March 24, 1968 - Richmond 500

After an abbreviated NASCAR season in 1965, Richard Petty returned full-time in 1966. The King picked up at Daytona where he left off in 1964 by winning his second Daytona 500 in three years.

The season, however, belonged to David Pearson in Cotton Owens' Dodge. Together, the duo claimed Pearson's first NASCAR Grand National title. The Level Cross bunch came back with a vengeance in 1967 and shattered the record books. 

Pearson and Cotton couldn't keep their 1966 mojo rolling, and the two parted ways before the season even reached its mid-point. After leaving Owens' team, Pearson latched on with the famed Holman Moody team. 

Pearson's 1968 season was pretty uneventful in the first two races held in November 1967. But he and the #17 Ford team then knocked down a runner-up finish at Riverside, P5 in the Daytona 500, and a win over Petty at Bristol.

Cotton skipped the first two races that opened the 1968 season. Buddy Baker raced the Dodge at Riverside, and USAC's Al Unser raced Cotton's #6 at Daytona. After skipping Bristol, Cotton finally hired another full-timer. After only a handful of GN starts over the three previous seasons, Chargin' Charlie Glotzbach was tapped to take over the ride beginning with the Richmond 250 on March 24. 

Source: Spartanburg Herald

Bobby Isaac - always quick in Harry Hyde's  Mopars - won the pole. Glotzbach settled in quickly with Cotton's Dodge and qualified alongside Isaac. Petty timed third, and independent Elmo Langley posted an impressive fourth quickest lap. Starting almost out back was Pearson who started 16th in the 20-car field. He got caught up in a practice session accident, and the team thrashed to get his car ready for qualifying.

Isaac leveraged his top starting spot to lead the first nine laps. Glotzbach then put a smile on Owens' face by charging to the front to lead the next 30 laps or so. Pearson then took the lead - but only for 3 laps before Glotzbach returned to the top spot where he stayed for another 30-lap stint.

King Richard then made his presence known. The two-time Richmond defending winner put the Petty Blue Plymouth on point and stayed there for 48 laps. Until. With a sizable lead over Glotzbach, however, the Maurice Petty-built Hemi gave way. The 43 was done after only 147 laps.

While Glotzbach and Petty were leading, Isaac was involved in an accident with Wayne Smith. He lost 40 laps as the crew made repairs. He eventually returned but finished 13th - last among the cars still running at the end of the race.

With Petty and Isaac's Mopars out of the picture, the race then became one between the remaining powerful Dodge of Glotzbach and its former occupant Pearson in his Ford.

Glotzbach led another 18-lap chunk after Petty's exit, but Pearson then went to the point. Through the speed of his car and quickness of his crew, the Silver Fox was able to lead the remaining 95 laps of the race to take the win. Though Pearson won by a full lap over his former car, Cotton and Charlie had to be pleased with their debut together. Langley hung around all day and earned a quality third place finish.

The win had to have been satisfying for Pearson:

• Hey, it's a win, right? ALL are satisfying.
• He triumphed over his previous ride.
• He overcame issues in practice that affected his staring position.
• He overcame an early race spin down through the pits that also caused him to run over several wooden braces installed around light poles.

Pearson's 32nd career win is also notable for two additional reasons.

• His 16th starting spot was the deepest in the field he ever started for any of his 105 wins.
• His win at Richmond on March 24, 1968, was the track's final race on its dirt surface. When the teams returned in September, Petty won Richmond's first race on its new asphalt surface.

Source: Free Lance Star

TMC

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

TMC

TMC Racing Stories: Richmond 1

My one and (so far) only trip to Richmond for a race was in May 2002. I was scheduled to be in Cary NC the week after the race for work. So I left a few days early, jumped over to High Point to hang with friends, and left early Saturday morning for a planned, single-day trip to Richmond.

Our crew consisted of three Schaefer HOFers - Philly, Paduc and me - plus a friend of Paduc - a British chap. As we left from a Greensboro mall parking lot, we knew it was going to be a challenging trip. A persistent, misty rain followed us most of the way.

As we arrived, however, optimism returned as the rain had stopped. Philly and I parted ways from Paduc and his British bud as our pairs of tickets were in different sections of the grandstands. Philly and I tailgated with a few folks, watched several drivers cruise by on scooters, and then headed for seats as the skies again darkened and light precip returned.

NASCAR officials managed to put the race under green with Ward Burton starting from the pole. But the racing was short-lived, and the race was postponed until Sunday. The two of us donned our rain ponchos and began the slow walk back to the van.

Along the way, we began working through multiple iterations of Plan B.

• Go home and lose the race? Unacceptable.
• Go home and drive back Sunday? Long friggin' trip. A next-to-last resort.
• Sleep in the van and fall out Sunday morning? Not desirable but acceptable and cheapest.

Though we were damp, we weren't soaked - though our shoes were steadily headed that direction. Yet, our two compadres hadn't arrived to unlock the door and help us agree on next steps.

