Bench Racing From the Volunteer State

NASCAR's 1981 season saw a ton of change.

A reduction in the wheelbase of Cup cars to 110 inches.
A non-aero friendly notchback rear window on all but one model.
Several notable driver / team changes including Darrell Waltrip from DiGard to Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough from Junior's team to M.C. Anderson, and Bobby Allison from Bud Moore to Ranier Racing.

It took several races before most teams adapted to their new teams and cars. One team that seemed to gel right away, however, was Waltrip and his new Mountain Dew Buick team. The team banked a dozen wins and Waltrip's first title in 1981.

Another team that fared pretty well without a driver change was Richard Petty. The King banked three wins in 1981 - the Daytona 500 plus wins at North Wilkesboro and Michigan.

When 1982 arrived, Waltrip still had his mojo. With two-thirds of the season in the books, Waltrip and Junior's team had piled up another gaudy six wins. Allison left Ranier after one season and moved to DiGard - the team vacated by Waltrip when he joined Junior Johnson in 1981 - and notched four wins by mid-season. Petty's STP team, meanwhile, was scratching his head as he fought through a winless dry spell dating back to August 1981..

After Waltrip won the Busch Nashville 420 on his home track, the NASCAR circuit headed for Pocono. Next on the schedule was, perhaps fittingly for DW, the Mountain Dew 500.

Cale Yarborough scored the pole in his #27 Valvoline Buick. Harry Gant qualified alongside him in the Skoal Bandit Buick. Ricky Rudd lined up third in his #3 Richard Childress Racing Pontiac. (Yes, RUDD in the #3 folks.) Allison started fourth in the Gatorade Buick.

Kyle Petty started 17th in Hoss Ellington's #1 STP/UNO Buick. Today, Kyle is a retired driver and an NBC commentator. In his second season as a full-time Cup driver in 1982, however, he still struggled to keep a toehold in Cup. The finances in Level Cross were stretched then in an effort to field two full-time cars.

At mid-season, the team announced a novel alternative. Kyle would continue to race short-track races for the family team. For superspeedway races, however, he would race for Ellington. The experiment ended later in the season, but all parties thought it worth the risk to help both organizations.

Yarborough got the jump at the green and led the first half-dozen laps. Allison and Dave Marcis then led the next six. Then Marcis and Gant split the next six. And on it went for the rest of the race. In addition to the early leaders, many others grabbed their opportunity to be on the point - even for a few laps, which is all most leads lasted. Waltrip, Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Tim Richmond, and a couple of young, emerging drivers - Bill Elliott and Mark Martin - all saw their number posted in the top spot for one or more laps.

Mark Martin had issues with his exhaust or firewall. The heat inside the car became so intense that he had to pit the car for a relief driver. Long-time independent driver Ronnie Thomas took over to spell Martin a while.Yet Martin knew Thomas couldn't last long either and eventually re-entered the car. The tandem survived to notch a 10th place finish for Martin's #02 Apache Stove Pontiac.

Though the racing at the front was exciting, the race is perhaps best remembered for an incident with just under 70 laps to go. Earnhardt drafted Richmond as they barreled into turn 1. But they then touched. Richmond spun, but Earnhardt took a tough right turn into the wall. He pummeled the boilerplate, got up in the air, and rolled over as he slid a good distance before coming to rest upside down.

Long-time motorsports photographer Jack Kromer got a shot of the #15 Wrangler Ford after it was righted and hauled back to the garage.

Greg Moore, Bud's son and long-time team crewman, recalled the incident in the book Bud Moore’s Right Hand Man: A NASCAR Team Manager’s Career at Full Throttle by Moore and Perry Allen Wood:

Earnhardt and Richmond were battling, and you had to use a little bit of brakes back then, but Dale didn't use brakes much. They wrecked, and I can remember hearing the fans reacting and seeing Richmond go out of sight. There was a car upside down with a gray bottom. I knew that was us. Daddy's on the radio saying, "Caution! Caution! Come on in. We're going to change all four." I hadn't even had a chance to say anything to Daddy, and Earnhardt was on his damn roof. Earnhardt keyed the mic and said "Yeah Bud. If you come down here to turn one and two, it'll be real easy to change them because all four wheels are off the ground." That's how conscious he was. Earnhardt went to the infield care center, and we flew back to Spartanburg on a private plane together. We played cards on the airplane, laughing and talking about it.

Dave Fulton, director of Wrangler's NASCAR marketing program, has memories of the wreck as well:

I was standing next to car owner/crew chief, Bud Moore on pit road at Pocono. The blue & yellow T-bird climbed the old boiler plate steel wall and rode for a distance on its roof before coming back down on the track. The car almost cut down the "Winston Pack" MRN radio booth with Eli Gold inside - a very scary moment for Eli.

Those were the days of racing back to the flag and very slow emergency response times. Dale was being inundated with hot oil from the oil cooler as he struggled upside down to get free. A photographer ran across the track to assist, along with Richmond, who helped Dale to the ambulance that finally arrived at the crash scene. I always remember Tim helping Dale that day.

The late Don Naman called me in Greensboro at Wrangler headquarters on Monday morning after the crash to see if I could get Bud to donate the car to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame Museum in Talladega as a "safety" display. Bud, who had no use for wrecked cars and had lost drivers Joe Weatherly and Billy Wade in crashes, politely declined the request.

With Earnhardt and Richmond having survived the wreck with only minimal injuries, one was then allowed to wonder. Were either of them perhaps distracted by the Schaefer Beer logo on the wall? Maybe they lost focus momentarily when suddenly hit with a thirst for the one beer to have when having more than one.

With 43 laps to go, all of the lead lap cars made stops under another yellow. The timing of the stop challenged each crew chief and driver to carefully manage their fuel mileage over the remaining laps.

The King had led the most laps of the race and was having one of his most fortunate days of the season. He could seem to go back to the lead when he wanted. Waltrip ran second, and Allison was content to follow the other two cars in third.

With just 7 laps to go, however, Petty's Pontiac had to make a quick stop-and-go for gas. His time out front, though impressive, burned more fuel than Waltrip and Allison running behind him.

Darrell Waltrip took the lead as Petty hit pit road, and Junior's team planned to go the distance and finish on fumes. Allison drafted Waltrip, and Petty returned to the track and made his way back to third.

With three to go, Waltrip's car began to burp. He rolled out of the throttle in an effort to manage his remaining fuel. Allison blew by him and stretched a bit of lead. On the last lap, Waltrip's #11 Buick consumed its last drop of dew. Despite jostling his car, he fell away from Allison. Petty made up some of his lost ground and sailed by Waltrip to take second.

Waltrip faded to a sixth place finish. He did so by getting a push on the final lap from infrequent Cup driver Joe Booher. Interestingly, Waltrip accused Harry Gant nine years later at Talladega of getting a push from Rick Mast even though it was unclear if Gant got a winning assist.

With cable TV still in its infancy and NASCAR TV coverage fractured over a number of media outlets, the race wasn't broadcast live. A condensed package of it was aired later through syndication.

30:00 mark: Martin's heat issue, driver change, and interview
35:00 mark: Earnhardt / Richmond wreck and Tim Richmond interview

The race was the 23rd of 24 times that Petty and Allison finished in the top two spots.

Source: The Free Lance Star via Google News Archive

Greg Moore recalls the following few days between Pocono and the next race at Talladega:

Two days later, Earnhardt came down to the shop hobbling on crutches with a buddy of his. They looked at the car and he said, "Look how the roll bars held up," and he laughed about it. A lot of the drivers wouldn't have wanted to look at it. Daddy had already checked Dale's leg, and Earnhardt pulled me off to the side and told me it was broken. We didn't want NASCAR to know that, so we never said a word to Daddy. Dale never said a word to anybody. Only he and I and some doctor knew about it...If NASCAR had known it was broken, they would not let him start the race.

Earnhardt did indeed race the next week at Talladega. And once again, he wrecked and left the race early. Tom Higgins reported in the Charlotte Observer that Earnhardt had surgery two days after the Talladega race and nine days after Pocono:

...Dale Earnhardt underwent apparently successful surgery Tuesday in a Statesville hospital for the broken left knee he suffered in a race crash July 25.

Joe Whitlock, an associate of Earnhardt's, said there were no problems in the operation, during which two screws were inserted into Earnhardt's knee.

"The only hitch was that Dale is miffed that the doctor wouldn't follow his suggestion and make the incision in the form of a W like that sewn on the back pockets of Wrangler jeans," said Whitlock chuckling.

TMC

From 1974 through 1981, Pocono Raceway hosted only one Winston Cup race per season. The track was a bit ahead of its time in that Pocono signed title sponsors for its races. The first three were sponsored by Purolator, and then Pocono signed a multi-year deal with Coca-Cola.

The 1979 Coca-Cola 500 was scheduled for Sunday, July 29. As has been the case on multiple occasions over the decades, however, rain caused a postponement of the race until Monday, July 30.

Harry Gant won the pole for the first time in his Cup rookie career. He was driving the #47 Jack Beebe Monte Carlo and was still about 18 months from joining Hal Needham's Skoal Bandit team. Harry's car sported McCreary tires which delivered a lot of speed for qualifying but generally fell off on long race runs.

Cale Yarborough started second in Junior Johnson's Busch Beer Chevy. Rookie Dale Earnhardt lined up third in Rod Osterlund's self-funded Chevy, and Bobby Allison flanked Earnhardt in Bud Moore's Ford - a ride Earnhardt would drive in 1982 and 1983. Benny Parsons rounded out the top five starters.

Darrell Waltrip originally qualified third fastest. In a post-qualifying practice session, however, Waltrip crashed his #88 Gatorade Chevy, and the car had to be withdrawn. Waltrip was in tight points battle with Richard Petty, and he simply could not afford to miss a race.

Waltrip's DiGard team worked a deal to rent the ride of Al "A.J." Rudd, Jr., Ricky Rudd's brother. A.J. had qualified 18th for his Cup debut in a Chevy fielded by his father. DiGard leased the car, the Buddy Parrott-led crew replaced just about every thing but the paint and number, and Waltrip lined up Monday in Rudd's 18th starting spot.

A.J. later made his first Cup start - and as it turns out his only one - about a month later at Michigan. The Michigan car likely had a boocoodle of quality DiGard parts under it from the Pocono race.

Cale grabbed the lead at the green and held it for a lap to grab a few bonus points. On the second lap, however, Gary Balough, Al Holbert, and Roger Hamby collided. Holbert's car caught fire, and safety crews had a tough time fully extinguishing it. Fortunately though, all drivers exited their cars without significant injuries.

Earnhardt passed Cale on the second lap as the yellow flag was displayed, and he held it after the race went green again through lap 14. Darrell Waltrip then took the lead for a couple of laps in the Rudd-to-DiGard converted Chevy.

And so it went for about the first half of the race. Earnhardt, Cale, DW, Bobby Allison, the King, Buddy Baker, Neil Bonnett, and Gant all got their time on the point. But any lead was short-lived and lasted only a handful of laps.

The lead changed hands a remarkable 55 times during the day. The rookie Earnhardt led 43 laps in the 200-lap race's first half.

On lap 98, however, Earnhardt's Chevy blew a tire and crashed driver's side first into the steel barriers in turn two. He was choppered to the local hospital with fractures of both collar bones along with several cuts and bruises.

Tom Higgins reported about the injuries in the Charlotte Observer:

He was first taken to the track infield hospital, then transported by helicopter to East Stroudsburg Hospital, where his injury was diagnosed as a bilateral fracture of the clavicle (both collarbones).

"Dale was in extreme pain...they put him on the helicopter on a board because the doctors felt there might be some back injuries, and they felt an ambulance ride would be too excruciating for him," a team member said. "The seat and steering wheel were wrenched a good bit to the left. He took quite a lick."

Earnhardt's girlfriend, Teresa Houston of Hickory, talked briefly with Earnhardt, who was sedated heavily. She said all Earnhardt could remember was the tire blowing. He did not remember hitting the wall.

The second half was every bit as competitive as the first half - albeit without Earnhardt in the mix. Fans were pumped for the next lead change and the next and the next - particularly if one could happen on the last lap.

With a handful of laps to go, however, Cale Yarborough had pulled out to a three seconds lead over Waltrip's #22. Waltrip seemingly caught a break when independent owner/driver Nelson Oswald, running several laps behind, blew an engine in the third turn bringing out the caution.

Second place Waltrip and third place Bonnett in the Wood Brothers Mercury both hit the pits for fresh tires. Their teams were certain the race would go back to green with one or two laps left. Yarborough's team, however, elected to leave Cale on the track. Junior Johnson knew, fresh tires or not, passing Cale on the last lap of a race would not be an easy thing to do.

But the green flag never waved again. NASCAR allowed the race to finish under yellow with Cale cruising behind the pace car and Richard Petty holding down second. The assembly of fans erupted with a chorus of "boos" as the checkered flag was displayed to Cale.

