May 12, 1979 - Sun-Drop Music City 420

The 1979 Cup season ranks comfortably in the top five of all-time memorable NASCAR seasons. The season began with a Waltrip win on Riverside's road course in January, and then the entire nation seemingly took notice of the legendary finish of the Daytona 500.

Through ten races of the season:

• Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 for the sixth time and notched his fifteenth Martinsville victory in the Virginia 500. 
• Darrell Waltrip logged two wins, and Bobby Allison banked three. 
• Cale Yarborough won at Richmond after two rough finishes at Daytona and Rockingham.
• Buddy Baker recovered from a disappointing Daytona finish with a win at Atlanta. 
• Rookie Dale Earnhardt picked up his first career Cup win in at Bristol.

A roadie, two superspeedways, three intermediates, and four short tracks to open the season. Ahhhhh.

After Bobby Allison captured his third win of the season at Talladega, the circuit headed to Nashville for the fifth short track race of the season.

After years of being known as Fairground Speedways and Nashville Speedway, the track was re-branded as Nashville International Raceway by the track's new leaseholders and promoters, Lanny Hester and Gary Baker. The wording choice perplexes me to this day because the only thing international about Nashville in 1979 was the house of pancakes near Vanderbilt.

The Winston 500 raced with a full field of 40 cars. By contrast, 28 drivers answered the call a week later to Gentlemen, Start Your Engines! in Nashville - the second lowest car count of the season.

One driver who raced at Talladega but opted not to race at Nashville was independent Coo Coo Marlin. Coo Coo was a four-time Nashville late model champion and had raced in all but two of Nashville's Cup races since his debut Cup event in 1966. (His son Sterling raced his dad's car in the two races Coo Coo didn't start.)

The new promoters implemented a change to charge crew members a pit entry fee - including Sterling's crew at a late model race a few weeks before the 420. Coo Coo fervently disagreed with the new policy, took a stand, and and refused to race at his home track.

Source: The Tennessean

Coo Coo was peeved, but another local driver was relieved. Steve Spencer, the track's 1977 late model sportsman division champion, got the opportunity to make his Cup debut on his home track. Owner/driver Henley Gray put Spencer in his car, and Steve did an admirable job in his debut by qualifying 15th and finishing 12th.

Source: The Tennessean

Spencer raced in seven more Cup events in his career, and he later became Sterling Marlin's personal pilot. His weekend was made a bit more memorable as he won the 50-lap late model feature following Friday night's first round of Cup qualifying.

Dale Earnhardt was already a raw but popular and promising rookie. He brought a fan base from both his father's legacy as well his late model experience on tracks in the Carolinas. (Hint to NASCAR: a return to supporting short track heroes will result in their bringing a fan base with them to trucks, Xfinity, and Cup.)

Earnhardt, however, was not the only promising rookie in the 1979 class. Other talents in what was arguably the most talented collective group of rookies in Cup history included Joe Millikan, Terry Labonte, and Harry Gant.

Joe Millikan had been tabbed as a Petty protégé. He grew up in Level Cross, worked for Petty Enterprises for the better part of ten years, and won Daytona and Talladega late model sportsman races in an STP sponsored Petty Dodge.

Millikan got his chance at the big time in 1979 by landing a ride with L.G. DeWitt whose team had won the 1973 title and 1975 Daytona 500 with Benny Parsons. Earnhardt nabbed a win at Bristol, but Millikan had been impressive as well in the early part of the season. His #72 Chevy unloaded quick off the truck, and Joe captured his first (and ultimately only) Busch pole award.

Source: The Tennessean

Flanking Millikan was Buddy Baker - an unusual qualifying spot for him on a short track. Baker was known as more of a superspeedway racer though he did win at Nashville in 1973 and Martinsville later in 1979. Waltrip, Cale, and the King rounded out the top five starters.

Cale and Bobby Allison tangled in February at Daytona, but they soon put the incident behind them. The fact both of them had wins on the ledger by the time Nashville rolled around likely helped ease things a bit.

Source: The Tennessean

Millikan leveraged his top starting spot when the green fell, and he led the first 31 laps. Unfortunately for him, that brief time out front was the highlight of his race. Engine woes forced him out of the race with a DNF after only 120+ laps.

Long-time independent driver J.D. McDuffie took the lead from Millikan on lap 32. J.D. had himself quite the career race that spring night in Nashville. Over the course of the race, he led 111 laps across the four times he found himself out front. The number of laps led was easily the highest he had in any of any of his 653 career starts by a factor of 10! Though he didn't win the race, he finished a solid 5th - his 12th and final career top 5.

Before McDuffie headed to the front, he tangled a bit with Yarborough. Cale lost a lap because of his spin, but he didn't hit the wall or otherwise damage his Olds 442. Adding insult to injury was a second spin in the first half of the race. But again, racing luck favored Cale as he managed to keep it out of the wall a second time.