After about an hour of standing in the rain, our feet had begun to grow gills and my temperature had started to rise from frustration. We finally spotted two sadsacks headed our way - fully drenched and without ponchos.

We laughed, they grumbled, and we all piled in the van. Still in race ready mode, I made the pitch to just stay where we were - in the dry van. No clean clothes, no toothbrush, wet shoes? Who cares - we'd be racing in about 15 hours! "Let's just sleep in the van, roll out tomorrow, find a Walmart, and go racing."

The Brit turned from behind the steering wheel, sneered, and chirped "You're a bloody fool. I need a room and a shower chap." 

The truth came out the next morning at breakfast. With the nighttime rain, an unfamiliar track, and a healthy consumption of beer, the two had walked the opposite direction of the van. We had parked behind the backstretch and walked to the front. When the race was called, they walked out the front gate - and kept going. Apparently after a half-mile or so, they realized nothing looked familiar. They had to retrace their steps to the track, rethink things, and then set out again towards the backside of the property.

So though I suppose I deserved to be called a bloody fool, I did get a good laugh out of it - plus a dry room, a shower, and a hot breakfast.

As an aside, the race was won by the recently retired Tony Stewart. It was the first of two times I saw Smoke take the checkers.

TMC

May 15, 1966 - Richmond 250

NASCAR's Grand National drivers rolled into Richmond's half-mile, fairgrounds dirt track on May 15, 1966 for a 250-lap race. The storylines of the season after about a third of it had been completed were:

• Richard Petty's second win in three years in the Daytona 500
• A four-race win streak by David Pearson in Cotton Owens' Dodge
• The full-time return of the factory-supported Plymouth and Dodge teams 
• A withdrawal of factory support for Ford teams after NASCAR endured a similar protest by Chrysler a season earlier.

Source: Free Lance Star via Google News Archive

Fans got a pleasant surprise during qualifying for the race. James Hylton qualified second, and future NASCAR pace car driver Elmo Langley timed third.

Ford's withdrawal of support for its marquis teams - namely Holman Moody and the Wood Brothers -  didn't mean, however, the absence of all Ford racers that season. Dave Fulton, simply a race fan at the time but a future employee of Paul Sawyer's Richmond Raceway, shared this memory from race day about an independent Ford driver who won the pole.

As a high school senior in Richmond, VA on May 15, 1966, Tiger Tom Pistone gave me and my buddies one of our most cherished NASCAR memories. On that spring Sunday, driving his powder blue #59 1964 Ford Galaxie, Tiger Tom blistered the old dirt half-mile Richmond Fairgrounds layout with a record, all-time, NASCAR Grand National qualifying speed of 70.978 mph - a record that stands to this very day and will never be broken. Only three more dirt races were run on the Richmond track before it was paved for the September 1968 GN race, and nobody ever again approached Tiger's one-lap speed record on the dirt.

To this day I feel privileged to tell folks that I saw Tiger Tom Pistone set a NASCAR track record that will never be broken on a track that I dearly loved. For those who never saw a NASCAR Grand National stock car kick up a roostertail of dirt as it slid sideways, you are part of the underprivileged NASCAR generation.

Tiger grabbed the lead as the green flag fell, and he kept his dual, four-barrel carb'd, independent Ford at the point for the the first 22 laps. Pearson then took the lead from Pistone, and it was pretty much his race to lose the rest of the way.

Pistone's top starting spot didn't help him in the long run. He burned a piston, and ended the day with a DNF and 16th place finish in the 30-car field. Like Pistone, Langley's starting position near the front didn't mean anything when the day was done. After racing for a while against King Richard, he lost a differential in his two-year old Ford. The final results showed Langley with a 17th place DNF - one spot behind Tiger.

After Pistone's 22 laps out front to begin the race, the day belonged to Pearson. He led 216 of the remaining 228 laps to capture his fifth win of the season.

Petty, who started tenth, hung around, but really offered no substantive competition to Pearson that day. He returned home to Level Cross with a second place finish, two laps down to the winner. By finishing two laps behind Pearson, it's tough to say Petty's second place finish was an almost win. The race was, however, the twelfth of 63 times the two drivers finished first and second.

Source: Free Lance Star via Google News Archive

Big thanks to Russ Thompson and Jerry Bushmire for sharing images from Stock Car Racing magazine.

TMC

April 13, 1969 - Richmond 500

Richmond's spring race has bounced around a good bit over the decades. Throughout the 1970s and most of the 1980s, the race was scheduled for late February or early March. At the opposite end of the season, the race was scheduled a few times in June. Nowadays, the race floats from mid-April to early May - which seems ideal for that area of the country. The 1969 Richmond 500 was slotted in that optimal time frame on April 13th.

After more than a dozen years as a dirt track, track promoter Paul Sawyer paved Richmond following the first Grand National race of 1968. In doing so, the track was lengthened ever so slightly from a true half-mile to a .542 mile oval. David Pearson won Richmond's final 250-lap race on dirt, and Richard Petty won the first 300-lap one on the new asphalt surface.

