May 18, 1968 - Langley's Tidewater 250

NASCAR completed the first third of its 49-race, 1968 Grand National division schedule with the Tidewater 250 at Langley Field Speedway in Hampton, Virginia. 

Track promoter Henry Klich noted how NASCAR was evolving. New speedways had opened or were on the drawing board. Several dirt tracks had begun a conversion to a paved surface. So after years of operating as a dirt track, Klich replaced the red clay with asphalt. The project was completed in time for the GN regulars to roll into town.

Despite Langley Field's switch from dirt to asphalt, Richard Petty captured his third consecutive pole at the track. He was also the two-time defending winner of the race after going back-to-back in 1966 and 1967.

To the surprise of no one, David Pearson joined Petty on the front row. What was a bit of a surprise, however, was Pearson's appearance at all. Just three weeks earlier, Ford Motor Company announced Pearson and his Holman Moody car would stop running the short tracks and focus on speedway races. The announcement was made despite Pearson's three short-track wins to that point of the season. In doing so, Pearson would also forfeit his shot at winning a second Grand National points title. 

In the days after the announcement, Pearson won his fourth short-track race of the year at Asheville-Weaverville followed by a win at Darlington. Ford reversed its decision, and Pearson continued to enter all races. He notched his fifth short-track race of the year at Beltsville Speedway in Maryland the night before Langley Field, and was looking to extend his winning streak to four on the newly paved Virginia track. 

Though it's not clear who or what led Ford to backpedal on their position, one person quite happy with moving forward was Pearson's crew chief, Dick Hutcherson. Just four years earlier, Hutch relo'd from the midwest and a successful IMCA stock car career to try his hand at NASCAR. 

After earning an impressive 14 wins in 104 starts, Hutch left the driver's seat after the 1967 season to become a crew chief for Holman Moody. Paired with Pearson, the duo began racking up wins on a regular basis. 

Source: Newport News Daily Press

Pearson got the jump on Petty as the race began. He led the first 55 laps around the tight track before Petty went to the top spot. 

After a few laps, Pearson got back by Petty's 43. His return, however, was short-lived as Petty once again put his Plymouth in the wind with no intentions of surrendering the lead again.

Petty led about 100 of the next 120 laps. Buddy Baker led a stretch of about 20 laps during a cycling of pit stops. Eventually, however, Petty returned to the top and seemed to be on his way to a Langley Field threepeat.

Things tightened up though with about 80 laps to go. Pearson's Ford closed on Petty's Plymouth, he got alongside him, and the two battled side by side for about 20 laps. The 43 then twitched a bit and doored Pearson's #17. As Petty cracked the throttle to straighten his car, Tiger Tom Pistone doinked him to send the King spinning. 

After popping the fence, Petty headed for the pits but lost three laps as his Dale Inman-led crew thrashed to make sure the car was okay to return to the track. Petty roared back into action and made up one of his lost laps. 

The damage and Petty's urgency to make up the lost distance were too much for the car's engine. The Hemi started bellowing smoke with about 10 laps to go, and Petty finally had to park it with four to go. The DNF was his second in as many nights and his fifth in seven races.

With Petty's late race issues, Pearson rolled on with no pressure. He led the last 60+ laps to capture his 37th career win. The victory was also his sixth short-track win of the year and his fourth consecutive victory. 

Though Petty missed out on his threepeat, Pearson began one. The Silver Fox went back-to-back with a second victory in August and then completed the triad in May 1969. 

Source: Newport News Daily Press

TMC

May 17, 1968 - Beltsville 300

NASCAR's Grand National fleet rolled in to the small state of Maryland on a Friday night in mid-May 1968. The teams hastily prepared for a one-day show to qualify and race 300 laps around the paved, half-mile Beltsville Speedway.

Richard Petty won the pole for Beltsville's 1967 200-lap spring race and led 151 laps en route to a second place finish. He returned in September to again win the pole for the track's first 300-lap race. The King also finished one spot better than he had in the spring by leading 171 laps and capturing his first win at Beltsville and eighth in a row - a streak that ultimately grew to ten.

Petty picked up where he'd left off eight months earlier. He set a track record and captured his third Beltsville pole in a row. David Pearson, winner of the circuit's two previous races at Asheville-Weaverville and Darlington, timed second. 

Pete Hamilton qualified third. Hamilton captured NASCAR's GN rookie of the year title in 1968 and later drove a second Plymouth Superbird for Petty Enterprises in 1970. Virginia's Bill Champion and James Hylton rounded out the top five starters.

 

Petty wasted no time in regaining his groove from the previous September. He launched at the green and led 158 consecutive laps. Then as the 43 headed down the frontstretch with a 10-seconds lead over second running Pearson, POOF - the King's Hemi went up in smoke. 

In 1967, the Petty Plymouth was seemingly untouchable with 27 victories including 10 in a row. The 1968 season, however, brought new challenges. The 43 team suffered its fourth engine failure of the season at Beltsville and fourth DNF in six races. Over the next two races, the lousy streak would grow to six DNFs in eight races. 