Waltrip finished seventh and blasted NASCAR saying "Isn't that some southern fried chicken feathers? I ain't no sore loser, but they should've started it back again." When told of Waltrip's comments in the winner's press conference, Yarborough smiled and said "Looks like he's a sore loser to me."

Gant found his McCreary tires were fast, but they lasted only a few laps before blistering. He finished 15th, five laps off the pace.

The race was the 28th of 31 times Petty and Cale finished in the top two spots.

Source: Spartanburg Herald Journal

Using the current rule of The Overtime Line to finish a NASCAR race, the outcome of the 1979 Pocono race may have been different. For decades, NASCAR ended races at their advertised distance - under green or yellow. Then after several years of complaints sparked by finishes such as the one at Pocono in '79, NASCAR implemented the Green White Checkered rule to end a race.

After many complaints about that rule, The Overtime Line rule was adopted for 2017. Now, it seems to be in vogue for many to simply end races at the advertised distance - as it was originally. It's as if fans and media have come full circle - such as that one can make a circle out of Pocono's triangle.

Following the race, Osterlund tapped David Pearson to drive his #2 car as Earnhardt healed. Pearson had a great run in four starts with one pole, one win, no starts worse than fifth, and top 10 finishes in all four races. Osterlund, however, almost needed a B alternate. Pearson considered declining the offer to race because of a possible conflict with a commitment to work as TV color analyst.

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal

TMC

Forty-five years ago, several of NASCAR's national Late Model Sportsman drivers traveled to Nashville's Fairground Speedways. They prepared to race against many of the local drivers in the STP 200.

Darrell Waltrip was the local hot shoe at the fairgounds and wasn't yet a big timer at the Cup level. He won the track's LMS title in 1970, piled up a bunch of wins, and was seeking sole possession of second place for the most career wins at Nashville.

Source: The Tennessean

Though Waltrip was a full-time racer at Nashville, he had begun his Cup career with two starts in Talladega's Winston 500 and Atlanta's Dixie 500. He was hustling the first weekend in August 1972 as he practiced and qualified for the Talladega 500 and returned to qualify and race at the fairgrounds.

Despite the hectic traveling, Waltrip won the pole for the STP 200 in his #48 American Homes Chevrolet. Another local driver, Charlie Binkley, qualified on the front row next to Ol' DW. Some expected out-of-town drivers didn't arrive in-town on Friday for first round of qualifying. Drivers such as Jack Ingram, Grant Adcox, and Tony Bettenhausen raced elsewhere Friday night. They then made the overnight drive to Nashville for a quick practice, qualifying run, and race.

Source: The Tennessean

Early in the season when Waltrip secured his sponsor, his car was painted all white with blue numbers. Once the season got rolling, the sides of the car were painted red with white numbers.

Despite arriving on the day of the race, future NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Jack Ingram served notice he came to race. Waltrip, however, plan to defend his home turf.

For the first 75 laps or so, Waltrip was king of the hill. He leveraged his top starting spot to grab the lead and keep everyone behind him. He hit pit road on lap 76 under caution and returned to the track.

Two laps later, Ingram made his stop before the green returned - but had an issues that cost him a lap. Ingram believed he finished his stop in time to peel off Nashville's makeshift pit road on its quarter-mile track and return to track ahead of the pace car. A track official felt otherwise, however, and held Ingram until the field passed. Home cookin' advantage for Waltrip? Who knows. But suddenly Ingram found himself a lap down.

A couple of laps after Waltrip made his stop, he was blackflagged for a missing gas cap. He acknowledged the flag and hit the pits to replace the cap. He returned to the track in the lead, but Ingram made up his lap during Waltrip's extra stop.

The caution flew once again on lap 114. Waltrip pitted once again for fuel that apparently wasn't even needed to make it to the end of the race. The reason for the extra and seemingly unnecessary stop isn't known. What is known is Waltrip and his team lost sight of the fact that Ingram was back on the lead lap.

When the race returned to green, Ingram found himself at the head of the pack with Waltrip at the end of it. Over the next 10-20 laps, Waltrip hammered down and sliced through the field in his pursuit of Ingram.

Waltrip dove low under Ingram coming out of turn 4 on lap 129. His #48 Chevelle twitched, and Ingram kept his lead with momentum on the high side. For the balance of the race, Waltrip stayed after Ingram's brown #11 Chevelle. Ingram kept his foot in it, however, and led the remaining 70 laps to take the win.

Source: The Tennessean

Waltrip had little time to lick his wounds over the pit call miscue. After cleaning up following the Nashville race, he had to make a beeline back to Talladega to race Sunday afternoon. He had a small victory in that he led for a seven-lap stretch in his recently purchased Mercury that had once been part of the Holman Moody fleet.

Following the race, an odd post-race note was published in The Tennessean. The article noted Waltrip was only the second rookie in NASCAR history to lead a superspeedway race.

I didn't realize such a stat was were ever maintained - though I suppose writers started crawling for information when Waltrip's #95 Mercury took the lead. Also, the internet for the general public clearly wasn't up and running, and information from sources such as Racing-Reference.info wasn't just a click away.

But from what I've been able to determine, I'm not sure either fact noted in the column is correct. Billy Wade is not credited with ever officially leading a lap at Daytona. A few examples of other rookies leading a superspeedway race before Waltrip, however, include:

Tiger Tom Pistone - 1959 Daytona 500
Richard Petty - 1959 Southern 500
Richard Brickhouse - 1969 Talladega 500
Earl Balmer - 1964 Firecracker 400

TMC

On June 5, 1982, Mike Alexander and Sterling Marlin crashed as Marlin attempted to pass Alexander for the lead late in the 50-lap Grand American feature. Both went home with wrecked cars, but Alexander got the worst end of the deal with a concussion.

Doyle Ford, Nashville's race director (and later Winston Cup flag man), didn't like what he saw and filed a letter of reprimand against Marlin with the NASCAR office in Daytona Beach. Marlin's reaction? He returned the next week and won. Two weeks later, he won yet again - two days after NASCAR officially placed Marlin on probation for the rest of the season because of the June accident.

As the summer months rolled on, Marlin continued his scorching streak with two more feature wins in July. On August 14th, the track scheduled a 'big race', the 200-lap Winston 200.

While many eyes, cheers, and boos would be directed towards Marlin, the race featured another storyline. Tony Formosa, Jr. was scheduled to make his first Nashville start in 3 years. Formosa began his driving career at Nashville. He also watched his father Tony Sr. field formidable limited sportsman cars for Sonny Upchurch. Today, Tony Jr. is the leaseholder and promoter of Fairgrounds Speedway as Nashville's track is now known.

Source: The Tennessean

Alexander returned to the track after a five-week absence and won the pole for the race. His rival Marlin lined up alongside him on the front row. When the green fell, Alexander snagged the lead and set the pace for the first 20 laps.

But that was all Alexander had. A part failure sent him home early, and Marlin began his domination of the remainder of the race. Again.

Wayne Carden tried to fill the gap after Alexander exited the race. He dogged Marlin over half the race but couldn't quite catch him. A tire issue forced Carden to make an extra stop, and he wasn't able to recover to be a continuing challenger.

Marlin won going away and by six laps over second place finisher, Duke Monroe. His win came just a few days after NASCAR lifted his remainder-of-season probation penalty.

The notice from NASCAR about the lifting of the probation apparently included no explanation. In an interview with Larry Woody of The Tennessean, Marlin said "I guess the people there thought about it some more and realized I hadn't really done anything."

Source: The Tennessean

Marlin sloughed off the wreck with Alexander, the reprimand, the probation, and the lifting of the probation. He just kept on a'winning. Though he wasn't rattled, the track (and Marlin's car) had a couple of jitters during and following the Winston 200.

A couple of limited sportsman drivers and crewmen went to jawing with one another following their race. Track officials and a police officer were monitoring the situation, and the policeman thought things were about the escalate. Six cop cars were dispatched to the track - though the encounter was much ado about nothing.

In addition to the crew feudin', the track's scoreboard wasn't working because of a maintenance worker's mistake. To this day, the track's scoreboard - though prominently positioned - remains virtually impossible to read in any condition other than on a pitch black night.

The third (known) challenge of the night involved Marlin's car. During post-race inspection, officials found Marlin's #14 Coors Camaro had a bit more left side weight than technically allowed. Doyle Ford was willing to award Marlin the win and Duke Monroe his second place finish because a 2 percent variance had been judgmentally allowed during the season.

Carden, however, wasn't willing to accept the ruling. At stake was not only the race win but also the season championship. From his perspective, the decision had big consequences. Marlin's win would also give him the championship. A DQ of Marlin and a win by Carden would give Carden the title.

Ford then made the decision ... to wait. Rather than rule that night on his own, he agreed to discuss the matter with Bill Gazaway, NASCAR's Director of Competition in Daytona Beach.

The discussion with Gazaway didn't take long. A couple of days after the race, Marlin was awarded the win and, as a result, his third track title. Gazaway noted he wasn't a fan of the unwritten measurement tolerance - but agreed the track had to the discretion to have such a policy.

Source: The Tennessean

The decision clearly didn't sit well with Carden who had plenty of strong words for Marlin and the track's inspection process. He probably fumed over the next few months as he looped Luke The Drifter's ♫ Your Cheatin' Car ♫.

TMC

Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip both changed teams in 1981, and both tangled for the Winston Cup title. Waltrip prevailed over Allison as the the championship battle came down to the final race of the season at Riverside, CA's road course - a season without lucky dogs, stages, or a playoff.

In 1982, Waltrip remained with his green, Mountain Dew-sponsored team. Allison left the #28 Harry Ranier team and got a green, beverage-sponsored car of his own. He joined the #88 DiGard, Gatorade team - the car Waltrip vacated after the 1980 season. Despite the move, Allison again challenged Waltrip for the Cup in '82. He was seeking his first title as Waltrip looked to repeat.

As the season hit the two-thirds mark, the teams arrived at Michigan International Speedway for the Champion Spark Plug 400. Waltrip had banked seven wins through that part of the season, and Allison had notched five victories - including the Daytona 500.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

As an indication of what was to come over the rest of the 1980s, Bill Elliot won the pole in his #9 Melling Tool boxy Thunderbird with Waltrip lined-up alongside him. Ricky Rudd and Buddy Baker made up the second row, and Buddy Arrington qualified an impressive fifth in his Chrysler. The starting spot was the third best of his career.

Kyle Petty timed eighth - easily his best start in his limited 1982 schedule in the #1 STP/UNO, Hoss Ellington car. He raced a Pontiac - the only time he did so when racing for Ellington. It's possible the Ellington car was actually from the Petty Enterprises fleet as Hoss normally fielded a Buick or Chevrolet in other 1982 races.

Country singer Marty Robbins attempted to make his first Michigan start in three years. He could not, however, muster enough speed. His qualifying lap ranked 37th for a race that only slotted 36 cars. Two other drivers - Al Loquasto and Ronnie Thomas - had qualifying speeds slower than Robbins. They earned provisional starts over Robbins based on higher ranking owners' points.

Marty returned to start one more race in his #22 purple and yellow, self-sponsored Buick, the Atlanta Journal 500 in November, before sadly passing away from a heart attack in December.

When the green fell, Elliott seized the early lead. After six laps, however, Waltrip went to the point for nine laps. Then Yarborough led - then Allison - then Geoff Bodine - then Dave Marcis - then Arrington, Tim Richmond, and Morgan Shepherd. Yes, nine drivers led at least one lap before one of them took the top spot for a second time (Richmond). Through the first third of the race, Allison was the only driver to lead more than a dozen laps in one stretch.

Elliott's plan for a solid day ended early when he clobbered Loquasto. Ricky Rudd made a move to pass Waltrip. He couldn't quite pull it off, tried to slide back into line, and nicked Loquasto as they overtook him. Loquasto then spun and collected Elliott in the process.

Rudd and Richard Petty also spun but straightened their cars and continued onward. Elliott went to the garage for extensive repairs. He returned to the track and finished the race but no longer as a factor in it.

Fans saw things settle down a bit during the second half of the race. Rather than a large number of drivers leading a small number of laps, a few controlled the final 100 circuits. Waltrip, Petty, and Allison were the lap bullies, and they let Bodine lead only a single lap of the last 100.

As the raced near its end, Waltrip developed an engine issue. He finished the race but faded to 7th, two laps down to the leaders. With about 25 laps to go, the King trailed the leader Allison by almost 4 seconds. But Petty focused, found another line that worked, and began cutting into Allison's lead.

With two to go, Allison's mirror was full of the day-glo red and Petty Blue 43. Petty had recovered from his spin on lap 20 and was looking to win for the first time since the 1981 edition of the Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan.

As Allison took the white flag, Petty was all over him and made a couple of moves to set Allison up for the winning pass. Allison twitched as he came out of turn 4 - his car losing grip - and perhaps doing a bit more mirror driving than forward facing racing.

Allison held on to his lead and flashed across the start-finish line with Petty just a half car-length or so behind.