The spring 1969 race was lengthened to 500 laps and about 250 miles - the longest race held to that point at the track. Despite the change in track surface and distance, the race featured little drama. David Pearson won the pole in his #17 Holman Moody Ford. He then set forth to puttin' a whuppin' on the field. He led a dominating 416 of 500 laps, lapped most of the field by multiple laps, and finished a full lap ahead of second place finisher Richard Petty.

Source: Stock Car Racing magazine

Pearson notched his third consecutive spring Richmond win. It was also his sixth and final Richmond win - including six trophies in ten attempts - and the 33rd of 63 times Petty-Pearson finished first and second.

Photo courtesy of Brian '200WINZ' Hauck

When you're the winner, smoke 'em if ya got 'em!

Credit: Richmond Times Dispatch

Source: Free Lance Star via Google News Archives

TMC

March 10, 1964 - Richmond 250

Richmond, Virginia has been a fixture on NASCAR's Grand National / Cup schedule since 1953. The track has seen a number of changes including:

• Multiple names
• Lap count variances
• A move from dirt to asphalt, and
• Track configurations

Yet, the track has remained a constant for race fans for over sixty years. One could argue Richmond has been the most progressive and fan-responsive track over the decades.

The first of two races at Richmond in 1964 - the Richmond 250 - was scheduled for Sunday,  March 8. Petty Enterprises planned to field two Plymouths for Richard Petty - fresh off his first Daytona 500 victory - and for Buck Baker who finished 12th in the Petty car at Daytona after having some issues with his Hemi engine.

When the team arrived in Richmond, however, it was the King's brother - Maurice Petty - who took the wheel of the family's second factory Plymouth. It's unclear when the decision was made to have Chief race rather than Baker.

Source: The Progress-Index of Petersburg, Virginia

Drivers representing the Blue Oval - Ford Motor Company - qualified for the top three starting positions. Ned Jarrett in a Ford, Billy Wade in Bud Moore's Mercury, and Mavin Panch in the Wood Brothers Ford started 1-2-3. Maurice Petty showed up his older brother a bit by qualifying fourth. Rounding out the top five starters was Ralph Earnhardt. Neither Maurice or Ralph ever raced full-time in the Grand National division, and Richmond represented the fifth of only eight times the two drivers were in the same race.

When the green flag fell, Gentlemen Ned served notice his Ford was the one to beat. He leveraged his top starting spot to an early lead - and stayed there. Turn after turn, lap after lap, Jarrett's 11 paced the field. Until.

Rain arrived 25 laps before the halfway point, and the rest of the race was postponed after only 100 laps had been completed. The remaining laps were to be run the next clear day.

Source: The Progress-Index of Petersburg, Virginia

The track was still far too saturated and muddy to run the remainder on Monday. Instead, the race was restarted on Tuesday evening, March 10. The race became Richmond's first under the lights - a tradition later adopted in 1991 on Richmond's current 3/4-mile configuration.

Junior Johnson was running in fifth place when the race was postponed. But when the remainder of the race was moved to Tuesday, Junior Johnson said he had another obligation and couldn't continue. Buck Baker - apparently bounced from the Petty Plymouth - took over Junior's Dodge and raced it the rest of the way to a fourth place finish.

Dave Fulton worked in racing-related promotions for several years - in the early 1980s with Wrangler and Dale Earnhardt, mid 1980s with Southland Corporation when their 7-Eleven brand sponsored Kyle Petty, and Richmond Raceway as an assistant to promoter Paul Sawyer. As a kid, however, Fulton was simply a wide-eyed fan. He attended the 1964 Richmond 250 as his first GN race and shared his memories from it:

I was 15. That was the day I first heard the late announcer Ray Melton for the first time intone the "Most Famous Words in Sports":

"Jellllyyymennnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...START YOUR ENGINES!"

That was the day I saw my first race. It was the first time I'd see Richard Petty, who'd just won his first Daytona 500. Didn't get to see my uncle's favorite - Joe Weatherly, a terror on the Richmond dirt with both stock cars and motorcycles - because he'd been killed in January at Riverside.

Dad dropped me off after church on Sunday. I paid the entire $5 I had in my pocket for a 4th turn bleacher seat.

The first time Tiny Lund came by me in practice with his Ford kicking up a rooster tail of dirt sideways, I was hooked for life.

After the parade of visiting pace cars, Ray Melton told me to clap my hands, stomp my feet, whistle and cheer as my favorite driver passed in review (I didn't have one yet).

Ray said these were the stars and cars of NASCAR's elite Grand National racing division. He said the cars were painted in all the colors of the rainbow and the drivers came from country stands and crossroads strands. No announcer since has ever gotten a stock car crowd so worked up as Ray Melton did in his prime.

I had heard all about the new "Hemis" and decided I'd pull for them. Billy Wade replacing Joe Weatherly in Bud Moore's potent Mercury had other ideas.

Hot Damn! I never knew two cars could run side-by-side while broadsliding through Richmond's wide sweeping dirt corners!

