A DIFFERENT KIND OF LEGENDTORIAL
Administrative
Dave, please let your grandson know how much I enjoy band concerts. Tell him Merry Christmas.
Forum Activity for @tim-leeming
Administrative
A DIFFERENT KIND OF LEGENDTORIAL
Administrative
When you tune into the Goat Rodeo Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, I will just be concluding a RacersReunion appearance at the Stocks For Tots event at the NASCAR Technical Institute. That will be after a day event at Memory Lane in behalf of autism awareness. There will be no written Legendtorial, but, if Jeff will accept my call when I make it, and if things go as I have been told they are likely to go, then it will be an interesting segment coming your way. Hope you will join the crew and I hope you will enjoy what I am hoping to present.
Thank you and God bless.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:02:57PM
December 9th racing history
Stock Car Racing History
As for STP stickers, I had thousands of them. The STP guy, his name I can't recall, gave me several cases of those. I used STP in everything and had STP stickers ON everything.
December 9th racing history
Stock Car Racing History
I do know that T. Wayne (a good friend of a good friend of mine) gave me a case of those stickers. Must about been 300 or more in that box. I had those stickers on EVERYTHING. I was single and living in a mobile home at the time and had the stickers on each kitchen cabinet, the refrigerator, and used a a border along the ceiling of the hall. I am wondering if I have any of those left and am digging through my filing cabinet now to see. Thanks for the memories.
December 9th racing history
Stock Car Racing History
Quite a list of impressive historical moments! Way to go Chase.
Racing History Minute - December 8, 1968
Stock Car Racing History
Race number 2 of the 1969 season was actually run on December 8, 1968. Although Richard Petty was to drive a Ford for the 1969 season, he would be making his last run in a Plymouth (until 1970) in the "Alabama 200" contested on the half-mile paved track located in Montgomery, Alabama. Richard would put his Plymouth on the pole with a speed of 80.899 mph.
Bobby Isaac would start the K&K Insurance Dodge in second, Bobby Allison in a Friedkin Enterprises Plymouth would start third, James Hylton in his own Dodge fourth and Red Farmer in the J. D. Bracken Chevrolet fifth.
Richard led the first 9 laps before giving way to Bobby Isaac. Isaac would stay in front until lap 45 when Petty would slip by. On lap 54 it was Isaac again and he would stay in front until lap 67. Richard took over again on lap 68 and remained out front until lap 143. Bobby Allison got by and led from lap 144 to lap 167 before it was Petty out front again. Petty would lead all the way except for the last 100 feet to the finish line as Allison moved around him to win by less than 4 feet.
Only 2,800 fans showed up on a very blustery and cold day in Montgomery. They watched as Petty retook the lead on lap 168 and was pulling away from a fading Allison. On lap 191, Roy Tyner blew an engine in his Pontiac which brought out the caution flag. Allison hit the pits for two outside tires but Richard remained on the track, opting for track position.
The green flew again with two laps to go. Allison, with the new tire, sliced through the field of 17 remaining cars and came charging into Petty's mirror on the white flag lap. As the cars came off turn four, Allison slipped by and they raced to the line with Allison's Plymouth beating the Petty Mopar by four feet.
Richard was visibly disappointed not to win his last race in the Plymouth and said afterwards that " I didn't figure he could catch up in one or two laps but he did". Allison was shaking his head and saying "I ain't believing this. We were out with 10 laps to go and here I am in victory lane".
Finishing order:
1. Bobby Allison, Friedkin Enterprises Plymouth, winning $1,000.00
2.Richard Petty, Petty Enterprises Plymouth, winning $600.00
3.James Hylton, Hylton Engineering Dodge, winning $400.00 (5 laps down)
4.Bobby Isaac, K&K Insurance Dodge, winning $300.00 (7 laps down)
5. Neil Castles, Castles Plymouth, winning $275.00 (12 laps down)
PLEASE NOTE, RICHARD, TOP FIVE ALL CHRYSLER PRODCUTS!!!!!!!