The race was the 24th and final time Petty and Allison finished in the top two positions of a Grand National / Winston Cup race.

Allison pulled to within one victory of Waltrip by besting the 43 at Michigan. He'd win two more times in the final third of the season. Waltrip, however, won five more times in the final 10 races of the season and claimed his second consecutive title at Riverside. Petty, on the other hand, unfortunately went the rest of the year without a win.

The race as it aired on ESPN....

TMC

Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway hosted Grand National / Cup racing from 1958 through 1984. The original track that opened in '58 was reconstructed in 1970. The banking was increased to 35 degrees - similar to Bristol's configuration today. The track underwent another re-design in 1973 that dropped the banking to 18 degrees, and that design remains in this place. But in the early 70s, my gosh was that place lightning quick...

The 1972 Nashville 420 was messed up on multiple levels:

A big pothole developed during qualifying on Friday, and the race was delayed on Saturday as repairs were made.
The track's turn 3 electronic leader board went out during Friday night qualifying.
The King lost valuable time to Bobby Allison because of a messed-up pit road and miscommunication between the driver, crew and a NASCAR official.
The run-down of the race in Greg Fielden's Forty Years of Stock Car Racing Volume 4 book is messed up because Fielden noted the date of the race as August 27th.
The internet is messed up because just about every web page about the race also notes the date as August 27 - likely because they simply ran with Fielden's info or copied the date from another site.

But despite issues with the asphalt and subsequent documentation, the race was indeed held under the lights on Saturday night, August 26th and not on Sunday the 27th.

Richard Petty came to town a couple of days before the race for a press conference at the Airport Hilton to help promote the race. Coincidentally, I attended my one and only Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet at the same Hilton two years later before I'd even learned about racing or Richard Petty.

Coo Coo Marlin and Miss Fairgrounds Speedway Deborah Jett joined Petty at the Hilton, and The Tennessean published a photo of their gathering.

The photo published in the paper was heavily cropped - and it begs the question: who applied that STP sticker?

Among the questions answered and opinions given, Petty suggested the Saturday race would be a rough and tough one. On the one hand, King's response could have been a typical reply at any promotional presser. As it turns out though, Petty's observation was spot-on for how qualifying and the race would unfold.

Do I like the track? Yes and no. I like the way I have been able to finish here. But it is hard on equipment. It's hard on the drivers. I'll say one thing. There is never a dull moment. You've got to stay with it.

Another interesting observation from Petty is as relevant in 2017 as it was in 1972. Petty was asked where the next generation of drivers would come from. His reply:

They were asking that same question in my father's day. That's no problem. New ones keep coming along. There is more talent in driving than car building.

Bobby Allison was another driver who arrived in town a couple of days early. In addition to racing Junior Johnson's Coca-Cola sponsored Chevy at the fairgrounds, Allison towed his late model Chevelle to town to race at Highland Rim Speedway just north of Nashville on Thursday night before Cup activities began. Not only did he race at Highland Rim (and pocket some walkin' around money), he won!

Source: The Tennessean

Allison moved from The Rim in Goodlettsville, TN on Thursday to Nashville's fairgrounds, and he won the pole in the Friday night qualifying session. After Cup qualifying was completed, local driver Darrell Waltrip won the late model sportsman race.

Source: The Tennessean

Qualifying alongside Allison for the 420 was King Richard in his STP Plymouth. The 43 team began transitioning to Dodges in the spring of 1972 (teammate Buddy Baker was already driving one); however, the team continued to race Plymouths the rest of the season on short tracks, at Dover, and on Riverside's road course.

Local driver and four-time track champion, Coo Coo Marlin, started third. At the time, the starting spot was a career best starting spot for Marlin. He later qualified P2 at Talladega in 1976. Independent driver Cecil Gordon and 1970 champion Bobby Isaac rounded out the top five starters.

Starting 12th was Waltrip, a relatively unknown to the Cup regulars but a familiar face at Nashville. He was the track's 1970 late model sportsman champion and frequent winner, and he was starting his fourth career Cup race in a former Holman Moody Mercury - the same one Mario Andretti raced to his win in the 1967 Daytona 500.

The field gets ready to take the green.

As noted in the above article from The Tennessean, the condition of the track had already become an issue during qualifying. A pothole had developed, and the cars tried to dodge it during time trials.

The drivers blamed the NASCAR.
NASCAR blamed track officials.
Track promoter Bill Donoho Sr. blamed the paving contractor.

Yet NASCAR and Donoho forged ahead with the race. Nothing was done to the track during the day on Saturday - arguably a mess-up. Yet when race time arrived, the start was delayed almost 90 minutes as track officials then rallied to make repairs. A steam roller was tethered to the winch of a tow truck on the high side of the track, and efforts were made to patch the deteriorating surface.

Hey y'all, watch this!

The race got off to a messed-up start. After taking the green flag, Marlin and Isaac wrecked on the first lap. They squandered their prime starting spots and finished 26th and 27th respectively in the 28-car field.

So who finished 28th and dead last? Lee Roy Yarbrough - without even taking the green. Lee Roy slowed on the pace lap, pulled off the track at the start, and parked his #45 Bill Seifert Ford without explanation - a truly messed-up situation. It was Yarbrough's second and final start at Nashville.

After the lap one wreck was cleaned up and the race returned to green, Allison led the first 10 percent of the race. Cecil Gordon managed to lead lap 43, and then car 43 went to the point. Petty led the next 124 laps before Allison reclaimed the lead to set sail for 157 laps. The King then reclaimed the lead for a few laps before needing a pit stop.

For twenty years, Nashville had an odd pit configuration. Cars came off turn 4, passed the start-finish line, hooked left on the inner quarter-mile track, got service, re-entered the track from turn 4 of the quarter-mile, passed the start-finish line again (though without being scored for another lap), and blended back into traffic.

As the 43 screamed off pit road, a NASCAR official held up the stop paddle because of on-track traffic coming out of turn 4. Petty already had a head of steam and was likely looking over his right shoulder to find a place to blend in. Consequently, he missed the stop paddle and was on his way back up to speed.

NASCAR official Bill Gazaway wasn't interested in why Petty missed the paddle - just that he did. The 43 was called to pit road to serve a one-lap penalty. The mild-mannered King blew a fuse in the car barking at Gazaway. The Junior Johnson and Petty Enterprises crews then barked at each other as well as at Gazaway.

Petty eventually got back on the lead lap with Allison but could never track him down again to take the lead. Allison took the win, and an angry Petty finished second. The two were sixteen laps ahead of third place finisher Waltrip. Despite the large deficit from 2nd to 3rd, the finish was easily the best of DWs brief career. The race was the 14th of 24 times that Petty and Allison finished in the top two positions.

Source: The Tennessean

Following the race, Allison offered to help Donoho and his team re-design the track and its steep and overly-fast turns. He made good on his offer by visiting the track again in November 1972.

Source: The Tennessean

Plans were sketched to drop the banking to 18 degrees. Allison reviewed the plans, liked what he saw, and said he would return to race on the new track. The corners were indeed lowered, and the track was repaved in time for the 1973 racing season. The pavement rolled between 1972 and 1973 remains the track's surface in 2017.

TMC

A couple of NASCAR's national late model sportsman drivers came to Nashville in late summer '76 to race against the local heroes in the third annual Bob Hunley Memorial 100.

Bob Hunley was an amateur racer and a full-time Metro Nashville policeman. He raced in the fairgrounds' late model sportsman division for much of the 1960s and into the 1970s. Sadly, Hunley was killed during a race on April 29, 1972. From April 30, 1972, edition of The Tennessean:

An off-duty Metro patrolman was killed last night when his race car slammed into a retaining wall at Fairgrounds Speedway in the fourth lap of a late-model sportsman race.

Bobby Hunley was dead on arrival at Baptist Hospital after the speedway accident.

Hunley's 1964 Chevelle collided with another car in a group of five autos jockeying for positions on the straight-away. Hunley's auto flipped over several times, then struck a retaining wall at a turn on the quarter-mile track.

Two other cars were involved in the track collision, but there were no other injuries. Hunley's wife, Wilma, and children reportedly were in the fairgrounds audience when the crash occurred. The patrolman was scheduled to go on duty with the police department at midnight following the race.

In an interview last year, Mrs. Hunley said she could seldom relax at home, knowing her husband was a police officer during work hours and a race car driver on his off nights. "A night never goes by that I don't worry about his welfare," she said. "When he leaves out of here, especially on that midnight shift, I never know if I'll see him again.

"Then when he's racing, I have to sweat out each turn he makes. I never take my eyes off him when he's on the track. Even though I can't stand to watch Robert race, I can't stand to stay at home and wonder what's happening. If something ever goes wrong, I want to be there," she said.

In addition to his widow, Hunley is survived by a son and two daughters.

L.D. Ottinger broke Nashville's track record with his qualifying lap. But less than a minute later, fellow NASCAR national LMS division competitor, Harry Gant, set his own track record.

When the green flag fell, Ottinger got the jump on Gant and grabbed the lead. From there, it was all L.D. - all night - all race. He won handily over the rest of the field.

Credit Jim Phillips and MRM Racing Photos

Local racer Steve Spencer finished second. Coincidentally, Spencer raced a Chevelle purchased from Ottinger. He also won the track's 1977 LMS title in L.D.'s former car.

Neil Bonnett, balancing a schedule of Cup and late model races, claimed third. Alton Jones finished fourth and later claimed the track's LMS title in 1976. Despite winning the pole, Gant wasn't a factor and finished 16th.

Source: The Tennessean from TMC Archives

On Monday after the race, The Tennessean ran a follow-up column about Ottinger's dominance in the Hunley 100 written by Larry Woody, the long-time racing beat writer and humorist for the paper. Woody made it sound as if L.D. won the pole with Gant qualifying second.

I had listened to the race coverage on WENO-AM radio on Saturday night and knew Gant was quickest. Woody's race report in the Sunday paper included the same info.

Source: The Tennessean

As a still relatively new race fan and one more passionate about the late model heroes at Nashville than NASCAR's Cup drivers (Richard Petty not withstanding), I made the choice to let Mr. Woody know the facts and wrote him a letter. Though I don't remember my exact wording, I think I penned a polite but direct one. At least my 11 year-old conscience was clear.

A few days later on a Saturday morning, our black, rotary phone rang in the kitchen. My mother answered, acknowledged a couple of uh-huhs, handed the phone to me, and smirked a bit as she said "It's for you."

After saying hello, the voice on the other end said "Chase? Larry Woody from The Tennessean. How are you?" I nearly puddled on the kitchen floor. I recall Larry was pleasant though I kinda hemmed and hawed. Yet I was able to re-state my understanding about Gant's lap, and Larry understood the mix-up between his Sunday and Monday articles.

When the call ended, I'm sure I broke out in sweat and hives. I have no memory of what my mother said afterwards - if anything. She may have just gone back to making biscuits for my dad or helping my brother or sister with a school project

Though I've spoken with Larry a time or two by phone on local racing radio shows, I've never had the opportunity to meet him face to face. I'm hopeful that day will still come so I can remind him of this story and hopefully share a laugh with him about it.

TMC

Richard Petty had a season for the ages in 1967. He won 27 of 48 races - including ten in a row. One of the signature wins that season was the Southern 500 at Darlington. The King had won Darlington's spring Rebel 400 twice and notched four top 5 finishes in the Southern 500 between 1959 and 1966. But it took him nearly a decade to finally land the Southern 500 trophy.

Petty had another dominant season going eight years later in 1975. The re-branded and reduced Winston Cup schedule included 30 races rather than 48 in 1967. Through the two-thirds mark of the season, the 43 Dodge already had nine victories and fifteen top 5 finishes. The circuit then returned to Darlington for the annual, deep southern tradition.

When Roger Penske began his Cup team on a limited basis in 1972, he fielded an AMC Matador. Around the midpoint of 1974, Bobby Allison joined Penske for a handful of races. In 1975, Allison raced for Penske in 19 Cup races as well as five USAC Indy car races, including the Indianapolis 500.

Driving the red, white, and blue Coca-Cola Matador, Allison's pairing with Penske won the Rebel 500 in April 1975. The team was looking for the season sweep as a significant accomplishment during a season otherwise dominated by the King.

South Carolinian David Pearson won the pole in the #21 Wood Brothers, Purolator Mercury. Buddy Baker flanked Pearson on the front row in his Ford fielded by another South Carolinian, Bud Moore. Allison, Petty, and Benny Parsons rounded out the top five starters.

Cale Yarborough, yet another South Carolina native, blew an engine in practice before qualifying. His Junior Johnson team did not have a spare to use so one was borrowed from Hoss Ellington's team so Cale could qualify. He missed the first round on Thursday but was able to use the borrowed powerplant to make the field via Friday's second round. Johnson's team had a replacement engine brought to the track from Junior's shop in North Wilkesboro so it could be installed for the Labor Day race.

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal via Google News Archive

Pearson took the lead on the green and stayed there for the first twenty laps or so before Baker went around to lead the next nine. Independents Bruce Hill and Tennessee's David Sisco then got time out front before Pearson cycled back to the top spot.

