March 21, 1976 - Atlanta 500

As NASCAR's 1976 season hit March, a couple of storylines had begun to develop.

• The partnership of the Wood Brothers team and driver David Pearson was strong as a brahma bull with wins in the season-opener at Riverside in January and the Daytona 500 in February.
• Legendary mechanic and crew chief Harry Hyde had his #71 Dodge Charger running well with Dave Marcis as they picked up a win at Richmond, the pole at Rockingham, and top 10 finishes at Bristol and Riverside.
• Cale Yarborough and Junior Johnson were ROLLING with top 5 finishes in four of the first five races of the season - including a win at Bristol. The lone blemish was a dead-last finish at Daytona after an engine failure on lap 2.
• Richard Petty's season was quite eccentric - especially compared to his dominating 13-win season in 1975. He had notched a win at Rockingham along with the oh-so-close P2 finish at Daytona and another second behind Marcis at Richmond. But he also had poor finishes at Riverside and Bristol.

The circuit hit Atlanta for the sixth race of the season, and several of those drivers occupied the top five starting spots.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

Marcis claimed his second pole of the year, and Pearson put his Purolator Mercury on the front row alongside him. Petty and Cale occupied the second row, and Benny Parsons rounded out the top five.

Parsons signed on for an exhausting four-days of racing. In addition to his responsibilities for practice, qualifying, and racing in Atlanta, he shuttled back and forth between Georgia and Florida to join David Hobbs as a teammate in the 12 Hours of Sebring IMSA race.

Source: Louis Galanos

Source: Pensacola News Journal

Despite a dismal 27th place finish at Bristol, the King was content with his third place starting spot for Sunday at Atlanta. The 43 team also agreed to let F1 champion and ABC-TV race analyst Jackie Stewart take the STP Dodge Charger for a spin to record some footage for a feature during the Wide World of Sports condensed broadcast of the race.

Source: Atlanta Constitution

The race was super competitive as a number of drivers led throughout it. No one other than Yarborough and Buddy Baker in Bud Moore's Ford led a double-digit number of laps for the first two-thirds of the event. 

Despite the numerous leaders during that stretch, a few folks had a tough time during it. Pole-winner Marcis exited around lap 100 with a failed engine. Bobby Allison's engine also failed in his Roger Penske-owned Mercury near the 200-lap mark followed soon by Petty's Dodge and Baker's Ford with similar woes.

As the race entered the final third, a battle emerged between Pearson and Parsons. With 30 or so laps to go, however, Pearson found his mojo and maintained a gap on Parson's #72 Monte Carlo. The checkered flag flew over Pearson for career win #90, and Parsons was the only other car to finish on the lead lap. Yarborough finished third followed by Lennie Pond and Darrell Waltrip.

Parsons fared better in Atlanta than he did in Sebring. Hobbs got the team's BMW to the lead before making a stop for a driver change. Shortly after Parsons took over, however, he took an offroad excursion through some weeds. The cooling system was damaged, and the team lasted only six hours in the event.

Audio of Universal Racing Network's radio broadcast of the race is available on Appalachian State's library website. 

Source: Atlanta Constitution

TMC

Mike Alexander Firsts

In racing circles, Franklin, TN may be best known as the home of retired Cup driver and NASCAR on FOX announcer Darrell Waltrip. Franklin was also home, however, to the late R.C. Alexander, owner and operator of Harpeth Ford car dealership - and a successful late model sportsman racing team.

Alexander's Fords raced primarily at Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway though they did compete at other regional tracks as well. His roster of successful drivers included Jimmy Griggs, Red Farmer, Flookie Buford, and Waltrip among others. More often than not, Alexander's Fords sported #84.

In the mid 1970s, Alexander's cars gained another occupant - his son Mike. Mike Alexander began his racing career in Nashville's limited sportsman division. After a couple of years of banging around on Nashville's quarter-mile, he moved to the Late Model Sportsman division on the .596-mile oval. Career success - locally, regionally, and nationally - followed; however, the run didn't last as long as many had hoped.

Several of Mike Alexander's racing career firsts are noted below.