6. John Sears
7. Ben Arnold
8. Henley Gray
9. Cecil Gordon
10. Dave Marcis
11. Ervin Pruett
12. Earl Brooks
13.J. D. McDuffie
14. Jabe Thomas
15. Bill Ervin
16. Lee Gordon
17. Ed Negre
18. Roy Tyner
19. Wendell Scott
20. Red Farmer
21. Elmo Langley
22. Sherril Pruitt
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
Racing History Minute - December 7, 1969
Stock Car Racing History
Thanks, Dave, for thinking of me at Christmas.
Racing History Minute - December 7, 1969
Stock Car Racing History
As a first thought this morning, the words "a date that will live in infamy" comes to mind. It was 72 years ago today that Japan launched the surprise attack that "awoke the sleeping giant" at Pearl Harbor. Many of the early pioneers of NASCAR racing fought in that war and remain heroes from the war, although thinking of themselves as such is not the usual thing. Let us all remember what those men and women did for us and what the greatest armed forces the world has ever known continue to do for us today.
Now on to the racing history minute for today. It was the final race of the 1969 season and was staged on the 2 mile paved track known as Texas International Speedway located in College Station, Texas. It was the 54th race of the long season. Buddy Baker qualified his Cotton Owens winged Dodge Daytona at 172.284 mph to start from the pole. David Pearson in a Holman-Moody Ford would start second, LeeRoy Yarbrough in a Junior Johnson Ford third, Cale Yarborough in the Wood Brothers Mercury fourth and Richard Brickhouse in the Ray Nichels Dodge Daytona 5th.
There were 33 official lead changes in the 250 laps around the two mile track. Drivers swapping the lead included Baker, Pearson, Yarbrough, Donnie Allison, Yarborough and Bobby Isaac. There were 38 cars racing for the win but the action was dominated by those six drivers although, in actuality, Bobby Isaac did not become a serious contenter until lap 230 of the 250. Bobby has never won on a superspeedway and although he had won 16 times during the 1969 season, not many of the 23,000 fans on hand were giving him much of a chance in this first race ever at the Texas facility.
Buddy Baker had been the dominate driver throughout the race, fending off challenge after challenge, and leading 13 different times for a total of 150 laps before becoming a little over confident. Under caution, on lap 228, Buddy looked over to his pits and flashed the Cotton Owens crew the "V" sign. That momentary distraction caused Baker to smash into the rear of James Hylton which brust the radiator in the Baker car causing him to fall out of the race on the next lap. There is no record in my source of any remarks Baker may have made when he exited the car. Suffice it to say, the lesson was learned not to count your pistons until they are stopped in Victory Lane.
When the green flag was displayed again on lap 233, Donnie Allison slipped by the new leader, Bobby Isaac and would stay out front for on lap before Isaac, not about to let his first superspeedway win slip from his hands, stormed around Allison and walked away. Allison had a late stop which would drop him two laps off the pace so it was all Isaac at the end.
David Pearson, who would lead on occassion, would lose a clutch on lap 142 and park his ride but maintained his points lead over Richard Petty and would win the title. Petty, who had started 24th in his last ride in the Ford, lost the clutch on lap 192 and was out. Richard announced after the race that he was returning to Plymouth of the 1970 season as he felt the Superbird could win on the superspeedways.
Cale Yarborough blew a tire in his Mercury on lap 143 and slammed the concrete wall, shattering his shoulder blade so severely doctors stated it would be at least 9 months before Cale could return to driving. Cale actually returned to the track on March 8, 1970, finishing second to Richard Petty at a grueling 500 mile race at "The Rock". Doctors missed the mark by six months but it would be a good bet that the doctors didn't realize with whom they were dealing when they said nine months.
