June 25 - This day in Schaefer racing history

1978 Schaefer 500
USAC Indy car race
Pocono International Raceway
Pocono, Pennsylvania
Winner: Al Unser, Sr.
Full results: UltimateRacingHistory.com

Source: The Henry Ford Museum

Some notables from June 25, 1978:

• Al Loquasto, who later drove a Schaefer Buick in the 1981 Mountain Dew 500 NASCAR Cup race at Pocono, finished 9th.
• Joe Saldana finished 21st. Saldana is the father of Joey Saldana, current World of Outlaws driver.
• Bubby Jones finished 27th driving for Bobby Hillin. Yes, Hillin. As in Bobby Hillin, Sr. - father of future NASCAR rolling chicane driver, Bobby Hillin, Jr.

Source: Reading Eagle via Google News Archive

TMC
Edited June 24, 2014

NASCAR and Long Island...Beer?

A tweet this week from our friends at Schaefer Story led me to a site named Roadside Galore. The author of the site, Fuzzy, blogs all sorts of Americana pictures from her travels across the country.

One recent photo shared on her blog recently was right up my alley - a fading Schaefer advertisement painted on the side of a building in East Islip, NY. The ad includes a tagline slogan I've not heard previously for Schaefer: Our hand has never lost its skill.

As has been documented, Schaefer and NASCAR are linked together - both then and now. What you may not know is Islip, NY and NASCAR also have a history meaning only one degree of separation exists between NASCAR, Schaefer beer, and Islip, NY.

At 2/10ths of a mile, Islip Speedway is the shortest track ever to host a NASCAR Grand National / Winston Cup race. Larry Mendelsohn, the track's owner/promoter, is also credited with hosting the first demolition derby in the late 1950s - which then became a staple of just about every short-track in the U.S. over the next two decades. As best I can tell, the track finally met its demise in 1984.

Source: East Islip Historical Society

The Grand National drivers ran six races at Islip between 1964 and 1971. Bobby Allison won two of them. Richard Petty also won two - including the final one run at Islip in 1971.

Here a few photos from back in the day at Islip:

Richard Petty in the early 1960s. I wonder if the dude in the cap is saying "No King, your throne is over there."

A promotional flyer and ticket order form for the 1968 Islip 300 - a race won by Bobby Allison.

The late Friday Hassler of Chattanooga, TN earned his career best finish in the 1971 Islip 250 by finishing second to Petty. Hassler often drove #39 Chevrolets sponsored by Chattanooga's Rock City tourist attraction. (Surely many of you have seen the See Rock City barns scattered throughout the southern U.S.)

Here is Petty in his famous 43 racing Neil Castles in the white #6 Dodge. After marveling at this recently found photo, I realized a couple of things (hold on, bad puns on their way!):

• The photo includes a King and Castles.
• It shows a young man in a beat-up Plymouth making a night time run for White Castles.

Finally, here is the King in victory lane on July 15, 1971, after winning the Islip 250. This was the first season R.J. Reynolds began its NASCAR sponsorship when the series became known as the Winston Cup Grand National Series. (Note the early design decal on the top right of the door panel.)

Using Greg Fielden's Forty Years of Stock Car History books as reference material, I learned a bit more about NASCAR's time at Islip:

• Marvin Panch won the race in 1965 after his most serious challenger, Junior Johnson, had a bad wreck. Johnson's throttle hung, he drove through a guard rail, drilled a telephone pole, and burst into flames. After seeing Fireball Roberts' burn in 1964 and ending up in flames himself in 1965, its no real surprise Junior soon retired as a driver to become a car owner.
• Bobby Allison won the race in 1966 after James Hylton ran out of gas with 7 laps to go. Allison wasn't even expected to run the race after wrecking his car two nights earlier in Fonda, NY. But he worked on feverishly and was able to make the race. One of the people who helped him? James Hylton. Can you imagine that scenario happening today?
• Allison won again in 1968. Richard Petty was leading the race and tried to lap Allison. In doing so, the cars tangled. The fender was bent on the 43, and Petty faded to a 4th place finish. After the race, Richard's brother/engine builder, Maurice, and cousin/crew chief, Dale Inman, attacked Allison. Both were fined.
• In the 1971 race mentioned above, an embarrassing NASCAR scoring snafu shortened the Islip 250 by TWENTY laps. Petty won it, but I've not been able to find a satisfactory explanation for the scoring problem.

Connecting Islip to more contemporary times, Buzzie Reutimann, father of Michael Waltrip Racing's driver David Reutimann, raced at Islip:

Source: Reutimann Racing

Tommy Baldwin Sr., father of current Sprint Cup start-and-park car owner Tommy Baldwin, Jr., raced a lot at Islip. And former Cup driver, Steve Park, is from Long Island.