First race - April 13, 1974 - Nashville Speedway - 50-lap limited sportsman race, a preliminary event to the season-opening Permatex 200 LMS race. Driving a #83 Ford, Alexander earned a DNF in his first start resulting from an early race wreck. Coincidentally, Waltrip in R.C.'s #84 Ford also exited the LMS race following a tangle with Ray Hendrick.

Source: Nashville Banner

Courtesy of Mike Alexander

First win - April 19, 1975 - 50-lap Limited Sportsman race - Nashville Speedway - preliminary event to the season-opening Winston 200 LMS race

Courtesy of Mike Alexander

First LMS win - May 15, 1976 - Nashville Speedway - 25 lap feature - second feature won by friend and second year LMS racer, P.B. Crowell III (Crowell was not a rookie in 1976 as noted in the article.)

Source: The Tennessean - TMC Archives

Alexander tallied ten more victories in his first LMS season. Though he fell short of capturing the points championship, he easily won the 1976 Rookie of the Year.

First championship - Nashville Speedway - 1978 LMS division

Others outside of middle Tennessee began to take notice of Alexander's numerous wins and 1978 track title. Mike himself began pondering the what-ifs of racing at a higher level. On May 10, 1980, he earned the opportunity to start his first Winston Cup race.

Source: The Tennessean - TMC Archives

Driving for independent driver turned owner D.K. Ulrich in Nashville's Music City 420, Alexander qualified 12th and finished an impressive 10th. As an aside, he also became the first driver with the last name Alexander to start a NASCAR GN / Cup race.

Courtesy of Mike Alexander

By the way, the winner of that particular Cup race? Aww yeaaahhh, Ol' King Richard.

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After a part-time Cup schedule in 1981, Alexander returned to full-time late model racing the next couple of years. In 1983, he won 51 of 75 late model features and notched his first Winston Racing Series national championship.

Courtesy of Mike Alexander

Alexander realized another career milestone the following season. Driving for Dave Marcis, Alexander started his first Daytona 500 on February 19, 1984.

Alexander had engine issues in his 125-mile qualifying twin and made the 500 via an owner's provisional. He started 42nd - shotgun on the field - but had familiar company near him. Starting 41st and to his left was 1974 Nashville LMS champion Jimmy Means. In front of him in 40th was Nashville rival and 1980-81-82 Nashville Grand American champion, Sterling Marlin.

Courtesy of Mike Alexander

Alexander's tenure with Marcis was short-lived as were stints with additional underfunded Cup operations over the next couple of years. Mike pushed reset, pursued a different approach, and launched his own team full-time in 1987 in NASCAR's Busch Series.

A few months into his new venture, Alexander captured his first Busch Series win. On May 2, 1987, he won the Hampton 200 at Langley Speedway.

Courtesy of Mike Alexander

With solid finishes and another Busch Series victory in 1988, things were again tracking in the right direction for Alexander. In mid 1988, a devastating, career-ending injury for Bobby Allison at Pocono opened the door once again for Alexander.

He took the wheel of Bill and Mickey Stavola's Miller High Life Buick, raced competitively the rest of the season, found a little sump'n sump'n for 1989, signed a deal, changed the car number to 84, and had his best shot with a top-level Cup team.

This post should include a nod to his first Cup win. But it won't.

Racers race - and Mike did. As he'd done since the mid 1970s, Alexander headed to Pensacola in early December 1988 to compete in the Snowball Derby. A savage crash ended his race - and essentially his career. He returned to race in the 1989 Daytona 500 but soon realized he wasn't fully ready for what a Cup ride required.

Alexander continued his recovery therapy, received clearance to return to limited short track racing, and found his way back to Cup in February 1990. After a handful of races, however, he stepped away from Cup. He continued to race at Nashville, but his days at NASCAR's top level were done.

Mike retired from driving in November 1992 - after he won his second track championship at Nashville.

TMC

Racing, Drinking, Protesting - and there's more!

Lumberman A.J. King, Jr. of Sevierville, TN joined NASCAR as a car owner in 1967. Over the next couple of years, he fielded Mopars for drivers such as Paul Lewis, Li'l Bud Moore, and Pete Hamilton.