Part of McDuffie's secret sauce was his McCreary tires vs. the Goodyears worn by other cars. His tires provided a speed advantage in the short run, but they had a tendency to fall off quicker later in a run.

The STP Monte Carlo was out front when McDuffie wasn't. Petty led a stretch of 100+ laps in the middle stages of the race. Knowing McDuffie's McCreary tires wouldn't last as long, the 43 seemed to be in good position to capture the trophy.

Because of his need for new tires, J.D. surrendered the lead to Petty with just under 150 laps to go. Petty led the next 61 laps before officially losing the lead to Yarborough in a controversial turn of events.

During his final stop, Petty got tangled up a bit on pit road with Benny Parsons in his #27 M.C. Anderson Chevy. The King did a half-spin on pit road and had to straighten up to complete his stop. But the Dale Inman-led crew completed their service and sent the King back on track as the leader.

NASCAR ruled, however, that Yarborough had unlapped himself and taken the lead from the King during the 43's pit road bobble. After the race, Petty insisted he had not lost the lead to Cale and believed he was the winner of the race. Bobby Allison - in a rare moment of unanimity with Petty - agreed Petty won with Allison as the second place finisher.

But...NASCAR maintained its position and insisted Cale had made up his lost laps, passed Petty, and led the remaining laps to the checkers. Yarborough returned to Timmonsville, SC with yet another Nashville trophy as Petty and Allison scratched their heads.

The win was Cale's third in a row at Nashville and seventh in a 13-race stretch. The race was also the 27th time Petty and Cale finished in the top two spots.

Source: The Tennessean

Source: The Tennessean

TMC

March 9, 1980 - Rockingham's Carolina 500

The 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup season was one for the ages. Richard Petty won his sixth Daytona 500 to end a losing streak that spanned a season and a half. The King then battled Darrell Waltrip for the top points position in the second half of the season, and he ultimately prevailed to claim his seventh title.

Waltrip and his Gatorade DiGard team did not hang their heads after losing the title to Petty. The 88 bunch came out of the chute hot in 1980 by winning the season-opening race in Riverside, CA and the third race of the year at Richmond - both from the pole. Buddy Baker's 1980 season also started off in grand fashion. After years of fast cars and frustrating luck, he finally won his prized race - the Daytona 500. As Waltrip had done, Baker won the 500 from the top starting spot.

With races on a road course, superspeedway, and half-mile short track in the books, the grind of the season moved to Rockingham for the annual Carolina 500.

As often seems to happens with NASCAR, the larger story of  the race weekend happened off the track. When the teams rolled in to the North Carolina sandhills, many eyes turned to an unexpected team.

L.G. DeWitt was a long-time car owner. He fielded Chevrolets for Benny Parsons for most of the 1970s - including for Parson's Cup title in 1973 and Daytona 500 win in 1975. Second year driver and 1979 rookie-of-the-year runner-up, Joe Millikan returned as his driver in 1980. DeWitt also owned the tracks in Atlanta and Rockingham.

The garage buzzed when word got out that the FBI was investigating members of DeWitt's #72 race team for dealing in stolen cars. The seriousness of the allegations was magnified by the embarrassment of having the news released when DeWitt was hosting a race at his own track.

Credit: Spartanburg Herald-Journal

Though I'm uncertain how the allegations eventually played out, DeWitt's team was all but done. Millikan had a miserable finish at Daytona, flipped his car over the guard rail at Richmond, and lost an engine for a third consecutive poor finish at Rockingham. A few races later, the team folded leaving Millikan without a ride.

Source: Rockingham Speedway by Rick Houston and Bryan Hallman

Teams and fans also faced the news former driver Lee Roy Yarbrough had been committed to a mental institution. Yarbrough was a genuinely successful driver in the mid to late 1960s. A series of bad accidents in NASCAR and Indy cars shortened his career. Yarbrough likely suffered a series of serious concussions - and CTE likely followed. Around the time of the Daytona 500, Yarbrough tried to kill his mother and was declared incompetent by a court.

Credit: Spartanburg Herald-Journal

In qualifying, Darrell Waltrip had a ton of Robert Yates horsepower yet again. He won the pole - his third top spot in the first four races of the season. Despite the noise of the FBI investigation hanging in the air, Millikan put DeWitt's car on the outside of the front row.

Cale Yarborough puked a motor and wrecked his Junior Johnson-owned, Busch Beer-sponsored Chevy Monte Carlo during final practice before qualifying. Johnson rallied his guys to head back to the shop and return with the Olds 442 Cale had raced in the Daytona 500. Yarborough was unable to lay down a lap on the first of two days of qualifying. In the second round, however, he was the quickest car despite his concerns the Olds wouldn't hustle around The Rock as well as the Monte Carlo.

A third storyline involved the race itself. As noted on the program, the race was originally scheduled for March 2. After qualifying was completed, however, a winter weather system arrived. Snow and ice scuttled the plans of all to race for a week.

The race was delayed by a week though the line-up from qualifying was retained.

