July 15: A Jersey Girl Birthday & Morristown Memories

July 15th and its the birthday of ... Schaefer Hall of Famer Kuzzin Kari!

July 15th also has a nice racing legacy including...

• The 1969 Maryland 300 in Beltsville, MD won by Richard Petty
• The 1971 Islip 250 near Long Island, NY also won by Richard Petty
• The 1978 Nashville 420 that was flat dominated by Cale Yarborough to sweep the two Nashville races that season. Also, Petty raced his ill-fated Dodge Magnum. After Nashville, The King raced the Dodge only six more times before switching over to Chevrolet.

Photo courtesy of Russ Thompson

Photo courtesy of Russ Thompson

But with Kuzzin Kari being an original Jersey girl, I thought I'd focus on July 15th as the anniversary of the final NASCAR Grand National race run at Morristown Speedway in New Jersey. The big cars were scheduled to race 200-laps, 100-miles on the track's half-mile, dirt surface. Georgia's Tim Flock won the pole and the race in his #300 Carl Kiekaefer Chrysler.

In his book, Forty Years of Stock Car Racing, Greg Fielden summarizes the storylines of the race:

Tim Flock, the lanky Atlanta star, proved its just as profitable to be lucky as it is to be good as he rode a wave of good fortune to win the 100-mile race at Morristown Speedway.

Flock led the first 150 laps, but made a pit stop to correct a badly worn right front tire and lost two and half laps in the process. Junior Johnson picked up first place and led for 40 laps. The Atlanta flash, however, was charging hard to make up the deficit, but it appeared that he was too late. Then the lucky break ... misfortune struck the Johnson Olds as a tire blew with the checkered flag in sight. Tim flew by as Johnson headed for the pits. Johnson wound up fourth, four laps behind the winner.

Lee Petty finished second to Flock, two laps back. [Dave] Terrel was third, with [Bobby] Johns and Jim Reed rounding out the top five.

A crowd of 9,000 jammed the grandstands to watch Flock average 58.092 mph on the half-mile dirt track. ~ pp. 188-189

Nine thousand people? By executive order, I declare a new Schaefer Hall of Fame goal - to have 9,000 Schaefer HOF and Ring of Honor members. We already have nine Schaefer HOFers. So we're umm, err, well, we're .10 percent there - but going in the right direction!

Tim Flock and Lee Petty pretty much had Morristown figured out. The Grand National series ran 5 races at the half-mile track from 1951 through 1955. Look at these finishes:

• 1951 - Tim Flock wins pole and race, Lee Petty 2nd in the race
• 1952 - Lee starts 3rd and wins the race, Flock qualifies and finishes 2nd
• 1953 - Lee 3rd, Flock not entered
• 1954 - Lee 6th, Flock not entered
• 1955 - Tim Flock wins pole and race, Lee Petty 2nd in the race

Adding in another Petty trivia nugget for the 1955 race, as I try to do as often as possible, Bob Welborn started third and finished eighth in a Chevrolet fielded by Julian Petty.

So while reflecting on a couple of The King's 200 wins, the ending of his relationship with Dodge, Cale' blistering of the competition at Nashville, and NASCAR's legendary Tim Flock's win in the Garden State, the Schaefer Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor wish fellow Schaefer HOFer Kuzzin Kari ...

Happy Birthday! SCHA-LOOT!!

Schaefer HOF entrant #9 - Kuzzin Kari

TMC

July 4, 1953 - Lee Petty hits Piedmont Payday

July 4, 1953: Lee Petty wins the inaugural NASCAR Grand National race at Piedmont Interstate Fairground track in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

After finishing 3rd at Monroe County Fairgrounds in Rochester, NY on July 3rd, Lee DROVE approximately 860 miles overnight from New York to Spartanburg. (Rochester's winner Herb Thomas,  second place Dick Rathman, and Tim Flock also made the trek - though not necessarily by the same mode of transportation.)

Lee likely drove U.S. highway 220 as interstates weren't established yet in 1953.