By 1970, however, King folded his tent and exited the Grand National ranks. Though little is known about King's arrival or departure, it's likely he experienced the racing truism of: The way to end up with a small fortune in racing is to start with a big one. (King did return as an owner/sponsor for one race in 1975. Sadly, Tiny Lund was killed in the Talladega 500 in King's Dodge.)

Though King got out of Grand National / Cup racing, Dave Marcis modified one of King's 1969 Dodge Chargers. Marcis raced it as a winged Dodge Daytona in 1970 and then returned the car to its 1969 Charger body for 1971 and 1972.

The car found new life in 1973 in NASCAR's Late Model Sportsman division. In February, Alabama's Alton Jones raced the Charger to a fifth place finish in Daytona's Permatex 300 with King Enterprises on the quarter panel as the sponsor.

Source: Alabama Auto Racing Pioneers

King and Marcis then partnered to run several short track LMS races. Marcis worked them in between his Cup schedule as he raced mostly for himself and part-time for Roger Penske.

One of the first races selected was the Permatex 200 on April 21, 1973 - the season opener on Nashville's newly reconfigured Fairgrounds Speedway. The big ol' Dodge was impressive. Marcis won the pole, dominated the first third of the race, and finished fourth.

Having fared pretty well in his first visit, Marcis returned to Nashville for another shot on Friday, May 12. He brought the '69 Charger to race in the 30-lap LMS feature that accompanied the first round of qualifying for the Music City 420 Cup race.

Though Darrell Waltrip was running for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, he also ran a full LMS schedule at Nashville. Waltrip had been the Fairgrounds' king of the hill since 1970, and he planned to continue to laissez les bon temps rouler.

After qualifying eighth for the Cup race in his 1971 Dodge, Marcis saddled up in the '69 Charger for the short LMS race. Marcis went to the point on the seventh lap - just about the time a caution flew. On the restart, Waltrip (likely smirking) outfoxed Marcis and grabbed the lead. Just past the halfway point, Marcis regained the top spot.

And so it continued for the next ten laps. Marcis' Hemi launched down the straightaways, but Waltrip's #48 Falls City Beer Chevelle had the edge through the corners. On the last lap, Marcis found just enough oomph and pulled ahead of Waltrip to win by a couple of car lengths.

Source: Nashville Fairgrounds Racing History

Source: The Tennessean

The Cup schedule had open dates the next two weekends following Nashville's race. No Dover, Kansas, Richmond, or All-Star Race - just the World 600 on May 27. As a result, Marcis figured he'd return to Music City for yet another go at a trophy.

He and the Dodge returned for another 30-lap feature on Saturday, May 19. Neither Waltrip or Marcis contended for the win that night. Mother Nature scored the W as rain postponed the slate of races to Sunday afternoon, May 20.

A week earlier, Marcis and Waltrip battled tooth and nail under Nashville's Friday night lights. The same pattern held true the following week on a bright, Sunday afternoon.

Waltrip won the pole, and Marcis timed right alongside him. As was the case in the previous race, Marcis' Hemi could haul the mail down the straights, but the car's weight made it more of a handful through the turns. Waltrip's Chevelle, on the other hand, had the perfect set-up to handle the corners, but he surrendered HP to Marcis after they both got back in the gas. 

Source: Nashville Fairgrounds Racing History

Waltrip rapped Marcis a time or two in an attempt to rattle his cage. Marcis, however, was unfazed and maintained his rhythm. The two weaved around traffic, took alternate lines every couple of laps, yet still managed to stay together until the final lap.

Source: Nashville Area Racing History

Over the final couple of laps, Marcis again found the little extra he needed. He cleared Waltrip and won for the second week in a row. After the race, however, Waltrip's team had a bit of a surprise for Marcis.

Doc Brewington, Waltrip's mechanic, chose to protest Marcis' Dodge. He wanted the big Hemi stripped down bolt by bolt. Brewington even opted to protest the fuel cell. The car only needed a handful of gallons to run the short feature, but Brewington wanted the tear down to be as painful as possible.