As Petty coasted to the garage to try again another day, Pearson went to the point. The Holman Moody #17 Ford led all but twelve of the remaining laps. Bobby Isaac led the other twelve laps and finished second to Pearson.

Pearson claimed his 36th career win - and this third one in a row in the '68 season. 

Source: Baltimore Evening Sun

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February 24, 1974 - Richmond 500

Richard Petty captured the Daytona 500 on February 17, 1974. The win was his fifth 500 victory and third in four years. As is always the case in racing, however, you have limited time to celebrate. A week after Daytona, the teams hauled to Richmond to battle 500 laps on the Virginia half-mile bullring.

As impressive as King's Daytona record was, his Richmond stats exceeded it. Coming into the winter '74 race, Petty had 11 victories at Richmond - including the previous seven in a row.

Despite the enviable streak, no win ever comes easy. The Petty Enterprises bunch had to set the Daytona trophy to the side and once again face the challenges of the competition.

The race was billed as the Sixth Annual Richmond 500. Though NASCAR's Grand National / Cup cars had raced on various surfaces and configurations at Richmond since 1953, the track adopted its 500-lap format in 1969.

Bobby Allison, King's long-time rival, captured the pole in his self-fielded Coca-Cola Chevrolet. Cale Yarborough, winner of the season-opening race at Riverside, qualified alongside Allison. Petty and 1973 Winston Cup champion Benny Parsons made up the second row, and 1973 Rookie of the Year Lennie Pond timed fifth.

For about the first half of the season, NASCAR trimmed its race lengths by 10 percent in response to the OPEC-related energy crisis. From a branding perspective, the track retained the Richmond 500 race name. The first 50 laps, therefore, were "logged" but without any driver leading them.

When the field took the green, Yarborough got the jump on Allison to lead the first lap ... err, lap 51 officially. Cale found an early rhythm and led 86 of the race's first 87 laps.

Petty and Cale then split roughly the next 50 laps between themselves - with Parsons slipping in to lead a lap or two. The STP Dodge then cemented its routine position out front.

Petty's Dodge had found its groove as the race hit halfway. He led a stint of nearly 120 laps before yielding the lead once more to Allison during a pit stop around lap 300. As the Dale Inman-led crew serviced the car, the gasman got the dump can hung in the car. When the jack fell, Petty roared back onto the track - with the fuel can still attached.

King had to make another stop to remove his stowaway passenger, and his sizable lead over Allison was gone.

Petty spent the better part of the next 100 laps clawing back ground he'd lost because of the pit miscue. He finally surged back in front around lap 400 following a caution for Walter Ballard, but his time back out front was brief.

The caution for Ballard was unique and a bit frightening. Drive train issues forced him to the garage near the race's midpoint. Ballard began repairing his car in an effort to gain a few extra spots and points, and he suffered a heart attack while doing so. The caution flew so the ambulance could exit the track and transport Ballard to the hospital.

Remarkably, Ballard returned to race the following Sunday and all the races over the next two seasons. He reduced his driving schedule in 1976 and increased his role as an owner for others. Dale Earnhardt raced Ballard's #30 Chevelle at Charlotte in his second career Winston Cup start, the 1976 World 600.

Back to the race...

During their final stops, Allison opted for four tires whereas the 43 bunch took a gamble with two. The gamble didn't pay off. Allison resumed the point, and Petty spent the remaining laps trying to catch-up with an ill-handling car. As the checkers fell, Allison won comfortably over King. Yarborough finished third, six laps down to the top two finishers.

Allison fans left Richmond with a Coke and a smile. The Petty crowd likely hated to see one slip away. After a seven-race win streak and a Daytona trophy at home, however, most knew it was just a racing deal.

King put the disappointing P2 behind him. He bounced back the following Sunday with a win in the Carolina 500 at Rockingham. He also returned to his winning ways at Richmond by nabbing the next two events - the September 1974 Capital City 500 and February 1975 Richmond 500.

Source: Newport Daily Press

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April 12, 1987 - Valleydale Meats 500

NASCAR's 1987 Winston Cup season got off to a blistering start. Awful Bill from Dawsonville, Bill Elliott, captured his second Daytona 500 win in three years. He did so after also capturing the pole at 210 MPH and leading over half the race. The jaw dropping lap was a NASCAR speed record that lasted only until May 1987 when Elliott topped it by another two miles per hour at Talladega.

The rest of the top five at Daytona was comprised of Benny Parsons as a replacement for Tim Richmond in the Hendrick Folgers Chevy, a surprisingly resurgent Richard Petty, another old guy Buddy Baker, and Dale Earnhardt.

Earnhardt then went on a tear. He and the Richard Childress Racing, Wrangler Jeans #3 team won four of the next five races. A failed alternator and battery during a dominating day at Atlanta prevented him from sweeping Rockingham through North Wilkesboro.