So with the hoist of a Schaefer, we schelebrate you Fuzzy at Roadside Galore and Islip Speedway.

Now if I can just find a way to get myself to Long Island to have a picture of my drinking a Schaefer next to that wall...

TMC

Newest SHOFer Bringing It Strong

As previously blogged, Cuba is the most recent inductee into the Schaefer Racing Hall of Fame. Rather than rest on his laurels, he went right to work as a Schaefer ambassador.

I received an e-mail from him Friday saying "Wow, only two cases left!! Must be top selling beer!!" along with the following photo.

With recent experiences of seeing Schaefer sellers dwindle and having never seen a 30-box of Schaef, I responded immediately GET 'EM!

He sent another e-mail a few moments later stating simply "Mission Accomplished".

He purchased them in Baltimore, MD. So all you blue-crab eating, Orioles-sympathizing, Ray Lewis-supporting, beer-drinking folks -here's your chance to make a difference. Let me know specific names and addresses of retailers in your area where Schaefer is sold, and I'll add them to the Schaefer Sellers map linked on this blog.

I'll be in Baltimore myself in September, and I plan to be on the lookout for some of my own.

The Schaefer Hall of Fame Schae-loots you Cuba for your outstanding efforts!

TMC

2010 Coca-Cola: Entry 3 - The Hall of Famers

As has been well established, where two or more are gathered in racing's name, Schaefer beer is sure to flow. The NASCAR Schaefer Hall of Fame has its origins at Talladega in May 1992. It remains a fairly exclusive club with only about a half-dozen members in the hall and about three dozen in the Ring of Honor.

Its members, however, are passionate about sharing the magic of Schaefer and NASCAR as they travel this great nation. (By the way, if someone can score some Monaco F1 tickets and a photo-op with some of those hot grid girls, we'll pack some Schaef in our luggage and launch this thing internationally!)

The HOF started way back when with a simple charcoal hibachi grill and a pack of hot dogs - one of which might have been eaten after it fell off the grill into the dirt. Maybe. This year? The debut of the custom-built, tow-behind, gas-fired, pig-bling, mofo GRILL baby. Complete with fenders and dual exhaust I might add.

After being inducted into the HOF in 2009, Uncle D couldn't make the trip from the Midwest this year. Because he's been such a great ambassador for the HOF as documented here and here and here, we simply had to have a stand-in represent him at official Hall of Fame photo opportunities.

Presenting the reigning NASCAR Schaefer HOFers:
Rookie, "Uncle D", TMC, Philly, and Paducah.

This year's HOF and Friends reunion gathering featured a special surprise - a custom-built trophy for the winner of the inaugural Schaefer Racing Corn Hole Tournament.

Tourney brackets were drawn, partnerships formed, rivalries arose, friendships were rekindled or started anew, smack was thrown, and competition was spirited but filled with raucous laughter.

When the dust settled, the winners of the 2010 Inaugural Schaefer Racing Corn Hole Tournament were... [drum roll...barummmmmmmm] ... Cuba and Angry Happy Karen! They bested a field of 32 to claim the championship and the much coveted trophy.

With the excitement of the win still hanging in the air, more honors were bestowed upon Cuba. He was unanimously and enthusiastically voted as the 2010 inductee into the Schaefer Hall of Fame! Sall-ooot!

Cuba then had the privilege of moving his name from the Ring of Honor to the Official, Sho-Nuff Hall of Fame to join Philly, TMC, Paducah, Rookie, and Uncle D.
Once the ceremonies (and six cases of Schaefer...burp) ended, it was time to head for the track for the main event - the Coca-Cola 600. No 600 would be complete without Rookie getting his traditional turkey leg. The Indy 500 has its traditional milk. The Kentucky Derby has its run for the roses. But nothing screams NASCAR in Charlotte like Rookie with his cold beer and a big, honkin' turkey leg!

The only concern I had about this year's meal is where he purchased it. Instead of concession stands, our tickets allowed us access to the Bistro. THE BISTRO???

Now what self-respecting Schaefer-swilling, NASCAR-loving, turkey-eating, race fan can be caught buying food at a bistro? But I reckon a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

In all seriousness, one event capped the whole weekend for me. As I blogged at my non-racing site, an uncle of mine - Uncle Earl - was diagnosed with a recurrence of brain and lung cancer in early April. We knew his time was limited, but he'd been able to visit with a few friends and family. I visited with him about 10 days before the race and returned home feeling like we'd have him with us for a while.

Our race weekend crew was incredible. First, the HOFers gathered for an "E" tribute picture. We thought two shirtless clowns and the handy house made for a nice touch to the photo.

Later, the whole group posed with a "Hey Earl!" sign and the 3-fingered "E" salute.
My plan was to e-mail him the photos and then ship them to him as 8x10 prints. Sadly, however, he died last Thursday - just three days after I returned from the race. I never got the chance to share the photos with him. My aunt, however, said she still wants copies.

