April 24, 1971 - Hambone to the Throne

Nashville's Fairground Speedways opened its 1971 season in April. The season was the second one on the new high banked version of the track - and the first full one as the track wasn't ready for use in 1970 until July.

Art Ellis was the surprise winner of the 1971 season opener, the Permatex 200. Sadly, Ellis's enjoyment of his victory was short-lived as he was killed in an accident at the fairgrounds a couple of months later. 

After the 200-lap opener, the regulars returned for the first of a weekly slate of races. The marquis event was a 30-lap late model sportsman feature.

Many drivers - local drivers, national LMS racers, and even Cup drivers - had disdain for Nashville's new banks. Some even argued the place could be a death trap because tires couldn't keep pace with the high speeds on the new surface. 

Two drivers that took a shine to it, however, were Darrell Waltrip and James Ham. Waltrip won five of the abbreviated season's 11 feature races in 1970 and captured his first of two track championships. Ham didn't win nearly as often as Waltrip, but he was fast in qualifying. He qualified on the front row for all 11 of 1970's LMS features.

Ham set a track record in winning the pole for the season opener. Seven days later, Waltrip topped Ham's week-old record and won the pole for the 30-lap feature. Keeping his streak alive, Ham lined up alongside Waltrip - swapping places with DW from the previous week. He did so by qualifying on only seven cylinders!

A 30-lap feature on a lightning-quick, half-mile track seemingly ends almost before it begins. Drivers have to qualify well, and they have to be up on the wheel from the jump.

And Ham was ready at the jump. He muscled by Waltrip at the beginning of the race and showed his horsepower - despite being down a cylinder. The short race had two yellow flags where laps under caution didn't count. Both allowed Waltrip to close back to Ham's bumper and the opportunity to launch past him for the win. On both restarts, however, Ham seized the lead and continued on to the win.

The feature was Ham's second track win. He earned his first a few months earlier in a 30-lap feature in October 1970. He'd go on to win twice more in 1971 - both 30-lap features. Ham raced at the Fairgrounds for several more years, but those four wins on the track's high banks were his only ones.

Following the race, folks learned the top two cars raced with impaired engines. P.B. Crowell, one of Waltrip's car owners told a Tennessean reporter after the race:

A push rod broke. A valve hit a piston and busted the cylinder wall. We lost an engine. We were lucky Darrell was able to go on and finish second. He ran on seven cylinders, that's all. 

A week later, Ham extended his front row streak by qualifying second to Waltrip for the Pabst Blue Ribbon 100. His winning streak, however, ended at one when his ill-handling car popped the wall around lap 30 - the same distance he covered to win in late April '71.

Source: The Tennessean

TMC

Nashville's 1970 Southern 300

Following the 1969 Southern 300, a multi-month project began to transform Nashville's Fairground Speedways. The low-banked, half-mile track was converted to a high-banked, 5/8-mile, speed demon. In 2011, Nashville racing historian Russ Thompson blogged about the construction project and an overview of the Nashville's first season on the new track.

Through 1965, fans sat in the grandstands under an ornate, wooden roof. The September 1965 fairgrounds fire burned the structure, and the stands remained uncovered through 1969.

The project to re-design the track also included a new roof over a portion of the grandstands. Instead of installing a roof with a similar design as the original one, the track operators installed a more modern looking, metal, tethered overhang. The 1970 roof remains in place in 2018.

Because of construction delays, the season's start was delayed until July. Bobby Isaac won the first event on new track - the Nashville 420 Grand National race. The late model racers returned for their first race on the new track in the Flameless 300 in August.

Though the timing of the Grand National and Flameless races was off because of construction delays, the Southern 300 returned in its traditional autumn spot. The 12th edition of the Southern was scheduled for Sunday, October 4.

Unlike most years, the Southern 300 wasn't the final racing event of the year at the Fairgrounds. Because of the late-starting and abbreviated schedule in 1970, the track hosted two more weekends of racing - a pair of LMS features and a 200-lap ARCA race.

Several drivers from the Grand National and Late Model Sportsman ranks had been leery of the new track design. Most had raced high-banked tracks before - most notably Daytona and Talladega. Nashville was a different beast, however, because of the shorter straightaways.

Local racer James Ham, however, took to the place like a duck to water. In the LMS features leading up to the Southern 300, Ham was routinely quick during time trials. He planned to extend his early comfort with the track to the Southern despite the arrival of several heavy-hitting out-of-towners.