The racing gypsies then rolled into East Tennessee for the third short track race of the young season. The Valleydale Meats 500 at Bristol was slated for April 12th. The 1986 winner of the race, Rusty Wallace, was back to defend his title - albeit with Kodiak as his sponsor rather than Alugard as he'd had in 1986.

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The Bandit - Harry Gant - won the pole for the 1987 race, but he had little time to enjoy his view from up front. Wallace leaped on the lead when the green flag waved and led the first 40 laps. Gant completed the full race, but led only one lap on his way to a pedestrian P6 finish.

Elliott was widely known for his superspeedway strength as well as his challenges on many short tracks. At Bristol, however, his Coors Ford came to race. He led three times during the middle stages of the race - two of which were for 50+ laps each. When the checkers fell, Elliott finished a solid P4.

Another lap bully of the day was one of Tennessee's own. Sterling Marlin was a three-time track champion at Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway. He had his sights set on his first Cup victory in the eastern third of the state.

As the race hit the 200 lap mark, Sterling found himself on the point. He found his rhythm and pulled the field around Bristol's asphalt half-mile for over 50 laps. Behind him and closing quickly, however, was the blue and yellow #3.

Earnhardt dropped low on Marlin as the two roared through turns 3 and 4 of lap 253. As they sailed off into turn 1, Marlin held his outside line as Earnhardt tried to squeeze to the inside as both passed Mike Potter on the bottom. Earnhardt twitched his car slightly to the right and hooked Marlin in the left rear. (Wreck begins around 1:39 mark in video near end of post.)

Potter continued along with Earnhardt who checked up a bit. Geoff Bodine jumped on the binders, spun, and Ken Schrader sideswiped the left side of Bodine's Levi Garrett Chevy. Though Marlin was calm and collected when interviewed by Jerry Punch on ESPN, he was anything but pleased with how things unfolded.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel

ESPN nearly missed the Earnhardt and Marlin incident after an on-screen graphic about an Oldsmobile having never won a Bristol spring race was removed just as Earnhardt made things three wide. As an aside, an Olds never did win the Bristol spring race. The manufacturer's only Bristol win was scored by Cale Yarborough in the summer 1978 Volunteer 500, the track's inaugural night race.

As the track crew cleaned the track from the accident and most of the leaders pitted, Kyle Petty stayed out an extra lap. Rain began to fall, and the race was red flagged at lap 265. Kyle had one Cup win on his résumé at that point - the February 1986 Miller 400 at Richmond - but was coming off a P2 to Earnhardt a week earlier at North Wilkesboro.

Kyle and his Wood Brothers, Citgo team had hoped NASCAR would call the race official at that point, but they also knew their chances of winning an abbreviated race were slim. Sure enough, the race resumed after a 90 minute delay. The #21 Ford was competitive yet not enough to hang with others in the top 5. When the long day was done, Petty landed in 7th place - the final car on the lead lap.

Source: Bristol Herald Courier

Side note: The writer of the article, Kevin Triplett, later went to work for NASCAR and then the Bristol track as its Vice President of Public Affairs. Today, Triplett is the Commissioner of Tourism Development for the state of Tennessee.

After the rain and during the final third of the race, Elliott resumed his strong run and led nearly 40 laps. Morgan Shepherd then took over the top spot for 30+ laps in Kenny Bernstein's Quaker State Buick.

Meanwhile, two cars were rolling towards the front. Earnhardt carved his way through traffic after repairs to his right front resulting from his hook of Marlin. He passed Shepherd with about 120 laps to go and set sail.

The second driver who found new life down the stretch was ol' King Richard. After seeing Kyle out front and in a position to win because of the rain, King may have been motivated to get up there and remind his kid of how the old man had done it for decades. He continued to progress through the top ten and knocked off drivers such as Kyle, Elliott, Ricky Rudd, and Shepherd.

With ten to go, King had Earnhardt in his sights. He white smoked his right rear tire as he hustled his STP Pontiac after the leader. Petty was *this close* to Earnhardt as the white flag flew, but he simply ran out of laps and tires to challenge for win #201.

The race was the final second place finish in The King's career. The race was also the second and final time Earnhardt and King finished in the top two spots - the other being at Atlanta in November 1986. Just about everyone knows Petty won 200 Cup races in his career. Many are not aware, however, of another remarkable stat from his career: 157 P2s.

Source: Bristol Herald Courier

Earnhardt won again the following week at Martinsville to extend his winning streak to four races. Had it not been for his failed alternator and battery at Atlanta, he could have had a seven-race winning streak heading to Talladega the week after Martinsville.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel

TMC

November 5, 1967 - Western North Carolina 500

Asheville-Weaverville Speedway's half-mile track was the scene of several memorable NASCAR events for almost 20 years between 1951 and 1969. The 1967 Western North Carolina 500 was the season-ending race though it was originally scheduled for August 20th - right in the heart of Richard Petty's 10-race winning streak.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

Petty's hot summer streak continued during qualifying for the August 20 race as Ol' Blue scored the pole.