And the sound - the heart-throbbing, bleacher-shaking sound - and the smell of the rubber and gasoline and the dirt clods and those good ol' boys rooting each other out of the groove (much better than bump drafting). All the way across the track in the dust of the first few laps one car stood out. The announcer said it was painted electric blue, but that famous color was Petty Blue carried on the #43.

Unfortunately, before the race was at the halfway point, the rain began to pour. The race was postponed.

The track was too muddy to race on Monday and even during the day on Tuesday. Finally, the race resumed on a cold Tuesday night in March under the lights. It was wonderful!

Jarrett couldn't continue his Big Mo when the race restarted. He led another couple of laps but surrendered the lead to Wade. Also, David Pearson quickly picked up the scent of the lead and moved up from his fourth place restart spot.

Richard Petty made his presence known as well. He went toe to toe with Wade once the race resumed. Wade led a 33-lap hitch, King then paced the field for 25 laps, and then Wade went back out front for another stretch of 48 laps.  Then things got really fun.

Pearson watched Wade and Petty battle as he had his own hands full racing Jarrett. He finally cleared them all and took over the top spot. With only sixteen laps to go, Jarrett's dominant Ford on Sunday cooked an engine. Then Petty separated himself from Wade's Mercury who faded back to third.

Petty gave chase to catch Pearson, but the Cotton Owens-prepared Dodge was too strong once it found the front. Pearson led the final 36 laps of the race to capture the win with Petty a half-lap back in second.

The win was Pearson's first victory since 1961 and his first in a Dodge. The race was also the third of 63 times Petty-Pearson finished 1-2.

Source: The High Point Enterprise

TMC

March 7, 1976 - Richmond 400

From 1969 through 1975, Richmond's races were 500 laps and about 250 miles. In 1976, the length of the track's two races was dropped to 400 laps and about 200 miles. The lap count continued with the track's new (and current) 3/4-mile configuration in 1989 - though the distance became 300 miles.

The first race under the 400-laps model - the 1976 Richmond 400 - was scheduled for February 22nd as the third race of the season and the first to follow what became the legendary finish of the Daytona 500.

Bobby Allison won the pole in his Roger Penske-owned #2 CAM2 Mercury. Dave Marcis qualified alongside Allison in his #71 K&K Insurance Dodge. Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough rounded out the top five starters.

When race day arrived, however, so did a persistent rain. Richmond now runs its spring race actually in the spring. Back in the day, however, Richmond's first "spring" race was frequently hit with with cold temps, rain, snow, and sometimes postponements. Sure enough, the 1976 edition was postponed two weeks to March 7 - the week after the Carolina 500 at Rockingham. The only hiccup was if Rockingham's race was postponed as well because March 7 was also earmarked as its make-up date.

The race at The Rock went off as scheduled. But a not-so-funny thing happened to Allison on his way back to Richmond. Allison tangled with Yarborough, and he flipped his Mercury multiple times.

Though hospitalized, Allison wasn't seriously injured and still planned to race at Richmond from his top starting spot. Just in case he couldn't go the distance, however, he had his brother Donnie Allison on stand-by. Though I never was an Allison fan, his toughness could never be denied - then or now. Bruised and battered but still standing, Allison started the race, went the distance, and finished third.

Source: Free Lance Star via Google News Archive

Though Allison started P1, Marcis got the jump at the drop of the green. He set sail into turn one and paced the field for almost all of the first quarter of the race. Others soon got in on the action though. Petty and Yarborough controlled much of the middle stages of the race.

With about 80 laps to go, Virginia's own Lennie Pond found himself in the lead in a strong effort at the wheel of Ronnie Elder's Pepsi-sponsored #54 Chevrolet. The 1973 Rookie of the Year led a few laps earlier, but now it was time to hammer down and take home a trophy. After a 33-lap stint at the front and only one other car on the lead lap with him, however, Pond's fortunes inexplicably turned bad. Really bad. He tangled with Ed Negre with about 50 to go, and his day was rurnt. Instead of competing for a win, Pond went home with a dismal 23rd place finish in the 30-car field.

With Pond's departure, The King did what The King generally did at Richmond: lead. He set the pace for the next 40-odd laps and seemed to be in great position to win at Richmond for the 14th time of his career. But a couple of challenges arose to face the 43. One, his Maurice Petty-engine lost not just one but two cylinders. His Dodge Charger somehow continued, but he clearly didn't have runaway speed. Two, a couple of cautions with about 20 laps to go allowed Dave Marcis to get back on the lead lap.

The second caution with 11 laps to go was quite bizarre. While running third, Yarborough popped the inside guard rail, continued on with speed through an opening into the infield, and ran smack-dab into a parked fire truck. Cale's #11 Chevy got the worst end of the encounter, yet he still managed to a fourth place result despite the DNF.

Courtesy of Donald Evans of RacersReunion.com

The race went green again with one lap to go. Petty and Marcis were the only two cars on the lead lap, and Marcis realized the opportunity was his. He barreled into turn one and got to the inside of Petty. The two battled side by side the rest of the way including a few door rubs along the way.