A very ill Petty passed Pearson to take the lead for the first time on lap 46. The King was suffering bad headaches and flu, and he had a difficult time staying in the car in the humid weather. Champions play hurt, however, and he led the next 57 laps.

Credit: Woody Delbridge

After Dave Marcis led a couple of laps, Petty re-assumed the lead and stayed on the point for another 24 laps. Pearson, Marcis and Petty then swapped the lead back and forth over the next 100 laps or so. Marcis #71 K&K Dodge developed an overheating issue, however, and he left the race near lap 200.

The Petty crew tracked down Marcis to see if he lend a hand to their worsening driver. On Petty's next pit stop, the King turned over the driving to Marcis as he tried to get some strength back.

Petty wasn't the only driver struggling. Benny Parsons also had a tough time wheeling the car around the high line while battling sickness. BP turned his #72 Chevy over to DW - Darrell Waltrip - after Waltrip's engine overheated

Waltrip was making only his third start with DiGard. And for the second time in those three starts, he had an engine failure. DW was none too happy with the performance of the team he'd recently joined.

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal via Google News Archive

On lap 244, Bruce Jacobi and James Hylton bumped one another with Hylton getting the worst end of the deal. The relief drivers - Marcis in Petty's 43 and Waltrip in Parsons' 72 - were collateral damage. Hylton and Parsons were done for the day as was Waltrip for the second time that day. Marcis was able to gather the 43 and return to the race.

About 50 laps later and with about 70 laps to go, heavy thunderstorms arrived and soaked the track. The race was red-flagged for nearly ninety minutes. With cars leaving the race early because of overheating and drivers needing relief for illness, the rain was a bit of a relief for the tortuous race.

Long-time Petty fan and Darlington attendee Tim Leeming recalls additional rain the day before:

It was not too long after dark that lightning began to break the darkness, but it wasn't until the thunder boomed so loudly and the lightning seemed to strike right beside us that we all got in the motorhomes and cars. Within what seemed like seconds, it began to rain in torrents as well as hail about the size of dimes. Inside the motorhome the sound was unbelievable.

When the storm passed, we opened the door of the motorhome to find about two inches of water underfoot. As we looked down towards turn three, it appeared as though a lake had formed. By this time, the clouds had moved over and the moon showed us what appeared to be only the tops of cars in turn three with folks standing on top of them. A group of us headed in that direction to see if we could help.

As we got closer to the turn three area, we were soon up to almost our waists in water but it got no higher and was beginning to lower as the infield drains were working. When we got to the tunnel going under turn three, we could not believe what we saw. The tunnel was filled to within about four feet of the top with water. We waded into the tunnel and began to use it as a swimming pool as it was seriously full and not receding at all. It did not occur to me (too many beers) or to anyone else in our group to consider that there were NO law enforcement authorities or track workers anywhere around to stop our swimming.

Within minutes, a couple of the guys in the group decided to swim through the tunnel and see what was going on outside. About 10 minutes passed, and I was getting worried about my friends. I then heard laughing and splashing as they were swimming back through the tunnel. I will never know how they managed to swim back through the tunnel with all the banners they had ripped off the fence outside the tunnel. We had STP, Winston Welcomes Race Fans, and a couple other major sponsors banners.

When we got back to turn three, this time there were law enforcement officers everywhere. I was convinced they were after the bandits who removed the signs. But one of them told me the drain in the tunnel was stopped up and they were bringing in the Navy Reserve frog man from a reserve unit in Florence to unstop the drain. I never saw the frog man, but the tunnel was soon draining and in a matter of minutes it was clear.

When the sun came up on race day, we got out all the banners that had been relocated from their original position outside the track and hung them from the motorhomes and converted bus. As the race got closer, more folks joined our group who came for just the day. By the start of the race, I am guessing there were almost 70 of us assembled there.

Allison and the Matador were almost two full laps behind at one point during the race. With so many cars falling out and Allison's perseverance, however, he moved into the lead on lap 289 - just before the rain returned.

During the rain delay, Petty got a chance to recover a bit. He belted back into the 43 and readied to win the Southern 500 for a second time in another dominant season.

When the race returned to green, Allison was in the right spot to win. Then with about 50 laps to go, a shock broke and Bobby watched the scoreboard as Petty began to close. The King rallied from the driver change - and the spin by Marcis - and his illness to get back on the lead lap.

Allison was conserving fuel in addition to managing his failing suspension and watching the scoreboard and lap times. But in the end, Petty simply ran out of laps to track down Allison. The Matador took the checkered flag for the second time in '75.

Petty finished second - the only other car on the lead lap. The race was the 44th of 51 times the King and Allison finished in the top two spots.

Sisco, a two-time Nashville Speedway late model sportsman champion, matched a career high Cup finish with his P3. Jim Vandiver finished fourth in his H.B. Ranier-owned Dodge. Ranier was the father of Harry Ranier, who later started his own team that eventually transitioned to Robert Yates Racing in 1989.

More memories from Tim Leeming:

All of us on our motorhome were of course cheering for that 43, and I think we believed until the checkered flag waved that Richard would catch that Matador. But we stood on top of the RV and watched Bobby take a well earned win. We watched him celebrate in Victory Lane right in front of us. We didn't cheer him, but we didn't boo him either. We could appreciate what an effort he had made to win that race.

Many thanks to Tim Leeming for his contributions to this post.

TMC

Some of NASCAR's finest national late model sportsman drivers in 1973 filed entry forms to race in the Frank Reed Memorial 100 on Labor Day night at Nashville's Fairground Speedways - later known as Nashville Speedway and today known as Fairgrounds Speedway.

Frank Reed tragically died while running third on lap 12 of a 15-lap race on September 19, 1956. The event was part of the 1956 Tennessee State Fair. Reed perished on Nashville's one-mile dirt track, the predecessor to today's half-mile asphalt Fairgrounds Speedway. The racer from Murfreesboro was 29 years old and a father of two young sons.

Reed was the only driver killed on the one-mile track. Three drivers perished between 1971 and 1972 when the track was steeply banked. None have died as a result of a racing accident at the track since.

Jimmy "Smut" Means won the pole for the Reed Memorial race. But he faced steep competition in his effort to win at the middle Tennessee track where he'd started racing in addition to racing regularly in Huntsville, Alabama.

Out-of-towners that rolled into Music City to battle door-to-door with the local drivers included L. D. Ottinger, Neil Bonnett, Grant Adcox, and three-time NASCAR LMS champion Red Farmer.

The list also included Jack Ingram, a 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee. Ingram won NASCAR's national LMS title in 1972 after Farmer's three-year run, and he was looking to repeat in 1973. One way to ensure a second consecutive title was to nab the victory and points at Nashville.

Source: The Tennessean

Local driver Darrell Waltrip also planned to challenge for the win - though he first had to arrive. Waltrip won Nashville's LMS title in 1970 and was in the thick of the mix for a second title three year later. While competing for the track's championship, however, DW had set his sights on a future career in Winston Cup racing.

After racing a used Mercury in several races in 1972 and 1973, Waltrip prepared to make his first Cup start for owner Bud Moore in the Southern 500 at Darlington. Once Waltrip finished his race in South Carolina, he planned to make a beeline to Nashville for the Reed race later the same day.

Source: The Tennessean

As it turns out, Waltrip made it to the end of the race in Darlington. He finished 8th in his first Southern 500, and he did not return to Nashville in time to race. He did, however, continue to race the remainder of the season and won his second track LMS title.

Source: The Tennessean

Farmer got by Means when the green dropped and led the first 17 laps in R.C. Alexander's famed #84 Harpeth Ford sponsored car. Bob Burcham, a frequent Fairgrounds racer from Chattanooga, then took the lead from Farmer.

Once Burcham went to the point, he defended the position from some worthy challengers. First, Farmer tried to retake the lead he'd lost earlier - but he couldn't get close enough to pass Burcham. Near halfway of the race, Ottinger took his shot. He got beside Burcham but couldn't complete the pass either. L.D.'s engine gave up the ghost about 20 laps after his surge, and he was done for the night.

Means hung around all night and watched as one driver after another took their shot at Burcham. As Ottinger's car was loaded on the trailer, Means found a bit more speed and went after Burcham.

For the final 30 laps of the race, the two cars battled side by side. As the duo continued to race off turn 4, however, Burcham always found just a little bit more speed to lead each lap.

The white flag waved, and the two cars sailed into turn 1 - Means to the inside and Burcham with his momentum on the outside. They stayed that way down the backstretch and through turns 3 and four. At the finish line, folks couldn't determine the winner in the near-photo finish.

But the call was made that Means had indeed edged out Burcham at the line - the only moment of the race that he led. The win was Mean's first at Nashville. Neil Bonnett finished third followed by Freddy Fryar and Farmer.

Source: The Tennessean

Means won the track championship in Huntsville in 1973 and notched his first win in Nashville the same year. He continued to race at the Fairgrounds in 1974 and captured the track's LMS championship.

Finishing order:

Jimmy Means
Bob Burcham
Neil Bonnett
Freddy Fryar
Red Farmer
Jack Ingram
Donnie Anthony
Paddlefoot Wales
Jimmy Wall
Charlie Binkley
Don Smith
Gary Myers
Wayne Carden
James Ham
Doyle Belcher
Dorris Vaughn
Jim Berry
James Climer
L.D. Ottinger
Ronnie Dixon
Windle Webster
Jim Robinson
Charles Greenwell
Phil Stillings
Bill Tate
Tommy Andrews
Johnny Johnson
Grant Adcox
Steve Spencer
Clyde Peoples

TMC

The 1982 Southern 500 was the 22nd race of a 30-race Winston Cup season, and was the next-to-last Southern 500 held on Monday - true Labor Day.

The season's points battle was shaping up as a repeat of 1981. Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip were again pushing one another week to week, race to race. Terry Labonte, three years removed from his rookie season, was thick in the mix as well. But on a pleasantly warm, late summer day at Darlington in September 1982, the three of them took a backseat to a few other legends of the era.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

As shown above, the Wood Brothers were featured on the program cover along with their driver Neil Bonnett. Throughout the 1970s, the Woods' 21 Mercury frequently won the pole with David Pearson. The two parted ways in 1979, and Pearson raced only in selected Cup races afterwards.

But the Silver Fox never forgot his way around Darlington. Sure enough, in a Bobby Hawkins-owned, Chattanooga Chew-sponsored #03 Buick, Pearson again won the pole. The top spot was Pearson's last career pole and his twelfth at Darlington.

Source: Spartanburg Herald Journal

Waltrip and Allison kept each other in sight and were both quick in qualifying. Waltrip lined up alongside Pearson, and Allison started third. Joe Ruttman and Dale Earnhardt in Bud Moore's Ford rounded out the top 5 starters.

Miss Cathy Lee Knauss won the traditional Miss Southern 500 pageant held before each year's race. Though it's uncertain that she was related to Chad Knauss, rumor has it she asked for a rules interpretation for the talent and swimsuit components of the contest.

Source: Sumter Daily Item via Google News Archive

Kyle Petty qualified 24th in Hoss Ellington's STP/UNO Chevrolet. The Southern 500 was the only time Hoss fielded a Chevy in 1982 for Kyle or any of his other drivers that year (Benny Parsons, Donnie Allison, and Buddy Baker). One is led to wonder if Hoss leased the car from another team to see if it would race better than the other cars he'd used that year.

Kyle raced a Chevrolet for Petty Enterprises in 1979-80. After NASCAR reduced the Cup wheelbase to 110 inches in 1981, however, Kyle raced a Chevy only two times during the remainder of his career. The first time was the 1982 Darlington race, and the other was in a Monte Carlo borrowed from Hendrick Motorsports as a backup for the 1989 Coke 600 at Charlotte.

Kyle's day was about on par with his other starts with Ellington: average. After qualifying poorly, he got caught up in an early caution with independent driver Tommy Gale. The #1 Chevy returned to race to the credit of Kyle and the crew, and Kyle salvaged a 14th place finish - the best of his six starts for Ellington.

TMC Archives

When the green dropped, the field sailed off into turn 1 with Pearson taking the early lead. Down the backstretch (Darlington's frontstretch today), Allison dropped low with the plan of taking the lead. But Pearson held his line, and Allison lost a bit of ground as he fell back a few car lengths.

A couple of laps later, however, Allison made his pass on Pearson to take the lead. Waltrip followed suite and went with Allison. Richard Petty soon came from his eighth starting spot to take the lead. And on it went for the first 20 percent or so of the race: Allison, Petty, Pearson, and Tim Richmond.

During the first caution, an oil line broke on rookie Mark Martin's Buick. The oil ignited, and flames erupted immediately under the car and from under the hood.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Martin's first Southern 500 was certainly spectacular and memorable but perhaps more because of his perseverance than the fire. He stopped the car right away, he was pulled from the car, the flames were extinguished, and the car was towed to the garage. Martin's crew thrashed on it, and he re-entered the race to earn a 22nd place finish - the final car still running at the end.