Source: News And Courier

Heavy rains postponed the race; however, and it was rescheduled for August 27th. Though Petty didn't get to race, he still got to put a few bucks in his pocket - $500 for his pole run and a $400 appearance fee for meeting fans at an area shopping center.

Source: Spartanburg Herald

The teams were ready to roll once more a week later, and Petty was clearly the prohibitive favorite for the win. Rain again interrupted everyone's plans; however, and NASCAR and the track worked to find a mutually agreeable date for the third attempt.

Source: News and Courier

All eventually decided to slot the race as the season-ending event in what turned out to be a chilly early November. When the teams returned about two months later, NASCAR decided a "do-over" was necessary for qualifying. Petty's pole run and the rest of the August qualifying results were tossed, and everyone laid down another lap.

For the race that took, Allison captured the pole in his Fred Lorenzen-led, Holman Moody Ford, and Petty timed his Plymouth sixth rather than P1 as he'd done in August. LeeRoy Yarbrough qualified second in Junior Johnson's Ford, and David Pearson and Dick Hutcherson made up the second row in two more Holman Moody Fords. Cale Yarborough's Mercury timed fifth in his first of two starts for NASCAR Hall of Fame owner Bud Moore to give the Blue Oval crowd a sweep of the top five starting positions.

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Allison led the first 121 laps before giving way to Hutcherson for a couple of laps. David Pearson then went to the point for a 90-lap stretch. Petty took over on lap 215, and trio of Pearson, Petty, and Allison traded positions every so often during the second half of the race.

Attrition for the race was extremely high. Several cars left the race because of wrecks. Others ended their day early because of engine or transmission issues - possibly the result of racing a long, grinding season with worn-out parts. Of the 30 starters, only six cars finished the race.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Wendell Scott was one of the drivers whose day ended early. He spun and wrecked after only 52 of the race's 500 laps.

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About two decades later, Scott's tough day at Asheville-Weaverville in 1967 was used as the cover image for Brian Donovan's book about Wendell.

As the race entered the final few laps, the beatin' and bangin' fans enjoy so much with short track racing intensified. With about 20 laps to go, Petty dove to the inside of Allison's Ford. The 43 sent Allison into the marbles, but Bobby gathered his car and set sail for the blue Plymouth as it disappeared down the straight.

The tail pipe on Allison's car came loose and began to drag the track - likely the result of hard racing with Petty. Rather than black flag the leader, NASCAR officials rightfully let the battle continue. With seven laps remaining, Allison caught Petty, muscled his way to the inside, and nudged Petty's Plymouth towards the outside rail.

Just as Allison had done earlier, Petty regained control of his Plymouth and took off in hot pursuit. He was also keeping an eye on Allison's exhaust that was dragging the track right in front of him. When the checkered flag fell, Petty crossed the finish line one car length behind Allison.

After the race, Petty said "I guess when you've won as much as I have, everyone takes pot shots at you". Allison responded with "We were racing for the win. He put me out of the groove more than once, and I did the same thing to him." The race was the eighth of 51 times Petty and Allison finished in the top two spots.

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Allison's crew chief, Lorenzen, was bubbling with enthusiasm over the win. Lorenzen served as Allison's crew chief two times, and Allison had won both races. Lorenzen said "as far as I'm concerned, Allison has a life-time job."

Source: News and Courier

Petty forfeited his pole for the race because of two rain delays, and he finished a close second to his rival after getting bumped out of the groove. He and his crew still returned to Level Cross as winners though as Petty secured his second NASCAR Grand National title - a number that eventually grew to seven with his final title in 1979.

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TMC

September 22, 1974 - Wilkes 400

The 1974 Winston Cup season neared its end in late September as the teams headed for North WIlkesboro's Wilkes 400, the 26th race of the 30-race season.

Richard Petty was having yet another incredible season. Many drivers don't have careers like the King had as a single season in '74. Through 25 races, Petty had already won 10 of them. He had also won five of the seven races leading into Wilkesboro and five of the previous seven Wilkesboro races dating back to 1971, the first year Winston sponsored NASCAR's top series.

Fellow NASCAR HOFer Cale Yarborough, however, was nipping at the heels of King's boots. Cale had nine wins headed into North Wilkesboro - four of which were on short tracks at Nashville and Martinsville plus a season sweep of Bristol.

To the surprise of no one, the two racing legends captured the front row during qualifying - Petty's Dodge with the top spot and Cale second. Buddy Baker, Benny Parsons, and Canadian Earl Ross rounded out the top five starters.

Racing certainly has its share of challenges and controversies today. Attendance and ratings erosion, charters, stage racing, retirements of popular drivers, influx of new ones, etc. A continual refrain is they need to get back to like it was back in the day.

If back in the day references 1974, folks may need to rethink their image of a racing renaissance. The distance of the races during the season were cut by 10 percent as a good faith gesture by NASCAR to help the country with the OPEC energy crisis. Were ticket prices cut by 10 percent? Not that I'm aware of.