Credit: Spartanburg Herald-Journal

When the green flag fell, Waltrip set sail. He led 77 of the race's first 78 laps. After winning Daytona, Buddy Baker's Ranier Racing team skipped Richmond. Baker laid down a solid qualifying lap, started third, and led a chunk of 100+ laps after taking over the top spot from Waltrip. After giving up the lead to others, however, his day ended prematurely - as it often did in his career - when he skidded through a patch of oil and popped the wall.

Source: Decatur Daily Review

Yarborough didn't count himself among the favorites to win the race. His finishes in the first three races of 1980 were lousy - and he had wrecked his preferred Monte Carlo at Rockingham - and he had to start deep in the field - and he was nursing a leg injury after having been kicked by a calf before the Richmond race. Yet after Waltrip and Baker had their initial turns up front, Cale led significant chunks of laps during various points of the race.

The King was pretty sporty at one of his favorite tracks. Petty followed up his 1979 championship season with P3s at Riverside and Richmond. He had a lightning quick Olds at Daytona; however, a burned clutch ended his day with a DNF and rotten finish. With a little over 100 laps to go at Rockingham, Petty had worked himself up to the point as he pursued yet another Rockingham trophy.

Cale's #11 Olds, however, had a nose for the front. Despite his moaning about how the 442 would likely pale in comparison to his preferred Monte, Junior Johnson likely spent the second half of the race with a wry smirk on his face as he leaned on a jack.

Petty hounded Yarborough for much of the final 100 laps. He hit a slick spot of oil as Baker did, wiggled, recovered and continued. He didn't stick his 43 Chevy in the fence, but he did lose his momentum in birddogging Cale.

Source: Rockingham Speedway by Houston and Hallman

Yarborough kept his foot to the floor and built a sizable enough lead that he was able to make his final pit stop without losing the lead. He cruised to a relatively comfortable win over second place Petty.

Speaking of Petty, the race was also the first Rockingham start for Kyle Petty. Kyle made his first five Cup starts in 1979 and had a disappointing 1980 Speedweeks. His Dodge Magnum was wiped out in a qualifying race wreck, and he DNQ'd for the Daytona 500. He qualified deep in the field at Rockingham, lost an engine, and returned to Level Cross with a poor finish. About a decade later, however, he and crew chief Gary Nelson (who coincidentally worked with Waltrip at DiGard) dominated the field for a win at The Rock.

Source: Greenville News

The race was the 29th of 31 times Petty and Yarborough finished in the top two spots.

Source: NCMarrk on Twitter

TMC

May 30, 1976 - World 600

THE storyline of the 1976 Winston Cup season was the instant classic finish of the Daytona 500. The titans of NASCAR - Richard Petty and David Pearson - separated themselves from the field, battled side by side in the remaining laps, and then crashed coming through the tri-oval. Petty spun through the infield grass, but he almost did so across the finish line as the winner. But he didn't. Pearson richoeted off Joe Frasson, straightened his Mercury, pushed in the clutch to keep the engine running, and crawled at a school zone speed to win his one and only Daytona 500. Folks still talk about that finish 40 years later.

The Petty team shrugged off the one that got away, and the King won again immediately in the next race at Rockingham. Interestingly, however, Petty's mojo at Daytona and The Rock didn't translate to a boocoodle of wins as he'd experienced in 1975. Pearson, on the other hand, was accumulating trophies right and left during a limited schedule with the Wood Brothers. Pearson and the Woods raced in 8 of the season's first 12 races. In those eight races, Pearson pocketed four wins, a second, and a third.

The thirteen race of the 1976 schedule was the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 30 - the traditional date of Memorial Day.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

As expected, David Pearson captured the pole on the first day of qualifying. The top spot was his sixth in what eventually became an eleven-race, pole-winning streak.

Courtesy of Randy Murphy

Despite his mixed-results start in the first dozen races of the season, King Richard qualified second alongside his career rival. Two NASCAR Hall of Famers and protagonists of another legendary Daytona 500 finish in 1979 - Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison - qualified on the second row. Dave Marcis rounded out the top five starters.

The race garnered a huge bump in press coverage because of one particular driver: Janet Guthrie. Though Guthrie wasn't the first woman to qualify for a GN/Cup race, she was the first on a superspeedway and the first since the early years of NASCAR.

Guthrie had planned to race in the Indianapolis 500. She finished 15th in her Indy Car debut in the Trenton 200 and passed her rookie test at the Brickyard. When she was unable to land the needed ride to make the 500; however, she was approached about heading south for NASCAR's 600.

A local banking businesswoman purchased a Chevy from Hoss Ellington, and arranged for it to be set-up by Will Cronkrite. A.J. Foyt had raced the car in the 1976 Daytona 500. Ralph Moody, long associated with Ford Motor Company, provided the engine for the Chevrolet. Guthrie leveraged all the support to her advantage, and she indeed qualified 27th in the 40-car field.