At the strip, Marcis narrowly won his second of what ultimately became five career Cup victories. Accounts of the margin of victory vary depending on what one reads or cares to believe. I've seen it as close as few feet to a couple of car lengths. Either way ... Marcis was the victor, and Petty missed out on what would have been his 201st victory overall.

Courtesy of Brian Yezierski of RacersReunion.com

Source: The Progress-Index of Petersburg, Virginia

TMC

March 26, 1989: A dismal day for Petty Enterprises

On March 26, 1989, Rusty Wallace won the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond. His win was the second of six victories that season as he eventually earned his first and only Winston Cup title.

View image | gettyimages.com

But Rusty's win was not the story of race weekend...

About a year earlier, Richard Petty had an awful wreck in the 1988 Daytona 500. Before a national TV audience, Petty's 43 pirouetted on its nose before getting t-boned by Brett Bodine. Fortunately, the King was more bruised than broken. Some speculated Petty would immediately retire.

Retire?? No way. Instead, Petty did what racers do. He belted in the next week to run 400 laps on the bullring of Richmond. Following a third place finish in the Pontiac 400, a tired and sore King Richard climbed aboard an STP-emblazoned bulldozer for a celebratory tearing up of the old half-mile speedway.

View image | gettyimages.com

It was the first visible step in converting Richmond's facility to the modern 3/4-mile track still raced today. Though worn out from a tough race and a body bruised from the 500, he smiled after the race and took a seat in the dozer as the all-time winner at Richmond.

Six months later, the new facility was in place for its September debut. The second race on the new surface, the Pontiac Excitement 400, was again scheduled for late February 1989.

Mother Nature, however, had different plans. With the teams already in town, winter weather arrived and forced track promoter Paul Sawyer to cancel the weekend's events because of ice and snow.

Credit Donald Evans

With a packed schedule in the early months of 1989, Sawyer and NASCAR were forced to reschedule the race for the not-so-desirable Easter weekend. The scheduled was condensed to a two-day event with qualifying on Saturday and the race on Easter Sunday, March 26th.

Geoff Bodine won the pole and Wallace timed second during Saturday's qualifying session. Davey Allison swept the pole and the race on the new surface's debut the previous September. In February, however, his get-up-and-go got up and went. The #28 Havoline car had to settle for a provisional to make the field.

Once the dust settled on the single day of qualifying, the story turned out to be about the driver who would not be racing on Sunday. After 513 consecutive starts dating back to 1971, the King Richard's 43 failed to post a fast enough speed to make the show. Petty wasn't able to take advantage of the available provisionals, he elected not to run in a "hooligan" race with other non-qualifiers, and he chose not to buy a ride to continue the streak.

The Petty bunch tried to point out a technicality with Davey's provisional start. Harry Ranier sold his #28 team to Robert Yates after the 1988 season. The team marched forward into 1989 with the understanding Yates "bought" Ranier's owner points along with the shop and equipment. Petty contended that shouldn't be the case and the change in ownership meant Davey didn't have enough owner's points to earn the provisional. NASCAR reminded Petty that he entered his cars under the name of John Carrington in 1988 (a North Carolina gubernatorial candidate) before switching back to his own name in 1989. That point pretty well ended the discussion.

Dave Fulton recalls:

I'll never forget that day. My old friend, Paul Sawyer, the Richmond promoter, implored Bill France, Jr. to do anything to let Richard race. He offered to increase the purse and number of starting positions. I honestly believe Paul went to his grave hurt that it was at his track, where Richard was the all-time winner, that his string of consecutive starts would end. 

So just like that, *poof* the streak was over. Petty returned to the hauler, told his crew to load the car, and everyone headed back to Level Cross to enjoy Easter from the couch instead of at the track. Adding insult to injury was that Kyle Petty also failed to qualify at Richmond - his second time in four races with his newly formed team, SABCO Racing.

Courtesy of Brian Hauck    

I believe Petty Enterprises was all but finished as far back as 1982 or 1983. When Richard returned to Petty Enterprises in 1986, he nor the team could ever put the pieces back together to successfully recapture past glories. The sport had passed them by. PE continued its struggle to return to old glories but without a tremendous amount of success over the next 20 years - 3 more seasons with King at the wheel and the others with a rotating list of drivers. Ultimately, the team was absorbed into a 'merger' with Gillett Evernham Motorsports to form what has since become known as Richard Petty Motorsports.

One could argue, however, PE hit rock bottom when the King was unable to wring enough speed out of his Pontiac to qualify at a track that had been among his best (albeit on different configurations and surfaces).

Article courtesy of Jerry Bushmire

After the race, Pontiac execs likely exhaled slowly and ran their fingers through their hair. Granted, Wallace won the race in his Kodiak Pontiac. Otherwise, the race was a dismal showing by the the rest of the fleet. King and Kyle missed the race - as did Jimmy Means, J.D. McDuffie, Hut Stricklin and Ken Bouchard. For the Pontiacs other than Wallace that did make the show, the last 4 finishers all drove Pontiacs: Morgan Shepherd, Greg Sacks, Derrike Cope, and Jim Sauter.