Also, despite the series sponsorship by Winston cigarettes, many teams struggled to race regularly and competitively. Winston's entitlement funding wasn't sufficient to create wealth throughout the field, and TV funding was non-existent. Teams needed sizable payouts from individual track promoters to make their risk worth the effort.

North Wilkesboro was one of the tracks identified by many drivers as having an inadequate purse. As was the custom for many years, the Wood Brothers and David Pearson skipped Wilkesboro. The race also was without Bobby Allison, but his absence was because of an issue with his car rather than a complaint about the purse.

Source: Greenwood SC Index-Journal

Those that did race had no control over who didn't. With a couple of the big dawgs back on the porch, the season-long dominant duo and front row starters, Petty and Cale, controlled the event. They led a combined 391 of the race's 400 laps. Other than Earl Ross's brief time out front and Dave Marcis' single lap as a leader, it was 43 and 11 all. day. long.

Fans likely shook their heads at the high attrition rate. Only twelve of thirty entrants were still around for the finish. Seven cars headed for their trailers by lap 50.

Petty and Yarborough seemed to be evenly matched during the first half of race. An unscheduled pit stop for a cut tire, however, put the 43 a bit behind Cale's Chevy. The gap between the two widened later during an errant stop by the generally reliable, Dale Inman-led Petty Enterprises crew. During a scheduled four-tire change, the Petty crew apparently jacked both sides of the car at the same time. When the right side was dropped, however, the car slid right and fell off the left side jack. The miscue put Petty nearly two laps down to the leader.

Throughout the second half of the race, Cale led lap after lap after lap. Petty never lost his focus though and kept his acceleration and braking rhythm rockin'. He made up his lost laps and went back to the point with 100 to go. His time was brief though as he led for 25 laps before returning the lead to Yarborough.

Cale once again seized the top spot with 75 laps to go, poured on the steam, and within about 15 laps was in a position to put the STP Dodge a lap down...again. Petty seemed to find a new gear, however, and he again pulled away from the Junior Johnson-prepared #11 Chevy. Just as he nearly lost a lap, he seemed to effortlessly make it back.

Petty's 43 dogged Cale down the stretch. With four laps to go, the King closed in tightly and attempted to pass Yarborough. As he did so, however, Coo Coo Marlin poo-poo'd an engine. The yellow flag was displayed, and Cale got the checkers a few laps later as the race ended under caution. The race was the 16th of 31 times Petty and Yarborough finished in the top two spots.

Source: Colbert Seagraves

Source: High Point Enterprise

TMC

September 19, 1976 - Delaware 500

Richard Petty dominated the 1975 season. He won 13 races and captured his sixth title. He seemed positioned to keep the momentum rolling in 1976 with an oh-so-close loss to David Pearson in the Daytona 500 followed by a victory two weeks later at Rockingham.

Instead, the Petty Enterprises struggled to laissez le bon temps rouler as the season continued. The 43 team picked up a win at Pocono in August and a handful of top 5's along the way. But the abundance of wins in prior years suddenly went just about bone dry.

Though the STP Dodge had its challenges finding victory lane, the #11 Holly Farms-sponsored, Junior Johnson-owned Chevrolet driven by Cale Yarborough had a nose for it. Yarborough had banked six wins through the two-thirds mark of the season as the teams headed for Dover Downs International Speedway for the Delaware 500.

Yarborough captured the pole, and Petty plunked his Dodge on the front row alongside him. Darrell Waltrip, Buddy Baker, and David Pearson rounded out the top 5 starters.

At the drop of the green, Cale's Monte Carlo put the field in his rear view mirror. He led 173 of the opening 175 laps allowing Waltrip, Dave Marcis, and Lennie Pond to grovel for morsels at the front.

The race was not kind to the builders of the teams' power plants. About a third of the race's 36 cars fell out of the race because of engine woes. Most of the problems were concentrated in the independently-owned and/or limited budget teams. But Waltrip was one of the big names to exit early. Ol' DW made it to only lap 202 before the Gatorade 88 team puked a motor - a frequent bugaboo for the team in 1976.

After a dominating early start to the race by Yarborough, a few others got their opportunity to pull the field around the track including Pearson, Marcis, and Petty. Cale continued to lurk, however, and went back to the lead by lap 275. 

But on lap 280, Yarborough nearly suffered the same fate as Waltrip and many others. He broke an ignition coil, lost power, and coasted helplessly to the attention of his crew. Feeling no pity for his rival, Petty's Dodge went to the front for over 150 laps as Cale lost nearly three laps in the pits. The King's 16 year-old son, Kyle, watched as his dad seized control of the race and worked towards his sixth Dover victory.

About 40 laps after his problem, however, Cale had regained his mojo. He passed Petty's 43 and got back one of his lost laps. Though Petty continued to lay down consistent lap times, Yarborough pulled away from him. Remarkably after about another 90 laps - and without the aid of any cautions - Cale's #11 again got by Petty to get back on the lead lap. 