Courtesy of Randy Murphy

USAC - the sanctioning body for Indy - was none too happy about Guthrie's re-direct. As was the case frequently from the 1950s until the late 1970s, USAC seemed to enjoy creating slap fights with NASCAR.

The promoter at Texas World Speedway refused to accept her entry for a June 1976 USAC Indy Car race because of a rumor about her accepting an appearance fee for a NASCAR race. Guthrie also had to withdraw from the NASCAR race on Riverside's road course in June. The race fell on the same day as a USAC race. She was threatened with the suspension of her USAC license if she raced in Riverside.

Joe Millikan also planned to make his Cup debut in the 600. Millikan spent time with Petty Enterprises as a shop worker and weekend crewman from the late 1960s through the mid 1970s. He also won the Late Model Sportsman Permatex 300 race at Daytona in February 1976 with a Petty-provided crew and support. Unfortunately, Joe suffered engine failure during practice and didn't qualify for the race.

The race featured yet another debut ... Eli Gold with MRN Radio. Eli recalled these memories in an excerpt from an MRN.com Q&A:

Q: What was your first big opportunity in broadcasting? 
Gold: My first big opportunity was getting hired by MRN. I was hired in 1975, and I did not start working until May of 1976 for the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was basically an on-the-air audition. I never had done a race in my life. Jack Arute was running the network then, and he said if you do well we'll keep you and if you stink you go home. I guess I fooled them enough to still be here 39 years later.

Q: What do you remember about your first broadcast with MRN? 
Gold: A couple of things...I do remember the big promotion in May of 76 was whoever led the first lap of the World 600 was to receive the unheard sum of $1,000. That was the thing, 'Who is going to get the $1,000 to lead the first lap?' Also, shortly prior to airtime I was working Turns 1 and 2, Barney (Hall) was in 3 and 4. I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I remember the power went out. In those days we weren’t wireless. We were working on hard lines plugged into the wall. Everything went dead, and I thought my box had gone out. I told my wife you have to go down to the booth and find out what’s going on, and she looked at me like I was nuts. We had never been to a race track, but thankfully the power came back on. I also remember after the race the traffic was rather thick so we all went back to the parking lot and all of us leaning on Barney's car. He had some kind of land yacht in those days, and I asked him, “Do you think they are going to bring me back?” He said, "I think so you did OK, and I'm sure you'll be back again." Those are the three elements that I really remember from that first day. 

When the green dropped, Cale pulled a fast one on the front row. He jumped under Pearson and got past Petty as well to lead the first lap. Pearson quickly recovered to lead the next couple of laps before Cale again led the next two laps. And on and on it went.

Pearson and Cale went back and forth for the first 250 of 400 laps. Each had their turn at the front, but each stint was short-lived. A couple of other drivers took their turn at the front every once in a while, but the Silver Fox and Timmonsville Flash led all but eight of the first 250 laps.

With 150 laps to go, Petty decided it was his time to go. The King FINALLY nabbed a checkered flag at Charlotte in 1975 after more than fifteen years of trying. Matter of fact, he went back to back with wins in the World 600 and National 500. Richard and Maurice Petty and Dale Inman were more than ready to capture a third win in a row. Around lap 250, Petty put the 43 Dodge Charger in the wind. He paced the field for about 50 laps to get the race to the 3/4 mark.

Pearson, however, wasn't done. He re-took the lead from Petty and led the next 63 laps. The King then led a stretch of five laps before Pearson yet again went to the front following final pit stops by the two.

With two to go, Dick Brooks, James Hylton, and Chattanooga's Grant Adcox tangled. Quite frankly, the wreck had little effect on the outcome of the race - though it possibly could have. At the time of the wreck, Pearson had a six-second lead on Petty's 43. He made a pass in the grass to avoid the three-way accident, and he cruised the remaining two laps under caution to notch his second World 60 win in three years.

Pearson's win took place about three months after his Daytona 500 victory. Another three months or so later, Pearson claimed the win in yet another legendary race - the Southern 500. Lee Roy Yarbrough was the only other driver prior to Pearson to have won those three races in a single season. Nine years later, R.J. Reynolds bundled those three races plus the Winston 500 at Talladega to form the Winston Million incentive program.

The race was the 59th time of 63 races in their careers for a Petty-Pearson, one-two finish. The 1976 600 fell in the middle of a remarkable four-year stretch for the two drivers where neither had an off day in the race. Ponder these results over four consecutive years of 600-mile races:

• 1974: Pearson P1, Petty P2
• 1975: Petty P1, Pearson P3
• 1976: Pearson P1, Petty P2
• 1977: Petty P1, Pearson P2

When the checkers fell, the scoring slotted Guthrie in 15th - a remarkable debut that coincidentally matched the finish from her Indy Car debut. After parking her car, she quickly hugged the neck of Cronkrite.