And just so you know, yes - I do know now to bend the brim of a cap. I just chose not to.

I was going for the retro Maurice Petty look from 1972 at Wilkesboro!

With another 600 notch in our guns, we put the 2010 edition on the shelf. My rebound rate following a long party weekend isn't what it once was. It was made doubly difficult this year with the surprising call we got late last week. But life goes on and so does racing.

So when's the next one? And who's bringing the Schaef?

TMC

2010 Coca-Cola 600: Entry 2 - The Schaefer Edition

If you know anything at all about TMC's blogging the last 18 months or so, you won't be surprised to learn Schaefer beer was front and center at our tailgating activities for the Charlotte weekend. Actually, we do it up so right Coke 600 weekend the word "tailgating" hardly does it justice. This year marks the 18th anniversary of Schaefer getting "first beer" honors.

When a friend of mine and I started what later became the Schaef tradition, we had a sixer amongst the rest of our brew. Over time and with other participants, the quantity grew to a 12-pack, a case, two cases, etc. Last year, we had 3-1/2 cases and ran out.

Rookie (a fellow Hall of Famer) and I started discussing quantities for the 2010 soiree in April. By mid-May, a bit of panic hit. The Nashville, TN distributor who traditionally had Schaefer in its product offerings stopped distributing it. None was available in middle Tennessee. In addition, it has become increasingly scarce in the greater Charlotte area.

Fortunately, Rookie was able to deliver by bringing FIVE cases to this year's event. Knowing he may now well be our sole-supplier - not only for race weekend but also for post-race walk-away delivery, we agreed a reprise of Smokey and The Bandit may in the works.

It didn't take long at all to the party rolling. Rookie not only rolled in with the 5 cases for the weekend but also custom-make Schaefer trucker caps for the Hall of Famers. In addition, the 2010 Coke 600 marked the race debut of the custom-built Schaefer die-cast car. Its builder GaPettyFan was on-hand to witness the accolades heaped upon the build by everyone. GPF is a race veteran but a Schaefer virgin - or at least he was. He jumped right in with us with his cold Schaefer nestled in his Schaefer koozie.

Speaking of GaPettyFan, once he donned his race hat and shades we decided we bore an eerie resemblance to the head of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. For this reason, his nickname was changed to Bruton for the rest of the weekend.

After downing our first Schaef and donning our new caps, we set about marking our territory with the obligatory Schaefer swag - including a recently procured photo of Wendell Scott with one in his hand!

Then it was on to breakfast. And raise your hand if you also enjoy sausage, eggs, toast, and a Schaefer to begin your day?

Before you stereotype Schaefer as a one-trick pony for its first-beer status, think again. Its not just a party beer with an 18-year tradition as the NASCAR starter beer. Its multi-functional. The empties can also be used as a stabilizer for the satellite dish used to watch happy hour and the Indy 500.

Syndicated NASCAR writer and amateur singer-songwriter, Monte Dutton, joined us again this year on Sunday before the 600.

He sang several songs for us including a couple of news ones and a Tom T. Hall cover; told some stories about David Pearson, David Poole, Dale Earnhardt, and others; and even shared a Schaefer with us this year. Though he took no written notes, he collected plenty of visual information and wrote about our shin-dig in a pre-race article! I should have expected as much when he told us he had a keen eye for trivial detail.

Here's a video I shot of Monte singing the country classic Jambalya. Notice the forced product placement ad beginning at 2:25. The neon signs in the smoke-filled honky tonks of west Texas have nothing on our set-up.

Now folks gotta eat as they're drinking. We had slow-cooked barbecue, brats, homemade pimento salad, sandwiches, and all the trimmings you can think of. But the perfect complement to Schaefer? Why, a tote of Junior Johnson pork rinds of course!

We burned through Rookie's five cases of regular Schaefer in two days in addition to other beverage choices. Rather than risk the embarrassment of offering Schaef we didn't have, Philly - another Hall of Famer - rallied up a case of Schaefer Light from his house. Embarrassment avoided.

As I close with this installment, here is the slideshow of many of my friends at the 2010 Schaefer Schwilling Schaellebration.

Omitted from the slideshow are three soldiers from the U.S. Army. Two of them have already served in Afghanistan. They drifted through our set-up area and initially requested just a bottle of water. After a bit of urging, they got a bite to eat and took on the Schaefer challenge. Once the first couple of cans were empty, they decided to stay a while. We had a ball with their hanging out with us. But not knowing whose eyes may find this page, I've decided to omit photos of them here.

Believe it or not, we did make it to the races - the Nationwide race on Saturday, the dirt track races Saturday night, and the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday evening. By the time it came to load the coolers for the 600, we were out of Schaefer. Miller High Life became the replacement beer - but the cans were easily disguised by those of us with Schaefer koozies.