The race was successfully completed on its make-up date as Rusty Wallace won comfortably over Alan Kulwicki and Dale Earnhardt. The drivers did what racers do - they raced. No one was going to bay at the moon at the King's absence because there was work to be done.

Fans, however, are wired much differently than drivers. For the Petty faithful, the DNQ by the 43 was a body blow as many finally recognized how fragile the once-dominant team had finally become.

TMC

March 1, 1970: An 1ndependent Has H1s Day

Some folks who have become a NASCAR fan only within the last 20 years or so may have tuned in to the most recent NASCAR Hall Of Fame induction ceremonies just to see Bill Elliott. Some may have heard of Wendell Scott or Fred Lorenzen, but they may not have known some of the others - including the presenters.

James Harvey Hylton is one man I suspect many contemporary fans didn't recognize that night. Hylton wasn't inducted into the Hall, but he was there to present the Hall of Fame ring to his friend and former employer, Rex White.

View image | gettyimages.com

If you saw that night's events, you'll recall poor ol' James didn't get to say much. White was so excited about being inducted that he pre-empted Hylton's remarks before James even got a chance to begin! Hylton didn't seem to mind though. He stood quietly and patiently by his friend's side - biding his time until the moment was right.

In some respects, that typified Hylton's driving career. Hylton began his racing career as a mechanic. He crew'd for drivers such as White, fellow NASCAR HOFer Ned Jarrett and Dick Hutcherson. He joined the Grand National ranks as a drive and was named NASCAR's 1966 Rookie of the Year. He finished second to David Pearson for that season's title - despite not winning a race.

Hylton knew his way around a car and around a track, but the promising young driver just could not find his way to victory lane. Not in 1966 or 1967 or so on. Hylton was an independent driver. He bought and built his own stuff and did not have financial advantages of being associated with a factory-supported race team. Yet he rolled in to the track each race and gave it all he had.

The 1970 season began in Riverside, California in mid-January. Super Tex A.J. Foyt won the race, but Hylton trekked back east with a 35th place finish after losing an engine in his Dodge. In late February, folks were stunned when a Petty Plymouth Superbird won the second race of the season, the Daytona 500 - but without The King at the wheel. Pete Hamilton pulled off the surprising victory to become a first-time GN winner.

As the Petty team celebrated, Hylton's Speedweeks was pretty only so-so. He wrecked his recently acquired Ford during practice before the qualifying twins and had to borrow a year-old #23 Plymouth from owner Don Robertson to race to a 22nd place finish in the 500.

One week after Daytona, the GN circus rolled into Richmond, Virginia for the season's third event. After racing the winged Superbird in the first two races of the season, Richard Petty went to his bread-and-butter, short-track special, Plymouth Roadrunner. With the ease that Petty got around Richmond, no one was all that surprised when he won the pole.

Source: Spartanburg Herald via Google News Archive

Fellow Mopar driver, Bobby Isaac, timed second in his short-track #71 K&K Insurance Dodge. Hylton was perhaps a mild surprise in qualifying with the third quickest time in his Ford. His Blue Oval, however, wasn't just any Ford.

Perry Allen Wood interviewed Hylton for his book Declarations of Stock Car Independents:

I had just bought a Holman Moody Ford, an ex-David Pearson car. I run it under Pearson’s colors. It was pretty. We just had time to put the 48 decals on it... Picked it up at Holman Moody, Ralph Moody set the car up, took it up to Richmond, unloaded it, qualified either second or third... Petty had the hotrod. He was the fastest car there. He was factory backed, I was independent. Havin’ a Holman Moody car kind of put us on an equal basis temporarily anyway. ~ p. 229

Courtesy of Jeff Droke

Though Hylton was excited to have his new ride, it was business as usual for the big boys. When the green flag dropped, Petty leveraged the top starting spot to begin his domination of the race. He led 303 laps and buried the field by lapping every competitor multiple times. As the race hit the 300 lap mark, he had second place running Isaac pinned down three laps and third place Hylton six laps.

Courtesy of Ray Lamm

But racing luck can be fickle. With the race solidly in hand, the 43 developed electrical issues. The King hit pit road - yet the #43 stayed as P1 on the leader board for the next few laps as Isaac circled to make up lost ground.

Petty's problem could not be solved quickly, and his huge cushion quickly evaporated. Meanwhile, Isaac took over the top spot and paced the field for about the next 40 laps. It seemed Petty's misfortune became a gift to Isaac who had a multi-lap lead on Hylton. As with Petty's Plymouth, however, Isaac's Dodge experienced an unexpected problem. An oil line came loose, and the 71 was forced from the lead to the pits.

Hylton then found himself in the lead with the top two Mopars having issues. He went from being six laps down to Petty to having a three lap lead on the 43. Yet, the Dale Inman-led Petty crew didn't crater. With the electrical issues resolved, Petty resumed his assault on the track. He clicked off lap times far better than Hylton - yet he was running out of time.