Courtesy of Randy Murphy

The 1976 World 600 was not Dale Earnhardt's debut, but it was his second career Cup start. Earnhardt drove a #30 Chevy owned by Walter Ballard and sponsored by the U.S. Army to a 31st place DNF.

Coincidentally, the Army also sponsored the Chevrolets fielded by Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in 2007-2008, just a few years after Earnhardt's death in 2001.

TMC

February 15, 1976: Daytona 500 - Petty v. Pearson

Most old school fans and members of the media consistently say the 1979 Daytona 500 was the race that put NASCAR on the map. The race was nationally televised by CBS from beginning to end, and it had the legendary finish of Richard Petty winning as Cale Yarborough, Donnie Allison, and Bobby Allison scrapped in the mud on the backstretch.

Three years earlier, however, the 500 had another epic finish. Not nearly as many folks saw it on TV as only snippets of the race aired on ABC. Yet the finish arguably trumps the 1979 race because the top two cars battled to the end rather than wrecking with a half-lap to go and allowing someone else to win.

When the dust settled on the 1975 season, King Richard had banked one of his most successful years. He won 13 of 30 races, finished in the top five a remarkable 21 times, and captured his sixth series title.

He rolled into Daytona Beach for Speedweeks 1976 sporting a beard to help commemorate the United States' bicentennial year and kept it until he caved and shaved in the spring prior to Darlington's Rebel 500. Petty was going for his third consecutive Daytona 500 victory, sixth overall, and the fifth in seven years for Petty Enterprises.

David Pearson's 1975 season was a bit of step back from his previous two. In a limited schedule with the Wood Brothers, he won three of 21 races in 1975 after having won 18 races over the 1973-74 seasons. Though he had won four summer Firecracker 250/400 races at Daytona, he had never won the 500 since his debut in the race in 1960.

Super Tex A.J. Foyt from USAC made the most of one of his infrequent NASCAR appearances by laying down the quickest time in qualifying. Darrell Waltrip in the DiGard #88 Gatorade Chevy and Dave Marcis in the iconic #71 Harry Hyde-prepared K&K Insurance Dodge Charger timed second and third. But as Lee Corso often says on ESPN's Game Day...

In post-qualifying inspection, NASCAR pinched Foyt, Waltrip, AND Marcis. Their times were disallowed though they were allowed a second-round qualifying effort and to race in the twin 125-mile qualifying races to determine their starting spot for the 500.

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal via Google News Archive

Waltrip took the approach of that's racing when news came down that his time had been tossed.

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal via Google News Archive

With the time of Foyt's Chevrolet kicked to the curb, another USAC regular, Ramo Stott, found himself as the surprise top starter for the 500. Regardless of how he performed in his qualifying twin, he was guaranteed to start P1. Stott always had a good time, and he was certainly delighted in getting the nod to start on the front row.

Perhaps more surprising than Stott starting first was the driver elevated to the second starting spot: Terry Ryan. In his debut at Daytona and in Cup overall, Ryan found himself perched on the front row alongside Stott.

Despite their qualifying times being disallowed, the teams of Foyt, Waltrip, and Marcis stayed focused on the big picture. Waltrip and Marcis won their respective twin, and the duo started third and fourth in the 500 - only a spot back from where they'd originally qualified.

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal via Google News Archive

The Daytona 500 rolled off with Stott and Ryan on the front row. But that's about as close to the action as the duo got all day. When the green flag fell, Stott was moved aside on lap one as Buddy Baker whipped his Bud Moore Ford from its fifth starting position to the lead where he stayed for four laps.

Credit: John Betts of RacersReunion.com

The crowd watched the lead swap back and forth, lap after lap between several drivers. Except for Baker, Petty, and Foyt, no other driver kept the lead during the first half of the race for much more than a single-digit number of laps.

The final 100 laps were a duel between Pearson, Foyt, and Petty - though Benny Parsons hung around as well to keep the top three honest. Foyt won the 1972 Daytona 500 in the Wood Brothers Ford, and he planned to win it again four years later in Hoss Ellington's Chevrolet. On lap 143, however, the engine in Foyt's Chevy went south. A.J.'s day was done, and he had to settle for a 22nd place finish despite leading the most laps. Foyt's exit left a three-way battle between The Three P's: Parsons, Petty, and Pearson.

With 25 to go, Petty and Pearson had separated themselves from Parsons by a full lap. The two rivals raced only inches apart the remaining laps, and Petty led the way as the 43 and 21 took the white flag. Entering turn three on the last lap, Pearson made his move. He slipped under Petty's Dodge and slid in front of the Charger's front bumper as the two ran the high line of the track. But as Pearson moved up, he slipped ever so little which gave Petty the opportunity to dive under him.

Credit: John Betts of RacersReunion.com

Coming off turn four, Petty's Dodge charged back past Pearson. As the two headed through the dog leg of the front stretch, Petty moved up to block yet another crossover move from Pearson. But it was not quite enough.