In his book, Real NASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay and Big Bill France, Daniel Pierce writes (emphasis is mine):

While many fans envied the life of the racer, barnstorming could a be a grueling, and even dangerous, experience. Many of the top drivers arrived at races a few days early in order to help promote the event in exchange for room and board and $100 to $200. As Tim Flock remembered, "You would do anything for a promoter." There seemed to be little planning of the NASCAR Grand National schedule, and races a few days apart could be separated by hundreds of miles, forcing drives to haul their cars overnight, make repairs and prepare the car, catch a nap, and then race. After a July 3, 1953, race at the Monroe County Fairgrounds in Rochester, New York, Herb Thomas and Tim Flock towed their Hudsons through the night so that they could drive in a July 4 race at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  Arriving at the track in the early afternoon, the two lay down in the shade of their cars in the infield to get some sleep before the 8 PM race. A man hired by Champion Spark Plugs to post signs along the fence failed to notice the two sleeping drivers and backed his truck onto Flock's head. The driver panicked and left the truck sitting there, and Thomas and six highway patrolmen had to lift the truck off Flock. Flock was rushed to the hospital and amazingly suffered no long-term damage. The accident did keep him out of the next six races and possibly cost him that year's title. ~ pp. 151-152

Perry Allen Wood recaps the particulars of the race in his book, Silent Speedways of the Carolinas:

Fun with Flocks was not over. No doubt bolstered by his brother's calamity and who knows what else, Fonty Flock went out and qualified second in the field of 19. Then NASCAR said he and pole-sitter Buck Baker made their runs too late and both had to start at the rear of the field. Baker retreated and strapped himself in while Fonty had a conniption, maybe two. Probably he had been at Spartanburg General watching over Timothy, who had a major headache. Whatever the reason, Font was going home before going to the rear. He demanded second spot. Fonty stood out on the track in front of the grid and made them drive around him. No doubt, all 18 had something to say as they rolled past. However, Truman Fontello Flock, one of the real showmen in all of racing history, decided to give the crowd what they came to see. He fired up the Frank Christian-owned, Red Vogt-wrenched, 1953 Hudson 14 and decided to show 'em what the Flock Boys were all about. When Fonty picked up shotgun on the field, Official Start Alvin Hawkins waved the green and the Fairgrounds' 2,200 miles of Grand National history was underway. Poleman by default Curtis Turner put his Olds out front and stayed until he had to make two long stops just before halfway and Herb Thomas' Smokey Yunick Hudson led. Thomas won the night before in Rochester. On lap 174, Herb pitted for fuel and Buck took over first, even after being penalized to the rear. Five laps later, he had to gas up, too, and Lee Petty in a '53 Dodge led the final 21 circuits for his 11th career win. ~ p. 6

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal via Google News Archive

TMC

February 21, 1954 - Lee Petty Fleeces Flock at Daytona

February 21, 1954: Lee Petty wins the beach race at Daytona - on a technicality.

Starting from the pole, Petty paced the 62-car field for the the majority of laps. When the checkers fells, however, Tim Flock was the first to the flag and received the winner's trophy. But a day or so later, NASCAR disqualified Flock for alterations to his carburetor.

Flock is believed to have been the first driver to use a two-way radio in his car so he could communicate with his crew.

Lee's pristine Chrysler before the start of the 39-lap, 160-mile race on Daytona's 4.1 mile combination sand and asphalt "track".

Photo courtesy of COMCAMJAM on Flickr

Pole-winner Lee and Otis Martin (#48) on the outside of the front row pace the field for the start.

Credit: scook801 on Flickr

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal via Google News Archive

But then uh oh, Flock was disqualified after NASCAR discovered an unapproved carburetor.

Greg Fielden wrote in his book, Forty Years of Stock Car Racing - Vol. 1:

It marked the second time in three that years that Flock had been disqualified from a Daytona victory. He also lost the 1952 Modified-Sportsman on a technicality. In a teardown after Flock had finished first in the race, the carburetor in Flocks' Ernest Woods-owned Oldsmobile was found to have been polished, and the butterfly shaft was soldered. NASCAR president Bill France said it was a difficult decision for him to disqualify Flock, but he added that rules must be obeyed by everyone, including the sport's top names. Any car found not complying with the rule book must be disqualified. ~ p. 138

Lee getting some post-race congratulations before later being awarded with the win itself.

Photo courtesy of Russ Thompson

Daytona Beach Morning Journal's race coverage included a neat side story - a feature piece on Elizabeth Petty, Lee's wife and mother to Richard and Maurice. This feature is particularly interesting considering the limited coverage stock car racing in general received in that era.

Source: Daytona Beach Morning Journal via Google News Archive

TMC