Darrell Waltrip raced at the Fairgrounds several times from the mid to late 1960s with little success. Once he connected with car owner P.B. Crowell and hit the high banks in 1970, the results and his future were quite different. Waltrip won five of the season's eight LMS races leading into the Southern and had a firm grasp on the track's 1970 track title.

DW's success made him a logical target for exotic dancer Morganna Roberts. Though she later became legendary nationally in the 1970s as Morganna The Kissing Bandit, she was in Nashville for nightly shows. Today, Printer's Alley is a popular tourist destination. Back in the day, the establishments were legendary but a bit more sketchy.

Ham was the first driver to qualify during Saturday's time trials. In an effort to prove his promotional photo had substance, he laid down a hot lap and dared others to knock him off the perch. One by one, all failed to rise to the challenge.

Flookie Buford and Alton Jones, both driving R.C. Alexander's Fords, qualified third and fourth. Freddy Fryar, a two-time Southern 300 winner and Nashville's 1964 track champion, timed only fifth best. Waltrip could muster no better than ninth fastest.

Yet one driver remained to take his shot. Red Farmer set a track record, nipped Ham's lap time, captured the pole, and started on the Southern front row for the fifth consecutive year.

The line-up also included several others who race fans grew to know a bit better throughout the 70s-80s including Jack Ingram, Bosco Lowe, L.D. Ottinger, Paddlefoot Wales, Sam Sommers, and Richard Brickhouse.

A year earlier, Brickhouse was pretty much an unknown driver. A single race, however, provided him an Oh yeah, THAT guy! trivia label to racing fans with his victory in the inaugural Talladega 500.

As the green dropped, Farmer seized the lead from his top starting spot. He pulled the field around the lightning quick surface for the first five laps. On the sixth lap, however, second place starter Ham smoked Farmer. Liking the view from out front, Ham stayed there for a good portion of the race.

Though Ham ruled much of the first half of the race, a couple of the name drivers got their time on the point as well. Fryar and Waltrip both led, but bad racing luck nabbed them both.

Waltrip lost a left-front brake shoe near the middle of the race, had his wheel lock-up, and spun. DW's crew repaired the car, and he returned to action albeit several laps down. When the day was done, Waltrip settled for a P4 finish.

After leading a few laps early, Fryar spun to avoid the spinning Waltrip. He gathered his car and continued. A blown engine at lap 167, however, fried Fryar's chance at a decent day.

Meanwhile, James Ham continued cycling his way in and out of the lead. He piled up 136 laps out front during the first two-thirds of the race. Misfortune, however, cooked Ham's bacon on lap 184.

Charlie Binkley blew an engine, and Red Farmer's remarkable streak of being in the wrong place at the wrong time continued. Farmer spun in Binkley's oil and then returned across the track just as Ham tried to sneak through the accident. With nowhere to go, Ham clobbered Farmer ending his fantastic run.

As the favorites fell, Brickhouse decided he'd take the lead since no one else seemed able to hold it. Taking over the top spot following Ham's wreck, he led a stretch of nearly 50 laps and built a five-lap lead over second place.

Then remarkably, racing's fickle finger of fate pointed at Brickhouse. His tire blew on the frontstretch headed for turn 1, and Brickhouse greeted the concrete wall. Though Brickhouse left the race, he remained posted as the leader for the next few laps as the second place car unlapped himself.

Newport, TN's L.D. Ottinger raced at the Fairgrounds from time to time in the late 1960s, but he never scored a win on the original half-mile track. Once he unlapped himself in the 1970 Southern 300, however, he had a clear path to his first Nashville win.

Fighting an intense headache and exhaustion, Ottinger did what others in the race couldn't do: survive. He led the remaining laps and claimed a signature, career victory.

In his first Nashville start, Harry Gant finished second two laps down to Ottinger. (Though Gant qualified for the 1969 Southern 300, he apparently did not start the race.) Gary Cook, Waltrip, and Gene Glover rounded out the top five finishers.

Source for articles: The Tennessean

TMC

Nashville's Falls City 200 - part 1

For many years, Falls City was a coming of age and working man's beer. The Nashville-area distributor leveraged the brand as a frequent sponsor at the track most refer to as Fairgrounds Speedway through much of the 1970s.

Drivers such as James Ham, Flookie Buford, Charlie Binkley, Bobby Isaac, Buddy Baker and ... Darrell Waltrip sported the red and gold colors of Falls City at the Fairgrounds.

Falls City also sponsored an annual, late model sportsman race at the Fairgrounds from 1972 through 1977. Except for the first one, the Falls City 200 was scheduled between late May and mid-June. This post will highlight the first three editions - all of which had a common denominator.