Petty's right rear clipped the left front of Pearson's Mercury. Both cars began spinning and crashed into the wall right in front of the packed grandstands. Petty's Dodge spun wildly and coasted to a stop on the infield grass between the track and pit road - just yards from the finish line. Pearson spun around and tagged Joe Frasson's Chevrolet at the entrance to pit road. Tagging Frasson actually helped Pearson a bit as the rebound of the hit pointed the 21 back in the right direction.

Petty sat in his stalled Dodge trying desperately to restart the car. Pearson, who kept his Mercury running by pushing the clutch as the car spun, began to literally plow the infield grass with the crumbled Mercury as he slowly moved toward the checkered flag.

Meanwhile, the Petty crew rushed to the scene of Richard's stopped Dodge to push the 43 to the finish. NASCAR had a rule stating a car could not be pushed across the finish line. The 43 was therefore penalized a lap but still credited with second place ahead of Parsons.

Eddie Wood recalls hearing Pearson key his mic to reply to the question from the pits of "What happened?" The Silver Fox's reply was direct and concise: The bitch hit me.

Tim Leeming, who first met Petty at his debut race at Columbia Speedway in 1958, shared his memories from the race:

The big thing about our trip was that one of our good friends had been involved in an auto accident two weeks before the race and spent a week in the hospital with a severely broken leg. He was determined he would not miss that race. So, as we loaded up to go, we literally lifted him into the passenger front bucket seat pushed back as far as it would go. Looking back, I will never know how he survived that long ride in the position in which he had to sit, but he did it.

When we got the track Sunday morning, we signed in for press credentials and then parked in the infield press parking area. We took a chair next to the fence for our friend with the broken leg and sat around and talked until about an hour before race time when I went into the pits for a couple of interviews for the radio show. To say things were really different back then is a full blown understatement. It was easy to approach almost any driver as he came down off the stand from introductions, and they all had time to talk with you.

I spent most of the race watching with my friends against the fence near turn one as that was the best vantage point for my friend who had to sit. With about 30 to go, I walked into the pits and took up position in the same place I had been for the previous year's 500, right at the first turn end of pit road. The last 30 laps were thrilling as we could all tell it was going to be the classic Petty-Pearson duel 'til the end.

As the two flashed by on the white flag lap, I watched them as far as I could see them going through turns 1 and 2. Then I immediately turned my attention to turn four to wait for them to come back around. I was leaning as far over the pit wall as I could. I jumped off the ground when I saw the red and blue Dodge coming first but something was big time wrong. Petty and Pearson were both sliding and spinning and then Richard went nose first into the wall.

For a few seconds, I think I was in shock trying to figure out what happened. Then I saw some of the Petty crew running towards the car so I jumped the wall and started to sprint in that direction to help push. About the time I hit the grass between the pit road and the track, the biggest man I have ever seen (still a true statement even all these years later) grabbed me and let me know in no uncertain terms that I was NOT going out there to push Petty. It was about that time Pearson made it across the line so the point for the win was moot anyway.  

The crumpled 21 Mercury arrives in Victory Lane.

View image | gettyimages.com

Meanwhile, the Petty crew pushed the 43 to garage area as they wondered what might have been. Joe Frasson who also spun during the melee waits as the 43 crew gets Richard through the pit wall opening first.

Credit: John Betts

Several years ago, Pearson was interviewed by Johnny Hayes. The two talk about the 1976 Daytona finish beginning around the 3:00 mark.


Footnotes:

Though the King had to settle for a spectacular second in the 500, the Petty team didn't go home empty handed. Shop employee and part-time driver, Joe Millikan, piloted the Petty Enterprises Hayes Jewelers #04 Dodge Charger to the win in the Permatex 300 late model sportsman race the day before the 500.

Courtesy of Ray Lamm

Also, beer distributor and part-time driver Woody Fisher - driving a Petty Enterprises built and crewed Dodge Charger - finished second to Cup regular Lennie Pond in the ARCA 200 .

Courtesy of Brian Norton

Many may remember the British accent of David Hobbs serving as color commentator to Ken Squier's lead announcing role on the later CBS stock car telecasts. Hobbs made his first of two career NASCAR starts in the 1976 Daytona 500. He drove a Coca-Cola sponsored #73 L.G. DeWitt Chevy. He crashed on lap 68, however, and finished 39th.

Judging by this photo, I'm thinking the team may have been supplied with caffeine-free Coke.

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal via Google News Archive

Ed Negre raced the 10,000 RPM Speed Equipment Dodge Charger. Nine months earlier, Negre fielded what was likely the same Dodge for rookie Dale Earnhardt in his first Cup race, the 1975 World 600 at Charlotte.

After getting boat raced on lap one of the 500, Stott faded back through the field. He blew an engine on lap 118. Skip Manning spun after hitting the oil from Stott's engine.