Finishing order:
1. Bobby Issaac, K&K Insurance Dodge, winning $15,640.00
2. Donnie Allison, Banjo Matthews Ford, winning $8,200.00 (2 laps down)
3. Benny Parson, Russ Dawson Ford, winning $4,000.00 (3 laps down)
4. James Hylton, Hylton Engineering Dodge, winning $3,700.00 (11 laps down)
5. Dick Brooks, Brooks Plymouth, winning $3,350.00 (13 laps down)
6. Ray Elder
7. Jack McCoy
8. Buddy Baker
9. Dave Marcis
10. LeeRoy Yarbrough
11. Cecil Gordon
12. Jabe Thomas
13. E. J. Trivette
14. Johnny Halford
15. Friday Hassler
16. Neil Castles
17. Henley Gray
18. Wendell Scott
19. Don Biederman
20. H. B. Bailey
21. Richard Petty
22. Donnie Alonzo
23. Bobby Allison
24. Earl Brooks
25. Cale Yarborough
26. David Pearson
27. Elmo Langley
28. Bill Shirey
29 Ben Arnold
30. Frank Warren
31. Bill Champion
32. John Sears
33.Richard Brickhouse
34. Joe Hines
35. Ed Negre
36.Bill Siefert
37. Larry Baumel
38.Roy Tyner
The top five finishers for the championship were:
1. David Pearson, starting 51, winning 11, total winnings $229,760.00
2.Richard Petty, starting 51, winning 10, total winnings $129,906.00
3. James Hylton, starting 52, winning 0, total winnings $114,416.00
4. Neil Castles, starting 52, winning 0, total winnings $54,367.00
5.Elmo Langley, starting 53, winning 0, total winnings $73,092.00
Bobby Isaac, who finished 6th in the standings had won 17 times with his Texas win.
PERSONAL NOTE: When we (the Petty fans here) got the news, I believe on November 26, 1968, that Richard was going to drive Fords, it was a black day. We were so adamant for so many years that nothing was better than a Plymouth and that a Ford was the lowest form of automobile on the planet. We were very brand loyal in those days (something NASCAR can't seem to grasp in 2013). I have to admit that Richard seemed almost sympathetic to us when we approached him about his abandonment, but he told us he want to win and the 1968 Plymouth had not been a great car for superspeedways and the 1969 was the same. I was driving a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner at the time, an electric blue one.
The issue with The King and I (sounds musical huh?) came to a head at the September race at Columbia Speedway. I had run my first race just three weeks earlier on the same track. I was at the speedway when the Petty rig arrived hauling that hated Ford. Richard got down out of his Grand Torino or Talladega or whatever they called those Fords, and came over to congratulate me on my first race and the following race there where I had also run second. I have no idea how he knew about those races but he did. I mentioned to him that I was driving a PLYMOUTH. He smiled but that was it. Richard and his Ford finished second that night to Bobby Isaac in a DODGE.
On the way home that night, I was on I-26 and looked in my mirror to see the head lights of a Ford coming up fast. The car passed me quickly and I saw Richard was driving. What happened after that remains with me while my grandsons are teenagers but let's just say the blue Plymouth blew around that Ford. He passed me back, and we were at it. It was well after midnight and there was no traffic to speak of on I-26 at the time. I finally backed off and let him have it (the lead) since he could well afford a ticket while I could not.
It was at Rockingham in late October, right around my birthday, when Richard called me over to the fence at the pit area on Saturday. He asked me if I had seen the new Superbird. I told him I certainly had. All he said was "how do you think it would look in Petty blue with 43s on it". I told him awesome. He smiled and walked away. That was his way of tipping me off that he would be back in the Plymouth in 1970. Made me happy.
Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.
updated by @tim-leeming: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
December 4, 1977: Another Waltrip controversy
Stock Car Racing History
No comment. I would, however, have no problem shoving a snowball in that big mouth. May also consider shoving those five flags up D.W.'s............................. oh well, you know.
December 4: Some racing history
Stock Car Racing History
Great post Chase. Thanks for keeping the history rocking along.