With plenty of afternoon sun remaining, the tear-down began as a crowd gathered to watch. In time, Brewington and Marcis got to joking and placing side bets on what may have been legal or illegal. Meanwhile, as the tear-down continued, someone brought in a cooler of Waltrip's sponsor product supplied by his car owner and local beer distributor, Ellis Cook. 

Source: Nashville Fairgrounds Racing History

Around 9:30 PM, the evaluation was completed. Joe Carver led the inspection and concluded Marcis' Dodge was legal. Carver was the PR director for the Fairgrounds and later became the promoter at Langley Speedway in Virginia.

Marcis hastily loaded his car and gear and headed for a long, late night drive back to North Carolina. Though Brewington and Waltrip lost the protest, they figured a modest win may have been earned. Marcis arrived and won with an intact car, but he headed home with a tub of parts that would need plenty of time to re-assemble.

Source: The Tennessean

Marcis and Waltrip delighted in recapping the sequence of events during a gathering of many of NASCAR's legends at the now-gone NASCAR Cafe in Nashville.

Source: The Tennessean

Despite having to re-assemble his Hemi (or paying someone to do it), Marcis was back yet again in mid-June for the Uniroyal 100 on June 16, 1973. The duo picked up pretty much where they left off a month earlier.

Although Joe Carver was the technical inspector during Waltrip's protest of Marcis, he was still the publicity director at his core. And he drummed up some for the 100-lap event by having the two competitors race bicycles! 

Marcis once again won the pole - although L.D. Ottinger flanked him on the front row. Waltrip started eighth but had a nose for the front as usual. The usual suspects were again at the top of the field along with Alton Jones who had piloted Marcis' Dodge back in February.

Credit: Russ Thompson

When the race concluded, Waltrip returned to his customary victory lane location. Alton Jones placed second followed by Marcis. Perhaps as a case of turnabout is fair play, Marcis protested Jones and Waltrip. Jones' team refused to be torn down and was DQ'd as a result. Waltrip's car passed inspection as Marcis' car did a month earlier, and he retained the win with Marcis elevated to second.

* * * * *

A.J. King left racing but continued with the lumber business started by his father, A.J. King, Sr. He and his wife were the first patrons of a new Sevier County, TN library in 1966 - shortly before he entered NASCAR as an owner. King passed away in 1978, and his son Danny continued the family business. In 2010, the county's library moved into an even larger facility - the King Family Library. The King family contributed $2 million of the project's $11.5 million cost, and the library opened on the same spot as the original family lumber business.

* * * * *

Marcis raced the old Dodge a few more times including the 1974 Permatex 200 at Nashville. As his Cup career progressed, however, he moved on from LMS runs with the Charger. The car ended up in a private collector's hands who then restored it to a winged Dodge Daytona as Marcis had raced it.

In the late 80s / early 90s, the car was repainted to resemble Richard Petty's 1970 Plymouth Superbird. The car toured as a promotional showcar for Goody's Headache Powders.

1992 Charlotte Motor Speedway - TMC Archives

The car then found yet another life in 2003 when it was re-purposed for Winston's final season as the title sponsor of NASCAR's top series. Before the final race of the season at Homestead, King Richard drove the car that originally began as a Charger fielded by A.J. King.

Source: Getty Images

Thanks to Dave Fulton for his assistance in background research on A.J. King, Jr. and SuperbirdClub.com for its post regarding the A.J. King / Marcis Dodge .

TMC

Nashville's 1973 Permatex 200

After a three-year experiment as a high-banked, lightning fast, half-mile, the banking of Nashville's Fairground Speedways was cut to 18-degrees where it remains today.

As had become the tradition since 1966, the new season season opened with a big late model sportsman race. The Permatex 200 on April 21, 1973, became the first late model event on the new configuration.

The redesigned track was more than a physical demarcation between Nashville's past and future. Many drivers from Nashville's big late model features of the 1960s and early 1970s such as Freddy Fryar, Bob Burcham, and Red Farmer did not return for the 1973 opener.

The field was comprised largely of local and regional racers such as 1970 track champion Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, Flookie Buford, James Ham, Clyde Peoples, Charlie Binkley, and Paddlefoot Wales. A few names, however, made the trek from beyond the immediate area.