Falls City 100 - July 29, 1972

The first Falls City race was 100 vs. 200 laps and the only one on the track's 5/8 mile, high-banked configuration that lasted from 1970 through 1972. Run under Nashville's lights, the race was scheduled the same day Joe Leonard won the second annual Schaefer 500 at Pocono.

Waltrip, Nashville's 1970 late model sportsman champion, won the pole and dominated the race for the win. The victory was his sixth of the season.

On lap 45, James Ham passed Charlie Binkley to move into third place. Jerry Long ran second early in the race, but he blew an engine just past the halfway mark. When Long's night became short, Ham took over the second spot behind a disappearing Waltrip.

Something broke on Ham's car with about 15 laps to go. He sailed head-on into the wall between turns one and two and burst into flames. Ham stopped along the inside hall, and he quickly bailed out. A year later in Nashville's Uniroyal 100, Ham suffered a similar wreck - including another fire - but once again escaped relatively unscathed.

Binkley was following Ham and slid down along the inside wall in an effort to avoid him. He needed an assist to get back in the action, did so, and finished the race in second.

Waltrip was greeted in victory lane by flagman Don Donoho and Ellis Cook, Nashville's Falls City distributor.

Source: Nashville Fairgrounds Racing History

1. Darrell Waltrip 
2. Charlie Binkley
3. Flookie Buford 
4. Joe Mangrum 
5. Ben Pruitt
6. James Climer
7. Windle Webster
8. Jim Berry
9. Jerry Sisco 
10. James Ham 
11. James Veach 
12. Jerry Long
13. Ray Chitwood
14. Freddy Fryar
15. Carl Layne
16. Rod Stillings
17. Everett Barnes 
18. Bill Morton
19. Jimmy Benson
20. Ronnie Dickson
21. Clyde Peoples

Falls City 200 - June 2, 1973

The third configuration of the Fairgrounds track (and the one still in place today) debuted in 1973. The banks were dropped to 18 degrees, and the official length of the track was reduced to .596-mile. Even though the track's length was no longer .625-mile, that didn't stop track management from boasting about the World's Finest 5/8 Mile Track. The same 5/8-mile reference continued to be used on programs through 1978.

Courtesy of Russ Thompson

Waltrip's crew brought two Chevelles to the track for the 1973 running of the Falls City 200. His plan was to race a newer car and have Walter Wallace pilot the older model.

After qualifying, Waltrip made a relatively last minute decision to swap cars. Wallace had qualified the older car fourth, but he exchanged seats with Waltrip. The decision turned out to be the right one.

Occasional Winston Cup racer Charlie Glotzbach came to town and won the pole in a Dodge. The car, owned by M.B. McMahan of Sevierville, TN, was already a two-time Fairgrounds winner in 1973. Cup regular Dave Marcis was at the wheel of McMahon's Mopar for two 30-lap features in the month of May.

McMahan wanted Marcis to race his car yet again - especially since Nashville had a $500 bonus for any Dodge that could win a national championship race. Practical logistics of shuttling Marcis between the Cup race at Dover and Nashville, however, could not be arranged. McMahan also considered Pete Hamilton and James Ham. Hamilton was already committed to a ride in a 200-lap LMS race at Middle Georgia Raceway near Macon, and Ham already had a ride in Nashville.

Glotzbach got word of McMahan's need for a driver while hanging out in Dover. His Cup owner, Hoss Ellington, opted not to race at Dover following a tough effort a week earlier in the World 600 at Charlotte. Glotzbach contacted McMahan and agreed to fly to Nashville in his own plane.

Waltrip needed only five laps to take the lead, and he set sail once he got it. Eight cautions during the race helped make things closer for Waltrip than he would have liked. With each restart, however, Waltrip again pulled away from the field.

L.D. Ottinger finished second with Freddy Fryar in third - the only other cars on the lead lap. Jimmy Hensley made a rare trip to Nashville and returned to Virginia with a P4.

Jack Ingram somehow managed a fifth place finish despite being involved in a multi-car accident a few laps after the halfway point of the race. Much of his Chevelle's sheet metal was mangled, but he soldiered on to a top 5 finish. His tenacity in the Falls City 200 and throughout the rest of the season helped reward him with NASCAR's 1973 national late model sportsman division championship.

Waltrip got the repeat win, and others scored some valuable points for the national title. Red Farmer, on the other hand, had a trip to Music City that he'd just as soon forget - and perhaps has. The truck hauling his race car broke down on I-65 as he drove from Birmingham. After arriving, practicing, and qualifying third, he developed an overheating problem early in the race. His crew addressed the issue during a pit stop, but their efforts didn't last. More engine woes put Farmer's car back on the sketchy truck after 82 laps.