Petty made his final pit stop of the day with about 40 laps to go. The Dale Inman-led crew bolted on new Goodyears and fueled the STP Charger. Ten laps later, Cale hit pit road, but the #11 team went with a different strategy. Yarborough got fuel only and no fresh tires. He returned to the track with worn rubber but with a narrow gap between he and the 43.

The King again went to the head of the class as Yarborough's car was serviced for the final time. But Cale was not to be denied. With 20 laps to go, Yarborough again went to the front and led the rest of the way.

Pearson, Bobby Allison, and Baker rounded out the top 5 finishers. The race was the 24th of 31 times Petty and Yarborough finished in the top two spots.

View image | gettyimages.com

Source: Free Lance Star via Google News Archive

TMC

September 1, 1975 - Southern 500

Richard Petty had a season for the ages in 1967. He won 27 of 48 races - including ten in a row. One of the signature wins that season was the Southern 500 at Darlington. The King had won Darlington's spring Rebel 400 twice and notched four top 5 finishes in the Southern 500 between 1959 and 1966. But it took him nearly a decade to finally land the Southern 500 trophy.

Petty had another dominant season going eight years later in 1975. The re-branded and reduced Winston Cup schedule included 30 races rather than 48 in 1967. Through the two-thirds mark of the season, the 43 Dodge already had nine victories and fifteen top 5 finishes. The circuit then returned to Darlington for the annual, deep southern tradition.

When Roger Penske began his Cup team on a limited basis in 1972, he fielded an AMC Matador. Around the midpoint of 1974, Bobby Allison joined Penske for a handful of races. In 1975, Allison raced for Penske in 19 Cup races as well as five USAC Indy car races, including the Indianapolis 500.

Driving the red, white, and blue Coca-Cola Matador, Allison's pairing with Penske won the Rebel 500 in April 1975. The team was looking for the season sweep as a significant accomplishment during a season otherwise dominated by the King.

South Carolinian David Pearson won the pole in the #21 Wood Brothers, Purolator Mercury. Buddy Baker flanked Pearson on the front row in his Ford fielded by another South Carolinian, Bud Moore. Allison, Petty, and Benny Parsons rounded out the top five starters.

Cale Yarborough, yet another South Carolina native, blew an engine in practice before qualifying. His Junior Johnson team did not have a spare to use so one was borrowed from Hoss Ellington's team so Cale could qualify. He missed the first round on Thursday but was able to use the borrowed powerplant to make the field via Friday's second round. Johnson's team had a replacement engine brought to the track from Junior's shop in North Wilkesboro so it could be installed for the Labor Day race.

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal via Google News Archive

Pearson took the lead on the green and stayed there for the first twenty laps or so before Baker went around to lead the next nine. Independents Bruce Hill and Tennessee's David Sisco then got time out front before Pearson cycled back to the top spot.

A very ill Petty passed Pearson to take the lead for the first time on lap 46. The King was suffering bad headaches and flu, and he had a difficult time staying in the car in the humid weather. Champions play hurt, however, and he led the next 57 laps.

Credit: Woody Delbridge

After Dave Marcis led a couple of laps, Petty re-assumed the lead and stayed on the point for another 24 laps. Pearson, Marcis and Petty then swapped the lead back and forth over the next 100 laps or so. Marcis #71 K&K Dodge developed an overheating issue, however, and he left the race near lap 200.

The Petty crew tracked down Marcis to see if he lend a hand to their worsening driver. On Petty's next pit stop, the King turned over the driving to Marcis as he tried to get some strength back.

Petty wasn't the only driver struggling. Benny Parsons also had a tough time wheeling the car around the high line while battling sickness. BP turned his #72 Chevy over to DW - Darrell Waltrip - after Waltrip's engine overheated

Waltrip was making only his third start with DiGard. And for the second time in those three starts, he had an engine failure. DW was none too happy with the performance of the team he'd recently joined.

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal via Google News Archive

On lap 244, Bruce Jacobi and James Hylton bumped one another with Hylton getting the worst end of the deal. The relief drivers - Marcis in Petty's 43 and Waltrip in Parsons' 72 - were collateral damage. Hylton and Parsons were done for the day as was Waltrip for the second time that day. Marcis was able to gather the 43 and return to the race.

About 50 laps later and with about 70 laps to go, heavy thunderstorms arrived and soaked the track. The race was red-flagged for nearly ninety minutes. With cars leaving the race early because of overheating and drivers needing relief for illness, the rain was a bit of a relief for the tortuous race.

Long-time Petty fan and Darlington attendee Tim Leeming recalls additional rain the day before:

It was not too long after dark that lightning began to break the darkness, but it wasn't until the thunder boomed so loudly and the lightning seemed to strike right beside us that we all got in the motorhomes and cars. Within what seemed like seconds, it began to rain in torrents as well as hail about the size of dimes. Inside the motorhome the sound was unbelievable.

When the storm passed, we opened the door of the motorhome to find about two inches of water underfoot. As we looked down towards turn three, it appeared as though a lake had formed. By this time, the clouds had moved over and the moon showed us what appeared to be only the tops of cars in turn three with folks standing on top of them. A group of us headed in that direction to see if we could help.