Remarkably, Petty made up the three laps on Richmond's half-mile bullring. He then tried to track down Hylton's Ford to get the win I'm sure he felt he'd earned. Hylton, however, didn't waver either. He hit his marks, kept a good pace, and led lap after lap after lap for the final 160 circuits.

With Petty within range, Hylton kept the big picture in mind. Finally the white and then the checkered flags fell over him, and James Hylton was able to notch that elusive Grand National victory - the second first-time winner in two weeks.

Hylton continued in Wood's book:

Richard had trouble early with his ignition. They lost several laps gettin’ his car runnin’ again. He was unlappin’ himself to the point where at the end I won the race by 15 seconds, which on a track of that size was a good half a lap. He was within 15 seconds of havin’ a shootout… That’s the hardest I probably ever drove in my life. That was before we had power steering. And 500 laps! It wasn’t no 300 or 400, it was 500 laps. At the end of the race, you had to pry my hands off the steerin’ wheel. Had gloves on of couse, and blisters through the blisters. My hands were like raw steak or somethin’…  In the end, it was Petty and myself and was, without question, the best race I ever drove. ~ p. 229

Courtesy of Ray Lamm

Source: Times-News via Google News Archive

Hylton had to wait two more seasons to see victory lane again. He won the Talladega 500 in 1972 - a track five times the size of Richmond. But that was it - those were his two GN/Cup wins. He continued racing and ended his driving career with 602 Cup starts. Hylton continued to stay active in racing with almost 200 ARCA starts as well as fielding cars for up-and-coming young drivers.

Yet on that winter Virginia day in 1970, Hylton's independence prevailed. He was finally able to convert the 48 into a #1.

TMC

Happy Schaef Year!

Welcome to 2014. For most, the start of a new year for whatever reason seems to be THE time to look forward with goals and resolutions - and look back at events of the past year.

In keeping with that tradition, how about a tour through some of the fun times had by the Schaefer Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor over the last six months of 2013.

TMC, Bruton and his brother extended the 4th of July holiday into a long weekend with a 2-day trip to Daytona Beach and back for the Coke Zero 400. The summer race was my first at Daytona since 1992 and my first at the track since the 1997 Daytona 500.

In preparation for the long ride there, we all agreed it was going to be a great trip where Schaefer would be enjoyed - once we arrived of course.

We crafted our own sort of public service announcement with a warning not to drink and drive - or else.

But since we were drinking and racing, the PSA really didn't apply to us.

Bruton and I did our best to proudly represent the Schaefer Hall of Fame - though there were plenty of empties around us - seats and cans at our feet. We never did quite figure out Roxy's deal, and we're pretty sure her significant other was thinking "Never ever will I order a race date from Craigslist again."

I switched over to Schaefer Light because I was trying to maintain my figure: round.

In August, SHOFer Kuzzin Kari traveled to Groton, Connecticut and eye-spied Schaefer at a convenience store. Incredibly, however, beer isn't sold on Sundays there. She had to pull back a curtain to snap the pic, but she couldn't walk out with a 12-pack in her hand. Madness!

Having relocated the Cleveland, Ohio SHOF chapter to south Florida, SHOFer Uncle Dave is clearly hating life amongst the sun and surf. Life truly has taken a turn for the worse when you get to wear cargo shorts year-round and catch a nice hug from a roller derby chickie. We feel for ya Uncle D.

SHOFers Paduch and The Rev took in the final Cup race of the "regular season" at Richmond in September. They Schaefervangelized many at the track. Within a matter of a few sips, they had many Schaefer noobs proudly declaring the SHOF slogan: Hey, its not that bad!

On September 22nd in the Sylvania 300 at Loudon, Matt Kenseth became only the second NASCAR Grand National / Cup driver to win in his 500th start.

• The first? King Richard Petty. 
• The race? Yep, the 1970 Schaefer 300 in Trenton, NJ.

Also in September, SHOF co-founder Philly attended his annual White Trash Weekend near Athens, Georgia. He talked Brad Keselowski into giving up a Miller Lite for a Schaefer. Hey, ITS A JOKE! OK? C'monnn mannn.

He also got to take in the Georgia Bulldogs vs. South Carolina game - much to the disdain of fellow SHOFer and Dawg-For-Life Rookie who couldn't attend.

In late September, TMC made a work... err, leisure... yeah, work visit to Phoenix. Ya know, to get acclimated to the weather and all for a November race trip with the SHOF...and to get some work done.

The Schaefer Hall of Fame hit the big time on the small screen in October. The SHOF was included in a FOX Sports South episode spotlighting the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. FSS used footage of the SHOF tailgating experience recorded in May 2012.


SHOFers Philly and Cuba hosted the tailgating festivities at Charlotte for the fall race, and they ended up expanding the Schaefer Ring of Honor to another country and a U.S. territory!

T-Mart, son Squirt and others in their family traveled from Australia mate to spend an extended holiday in the States. While here, they went to races in Dover and Charlotte. Naturally, they are Marcos Ambrose fans - and now T-Mart is a Schaefer fan and in the Schaefer Ring of Honor and chairman of the Australian Chapter.