Near lap 80, Pearson's plan of winning at Darlington yet again ended. His Buick broke an axle, and he was done for the day. Labonte, who entered the race second in points, followed Pearson to the trailer 40 laps later when his #44 Buick lost an engine and popped the wall. After Waltrip led several more laps at different stages, he too lost an engine and exited at lap 241.

With DNFs by Labonte and Waltrip, Allison had the opportunity to open a wider points gap. Instead, his 88 Gatorade Buick had issues of its own. He finished the race - but 40 laps down and only a few spots ahead of Waltrip in the final standings.

Over the final 30 laps, the race turned into a three-car battle between Earnhardt, Richard Petty, and Yarborough. Throughout his career, Petty had a reputation as a smooth driver. He could flat dominate a race or perhaps outlast the competition to seize a victory near the end of the race.

But having not won at Darlington in 15 years nor at all in about a year, the King displayed a new personality. Petty's Pontiac dogged Cale in the remaining laps. He leaned on him in the corners - wisps of tire smoke rising from between the two cars.

Source: Sumter Daily Item

With 12 to go, Petty stuck his car to the inside, fought his Grand Prix as the rear drift into Cale's Buick, stood on the gas, and took the lead. As he did so, Earnhardt watched from third and had a thought about taking the leaders three-wide. Instead, he cracked just a moment and watched as the two titans settled it between themselves.

From TMC Archives

Four laps later, Cale went back to the point. As Petty worked through his plan to set up Cale once again for the lead - and the win, the two came upon a couple of lapped cars. Both times, the King threaded the needle, nicked the inside slower car, bounced off Cale, and kept his foot in it.

But time ran out. Cale was able to maintain the lead and gapped Petty a bit as King managed his swerving car and worn out tires. Yarborough breezed across the finish time to claim his fifth Southern 500 win with Petty a close second. The race was the 44th and final time Petty and Yarborough finished in the top two spots.

The win was Cale's third of the year with owner M.C. Anderson and fifth over two limited seasons. Anderson had a desire to return to full-time Cup racing as he had in 1979 and 1980. Yarborough was committed, however, to sticking to his new career path of running only selected events.

As a result, Anderson stepped away from NASCAR altogether and sold his team to drag racer Raymond Beadle. Yarborough moved to Ranier Racing in 1983 and promptly won the Daytona 500. Beadle re-branded his newly acquired team Blue Max Racing and hired raw talent Tim Richmond.

TMC

Winston cigarettes became the title sponsor of NASCAR's top series in 1971. Because of the timing of the contract, the 1971 schedule was left largely "as is" with 48 races. Many races - primarily short tracks - were cut from the schedule as the modern era, as most refer to it, began in 1972 with 31 races.

In the first year of the Winston Cup Series, the traditional, Labor Day Southern 500 was held on Monday, September 6. The race was the 40th of the 48-race season.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

A legit but convenient way for many to quickly highlight Richard Petty's career is to recall 1967 when the King won 27 of 48 races. A seldom quoted stat is his 1971 season which statistically was his second best career year. Through 39 races leading into the Southern 500, Petty had banked 17 wins, 30 top five finishes, nine poles, and his third Daytona 500.

Despite those gaudy stats, Darlington was a track often too tough to tame for Petty. He generally raced well at Darlington, and he won three times in 1966-1967. But his overall winning percentage didn't apply at Darlington. Yet he was in as good a position as he'd been in some time to win the '71 edition of the Southern 500.

Petty as a favorite was a storyline of the race; however, another one centered on a popular driver suddenly involved in a bit of Silly Season. Fred Lorenzen was a winning driver from the early through mid 60s and was always a Ford man. He then walked away unexpectedly in 1967. Lorenzen returned for a a handful of races in 1970 before signing a deal with STP to race Ray Nichels'Plymouth in 1971.

The #99 Plymouth car was sharp looking, and Lorenzen earned a top 5 finish in about half of his 13 starts prior to Darlington. But Lorenzen also complained the car wasn't where it needed to be. He quit Nichels' team after the Talladega 500 in late August - though technically he remained under contract with STP.

Interestingly, STP allowed him to step away from their sponsorship for one race - the Southern 500 - to race the Wood Brothers' famed #21 Purolator Mercury. The Woods' regular driver in 1971, Donnie Allison, had to skip the Southern 500 because of a commitment to race in the California 500 Indy car race at Ontario Motor Speedway the day before Darlington.

Source: Spartanburg Herald via Google News Archive

Credit: Wood Brothers Racing

STP didn't want to leave Nichels without sponsorship after Lorenzen's departure. Dave Marcis was hired to pilot the #99 Plymouth for Darlington for what was supposed to be a one-time deal.

Lorenzen's second career race attempt with the Wood Brothers went horribly wrong in pre-qualifying practice. He pounded the outside wall of the frontstretch, rode the outside wall, sailed off the wall, and then made a beeline to drill the inside pit wall. In doing so, his #21 Mercury tore a chunk out of the pit wall reminiscent of Richard Petty's hit a year earlier in the Rebel 400.

Lorenzen was knocked cold and had to dragged out of his smoldering car by drivers Joe Frasson and Bill Seifert rather than track emergency personnel. He wasn't critically injured and returned three races later (coincidentally in a reunion with Nichels), but he and the Woods were done for the weekend.

Source: Spartanburg Herald

The Wood Brothers loaded up their destroyed car and headed home to Stuart, Virginia. As a result of Lorenzen's wreck, Glen, Leonard, and Delano missed their first Southern 500 since 1962. The possibility existed the Woods may not race again. Glen was frustrated with many of NASCAR's quickly shifting rules and was shaken by Lorenzen's wreck.

Racing can often be brutally cold when a bad wreck happens because the show always continues. Qualifying was held after practice, and Bobby Allison won the pole in his Coca-Cola, Holman Moody Mercury. Pete Hamilton lined up outside of Allison in Cotton Owens' Plymouth. Charlie Glotzbach timed third, and Buddy Baker qualified fourth in the #11 Petty Enterprises factory-supported Dodge. Marcis locked in the fifth starting spot in Nichels' Plymouth.

Actor James Brolin was the race's grand marshal and a judge at the annual Miss Southern 500 pageant.

At the time, Brolin was known for his role on the TV show Marcus Welby MD. He had a few other minor roles over his acting career. Brolin is perhaps best known, however, for his scintillating role as Pee Wee Herman in the movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

When the green dropped, the race developed into one of high attrition and few lap leaders. Bobby Allison led 65 of the first 90 laps with Bobby Isaac leading a stretch of 24 laps to break Allison's lead time out front into two segments. Petty took the lead for a few laps before Allison again went to the point for nearly 200 of the race's next 210 laps.

Pete Hamilton, who started second, fell out of the race after completing 157 laps after his Plymouth's engine developed an overheating issue. He immediately went to Petty's pit to see if his employer from 1970 might need a relief driver. Petty waved him off at the next stop and went the distance. Isaac, however, was gassed and did need the help.

Dick Brooks was truly the yeoman of the race by driving three different ride and three different brands of cars. His own Pontiac was done after only eight laps because of overheating. A bit later, he was asked to relieve Bill Dennis in Junie Donlavey's #90 Mercury. That ride made it to around lap 265 before it lost power because of a failed battery.

Brooks then took over for country singer and part-time racer Marty Robbins. He helped Robbins' Dodge finish 7th - a career best at the time for Robbins and topped later only by a 5th place finish in 1974. Marty was pleased as punch at the finish. He was also voted rookie of the race - which is interesting considering he only raced about three-quarters of the race before turning the car over to Brooks.

Petty hounded Allison as the Coke Machine led lap after lap. After turning down Hamilton's offer to spell him, Petty's exhaustion began to set in a bit. With 50+ laps to go, Petty simply had to have a drink of water to continue. He hit pit road with the expectation of having a cup quickly shoved to him. Instead, the Petty crew had a mix-up on what was to happen. A crewman spun off the fuel cap in anticipation of adding gas. Petty took off with his cup of water - but also with his fuel cap dangling from its tether.

The King had to make a second unscheduled stop to replace the cap, and the race was then effectively over. Petty admitted he likely would not have been able to catch Allison - even without the botched stop for water.

Embed from Getty Images

Baker - winner of the 1970 Southern 500 for Cotton Owens and the spring 1971 Rebel 400 for the Pettys - finished third. Isaac's #71 Dodge finished fourth with Hamilton at the wheel, and Marcis wheeled Nichels' STP Plymouth to fifth.

The race was the 25th of 51 times rivals Petty and Allison finished in the top two spots. Allison won his first of an eventual four career Southern 500 races. Petty also finished second in 1975 when Allison captured his third Southern 500.

Source: Spartanburg Herald

After going home, cooling off, and rethinking things following their awful Darlington trip, the Wood Brothers agreed to continue doing what the Wood Brothers do: race. When the teams arrived in Martinsville later in September, the famed 21 Mercury was there with Donnie Allison at the wheel.

Two races after Darlington in the National 500 at Charlotte, Marcis was back in Nichels' STP Pontiac. But after a heated argument with the crew over handling and tires, Marcis parked the car and quit the team.

Three races after Darlington at Dover, Lorenzen was back at the wheel of the STP Plymouth. Once again, however, Lorenzen's day ended early, and he again parted ways with the team.

TMC

Richard Petty dominated the 1975 season. He won 13 races and captured his sixth title. He seemed positioned to keep the momentum rolling in 1976 with an oh-so-close loss to David Pearson in the Daytona 500 followed by a victory two weeks later at Rockingham.

Instead, the Petty Enterprises struggled to laissez le bon temps rouler as the season continued. The 43 team picked up a win at Pocono in August and a handful of top 5's along the way. But the abundance of wins in prior years suddenly went just about bone dry.

Though the STP Dodge had its challenges finding victory lane, the #11 Holly Farms-sponsored, Junior Johnson-owned Chevrolet driven by Cale Yarborough had a nose for it. Yarborough had banked six wins through the two-thirds mark of the season as the teams headed for Dover Downs International Speedway for the Delaware 500.

Yarborough captured the pole, and Petty plunked his Dodge on the front row alongside him. Darrell Waltrip, Buddy Baker, and David Pearson rounded out the top 5 starters.

At the drop of the green, Cale's Monte Carlo put the field in his rear view mirror. He led 173 of the opening 175 laps allowing Waltrip, Dave Marcis, and Lennie Pond to grovel for morsels at the front.

The race was not kind to the builders of the teams' power plants. About a third of the race's 36 cars fell out of the race because of engine woes. Most of the problems were concentrated in the independently-owned and/or limited budget teams. But Waltrip was one of the big names to exit early. Ol' DW made it to only lap 202 before the Gatorade 88 team puked a motor - a frequent bugaboo for the team in 1976.

After a dominating early start to the race by Yarborough, a few others got their opportunity to pull the field around the track including Pearson, Marcis, and Petty. Cale continued to lurk, however, and went back to the lead by lap 275.

But on lap 280, Yarborough nearly suffered the same fate as Waltrip and many others. He broke an ignition coil, lost power, and coasted helplessly to the attention of his crew. Feeling no pity for his rival, Petty's Dodge went to the front for over 150 laps as Cale lost nearly three laps in the pits. The King's 16 year-old son, Kyle, watched as his dad seized control of the race and worked towards his sixth Dover victory.

About 40 laps after his problem, however, Cale had regained his mojo. He passed Petty's 43 and got back one of his lost laps. Though Petty continued to lay down consistent lap times, Yarborough pulled away from him. Remarkably after about another 90 laps - and without the aid of any cautions - Cale's #11 again got by Petty to get back on the lead lap.

Petty made his final pit stop of the day with about 40 laps to go. The Dale Inman-led crew bolted on new Goodyears and fueled the STP Charger. Ten laps later, Cale hit pit road, but the #11 team went with a different strategy. Yarborough got fuel only and no fresh tires. He returned to the track with worn rubber but with a narrow gap between he and the 43.

The King again went to the head of the class as Yarborough's car was serviced for the final time. But Cale was not to be denied. With 20 laps to go, Yarborough again went to the front and led the rest of the way.

Pearson, Bobby Allison, and Baker rounded out the top 5 finishers. The race was the 37th of 44 times Petty and Yarborough finished in the top two spots.

View image | gettyimages.com

Source: Free Lance Star via Google News Archive

TMC

The 1974 Winston Cup season neared its end in late September as the teams headed for North WIlkesboro's Wilkes 400, the 26th race of the 30-race season.

Richard Petty was having yet another incredible season. Many drivers don't have careers like the King had as a single season in '74. Through 25 races, Petty had already won 10 of them. He had also won five of the seven races leading into Wilkesboro and five of the previous seven Wilkesboro races dating back to 1971, the first year Winston sponsored NASCAR's top series.