Jack Ingram returned to Nashville to accumulate valuable national points. Ingram won NASCAR's national LMS title in 1972 and looked to defend it in 1973. Jimmy Hensley and Sam Ard, two drivers who'd become NASCAR LMS and later Busch Series stalwarts, also made the trip. Newport TN's L.D. Ottinger, winner of the 1970 Southern 300, returned as well.

An unexpected entrant perhaps was Winston Cup regular, Dave Marcis. He brought his Dodge Charger sportsman car to Nashville as the Cup circuit took a break between Darlington and Martinsville. He also needed to earn some pocket change to pay Petty Enterprises for repairs to his Cup car damaged at Darlington.

Source: The Tennessean

Marcis' Dodge was no slouch. The car finished fifth in the Permatex 300 LMS race at Daytona with Alabama's Alton Jones behind the wheel.

Source: Alabama Auto Racing Pioneers

One of the notable offseason moves affecting local racers was a change of scenery for Darrell Waltrip, Nashville's 1970 late model sportsman champion. After several years with P.B Crowell's team, Waltrip moved to Ellis Cook's team with Binkley as a teammate. Cook, a local beer distributor, painted Waltrip's #48 Chevelles the red and gold colors of Falls City Beer. Binkley drove a similarly painted #25 car and built the engines.

The original plan was for Waltrip to race for NASCAR's national LMS title while Binkley competed in Nashville's weekly features. Waltrip's first venture with the team was the Permatex 300 LMS race at Daytona. The carefully prepared car suffered engine woes during the race; however, and the team returned to Tennessee with more to learn.

The team's plans were then modified a good bit. Instead of running for the national LMS title, Waltrip planned a dual focus. He saddled up to pursue Rookie of the Year honors in Cup in addition to running for a second track title at Nashville.

As teams arrived for practice and qualifying for Nashville's opener, Waltrip shook down his newly acquired Chevelle. Something broke during a practice run; however, and things went from bad to worse. As Waltrip sailed into turn 1, his car pitched suddenly to the inside. He clipped the inner guardrail, flipped over it, and then rolled four times to the lower infield that served as the garage area.

Source: Nashville Fairgrounds Racing History Group

Though stunned a bit, Waltrip was not seriously injured. The team went to Plan B, sent for a backup car from the shop, and thrashed to get it ready for qualifying. Though it wasn't in ideal shape, Waltrip made a timed lap with minutes to spare to earn the sixth starting spot in the field.

Marcis' Dodge delivered as promised in qualifying, and he won the pole. Local racer James Ham was always quick on the high-banked version of the track, and he adapted to the new configuration as well with a P2 lap. Ottinger and Ard made up the second row.

When the green waved, Marcis' heavy Hemi launched him into the lead and a complete domination of the first third of the race. Ottinger ran behind him during that stretch as Waltrip made his way past Ham and Ard in pursuit of the top two. Just shy of halfway, Waltrip made his way past Ottinger and then under Marcis to take the lead.

A caution flag fell shortly after Waltrip took the lead, and it provided the opportunity to pit for fuel and tires. An extended stop, however, resulted in Waltrip's losing two laps. Ottinger made his stop after Waltrip and returned to action without losing a lap.

Throughout the second half of the race, Waltrip did all he could to make up the lost ground. Ottinger, however, maintained a solid pace and kept the local racer at bay. At the finish, Ottinger swept across the line to captured his second career win at the Fairgrounds.

Source: Nashville Fairgrounds Racing History

Waltrip still managed to finish second with his backup car. Ard, Marcis and Jack Ingram rounded out the top five finishers.

