Schaefer Tradition - Columbus Ohio Chapter

For many years, Uncle D. has been a trusty sober driver, a fabulous tailgating chef (try his trackside grilled pizzas or his brats - he's more than just a 'cook'), a passionate and committed fan of all forms of motorsports, and a great friend.

In May at the World 600 weekend, the esteemed Uncle D. was unanimously voted into the highly-exclusive Schaefer Race Weekend Hall of Fame. The Honorable Reverend Randy presided over the ceremony to move Uncle D. from the Ring of Honor to the Hall of Fame.

Uncle D. hasn't let this honor go to this head. Quite the opposite. He has taken the Schaefer message to the people. Last weekend, he evangelized several folks at the Goodguys custom auto show in Columbus, Ohio in the merits of Schaefer.

Atta boy Uncle D. Consider your annual HOF dues waived for 2009-2010.

Hail to Uncle D! Hail to Schaefer!

TMC

July 12 - This day in Petty history

July 12, 1970 - Richard Petty wins the Schaefer 300 at Trenton Speedway in New Jersey. He drove the famed Plymouth Superbird. The King won 3 of the 8 Grand National / Cup races run at Trenton, whose history spanned from 1958 to 1972.

The following photos were shared with me by 200WINZ, a fellow long-time Petty fan and friend of the Petty family.

Unfortunately, no picture seems to exist of Petty, Dale Inman, or anyone else hoisting a Schaefer in recognition of the win. Oh well, I guess I'll have to provide my own.

Hail to the King! Hail to the Schaef!

TMC

Separated at birth...racing edition

Was chatting with a friend during Friday night's Nationwide race at Joliet. The camera was focused on Brian Vickers #32 Dollar General Yota. Vickers won the pole for tonight's Cup race and for the fifth time this season. So he merited a mention or two by the boys in the booth I suppose.

All season long, Brian's 2009 red beard sans moustache (officially known as a chin curtain, Donegal, or Lincoln) has had me thinking of who he resembled. Then it dawned on me a few races ago - Brian was separated at birth from Kris Kringle in the traditional, Rankin-Bass, Christmas-time show Santa Claus is Comin' To Town.

TMC

Kyle Busch's sportsmanship

So Kyle Busch wouldn't talk to the media last Saturday night when they wanted to hear him foam at the mouth about being wronged by Smoke. Then he waits until today and pouts anyway - even after having talked to Tony by phone about the incident.

Normally, if Kyle does not win a race then its his crew's fault. He's blamed them all season long for his Nationwide races - never mind that same crew has been a huge reason why he leads the point standings by a very comfortable margin.

If its not his crew's fault, then he likely didn't win because of the actions of another driver. This past Saturday it was Tony Stewart. No "that's racin". Or "I took a shot, I blocked, I gave it my best, and um...uh...I ended up in the fence".

Instead - with several days to chill, watch video replay, talk to the Coach, talk to J.D., talk to Smoke, talk to his shrink - he STILL claims he was wrongly dumped by the 14.

If Kyle can't lose with some level of dignity the same way he wins with vigor, perhaps he should consider moving over to NASCAR's newest series. You know, where dumps and skid marks tend to happen frequently.



TMC

TMC's HOF selections

Despite NASCAR's attention to detail when it comes to protecting its brand, it's always dropped it's guard when it comes to protecting it's history. Unlike the major stick-and-ball sports, NASCAR has never had a single-source hall of fame.

Other halls with NASCAR participants have opened in various locations such as:

• International Motorsports HOF - Talladega, AL
• National Motorsports Press Association HOF - Darlington, SC (pathetic that this museum/HOF doesn't have its own website)
• Motorsports HOF of America - Novi, MI

Now, NASCAR is prepared to open its own hall in Charlotte in May 2010. Twenty-five names were released last week as finalists for the inaugural class of five members. The debate has been underway for some time as to who should be in the first class - both before and after the names were released.

My vote counts for jack squat, but I'm going to throw my selections out there anyway.