Fellow NASCAR HOFer Cale Yarborough, however, was nipping at the heels of King's boots. Cale had nine wins headed into North Wilkesboro - four of which were on short tracks at Nashville and Martinsville plus a season sweep of Bristol.

To the surprise of no one, the two racing legends captured the front row during qualifying - Petty's Dodge with the top spot and Cale second. Buddy Baker, Benny Parsons, and Canadian Earl Ross rounded out the top five starters.

Racing certainly has its share of challenges and controversies today. Attendance and ratings erosion, charters, stage racing, retirements of popular drivers, influx of new ones, etc. A continual refrain is they need to get back to like it was back in the day.

If back in the day references 1974, folks may need to rethink their image of a racing renaissance. The distance of the races during the season were cut by 10 percent as a good faith gesture by NASCAR to help the country with the OPEC energy crisis. Were ticket prices cut by 10 percent? Not that I'm aware of.

Also, despite the series sponsorship by Winston cigarettes, many teams struggled to race regularly and competitively. Winston's entitlement funding wasn't sufficient to create wealth throughout the field, and TV funding was non-existent. Teams needed sizable payouts from individual track promoters to make their risk worth the effort.

North Wilkesboro was one of the tracks identified by many drivers as having an inadequate purse. As was the custom for many years, the Wood Brothers and David Pearson skipped Wilkesboro. The race also was without Bobby Allison, but his absence was because of an issue with his car rather than a complaint about the purse.

Source: Greenwood SC Index-Journal

Those that did race had no control over who didn't. With a couple of the big dawgs back on the porch, the season-long dominant duo and front row starters, Petty and Cale, controlled the event. They led a combined 391 of the race's 400 laps. Other than Earl Ross's brief time out front and Dave Marcis' single lap as a leader, it was 43 and 11 all. day. long.

Fans likely shook their heads at the high attrition rate. Only twelve of thirty entrants were still around for the finish. Seven cars headed for their trailers by lap 50.

Petty and Yarborough seemed to be evenly matched during the first half of race. An unscheduled pit stop for a cut tire, however, put the 43 a bit behind Cale's Chevy. The gap between the two widened later during an errant stop by the generally reliable, Dale Inman-led Petty Enterprises crew. During a scheduled four-tire change, the Petty crew apparently jacked both sides of the car at the same time. When the right side was dropped, however, the car slid right and fell off the left side jack. The miscue put Petty nearly two laps down to the leader.

Throughout the second half of the race, Cale led lap after lap after lap. Petty never lost his focus though and kept his acceleration and braking rhythm rockin'. He made up his lost laps and went back to the point with 100 to go. His time was brief though as he led for 25 laps before returning the lead to Yarborough.

Cale once again seized the top spot with 75 laps to go, poured on the steam, and within about 15 laps was in a position to put the STP Dodge a lap down...again. Petty seemed to find a new gear, however, and he again pulled away from the Junior Johnson-prepared #11 Chevy. Just as he nearly lost a lap, he seemed to effortlessly make it back.

Petty's 43 dogged Cale down the stretch. With four laps to go, the King closed in tightly and attempted to pass Yarborough. As he did so, however, Coo Coo Marlin poo-poo'd an engine. The yellow flag was displayed, and Cale got the checkers a few laps later as the race ended under caution. The race was the 16th of 31 times Petty and Yarborough finished in the top two spots.

Source: Colbert Seagraves

Source: High Point Enterprise

TMC

Throughout the 1960s, the signature and final late model race of the season at Nashville's fairgrounds speedway was the Southern 300. When the track was reconfigured to its current 5/8th-mile length and 18-degree banking in 1973, 100 laps were added to create the Southern 400. The 400 featured a combination of local late model sportsman racers as well as several big names from NASCAR's national LMS ranks.

Track promoter Bill Donoho made a significant addition to the 1977 schedule. A 500-lap open race was scheduled as the last race of the season, two weeks after the Southern 400. The event was the first 500-lap race at Nashville since the 1962 Nashville 500 NASCAR Grand National race won by Jim Paschal in a Petty Enterprises Plymouth. Donoho secured branding rights from country music singer and racer Marty Robbins for the Marty Robbins World Open 500. Short track legend Mike Eddy won the 1977 event.

The race was renewed and scheduled for October 1, 1978. The timing of the race raised many eyebrows and caused some confusion with fans, drivers, and the media.

The 1977 Marty Robbins 500 was held in mid-October, and most expected the 1978 sequel to be slotted for the same timeframe. Donoho learned the American Speed Association’s (ASA) World Cup 400 at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Missouri, was scheduled for mid-October, however, and opted to move up his race a couple of weeks.

In doing so, Donoho booked the Marty Robbins World Open 500 on the same date as two other big time ASA races at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway and LaCrosse Interstate Speedway in Wisconsin. Another option for Donoho was to move his race to the spring – a move he would not accept.

Nashville’s race was open to all racers from all corners - NASCAR, USAC, ASA, outlaws / non-sanctioned series, etc. As with the 1977 race, many expected a large contingent of ASA drivers to again race in middle Tennessee. The buzz was that fans would see the top late model racers in the country at Nashville. Some drivers were included in ads for multiple races because of delayed decisions, non-binding verbal agreements, driver vs. owner preferences, and shifting commitments. So while fans got to see many of the top drivers, they arguably didn’t see all of them because of the two competing premier ASA races and the Winston Cup race at North Wilkesboro.

In a bit of a throwback to the Southern 400 history, Donoho paired the Open 500 with the preliminary Southern 200 NASCAR late model sportsman race. Interestingly, the track's advertisement for the weekend included the phrase "NASCAR Sanctioned". Though the Southern 200 was a NASCAR-sanctioned race, the Marty Robbins race was not.

Marty Robbins was a part-time Winston Cup racer and a full-time country singer icon. The race bore his name, but he opted not to race in the event. He instead served as the grand marshal and turned the track in the pace car.

TMC Archives

Nashville hosted NASCAR's Grand National and Winston Cup races from 1958 through 1984. Fans supported the races, and the drivers generally put on a good show for them. Behind the scenes, however, drivers often grumbled Nashville's purse wasn't even close to what it needed to be to justify the trips to middle Tennessee once or twice a season.

For the Robbins 500 race, however, the track ponied up. Despite the two competing ASA races, the race drew a huge crowd of 70 ASA, NASCAR LMS, and local cars vying for 40 starting spots. Chrysler Corporation sweetened the pot with a bonus of $5,000 to a driver in the top five - provided they raced a Mopar.

Source: The Tennessean

Coincidentally, STP Corporation planned to offer a similar $5,000 bonus to the highest finishing Dodge driver in the 1975 Nashville 420 Cup race. In that scenario, Donoho worked with STP in an effort to help ensure Richard Petty cleared the $2 million in career earnings at the fairgrounds. But... NASCAR inexplicably rejected the contingent race sponsorship and additional, positive attention it may have brought to the race, driver, track, and series.

Chrysler's $5,000 offer in 1978 didn't need NASCAR's approval since the race was open to all racers. The sponsorship was a bit odd, however, in that no known Mopars entered the show (at least, no competitive one). Did the money simply go unclaimed? Or did Donoho deposit it on Monday morning with an oh well shoulder shrug?

Michigan's Danny Byrd nabbed the pole for the 500 on the first day of qualifying in Stan Yee's #33 yellow Camaro. Wisconsin short track legend Dick Trickle hustled his #99 White Knight car quickly to join Byrd on the front row wire. Another out-of-area hot shoe, Junior Hanley, wrecked during practice, couldn't repair his car, and withdrew from the weekend's race.

The 500 was scheduled for Sunday afternoon with the Southern 200 companion event slotted as a one-day event on Saturday. After qualifying was completed, however, rain arrived resulting in a postponement of the race to Sunday. The Robbins 500 was then pushed back to Sunday evening.

Two-time Nashville track champion Darrell Waltrip had planned to fly home from North Wilkesboro to run in Saturday night's Southern 200. He opted not to make the round-trip because his late model wasn't ready and he had his hands full in North Carolina with the Cup race. The Saturday night rainout made his participation a moot point anyway as he was committed to the Wilkes 400 Cup race on Sunday.

Source: The Tennessean

Harry Gant won the pole for the Southern 200 and proceeded to win the Sunday race as well. The late Butch Lindley finished second. The duo raced closely - particularly in the second half of the race after Gant recovered from a broken shock and tire issue. A late caution resulted in a green-white, one-lap dash, and Gant was able to keep Lindley behind him for the win.

Local drivers Sterling Marlin and Mike Alexander finished third and fourth and were the only other cars on the lead lap at the finish. Lindley's P2 was enough to secure his second consecutive NASCAR national LMS title.

Long-time NASCAR crew chief Mike Beam worked for Gant in 1978 and remembered Gant's win:

I had left Butch Lindley at end of 1977 to move back to Hickory to get married and went to work for Harry. We did not travel much, just Hickory and Asheville. We went to Nashville at the end of the year. It rained the race out the night before so we had to race both of these races in one day. What was cool about this race, we beat Butch that day and he loaned us a right side tire to race with a certain code that only the factory supported Firestone drivers had. We had a flat in practice, but the car was fast. The left front shock mount broke out of the tubing, but Harry still won the race.

Following the Southern 200, a handful of drivers took time during the brief intermission to tweak their cars to race yet again in the open 500. Drivers attempting both races included national drivers Gant, L.D. Ottinger, and Jack Ingram as well as locals Marlin, Alexander, James Ham, Wayne Carden, and Tony Cunningham. The field then pulled onto the track for a few pace laps with Byrd and Trickle on the front row.

Courtesy of Russ Thompson

Although Junior Hanley missed the show because of his practice crash, Danny Byrd asked him to stick around just in case. Late model racers race frequently around the country - then and now - but few of their races were as long as 500 laps.

Byrd lost a lap early in the race, but his yellow Camaro was lightning quick. He soon made up the distance and went to the lead for several laps. His pre-race concern about his stamina, however, was well founded. Byrd hit pit road after 387 laps to turn his car over to Hanley.

Hanley lost a lap during the driver exchange to the car started by Mike Miller but driven by Larry Detjens. As with Byrd, Miller needed his own relief driver, and Detjens provided an assist after his own car fell out of the race after only 114 laps.

But with a fresh body at the wheel, Hanley hunkered down and put the fast 33 back in the wind as Byrd had done in the first half of the race. Hanley was initially content to just maintain a solid pace. But Byrd's crew told him to pick up the race so off he went.

Byrd-Hanley (33), Don Biederman (43), Miller-Detjens (18)

Over the next 60 laps, Hanley took huge chunks out of Detjens' lead. He made up his lost lap, pulled away comfortably, and passed Detjens again to take the lead with about 50 laps to go.

Hanley was flat out flying down the stretch. Remarkably, he gapped Detjens a third time and passed him on the final lap to put the second place car a lap down. Trickle was initially scored third with Gant fourth. After a recheck of scoring records, however, Gant was elevated to third with Jerry Markara fourth and Trickle fifth.

Courtesy of Russ Thompson

Jack Ingram's nickname is the Ironman, but he had a miserable day at Nashville. He completed only one lap in the Southern 200 LMS race, worked on his car for the 500, but completed only 14 laps. A weekend of effort resulted in two dead last finishes.

Gant was instead the Ironman of the day. He raced in both events in the same car. He won the pole and the 200 lap race and finished third in the 500, four laps down to the winner. He completed 696 of 700 laps in a single day of racing - perhaps more than anyone else ever has at Nashville. More of Mike Beam's memories:

They gave us 30 minutes to turn the car around. Jack Ingram welded the [shock] mount back on for me. I was changing the right rear spring and had to charge the battery and fill fuel. And we still finished in the top 5. We were 2 or 3 laps down to those ASA cars so we felt pretty good about that. I was worn out having worn that head set for so many hours and changing tires. Harry drove 696 laps that day, and after the race he drove the truck all the way to Asheville.

Source: The Tennessean

The 1978 Marty Robbins World Open 500 was the second and final one. Donoho sold the track's lease rights to Lanny Hester and Gary Baker in December 1978, and all sorts of changes began to unfold - including a cessation of weekly late model racing in 1979.

Remnants of the Southern 400 and the Marty Robbins World Open 500 format returned in November 1981 as the All American 400. Billed as the Civil War on Wheels, the first 400 consisted of drivers from the All Pro Racing Circuit that generally raced in the south and the midwest's ASA (who apparently played the role of the "north"). Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway still hosts the All American 400 today - though the ties to All Pro and ASA are long gone.

TMC

The next to last event of the 28-race 1973 Winston Cup season was the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 1973 schedule is tied with 1985 for the fewest Cup races in the modern era.

The primary story line entering the race was the tight points battle going on between Richard Petty's pursuit of this third consecutive title, Cale Yarborough, independents James Hylton and Cecil Gordon, and the underdog contender Benny Parsons. But Charlotte's race weekend ended up having plenty of unexpected, supplemental story lines.