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal via Google News Archive

Journeyman driver Johnny Ray then t-boned Manning and was badly injured. Ray's driving career ended with the accident. He continued in racing, however, as a car owner. One of the races in which he fielded a car was the 1976 Dixie 500 at Atlanta - the next to last race of the season. Earnhardt spun, flipped and destroyed Ray's car in only his third career Cup start.

Finally, Petty's Charger lived to race another day. Rather than scrap the wrecked car or donate it to Dale Jr's property as is often done today, the Level Cross crew thrashed. The wrecked 43 was hauled back to the shop, and the crew repaired it over the next two weeks so the King could race it at Rockingham. Result: win #178 in the Carolina 500.

TMC

2012 Charlotte race trip: Cheese Dogs and History

Having negotiated turns one and two, I now barrel down the backstretch and into turn three of my four-part blog series about the great times enjoyed during four days in Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Schaefer racing experience, and all related trappings.

After spending Friday morning at Petty's Garage, our quartet was ready for a bite of lunch before heading to the Richard Petty Museum in Randleman, NC. With no objections from the other three, I made my offer based on some pre-trip reconnaissance. I proposed we head to a dive diner called Frank and Larry's about 2 miles or so from Petty's Garage. We needed to go there for a reason.

My desired post-lunch tour stop was to be a complete wild card. Through research I've done the last several months for my Richard Petty 200 Wins blog series, I learned Randleman was once home to Tar Heel Speedway. The paved, quarter-mile track hosted three NASCAR Grand National races - all in 1963. The hometown Petty Enterprises team won all three of them - the first two by Jim Paschal and the last by Richard.

Through some web research and a chapter in Perry Allen Wood's book Silent Speedways of the Carolinas (PDF excerpt), I learned the remains of the track were on the property of Frank Millikan -  the father of Joe Millikan who worked for Petty Enterprises in the 1960s and 70s.

After working a few years in the shop, Joe then raced and won in Petty-built Dodge Chargers in several ARCA and late model sportsman events in the mid to late 1970s. He landed a Cup ride with L.G. DeWitt in 1979 and finished second to Dale Earnhardt for Winston Cup Rookie of the Year.

Courtesy of Ray Lamm

Joe lost his ride in early 1980 when DeWitt's team folded. Petty Enterprises drew on his availability when Richard broke his neck at Pocono around mid-season. Millikan relief-drove for Richard in a couple of races including Talladega and Bristol. (Incredibly, the King raced without relief for all 400 miles at Michigan sandwiched between 'Dega and Bristol.)

With the Petty-Millikan connection, I simply HAD to meet Frank and get to his property to see what was left of Tar Heel Speedway. My objective was to stand on the broken pavement - smiling - wearing a 43 hat - and holding a Schaefer beer.

Based on a local source, I was told Frank was in his 80s and co-owner of the diner. We found the place easily. After studying the menu, all of us ordered our hot dogs and Pepsi Colas - at least I thought so. I ordered two 'cheese dogs' with mustard and onions. Everyone got a good laugh when the waitress brought precisely what I'd ordered: two buns layered with Kraft Singles and toppings. Perplexed for a moment, I asked "Um, I seem to be missing my dawgs." She politely but curtly reminded me I'd ordered cheese dogs - not hot dogs (vs. a hot dog with cheese on it as I'd thought). "You want weenies on 'em? I can make 'em for you?"

Once I got the minor menu miscue behind me, it was time to move to the next step. After our waitress added the hot dogs to my cheese dogs, I felt a bond between us was beginning to develop. I innocently asked if Frank was working that day. She winced and said "Naw hon, I'm 'fraid not. Frank passed away." Slightly embarrassed and clearly under-informed, I replied "Holy cow! I'm really sorry. Was it recent?" to which she replied "Naw, twas prob'ly 'bout 2 year ago. But Larry is still here if ya wanna talk to him!" We smothered a snicker and said no thank you.

But we'd made it this far, and I wasn't prepared to concede my mission. I told her I was looking for an old race track that was on his property. She said Frank's widow was still alive and may be able to help us. As we left the parking lot, I told SHOFer Philly "turn left" (as true stock car drivers do). We drove 2 clicks of a mile away and there we found a long gravel driveway. We drove it slowly and found a nice, modest log house - but it didn't look as if anyone was home. So we drove deeper into the property. And there it was - a building that was once likely a ticket booth and/or a payoff booth for the drivers, remains of what may have been some grandstands, and a bunch of trees and ivy followed clearly by a row of "clear" which likely meant the track surface was still there. As we drove by a trailer with a pick-up truck parked outside it, we found a gate to what once an entrance to turn 4.