As we got closer to the turn three area, we were soon up to almost our waists in water but it got no higher and was beginning to lower as the infield drains were working. When we got to the tunnel going under turn three, we could not believe what we saw. The tunnel was filled to within about four feet of the top with water. We waded into the tunnel and began to use it as a swimming pool as it was seriously full and not receding at all. It did not occur to me (too many beers) or to anyone else in our group to consider that there were NO law enforcement authorities or track workers anywhere around to stop our swimming.

Within minutes, a couple of the guys in the group decided to swim through the tunnel and see what was going on outside. About 10 minutes passed, and I was getting worried about my friends. I then heard laughing and splashing as they were swimming back through the tunnel. I will never know how they managed to swim back through the tunnel with all the banners they had ripped off the fence outside the tunnel. We had STP, Winston Welcomes Race Fans, and a couple other major sponsors banners.

When we got back to turn three, this time there were law enforcement officers everywhere. I was convinced they were after the bandits who removed the signs. But one of them told me the drain in the tunnel was stopped up and they were bringing in the Navy Reserve frog man from a reserve unit in Florence to unstop the drain. I never saw the frog man, but the tunnel was soon draining and in a matter of minutes it was clear.

When the sun came up on race day, we got out all the banners that had been relocated from their original position outside the track and hung them from the motorhomes and converted bus. As the race got closer, more folks joined our group who came for just the day. By the start of the race, I am guessing there were almost 70 of us assembled there. 

Allison and the Matador were almost two full laps behind at one point during the race. With so many cars falling out and Allison's perseverance, however, he moved into the lead on lap 289 - just before the rain returned.

During the rain delay, Petty got a chance to recover a bit. He belted back into the 43 and readied to win the Southern 500 for a second time in another dominant season.

When the race returned to green, Allison was in the right spot to win. Then with about 50 laps to go, a shock broke and Bobby watched the scoreboard as Petty began to close. The King rallied from the driver change - and the spin by Marcis - and his illness to get back on the lead lap.

Allison was conserving fuel in addition to managing his failing suspension and watching the scoreboard and lap times. But in the end, Petty simply ran out of laps to track down Allison. The Matador took the checkered flag for the second time in '75.

Petty finished second - the only other car on the lead lap. The race was the 44th of 51 times the King and Allison finished in the top two spots.

Sisco, the 1969 Nashville Speedway late model sportsman champion, matched a career high Cup finish with his P3. Jim Vandiver finished fourth in his H.B. Ranier-owned Dodge. Ranier was the father of Harry Ranier, who later started his own team that eventually transitioned to Robert Yates Racing in 1989.

More memories from Tim Leeming:

All of us on our motorhome were of course cheering for that 43, and I think we believed until the checkered flag waved that Richard would catch that Matador. But we stood on top of the RV and watched Bobby take a well earned win. We watched him celebrate in Victory Lane right in front of us. We didn't cheer him, but we didn't boo him either. We could appreciate what an effort he had made to win that race. 

Many thanks to Tim Leeming for his contributions to this post.

TMC

August 26, 1972 - Nashville 420

Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway hosted Grand National / Cup racing from 1958 through 1984. The original track that opened in '58 was reconstructed in 1970. The banking was increased to 35 degrees - similar to Bristol's configuration today. The track underwent another re-design in 1973 that dropped the banking to 18 degrees, and that design remains in this place. But in the early 70s, my gosh was that place lightning quick...

The 1972 Nashville 420 was messed up on multiple levels:

• A big pothole developed during qualifying on Friday, and the race was delayed on Saturday as repairs were made.
• The track's turn 3 electronic leader board went out during Friday night qualifying.
• The King lost valuable time to Bobby Allison because of a messed-up pit road and miscommunication between the driver, crew and a NASCAR official.
• The run-down of the race in Greg Fielden's Forty Years of Stock Car Racing Volume 4 book is messed up because Fielden noted the date of the race as August 27th.
• The internet is messed up because just about every web page about the race also notes the date as August 27 - likely because they simply ran with Fielden's info or copied the date from another site.

But despite issues with the asphalt and subsequent documentation, the race was indeed held under the lights on Saturday night, August 26th and not on Sunday the 27th.

Richard Petty came to town a couple of days before the race for a press conference at the Airport Hilton to help promote the race. Coincidentally, I attended my one and only Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet at the same Hilton two years later before I'd even learned about racing or Richard Petty.

Coo Coo Marlin and Miss Fairgrounds Speedway Deborah Jett joined Petty at the Hilton, and The Tennessean published a photo of their gathering.

The photo published in the paper was heavily cropped - and it begs the question: who applied that STP sticker?

Among the questions answered and opinions given, Petty suggested the Saturday race would be a rough and tough one. On the one hand, King's response could have been a typical reply at any promotional presser. As it turns out though, Petty's observation was spot-on for how qualifying and the race would unfold.