Fred Lorenzen abandoned Hoss Ellington's Chevrolet in late 1972 after deeming the car as non-competitive. Ellington phoned Charlie Glotzbach to offer him a handful of rides during the season, and Glotzbach accepted the challenge.

Chargin' Charlie wore out the field on the first day of qualifying day to claim the pole. David Pearson who may have held a bit back during practice ended up laying down the quickest lap before Glotzbach's run knocked him off the pole. Afterwards, Glotzbach said to the media "I didn't figure on Pearson running that fast. I thought the man I had to beat was Cale. That Pearson must have been sandbagging." Yarborough qualified third followed by Bobby Allison and Petty.

Rapid fire, up-to-the-minute, news blurbs are available at our fingertips today via Twitter. Back in the day, however, folks (at least South Carolinians) had Gene Granger’s notes columns – including an ooh that had to hurt yet funny update on Marty Robbins.

On Saturday as final tech inspections and qualifying began, NASCAR uttered the words made famous by Lee Corso on ESPN: Not so fast my friend. Inspectors determined Ellington's team had monkeyed with the required carburetor restrictor plate.

Glotzbach's pole-winning time was disallowed, and he was forced to re-qualify in the last session. Though fastest in the session, he had to start his #28 Chevy in 36th position.

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal via Google News Archive

David Pearson was elevated from second to the top starting spot with Cale alongside him. With Pearson up front, he and the Wood Brothers' #21 Purolator Mercury began a streak of 11 consecutive poles at Charlotte stretching to the 1978 National 500. Bobby Allison was moved to third and Richard Petty to fourth.

Starting 17th in Junie Donlavey’s #90 Truxmore Ford was an established Carolina late model hot shoe making his Cup debut: Handsome Harry Gant. As Gant readied for his first Cup start, another legendary driver was making his final one.

Wendell Scott made a return from a savage wreck at Talladega several weeks earlier to make one final start. He put Doc Faustina’s #5 Kmart Dodge Charger in the field in 38th starting spot.

The field lined up and ready for the green.

Glotzbach's weekend went from good to bad to worse. After winning - and then losing - the pole, he then crashed coming out of turn 4 on lap 47. Pearson plowed right into Glotzbach, and the pole winner's day was done. Darrell Waltrip who was still looking to make a favorable impression upon car owner Bud Moore also found himself collected in the melee. Cale and Richard dodged the accident and continued on to the finish.

Cale dominated about two-thirds of the race in Junior Johnson’s #11 Kar Kare Chevy. He led 257 of the race’s 334 laps. Though he and Petty swapped the lead from time to time, The King led only 52 laps and finished second to Yarborough – the only other car on the lead lap.

Cale held on and went to victory lane. Colbert Seagraves, son of R.J. Reynolds' executive Ralph Seagraves, joined the Junior Johnson team in victory lane and got the opportunity to hold the winner’s trophy.

Source: Colbert Seagraves

Gant finished a respectable 11th in his Cup debut, and Wendell Scott went out on a high note. He rallied from 38th starting spot to finish 12th. Parsons finished fourth and held a slim points lead heading into the final race of the season at Rockingham - a race in which he experienced a career of highs and lows in one day.

Dick Trickle finished fifth in his only Cup start of 1973 and just his third career start. He raced a #1 Richard Howard-owned Chevy and a teammate of sorts to Yarborough.

Long-time hard charger Buddy Baker completed 228 of 334 laps. During the race, NASCAR officials informed Baker's crew chief Harry Hyde that they planned to inspect the #71 Dodge's restrictor plate after the race. Hyde and car owner Nord Krauskopf said "nope". They ordered Baker to park the car, and the team left CMS. Consequently, NASCAR DQ'd Baker and placed him 41st, last in the running order.

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal

Allison finished third in his self-owned Chevy but raised a ruckus as soon as the checkered flag fell. He paid a $100 fee and protested the cars of Yarborough and Petty. Allison believed their engines may have been oversized or something else was amiss allowing them to generate more HP than his engine. NASCAR insisted all cars were going to be checked despite Allison's protest.

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal

CMS president and promoter Richard Howard was very vocal in his support of Cale as the winner. His support was certainly expected. After all, Howard just happened to be the listed car owner of Yarborough's Chevy (as well as for Trickle's fifth-place car).

A day later, NASCAR conceded its inspection process could use some improvements. Yet, they refunded Allison his protest fee and said the finishing order would stand. The race was the tenth of 31 times that King and Cale finished in the top two spots.

Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal

TMC

For the next to last race of the 1972 Winston Cup season, NASCAR's finest raced in the American 500 at North Carolina Motor Speedway - known simply to most as Rockingham.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

The first round of qualifying was rained out on Thursday. The downtime created an opportunity for some great stories ... and lies ... to be told.

Source: Spartanburg Herald via Google News Archive

After a half-dozen successful years with the #71 K&K Insurance Dodge team - including the 1970 championship, Bobby Isaac suddenly left the team after the Southern 500 nearly two months earlier. As race weekend continued, Isaac provided a few more details - but not many more - about his decision to leave the #71 and join Banjo Matthews' team for a couple of races.

Source: Spartanburg Herald via Google News Archive

David Pearson captured the pole in the Wood Brothers #21 Purolator Mercury - as was frequently the case in the 1970s. Buddy Baker qualified the K&K Dodge next to Pearson. Baker left his STP Petty Enterprises Dodge part-time ride to join the #71 team on a full-time basis after Isaac's resignation.

Richard Petty timed third in what was to be his final career start in a Plymouth. Former Rookie of the Year and 1970 sensation for Petty Enterprises, Pete Hamilton, qualified fourth. Future NASCAR Hall of Famers and rivals Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough made up the third row.

When the green dropped on Sunday afternoon, time at the front of the field was dominated by four of the top five qualifiers: Allison, Baker, Pearson, and Petty. Hamilton was the lone top five starter who didn't lead a lap; however, he ran a smooth, consistent race and finished fifth.

As the race entered its second half, however, Allison's Richard Howard-owned, Junior Johnson-prepared, Herb Nab-crewed Coke Machine seized control. Bobby led 217 of the race's 492 laps - including the final 176 - and easily won the race by 2 laps over second place Petty in his last hurrah with the STP Plymouth.

The first five qualifiers ended up being the top finishers of the race albeit in a slightly different order: Allison, Petty, Baker, Pearson, and Hamilton. The race was the 39th of 51 times that Petty and Allison finished in the top two spots.

Clarence Lovell finished twelfth in Don Bierschawale's car - his best finish of a twelve-race 1972 season. Sadly, Lovell would be killed in a passenger car accident near Talladega in May 1973.

Marty Robbins started 36th and finished 26th in the only Rockingham start of the Twentieth Century Drifter's 35-race Cup career. Hmm, 36-26-35. Pretty good sequence of numbers if you ask me. But I digress.

Source: Spartanburg Herald

Allison noted his chances of catching The King for the championship in the season's final race at Texas World Speedway were between slim and none. He was right. Buddy Baker won the race at Texas, Petty was third, and Allison finished fourth. As a result, Richard locked up his second consecutive and fourth overall NASCAR Winston Cup championship - surpassing Lee Petty and David Pearson.

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TMC

Asheville-Weaverville Speedway's half-mile track was the scene of several memorable NASCAR events for almost 20 years between 1951 and 1969. The 1967 Western North Carolina 500 was the season-ending race though it was originally scheduled for August 20th - right in the heart of Richard Petty's 10-race winning streak.

Source: Motor Racing Programme Covers

Petty's hot summer streak continued during qualifying for the August 20 race as Ol' Blue scored the pole.

Source: News And Courier

Heavy rains postponed the race; however, and it was rescheduled for August 27th. Though Petty didn't get to race, he still got to put a few bucks in his pocket - $500 for his pole run and a $400 appearance fee for meeting fans at an area shopping center.

Source: Spartanburg Herald

The teams were ready to roll once more a week later, and Petty was clearly the prohibitive favorite for the win. Rain again interrupted everyone's plans; however, and NASCAR and the track worked to find a mutually agreeable date for the third attempt.

Source: News and Courier

All eventually decided to slot the race as the season-ending event in what turned out to be a chilly early November. When the teams returned about two months later, NASCAR decided a "do-over" was necessary for qualifying. Petty's pole run and the rest of the August qualifying results were tossed, and everyone laid down another lap.

For the race that took, Allison captured the pole in his Fred Lorenzen-led, Holman Moody Ford, and Petty timed his Plymouth sixth rather than P1 as he'd done in August. LeeRoy Yarbrough qualified second in Junior Johnson's Ford, and David Pearson and Dick Hutcherson made up the second row in two more Holman Moody Fords. Cale Yarborough's Mercury timed fifth in his first of two starts for NASCAR Hall of Fame owner Bud Moore to give the Blue Oval crowd a sweep of the top five starting positions.

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Allison led the first 121 laps before giving way to Hutcherson for a couple of laps. David Pearson then went to the point for a 90-lap stretch. Petty took over on lap 215, and trio of Pearson, Petty, and Allison traded positions every so often during the second half of the race.

Attrition for the race was extremely high. Several cars left the race because of wrecks. Others ended their day early because of engine or transmission issues - possibly the result of racing a long, grinding season with worn-out parts. Of the 30 starters, only six cars finished the race.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Wendell Scott was one of the drivers whose day ended early. He spun and wrecked after only 52 of the race's 500 laps.

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About two decades later, Scott's tough day at Asheville-Weaverville in 1967 was used as the cover image for Brian Donovan's book about Wendell.

As the race entered the final few laps, the beatin' and bangin' fans enjoy so much with short track racing intensified. With about 20 laps to go, Petty dove to the inside of Allison's Ford. The 43 sent Allison into the marbles, but Bobby gathered his car and set sail for the blue Plymouth as it disappeared down the straight.

The tail pipe on Allison's car came loose and began to drag the track - likely the result of hard racing with Petty. Rather than black flag the leader, NASCAR officials rightfully let the battle continue. With seven laps remaining, Allison caught Petty, muscled his way to the inside, and nudged Petty's Plymouth towards the outside rail.

Just as Allison had done earlier, Petty regained control of his Plymouth and took off in hot pursuit. He was also keeping an eye on Allison's exhaust that was dragging the track right in front of him. When the checkered flag fell, Petty crossed the finish line one car length behind Allison.

After the race, Petty said "I guess when you've won as much as I have, everyone takes pot shots at you". Allison responded with "We were racing for the win. He put me out of the groove more than once, and I did the same thing to him." The race was the eighth of 51 times Petty and Allison finished in the top two spots.

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Allison's crew chief, Lorenzen, was bubbling with enthusiasm over the win. Lorenzen served as Allison's crew chief two times, and Allison had won both races. Lorenzen said "as far as I'm concerned, Allison has a life-time job."

Source: News and Courier

Petty forfeited his pole for the race because of two rain delays, and he finished a close second to his rival after getting bumped out of the groove. He and his crew still returned to Level Cross as winners though as Petty secured his second NASCAR Grand National title - a number that eventually grew to seven with his final title in 1979.

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TMC

The current footprint of Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway debuted in July 1958. The abbreviated first season concluded with the Southern 200 modified-sportsman race. The race was extended by 100 laps in 1959 and another hunnerd in 1973, and the Southern 300 / 400 remained the track's season-ending race for twenty years.

The scheduled renewal of the Southern 300 in 1965, however, never got the green flag. On Monday night, September 20, 1965, an inferno raged through the track's grandstands and many other fairgrounds buildings.

Temporary grandstands were rebuilt, and the track was again ready for racing in the spring of 1966 through cooperation with the city of Nashville, the Fair Board, and track management. Perhaps as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the devastating fire and certainly the track's resilience following it, the season opening race on April 23, 1966 was named the Flameless 300.

Jim Donoho, brother of track promoter and leaseholder Bill Donoho, wrote the following poem after the fire and before the 1966 season.

Well, things looked black that night last year

As flames leaped towards the sky

And thousands stood here in silent awe

As smoke filled every eye

But as show business states, "the show must go on"

We took that fire in stride

Because the roar of motors once again

Just could not be denied

Something is missing for sure, we know

The grandstands had its day

But the excitement is just as strong indeed

And soon will be underway

To the many fans who showed concern

To those who asked and wondered

We give you now our answer by

The Speedway's Flameless Three Hundred

As we open the track, we expect more trials

From speeding cars and daring men

Welcome to every one of you

And isn't it great that we're racing again

The Donohos and partner Bennie Goodman got solid interest with 46 entrants in a race only slated to accomodate 33 starters. Defending track champion Coo Coo Marlin entered the race as expected but so did a 19 year-old kid from Owensboro, Kentucky: Darel Waldrip ... or Darrell Waltrip as folks soon learned the proper spelling of his name.

Another expected racer for the Flameless was 1965 NASCAR national modified champion, Bobby Allison. He had arranged to pilot P.B. Crowell's Chevrolet - a car sold by Allison to Crowell.