He fit right in with other blokes from the Schaefer Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor.

North Carolinian by way of Puerto Rico, Big Mo, and friend Nelson (who needs a nickname) happened upon the Schaefer festivities and affirmed Puerto Rico's love for Schaefer. Big Mo now oversees the Schaefer Ring of Honor Puerto Rico Chapter. With his size, I believe his leadership will go unchallenged.

Cerveza Schaefer, es la mejor cuando se toma mas de una

Schaefer beer is best when you drink more than one

As 2013 hit turn four in October, Bruton headed back to the beaches of central Florida for fall break. Ormond Beach was once packed with daredevils looking to set speed records on the packed sand. Today, its a relaxing locale to savor a cold Schaefer.

Or perhaps a Schaefer Light if the sun's rays get a might too warm.

Being a lifelong, die-hard Petty fan, Bruton couldn't resist the opportunity to have his pic made with a Schaefer alongside the King's car number and current manufacturer choice, Ford. That is until the proprietor of this froo-froo dining establishment yelled the business equivalent of "Hey kid, get off my lawn!" (Not really - but it sure would have made the photo-op a lot funnier.)

 

I'm not exactly sure the message Philly was trying to convey with this can of Schaefer. But it was Halloween, and Philly had likely enjoyed a prodigious amount of Schaefer. So message received: loud and obscure.

And then came November. Four Horsemen of the SHOF rolled into Phoenix, Arizona for a fantastic weekend of racing.

Once three of us landed, the brainstorming commenced. Our fourth would not arrive for four more hours. Our hotel would not be ready for three more hours. What to do? Where to go? Where else - a racing bar! We found Starters, a great local watering hole in Tempe who boasts Jägermeister as its house wine. The bar is owned by Doug and Marcia - a fun, feisty couple who wisely retired to the desert from the winters of Minnesota with a deliberate plan to open a racing-themed sports bar.

As expected, Starters doesn't serve Schaefer. So we settled for PBR and an explanation of the house rules for race day. During a race whenever the yellow flag waves, someone in the bar yells CAUTION! The house is then served their choice of a shot of Jäger or Fireball. We could only imagine the place on days when Bristol or Martinsville are run.

Having now understood the tradition, we were asked our preference. Before we knew it, a practice run was on. From the bar, someone yelled CAUTION!, a miniature yellow flag was displayed, and shots were set before us in addition to the PBR. The place was great fun in the limited time we were there.

 

Knowing we still had to rendezvous with our fourth horseman, we parted ways at Starters, said we might return, and started getting our race and beer strategy together. Our recon and intel gathering in the weeks prior to the weekend revealed Arizona had no Schaefer for us. So what do SHOFers do in such a situation? We took the Schaefer to Arizona! Upon our arrival at the hotel, we were greeted by a case of Schaefer tallboys shipped from the east. Not a single one was lost during the 2,000 mile long journey.

Next stop: Phoenix International Raceway. We were in high cotton all weekend with complimentary tickets and hot passes that ensured we could go anywhere we wanted - or at least we convinced ourselves as much.

At Friday night's truck race, SHOFer Rookie was delighted that his favorite race meal turkey legs were sold in Arizona even if Schaefer wasn't.

The Schaefer Hall of Fame shirts were sported on Sunday morning, and we invited some nice folks to enjoy a cold one with us. Marc and Robyn drove a couple of hours to take in the race. Two great folks who were relatively new to racing and brand new to Schaefer. Marc, as is his prerogative as the chairman of the newly formed Schaefer Ring of Honor Arizona Chapter, created a new slogan after trying one: Schaefer...It tastes kinda like a Coors.

I love traditional NASCAR racing in the south. But for wonderful weather, incredible scenery, and track hospitality, Phoenix ranks right up there amongst the best race trips I've ever experienced.

Following Sunday's race, there was only one logical place to go - back to Starters. We wanted to see how many folks were left after a day of racing and cautions. Turns out the place had a different vibe than we expected. Doug and Marcia had left for the evening, and most of the race crowd was gone as well. But think that stopped the Schaefer Hall of Fame? No way.

Besides, this guy from Cleveland was there. We wanted to put him in the Schaefer Ring of Honor simply based on the coolness he exuded.

As 2013 reached its end, Big Mo celebrated with a return to Puerto Rico. Though we're having a tougher time than ever finding Schaefer in the US, Big Mo let us know its still available if you just know where to look for it.

He had a full case shipped back home to North Carolina. Twenty-four TEN ounce cans - apparently the norm for beer cans in Puerto Rico. Who knew?

So now that the calendar has flipped to January, may you have a Schaefer-filled 2014.

If you've made it this far - and are a fellow fan of Schaefer - and know where to buy it - please email me at toomuchcountry (at) gmail (dot) com. Its more challenging than ever to find Schaefer these days, and the Schaefer Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor will appreciate every available tip available to restock our supply.

Now if only this winter weather would quickly end, I'll return to wearing my pink Schaefer thong.

TMC