates fell out on lap 34 with right front hub problems, and Fred Harb had engine problems in his Ford and had to park it on lap 107. The only other non-finisher was Curtis Crider who broke an axle in his Oldsmobile on lap 110 and was out. These three would represent finishing positions 11th (Crider), 12th (Harb) and 13th (Yates).
This was Ned Jarrett's 7th overall Grand National win. Rex White, who would finish sixth, left the track with a 3660 point lead over second place, Richard Petty.
Top five finishers were:
1. Ned Jarrett, Courtesy Ford, winning $770.00
2. David Pearson, Pearson Chevrolet, winning $535.00
3. Junior Johnson, Daytona Kennels Chevrolet, winning $385.00 (1 lap down)
4. G.C. Spencer, Weldon Wagner Chevrolet, winning $270.00 (5 laps down)
5. Lee Petty, Petty Engineering Plymouth, winning $325.00 (5 laps down)
Sixth through tenth were Rex White, Richard Petty, Jimmy Pardue, L.D. Austin, and Buck Baker.
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
Racing History Minute for September 14, 1964; Cotton Teaches David a Lesson at Richmond
Stock Car Racing History
Dave, this is an absolutely awesome History Minute. While I do add my personal notes to certain of the Minutes I post, most of the information comes from Greg Fielden's excellent books, and a few other reference books i have around, which are fine because they record things 99.9% accurately. However, nothing beats personal memories shared with such enthusiasm. Thanks for filling in for me while I was in Augusta. Wonderful memories!
Amendments to the 2013 Sprint Cup rule book
Stock Car Racing History
And these are "amendments"? Really???????????????????????? I thought it was always that way but I guess now we at least have them in writing.
Jeff Gordon... In
Current NASCAR
Excellent points Christopher and I agree MWR should be banned for the rest of this year, if not forever. I suppose I will still watch, at least the next race or two, just to see if NASCAR has any hope of becoming a player in the sports world again. I have heard so, so many negative things about the sanctioning body and very few positive. I think ARCA is a great series for sure. Well, I guess the sponsors, 5-Hour Spinergy, NAPA NO HOW, and Aarons Cheats will continue to consider their next move.
Racing History Minute - September 13, 1959
Stock Car Racing History
Most times when I am choosing a "History Minute" I do that while having my morning coffee and checking e-mails I need to answer. However, last evening I had some spare minutes after my grandson's karate class so I was checking out all the September 13th races in my reference books (Greg Fielden's "Forty Years of Stock Car Racing" and "Rumblin' Ragtops") and simply had to feature the event in Richmond, VA, run on this date in 1959. Why? Well, NOT because the Richmond area is so meaningful to Dave Fulton, although that is important. NOT because of all the post-Richmond race publicity after the huge NASCAR Chase debacle last week. Simply stated, I would not let the sponsorship of the winning car of this race go without mention in a History Minute before this series concludes. So, here we go.
Sixteen cars entered the 38th race of the 1959 season on the half-mile dirt track known as Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds in Richmond. Cotton Owens in his THUNDER CHICKEN T-Bird (see what I mean? Cool, huh?) took the pole with a speed of 62.674 mph. Glen Wood in the Wood Brothers Ford would start second, Jack Smith in a Bud Moore Chevrolet third, Tiger Tom Pistone in the Rupert Safety Belt T-Bird fourth, and Runt Harris in a Junie Dunleavy Chevrolet fifth.
Jack Smith would depart the race on lap 11 when his Chevy blew the engine. Glen Wood, also a top five starter, was out on lap 152 when a tire blew putting him into the fence and ending his day. Eleven of the 16 starters would finish the race, although the 11th place finisher, Al White, was 40 laps in arrears at the checkers.
The win was the first for Cotton Owens in the 1959 season and he left the track 1,120 points behind Lee Petty in the Grand National Points standings. This was Cotton's third career Grand National win. His average winning speed wsa 60.382 mph.
Top five finishers were:
1. Cotton Owens, THUNDER CHICKEN T-Bird, winning $800.00
2. Lee Petty, Petty Engineering Plymouth, winning $625.00
3. Tom Pistone, Rupert Safety Belts T-Bird, winning $375.00 (2 laps down)
4. Reds Kagle, Chevrolet, winning $275.00 (6 laps down)
5. Runt Harris, Junie Donleavey Chevrolet, winning $215.00 (7 laps down)
Sixth through tenth were Shep Langdon, Herman Beam, Brownie King, Bill Scott, and L.D. Austin. Rounding out the field, in finishing order, were Al White, Glen Wood, George Green, G.C. Spencer, Ned Jarrett, and Jack Smith.
Remember, it hadn't been too many weeks before this race that Ned Jarrett bought a Grand National car with a check that was NOT good at the time he wrote it but was covered by the time the bank opened Monday. What a great career Ned had, but he never drover THE THUNDER CHICKEN!!!!
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
KEYSTONE COPS AND THAT PANDORA BOX
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Nice Expose` on NBC National News tonight as to the "NASCAR Cheating Scandal". I didn't see it, but I've heard all about it. Thanks Mr. Waltrip and the rest of you for all you did to make NASCAR a bigger laughing stock than anyone has managed to do yet, even Brian.
KEYSTONE COPS AND THAT PANDORA BOX
Current NASCAR
Guess I wasn't original with my "Pandora's Box" statements, OR, perhaps, someone was reading our home page and realized, as have all of us, that The Chase is a joke and has, subsequently, made NASCAR appear as a joke. I almost dread encountering my friend at church Sunday who has been trying so hard to understand stock car racing since he and I became acquainted. He has asked me questions, every Sunday, about something that has occurred in the sport and the question of The Chase has come up three or four times because he doesn't understand how racing can have something so "contrived" as he says. Should be fun Sunday explaining intentional spins, pits stops not needed, how a guy can be penalized 50 points BUT still be in The Chase and so many other things sure to come up. No, I have no plans to change churches, may just change sports. Anyone know where I can find a good checkers match?
What Did You Think of This Little Girl?
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That "little" girl was awesome. Ann and I watched her and were blown away with her beautiful voice and the way she performed our National Anthem! Richmond did great.