Do I like the track? Yes and no. I like the way I have been able to finish here. But it is hard on equipment. It's hard on the drivers. I'll say one thing. There is never a dull moment. You've got to stay with it. 

Another interesting observation from Petty is as relevant in 2017 as it was in 1972. Petty was asked where the next generation of drivers would come from. His reply:

They were asking that same question in my father's day. That's no problem. New ones keep coming along. There is more talent in driving than car building.

Bobby Allison was another driver who arrived in town a couple of days early. In addition to racing Junior Johnson's Coca-Cola sponsored Chevy at the fairgrounds, Allison towed his late model Chevelle to town to race at Highland Rim Speedway just north of Nashville on Thursday night before Cup activities began. Not only did he race at Highland Rim (and pocket some walkin' around money), he won!

Source: The Tennessean

Allison moved from The Rim in Goodlettsville, TN on Thursday to Nashville's fairgrounds, and he won the pole in the Friday night qualifying session. After Cup qualifying was completed, local driver Darrell Waltrip won the late model sportsman race.

Source: The Tennessean

Qualifying alongside Allison for the 420 was King Richard in his STP Plymouth. The 43 team began transitioning to Dodges in the spring of 1972 (teammate Buddy Baker was already driving one); however, the team continued to race Plymouths the rest of the season on short tracks, at Dover, and on Riverside's road course.

Local driver and four-time track champion, Coo Coo Marlin, started third. At the time, the starting spot was a career best starting spot for Marlin. He later qualified P2 at Talladega in 1976. Independent driver Cecil Gordon and 1970 champion Bobby Isaac rounded out the top five starters.

Starting 12th was Waltrip, a relatively unknown to the Cup regulars but a familiar face at Nashville. He was the track's 1970 late model sportsman champion and frequent winner, and he was starting his fourth career Cup race in a former Holman Moody Mercury - the same one Mario Andretti raced to his win in the 1967 Daytona 500.

The field gets ready to take the green.

As noted in the above article from The Tennessean, the condition of the track had already become an issue during qualifying. A pothole had developed, and the cars tried to dodge it during time trials.

• The drivers blamed the NASCAR. 
• NASCAR blamed track officials. 
• Track promoter Bill Donoho Sr. blamed the paving contractor.

Yet NASCAR and Donoho forged ahead with the race. Nothing was done to the track during the day on Saturday - arguably a mess-up. Yet when race time arrived, the start was delayed almost 90 minutes as track officials then rallied to make repairs. A steam roller was tethered to the winch of a tow truck on the high side of the track, and efforts were made to patch the deteriorating surface.

Hey y'all, watch this!

The race got off to a messed-up start. After taking the green flag, Marlin and Isaac wrecked on the first lap. They squandered their prime starting spots and finished 26th and 27th respectively in the 28-car field.

So who finished 28th and dead last? Lee Roy Yarbrough - without even taking the green. Lee Roy slowed on the pace lap, pulled off the track at the start, and parked his #45 Bill Seifert Ford without explanation - a truly messed-up situation. It was Yarbrough's second and final start at Nashville.

After the lap one wreck was cleaned up and the race returned to green, Allison led the first 10 percent of the race. Cecil Gordon managed to lead lap 43, and then car 43 went to the point. Petty led the next 124 laps before Allison reclaimed the lead to set sail for 157 laps. The King then reclaimed the lead for a few laps before needing a pit stop.

For twenty years, Nashville had an odd pit configuration. Cars came off turn 4, passed the start-finish line, hooked left on the inner quarter-mile track, got service, re-entered the track from turn 4 of the quarter-mile, passed the start-finish line again (though without being scored for another lap), and blended back into traffic.

As the 43 screamed off pit road, a NASCAR official held up the stop paddle because of on-track traffic coming out of turn 4. Petty already had a head of steam and was likely looking over his right shoulder to find a place to blend in. Consequently, he missed the stop paddle and was on his way back up to speed.

NASCAR official Bill Gazaway wasn't interested in why Petty missed the paddle - just that he did. The 43 was called to pit road to serve a one-lap penalty. The mild-mannered King blew a fuse in the car barking at Gazaway. The Junior Johnson and Petty Enterprises crews then barked at each other as well as at Gazaway.

Petty eventually got back on the lead lap with Allison but could never track him down again to take the lead. Allison took the win, and an angry Petty finished second. The two were sixteen laps ahead of third place finisher Waltrip. Despite the large deficit from 2nd to 3rd, the finish was easily the best of DWs brief career. The race was the 35th of 51 times that Petty and Allison finished in the top two positions.

Source: The Tennessean

Following the race, Allison offered to help Donoho and his team re-design the track and its steep and overly-fast turns. He made good on his offer by visiting the track again in November 1972.

Source: The Tennessean

Plans were sketched to drop the banking to 18 degrees. Allison reviewed the plans, liked what he saw, and said he would return to race on the new track. The corners were indeed lowered, and the track was repaved in time for the 1973 racing season. The pavement rolled between 1972 and 1973 lasted for 20+ years before the track was resurfaced in 1995.

TMC