I got my camera and a can of Schaefer and was about ready to exit our vehicle. But then I glanced back and saw a man standing by the pick-up with hands on his hips and his face void of a smile. Sensing an uh-oh moment, I suggested we double-back to him, laugh him up with our search idea, pass him a Schaefer as thanks, and get permission to look around. Instead, we got just the opposite. The convo went something like this:

TMC: Hey sir, how are ya? We're in the area for the race this weekend. Over in Charlotte? And we're big Petty fans and racing historians of sorts.
Trailer Dude: Yeah?
TMC: Yes sir. And I learned recently Tar Heel Speedway was right over here where Richard won way back in the 60s.
TD: Dar ain't nuttin' back there.
TMC: Yeah, but I think I saw...
TD: Huh?
TMC: Well, I understood Frank Millikan once owned the area. But I understood from over at Frank and Larry's that he'd passed away, and I was sorry to hear that. (tried to name drop and get a little empathy working)
TD: Yeah, and his boys own the place. They put that gate up thar so ain't nobody gonna get hurt back thar.
TMC: Well, we were hoping we could...
TD: Yain't gonna need to go back thar.
[Pause - look at the truck - look at Philly - make a visual go/no go decision - annnnd, realize this could turn for the worse]
TMC: OK, well look. We appreciate it. Great talking with you.

With that last exchange, we were gone. Sensing he may have a high-caliber enforcer in his truck, we made the decision not to push matters. After a slow ride in, Philly kicked up a good rooster tail of gravel dust as he sped back to the main road - with Trailer Dude's dogs running and barking in hot pursuit. They matched our speed stride-for-stride for about 300 yards until finally breaking off.

The trip wasn't a total loss. I didn't get to walk the grounds or get my photo op. But we...were...there. About the only localized photo I got was the mailbox that still bears the name of the late Frank Millikan.

And ... I did find Richard's winning trophy from Tar Heel on display later in the afternoon at the Richard Petty Museum.

We were soooo close. I'm not sure the year or season of the aerial photo below. But it gives some idea of how close we were. The van marks the area near the 4th turn gate. The arrow marks where Trailer Dude stood staring us down.

In the end though, it was the right - and safest - thing to do to just move on. Saturday and Sunday race days would have sucked if the two of us had landed in the hospital loaded with buckshot. Lt. Philly, iiice creeeam. Schaefer-flavored ice cream Lt. Philly.

Once back on Randleman Road, we drove the few short miles to the Richard Petty Museum on West Academy Street. We arrived to see the Smithfield Foods / Farmland #43 Ford show car having just been unloaded in the parking lot. This Petty-blue rich scheme will run in four 2012 races: Kansas City, Texas, Chicagoland, and Phoenix.

Upon entering, I had a reunion of sorts with [name withheld] who helped me find and then hold the Schaefer 300 trophy last year. (I agreed she and I would keep her name a secret in case the King got wind of it and disapproved!) She remembered me, laughed at the Schaefer links I'd sent her over the past year, and was surprised to learn I'd brought more Schaefer devotees with me - including 200WINZ who is the only person I know who actually got to see the King win the Schaefer 300 at Trenton.

I took a lot more photos of trophies I missed during my previous visit or that had been added to the cases since then. Many will be incorporated into future blog posts about the King's 200 wins. I did spot a few other interesting items such as...

The checkered flag from Marcos Ambrose's win at Watkins Glen last August.

The winner's trophy for the King's second and final career win at Bristol in 1975 as I blogged about back in March.

Richard's 123rd career and final Winston Cup pole win also came at Bristol. He landed the top spot for the 1979 Volunteer 500 summer night race.

Petty's trophy from his 199th career win in the Budweiser 500 at Dover while driving for Curb Motorsports.

Credit to and courtesy of Brian Hauck

Amongst the hundreds of guns in the museum's collection is supposedly Richard's first BB gun, a Red Ryder Daisy. As a fan of the iconic movie, A Christmas Story, I couldn't help but wonder if Richard once pleaded with Lee to get him a Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot, Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my two trips to the museum. Obvious misses with some of the displays, however, are also a minor irritant to me. For example, the 1984 Pontiac Grand Prix on display is alleged to be the one the King raced to his 200th win. Except it isn't. And the impressive 1970 Petty blue Plymouth Superbird greeting visitors upon their entrance? Nope. Its neither a 'Bird nor a Petty built chassis. The two cars are gorgeous, and I certainly know what they represent. However, I think the museum would be better served to let folks know both are replicas.

On this year's trip, I noted two more facepalm mistakes:

• A Petty Enterprises sign tagged as the "original" one. Original?? Its not even the original logo of Petty Enterprises - never mind the company was originally known as Petty Engineering. The sign may well have been the last one hanging when PE merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports and ceased operations. But it certainly isn't the original sign.

• The other clear miss was the inclusion of a Winston Cup Series decal on the side of the restored 1969 Ford Torino. Winston didn't become NASCAR's top series title sponsor until 1971, and the red-white-checkered flag logo wasn't even used until a couple of years afterwards.

My nitpicking aside, the visit was great. I'd return tomorrow if given the opportunity to continue exploring the various trophies and items collected by the King over the years. Perhaps in my later years, I could be the curator or a tour guide for the museum rather than riding out my days as a Wal-Mart greeter feller. (caution on that last link - Rodney Carrington humor isn't for everyone)

TMC