1. Darrell Waltrip
2. L. D. Ottinger
3. Freddy Fryar
4. Jimmy Hensley
5. Jack Ingram
6. Jimmy Means
7. Rod Stillings
8. Jerry Lawley
9. Robert Wales
10. Charley Glotzbach
11. Charley Binkley
12. Don Smith
13. Ronnie Blasingim
14. Neil Bonnett 
15. Walter Wallace
16. Wayne Carden
17. Alton Jones
18. Donnle Anthony 
19. Sammy Ard
20. Windle Webster
21. Steve Spencer
22. Jerry Sisco
23. Dorris Vaughn
24. Gary Myers
25. Red Farmer
26. Charley Greenwell 
27. Bill Morton 
28. Flookie Buford
29. James Ham
30. Dan Lawson
31. Terry Flynn
32. Carl Lane
33. Bobby Baucom

Falls City 200 - June 1, 1974

Waltrip returned in 1974 as the two-time defending race winner. He also returned as a two-time Fairgrounds track champion after having won the LMS title a second time in 1973. On top of his busy late model sportsman schedule, Waltrip had also launched his Winston Cup career.

The Falls City 200 lineup included a solid balance of local regulars and national hot shoes. Drivers such as James Ham, Flookie Buford, and Paddlefoot Wales got to race with Bobby Allison, Butch Lindley, and Jack Ingram.

A true out-of-towner who made the trek was Ray Hendrick. A winning, late model veteran of tracks in the eastern time zone, Hendrick had only raced at the Fairgrounds one time previously. He and Waltrip qualified on the front row for the track's 1974 season opener, the Permatex 200. The two raced hard and generally clean - until. The two came together, Waltrip sailed into the fence, Hendrick slid to the inside, carried on, and then raced Bobby Allison hard down the stretch.

Hendrick was back and ready to tangle with Waltrip, Allison, and others again about two months later. The Falls City 200 was Hendrick's second and final start in Nashville.

To the surprise of few, Waltrip won the pole and barely missed the track record in doing so. Hendrick lined up sixth but picked his way through traffic soon after the start. Within 15 laps or so, Hendrick found his way to second behind Waltrip.

The two stayed nose to tail through the first half of the race. Morgan Shepherd hounded Hendrick from third. He managed to take second but for only a lap before Hendrick roared back with a focused intent on tracking down Waltrip.

Allison, racing during an early June break in his Cup schedule, posted a poor qualifying lap and started 22nd. Once the green fell, however, he found his groove. He worked his way through traffic and tracked down Shepherd by halfway to take third.

As Allison eased into P3, a three-car accident slowed the field. Waltrip and Hendrick hit pit road with Hendrick getting the edge on pit exit. Both, however, were behind Allison who had made the decision to run the full race without pitting.

Waltrip needed only a couple of laps to pass Hendrick once the green returned. Allison did a yeoman's job of holding Waltrip and Hendrick at bay with their fresher tires. With about 50 laps to go, however, Allison's resistance was futile. Waltrip sailed around him - followed by Hendrick. Gremlins soon hit Allison, and the choice not to pit was moot. He cruised back to pit road and was done for the night.

With clean air, Waltrip put his Harpeth Motor Ford into the wind. He may have saved a bit from the early stages of the race, and he most likely remembered his previous Nashville encounter with Hendrick. Waltrip opened a comfortable margin and won his third consecutive Falls City race by about ten car lengths over the Virginian.

1. Darrell Waltrip
2. Ray Hendrick
3. Jerry Lawley
4. Richard Orton
5. Bob Burcham 
6. James Ham
7. Ray Milligan
8. Donnie Anthony
9. Wayne Carden
10. Dave Mader III
11. Jim Berry
12. Buck Hinkle
13. Wayne Gower
14. Dewayne Chaffin
15. Jack Ingram
16. Neil Bonnett
17. Bobby Allison
18. Phil Stillings
19. Robert Wales
20. Butch Lindley
21. Clyde Peoples
22. Bobby Hargrove
23. James Climer
24. Larry Catlett
25. Jimmy Means
26. Morgan Shepherd
27. Flookie Buford
28. Charlie Binkley
29. Red Farmer
30. Terry Miller
31. Chet Williams
32. Boscoe Lowe
33. Walter Wallace 

Part 2 about 1975, 1976, and 1977 Falls City 200 races will follow next week...

TMC