Source: The Tennessean

Finishing order:

1. L.D. Ottinger 
2. Darrell Waltrip 
3. Sam Ard 
4. Dave Marcis 
5. Jack Ingram 
6. Flookie Buford 
7. James Ham 
8. Charlie Greenwell 
9. Walter Wallace 
10. Carl Lane 
11. Clyde Peoples 
12. James Veach 
13. Ronnie Blasingim & Jerry Sisco 
14. Phil Stillings 
15. Robert Wales 
16. James Climer 
17. Wayne Carden 
18. John Brown 
19. Windle Webster 
20. Jim McDowell
21. Neil Bonnett 
22. Dave Sisco 
23. Donnie Roberts 
24. Jimmy Hensley
25. Charlie Binkley 
26. Donnie Anthony 
27. Jack Hooper 
28. Jim Berry 
29. Dwayne Chaffin 
30. Jerry Sisco 
31. Jimmy Kitchens 
32. Dwayne Cravens

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

April 4, 1976 - Gwyn Staley 400

Richard Petty ripped through the 1975 Cup season like a Ginsu knife through a mater. He nabbed 13 wins as well as his sixth championship. The Petty Enterprises / STP team had every reason to believe they'd keep the mojo rolling in 1976.

David Pearson notched 18 wins for the Wood Brothers' famed #21 team over the two-year stretch of 1973-1974. He only won three races, however, during 1975 in the Purolator Mercury. The team was ready to prove the single digit number of wins was an anomaly vs. the new norm.

Cale Yarborough began 1975 as his third season with Junior Johnson's Chevy team. Like Pearson, he bagged a double-digit number of wins in 1974 - but slipped to only three victories in 1975. Cale, Junior, and Herb Nab were ready for another shot at knocking King Richard off his throne in 1976.

The Winston Cup drivers rolled into North Wilkesboro in early April for the Gwyn Staley 400, the seventh race of the 1976 season.

Clearly, the story line of the season to-date was the amazing finish between Richard Petty and David Pearson in the Daytona 500. Pearson backed up his superspeedway Daytona win with two more victories at Riverside's road course and then at Atlanta.

The King rebounded nicely from Daytona. The crew thrashed on the wrecked 43, towed it to Rockingham two weeks later, and celebrated as Petty won the Carolina 500 in the rebuilt Dodge. Dave Marcis nabbed a win at Richmond, and Cale put a whuppin' on the field at Bristol.

Wilkesboro was slotted as the third short-track event in the first seven races of the season. The scarce number of short track races now compared to the abundance of them then has robbed today's fan base of some legendary racing facilities, rivalries, and driver skills.

Dave Marcis' #71 K&K Insurance, Harry Hyde-prepared Dodge Charger was fast in qualifying just as it was at Richmond. Marcis captured the top starting spot - his third pole of the season. Benny Parsons - who was born in Wilkes County, NC - qualified on the outside of the front row. Darrell Waltrip timed third, and Dick Brooks notched a surprising 4th in Junie Donlavey's Ford. Yarborough rounded out the top five starters.

On race day, a thunderstorm kept many folks in their cars and trucks until closer to race time. Once the weather moved to the east, folks headed for the gates. Track employees were stubbing tickets as quickly as they could. Assisting them was NASCAR's president, Bill France Jr. - on his birthday no less!

Prior to the start of the race, track officials recognized Wilkesboro legend, former driver, and car owner Junior Johnson by renaming a new section of backstretch grandstands in his honor.

Source: High Point Enterprise

Credit to & courtesy of Keith Hall

Petty started seventh in his rebuilt Dodge and was still sporting the beard he'd grown to commemorate America's bicentennial.

Credit: Mickey York

Parsons got a good jump at the green and led the first dozen laps. Yarborough then took the lead and dominated the rest of the way. He allowed Parsons to lead another dozen or so laps and spotted the 43 the lead for about a baker's dozen of his own. Otherwise, it was all Cale all day. He punished the field and won by a full lap over second place Petty.

The race was the 21st of 31 times Petty and Yarborough finished in the top two spots.

Source: High Point Enterprise

When Cup racing began its rapid ascent in the 1980s, North Wilkesboro expanded its seating. Fans continued sitting in the Junior Johnson Grandstand, but many more seat options became available. Then...racing was gone. The track has remained silent for 20+ years. It has deteriorated to the point of being an unusable facility - despite the cries from well-meaning and hopeless romantic fans that continue to proclaim "NASCAR ought to return to Wilkesboro!" A few years ago, the remnants of the Junior Johnson Grandstand were finally demolished - about 35 years after being named in his honor.


TMC