1. Bill France, Sr. - Some controversy exists whether France truly came up with the idea of consolidating the various forces of stock car racing into a single sanctioning body. But no controversy exists about his seizure of control of the organization, ceaseless promotion of it, and his vision for what it might eventually become. A no-brainer to put Big Bill in the first class.
2. Bill France, Jr. - I wrestled with putting Bill Jr. in the first class but eventually decided his contributions should be viewed as an extension of his father's role. Where Big Bill promoted the racing for 30+ years, Billy France developed a better understanding of the economics of the sport. Big Bill ruled with an iron fist whereas Billy was a better listener of drivers, crew chiefs, owners, and sponsors...before he ruled with his iron fist. Big Bill was a dictator of the sport. Billy realized he needed to hire a team and delegate. In the end, the Frances built this sport between the father-son combo, and both of them belong in the first class.
3. Ralph Seagraves - Without Seagraves and Junior Johnson coming together to Daytona to visit the Frances, who knows where NASCAR's premier series would have gone. Being booted from traditional media advertising outlets in the 1970s, R.J. Reynolds needed a new forum to pimp its smokes. Ta-da! NASCAR. And the top series went from being called the Grand National series to the Winston Cup Grand National series and eventually just the Winston Cup series. The sports marketing arm of RJR headed by Seagraves elevated the sport as perhaps no other advertiser has ever done. It is constantly said racing is as much as business as it is a sport. Believing that, I say Seagraves goes in.
4. Raymond Parks - Forget Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, Jack Roush, Petty Enterprises, or even Carl Kiekaeffer of the 1950s. THE first successful multi-team car owner was involved in the sport from day 1 - Mr. Raymond Parks from Atlanta. I've only recently learned more about Parks' contributions. I had no clue what he brought to the sport. His drivers Roy Hall, Lloyd Seay, and particularly Red Byron set the world ablaze with their domination of the early years of stock car racing. No question he belongs in the HOF and as part of the first class.
5. Richard Petty - The King. My first four picks were for the sanctioning body organizers/promoters/owners, a series sponsor, and a car owner. The fifth pick is a driver - the class of NASCAR participants who we all go to the track to watch. Petty has set so many unparalleled gaudy records that he must be part of the first class. 7 championships, 7 Daytona 500 wins, over 1,000 starts, an ambassador for the sport, etc.

I'm intentionally leaving Dale Earnhardt out of the inaugural class but recommend he be included in the class of 2011. His racing, marketing, and fan-attraction contributions were remarkable, however, I think they fall in line behind these first five.

When the votes are tallied later this year, however, I think Earnhardt will indeed be part of the first five. Once the hall opens, tickets have to be sold to create revenue, generate tourist traffic, trip media stories, retire the city and state bonds used to fund the hall, etc. Knowing the Earnhardt contingent is still strong, I believe the hall voters will be pressed hard by NASCAR, the city of Charlotte, the HOF management team, etc. to make him part of that inaugural class. If that's the case, so be it. It wouldn't be the first time back-room deals were made by NASCAR. And if both Frances make it in, it only stands to reason they'll collude to see who comes in with them!

TMC

#200 - A quarter-century ago

Holy cow. 25 years? A quarter of a friggin' century? Really? Yet its true. Saturday, July 4, 2009 will be the 25th anniversary of win #200 by The King, Richard Petty, in the Firecracker 400 back on July 4, 1984.

I was fortunate enough to attend 3 straight Firecracker 400 races from 1990-1992. One race Id didn't attend was the 1984 edition. I won't try to recap the race itself because (1) I wasn't there and (2) better writers than me have already written plenty about the occasion. Writers such as:

• Tom Higgins
• Mark Aumann
• RacingOne.com
  

Win #200 almost didn't happen for Petty. Lots of folks over the years have rejected the 1984 Firecracker 400 as his 200th because they think #198 was tainted. Petty won the Miller 500 at Charlotte in October 1983; however, NASCAR determined in post-race tech the 43 had an over-sized engine and the wrong tires on the wrong side of the car. When all was said and done, NASCAR allowed the King to keep the win but fined the team a lot of money and points. Many folks suggest it was NASCAR's attempt to allow Petty to save face and move forward with his march to #200 - and also knowing the number of winnable moments for him was dwindling. However, others point to the fact the 2nd place car of Darrell Waltrip didn't leave them much choice but to let the 43's win stand. When the race was over, the 11 Junior Johnson team quickly loaded up DW's car and was outta there leading many to speculate his car was just as cheated-up as Richard's Pontiac.

The other factor that nearly kept the King from getting his magical victory was Cale Yarborough. One of the toughest drivers of all time, Cale didn't give a rip about the King getting the victory. HE wanted it. Yet the 43 car barely edged out Cale in his Hardee's #28 Chevy. The car was owned by Harry Ranier who later sold the team to Robert Yates.

Perhaps what chaps me most in the way of memories of this race are the ones I don't have. I was spending the summer in Jacksonville - living with my aunt and uncle and working as a truck loader between college semesters. My aunt and uncle had planned a 4th of July cookout to celebrate the retirement of my aunt's boss. I told them I'd be glad to help out with cooking, serving, visiting, whatever, and that's what I did.

The race wasn't broadcast flag-to-flag on TV. Just the last little bit was televised on ABC. I didn't get to see any of it because of all the party guests and didn't learn until that evening that the King had won.

The next day, my uncle sheepishly told me he had been given 2 tickets to the 400. He knew he couldn't go because he was committed to helping my aunt with the party. He didn't mention it to me because he figured I wouldn't want to go alone.

That's one of those personal secrets I wish he had taken to his grave. I could have been there. I would have been there. I SHOULD have been there to see the King and the Gipper!

Nonetheless, Petty's win is without a doubt the hallmark stat for NASCAR Cup racing. His 7 Daytona 500 championships are three more than the closest challenger. Only Dale Earnhardt has as many Cup championships as he's got. But 200 wins is the standout stat when rattling off the KPI's of the top Cup driver of all time.
TMC

The man, the legend, the King

Happy birthday to Richard Petty who turns a young 72 on July 2nd.

1,184 starts
200 wins
555 top 5's
712 top 10's
123 poles

He's seen it all...

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Hats off to the King!

TMC