But I had one more trick up my sleeve. I brought two refugee beers back with me from our February Las Vegas race trip. I had the regular edition on Saturday, and I saved the light version for Sunday's 600 race.

As the famous slogan goes, Schaefer...its the beer to have when you are having more than one.

Additional weekend memories...to be continued...

TMC

2010 Coca-Cola 600: Entry 1

Now how's that title grab ya there m'friend? That's about the only title I've got right now for many reasons:

• I've got to start somewhere.
• Everyone else on the web but me already has their Coke 600 thoughts posted.
• I'm not sure how many entries I'll end up posting to recap the weekend so "entry 1" seemed to give me more logical options than "entry A". (Hold on folks - this could run on for a while.)
• It was late the night I started typing this, and my headline-writing creativity has been low all week.

Furthermore, as blogged elsewhere, an uncle of mine with whom I was very close died Thursday. Its put a bit of damper on my enthusiasm to blog about all-things-fun. But I'll proceed.

So let's jump right in shall we?


The sponsors

OK, so what was up with Matt Kenseth's sponsor? JEREMIAH WEED? Apparently, its some sort of Vodka drink.

Well that was news to me because Jeremiah was a bullfrog the last I heard. He was a good friend of mine, and I helped him a'drink his wine. So somehow I'm not really sure vodka is involved here anywhere.

It was good to see the blue/yellow Best Buy colors back on the #43 of A.J. Allmendinger rather than the whacked-out, green-tinted yellow of Insignia that's been on the sides much of the year.


I realize patriotism and an appreciation for the military spikes on Charlotte raceday. But all the star-laced Hendrick Motorsports' cars were a bit much to follow. It was hard to find them on the track - except when the 48 wrecked. Believe me, the crowd quickly found the wrecked Jimmie Johnson car.

It just seems to be the age of vinyl "paint" schemes for NASCAR has become analogous to early users of PowerPoint? Remember all the bad presenters you saw back then - in college, in work training, seminars, etc.? All the animation, swoosh sounds, slide transtions - all that crap detracting from the message. When NASCAR went from a bucket and brush to vinyl and squeeges (and multiple primary sponsors), the ability for fans to identify with a car diminished greatly.

The races

The Busch brothers took the hardware, split the dough and left town. Kyle took the Nationwide 300 on Saturday, and Kurt turned in a dominating performance on Sunday to take the 600.

Even more remarkable was Rowdy's run back to the front in the 600 after getting caught up in Jimmie Johnson's pit road snafu. He had a fast car, got a lap down, and rallied back to finish 3rd. Say what you will about New Kyle vs. Old Kyle. Kyle is good. A lot has been made about the success Steve Addington is having with KuBu after previously serving as crew chief with KyBu - and its merited. The Miller Lite Dodge is running much better and winning more frequently than in 2009. But the 18 team is no slouch either.

The 600 generally has two or three themes to it. A rabbit often sets an early pace but fades as the sun sets. A strong car then often takes over but doesn't always win because of fuel strategy, an unforseen broken part or other bad luck as the race nears the end. And the last couple of years, a surprise winner has emerged.

But this year, KuBu's put the #2 Dodge in the wind and stayed there all night. Only Jamie McMurray's brief run at the front offered a late-race challenge to Kurt. But when the final pit stops took place, Addington's men did what they are paid to do and got their car back out front. Once that happened, Kurt finished the job.

As the race hit the 80% completion mark, Jamie was in the lead and Kurt was 2nd. A trivia question hit me as I looked at the scoring tower: Had a car #1 ever won a NASCAR Cup race with a car #2 finishing second?

I did a bit of research this week. From what I can tell, it hasn't happened before. And because Kurt was able to get back around McMurray on the final restart, it STILL hasn't happened.

Tailgating and Fun Times

I sawthis discarded funnel and empty pack of Newport smokes as we walked to the track Sunday evening. About the time I walked by this spot, I was hedging a guess many folks were hurting badly somewhere.

My uncle and parents started taking me local Saturday night late model races when I was 9 years old. Earlier this week, I had my umpteenth anniversary of my first Cup race at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in 1978. Because I started going to races as a kid, I always have a blast watching kids enjoying themselves at races. Sometimes they watch the races with great intensity or amazement. Other times, they simply want to be there for all the trappings - the concessions, the military jet flyovers, fireworks, whatever.

I dare you to tell me the following kids weren't having big fun.

This one for instance...

How about this dirt trackin' fan?

And even these two... now, wait a minute...

I'll save stories and pictures of our well-honed tailgating skills for additional entries. But before you form any stereotyping thoughts about us, check out the touch of class provided our area by one of our guests from Darlington, SC. Now ain't this arrangement just purty?

Stay tuned for entry #2.

TMC