Source: The Tennessean

Allison's participation was contingent on (1) completing a modified-sportsman race at Martinsville and (2) being able to fly to Nashville in time for the Flameless 300. Apparently one or both conditions didn't happen as Allison wasn't in the 33-car starting line-up. Crowell raced his own #48 Chevy with Bill Morton at the wheel of Crowell's second #49 car.

Source: The Tennessean

Local driver Walter Hamilton started the race but surrendered the wheel to relief driver George Bonee during the first caution. Hamilton was still recovering from major knee surgery just two weeks prior to the race. Walter was the son of Bud "Preacher" Hamilton and uncle of the late Bobby Hamilton, Sr. Preacher Hamilton built a bit of fame as the mechanic for part-time racer and country music crooner, Marty Robbins.

Johnny Thoni belted into a car owned by Ralph Clary at the last minute and finished seventh. Thoni showed up at the fairgrounds as a spectator, but Clary asked him if he'd drive. "Wait until I get my helmet!" replied Thoni as he headed for the car.

A trio of drivers from Chattanooga, Tennessee dominated the race. Bob Burcham won the pole and led the first 109 laps. Another pair of Noogans - Friday Hassler and Freddy Fryar - controlled the final two-thirds of the event.

Hassler certainly knew his way around Nashville as he won the season-ending 1963 Southern 300. He led laps 110 through 160 before he and Fryar made scheduled pit stops. Fryar's crew ripped off a quick stop while Hassler's crew struggled with slower pouring fuel dump cans. The stop difference was enough to flip the running order when the duo returned to racing action.

After additional cars made their stops, Fryar found himself at the point on lap 179. Hassler hassled the bejesus out of Fryar's bumper throughout the final third of the race, but he simply could not get by him.

At the stripe, Fryar prevailed over Hassler for the win. According to The Tennessean's race report, Hassler said "I did everything but put him in the wall," as he discussed the race with another driver, Crash Bond. "I didn't want to win it that way. I was running about a quarter of a second a lap faster than him, but I just couldn't get around him."

Steam poured from underneath the hood of Fryar's Ford in victory lane. He told his mechanic the radiator ruptured with about 30 laps to go - but that he had no intention of coming to pit road while holding down P1.

Fryar got himself a good smooch from Winkie Louise "Miss Firebird" before receiving his trophy for a job well done.

Burcham finished third with local driver and future NASCAR inspector Walter Wallace fourth. Long-time Fairgrounds racer Charlie Binkely finished fifth with Boyd Adams (1960s racer and Nashville's track operator briefly in the 1980s) in sixth.

Marlin blew a tire and exited the race after only 78 laps. Marty Robbins finished 12th despite falling out after 244 laps because "the rear end was going out". Preacher Hamilton joked later that Robbins simply tired out. Darel Waldrip finished 13th in what was apparently his first Nashville start.

Donoho built temporary stands for about 10,000 seats following the fire - enough to get the 1966 season started. One of his biggest challenges on opening day, however, was trying to rally more space to place the nearly 2,000 additional fans from the overflow crowd.

Source: The Tennessean

Fryar continued to be a force in short-track racing for years to come. Hassler, who had been racing while holding down a day job in a farm equipment business, made it to NASCAR's Grand National division in 1967. He raced regularly over the next five years and notched a dozen top 5 finishes and nearly 50 top 10s. During his qualifying twin for the 1972 Daytona 500, however, Hassler wrecked and was tragically killed.

The Flameless 300 continued to be scheduled annually as the track's season opening race through 1971.

Finishing Order

Freddy Fryar
Friday Hassler
Bob Burcham
Walter Wallace
Charley Binkley
Boyd Adams
Johnny Thoni
Dave Mader
Joe Burcham
Jimmy Allen
Charles Lloyd
Marty Robbins
Darrel Waltrip
Crash Bond
Charley Stofel
Sherrill Harris
Eddie Mitchell
Charles Greenwell
Lewis Loyd
M. C. Coble
Bill Woodall
Mack Roberts
Bobby Celsor
Bobby Walker
Donald Penny
Walter Hamilton-George Bonee
Coo Coo Marlin
P. B. Crowell
Martin Sharpe
Bill Morton
Jimmy Griggs
James Greer
Tommy Galloway

TMC

With the success of the Flameless 300 as the 1966 season opener at Nashville's Fairground Speedways, the track chose to again have the big race start the 1967 season. The second annual Flameless was slated for Saturday, April 22, 1967.

Racer Walter Wallace paired with owners Charlie McGee and Kenneth Wiser to race a #43 Chevelle in 1967. The relationship worked well as Wallace notched the first of his two Nashville late model track championships (the other title coming in 1975).

Source: The Tennessean

The 43 received support from Merrill's Restaurant on Nolensville Road in Nashville. The restaurant is long-gone, and a Burger King sadly now sits on the site.

Courtesy of Russ Thompson

Bunkie Blackburn, a part-time, ten-year veteran of NASCAR's Grand National division, relocated to middle Tennessee. He shelved his GN career and focused instead on racing at the local level.

Source: The Tennessean

Blackburn's limited GN career included a half-dozen races for Petty Enterprises in 1962. He and Jim Paschal were hired as platoon drivers as the Petty team continued its recovery from the loss of Lee Petty and development of the future King, Richard Petty.

Freddy Fryar won Nashville's 1964 modified-sportsman division championship as well as the 1966 Flameless 300. Originally from the Chattanooga, Tennessee area, Fryar relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and returned to Nashville to defend his 1966 win. Fryar's home base didn't seem to affect his racing career as he raced short tracks seemingly any time and anywhere.

Source: The Tennessean

After blowing a tire and falling out of the 1966 Flameless 300 before the one-third mark, Coo Coo Marlin went on a tear. He won more than a dozen races, his second consecutive track championship, and his third title in four years. Though the rush of weekly racing had started to fade a bit, Marlin was back again in 1967 looking to win the season-opener and pick up where he'd left off the previous September.

Source: The Tennessean

As racers arrived for preparation and practice, one 'driver' spotted on the track was Roy Drusky, country singer and songwriter. Drusky fielded a car for Blackburn in the Flameless 300 as noted in the above article, and he put others behind the wheel (including himself) over the next couple of seasons. Trivia unrelated to the race: Drusky was the first to record a song written by the legendary Kris Kristofferson, Jody and the Kid.

Source: The Tennessean

Chattanooga's Bob Burcham won the pole just as he'd done for the previous year's Flameless 300. Burcham led the first few laps before Marlin took over the top spot - a familiar sight for the field during the previous season. Coo Coo held the lead through nearly half the race before pitting for fuel.

Fryar raced in the top five for much of the race and stayed near Burcham, Marlin, and Wallace. With about 70 laps to go, however, he broke a wheel cylinder and was unable to keep up a contending pace. Even with fading brakes, the Beaumont Flyer still managed a sixth place finish.

Wallace took over the top spot when Marlin pitted a second time on lap 238. Walter put his #43 Chevelle in the wind and looked to be the car to beat over the remaining 62 laps. Until...

An inexpensive pulley belt broke on Wallace's car a dozen laps or so after taking the lead. The chance at the win was gone just like that. As was the case with Coo Coo a year earlier, a bad night in the season opener didn't derail Wallace's year. He soldiered on, had a solid year, and won the track title.

Burcham re-assumed the lead after Wallace's exit, but Coo Coo continued his pursuit. With five laps to go, however, Marlin had to pit an excruciating third time for a final splash of fuel.

A final caution flew with seven laps to go, and Burcham saw the green again with two to go. But with a two-lap lead on Coo Coo and his brother Jack Marlin, Burcham cruised the remaining laps to the win.

Marlin and his crew were perplexed as to how Burcham ran the race with only one stop vs. Coo Coo's two scheduled (plus one final top-off) stops. Rather than protest Burcham, Marlin returned to his Columbia, TN farm and waited for another race to win.

Burcham was worn out after the win but still enjoyed getting the spoils of victory lane. Winky Louise - Miss Firebird - was her elegant self in congratulating the winner. But somehow, I think Miss Fairground Speedways was none too happy about having the out-of-town pretty occupy her victory lane. MEOW

Source: The Tennessean

Finishing order:

Bob Burcham
Coo Coo Marlin
Jack Marlin
Jimmy Griggs
Sherrill Harris
Freddy Fryar
Ed Kennedy
Flemming Marlin
Walter Wallace
Jimmy Thurman
Ronnie Muller
Will Armstrong
Clyde Adcock
Darrell Waltrip
Butch Eades
Bobby Hargrove
Bill Morton
Jerry Long
Crash Bond
Charles Stofel
Chester Albright
George Bonee
David Hill
David Sullivan
Charles Loyd
Jimmy Brown
James Veach
Jerry Penick

TMC

Drivers belted in for the third annual Flameless 300 on April 20, 1968 - once again, the season opener for Nashville's Fairground Speedways.

Long-time Nashville racer and future NASCAR official, Walter Wallace, returned for another season but with a different panache. Wallace won the track's late model sportsman title in 1967 and returned for his defense of it - albeit with a different car and owner.

Source: The Tennessean

Chattanooga's Bob Burcham, the defending race winner and two-time pole winner, returned to middle Tennessee yet again with a high level of confidence. He had good reason for his optimism with a handful of other Nashville wins in 1967 in addition to his Flameless pole and victory.

Source: The Tennessean

After three Nashville titles in four years plus a bucket of wins in 1966 and 1967, Coo Coo Marlin began to reduce his time at the fairgrounds and increased his number of NASCAR Grand National starts. Yet, he was ready to go yet again for the big race, the Flameless 300.

Coo Coo's older brother Jack Marlin, however, still had a Nashville itch to scratch. Walter Wallace didn't win a race in 1967 yet won the track title over Jack. That fact alone provided a good bit of motivation for the 39 year-old.

Source: The Tennessean

In addition to the track regulars, season champions, and out-of-town ringers, the race featured another interloper of sorts. Country singer Marty Robbins took his racing as seriously as he did his musical craft. Though he didn't get to race as often as many of the regulars, Robbins made sure to do what he could to be right in the thick of the mix.

Source: Nashville Fairgrounds Racing History

Source: The Tennessean

Even with his planned schedule reduction, Coo Coo came to race - not to play. He plunked his #711 car on the pole. Yet for the third year in a row, he simply could not muster a winning race in the Flameless. In the 1966 event, he blew a tire and fell out of the race at lap 78. In 1967, poor fuel mileage and/or pit execution relegated him to a P2 finish, two laps down to winner Bob Burcham.

When the green fell on the 1968 race, Coo Coo hauled off into turn 1 and led the first 10 laps. He surrendered the lead and settled into a good rhythm for the rest of the evening. About ten laps later, however, his accelerator hung and he piled into the first turn wall.

Furthermore, Coo Coo was aching. He needed to be taken to the hospital to have his injured back examined and treated. But as long-time Nashville racing historian Russ Thompson blogged, he didn't want his wife, Eula Faye, to see him loaded into an ambulance so he slipped through the backstretch tunnel in a wrecker instead. With true grit toughness and as a display of good sportsmanship, Marlin returned to the track before the end of the race and congratulated the winner in victory lane.

Three weeks later, Tom Powell from The Tennessean interviewed Coo Coo about the accident and his planned return to racing:

Coo Coo wrecked in the opening night Flameless 300 race when his accelerator stuck. "It was the worst wreck I was ever involved in," the blond farmer from Columbia confessed yesterday. "It almost knocked me unconscious."

Asked to describe the sensation he experienced when the throttle stuck, Coo Coo said, "It was like driving without brakes in that I kept picking up speed and couldn't do anything about it. There was no time to reach for the switch. Everything happened so fast."

Concerning his car that has been wreaking havoc for the rest of the drivers at the Speedways during the last couple of seasons, Coo Coo smiled and said, "If it’s better when we get it fixed, it'll be a dilly. I just hope it runs as good as the other one."

The car will have a new frame. “We're trying to salvage everything good from the other one, but we're completely rebuilding. The biggest damage was to the frame, but we haven't looked at the engine yet."

Coo Coo said he saw no way to have the car ready for this week's show and stated, "I just hope we can make it by the next week, but we've still got a long way to go."

Marlin admitted, "My wife's been after me to quit during this spell, so we just let the car set for three or four days, but we're going after it now."

Despite not racing last week, Coo Coo was in the pits watching the races. "I wonder what other people find to do on Saturday nights," he laughed. ~ May 3, 1968 The Tennessean

With delays in getting his car rebuilt and listening to Eula Faye who advised him to back it down, Marlin did not return to racing until June 2. He finished fourth in the 30-lap feature - six weeks after his Flameless misfortune.

Coo Coo's wreck was hardly the only DNF of the night. Nine cautions chewed up 70 of the race's 300 laps. When the checkered flag fell, only six of 27 starters were still around to see it.

Jack Marlin set the tone early with a second lap wreck involving himself, Charlie Higdon, and Robbins. Jack said later "This is a helluva way to start the season, but I had fair warning. Two black cats crossed my path today." Troubles for other racers after the Marty and Marlins exits including:

Charley Binkley - engine issues
P. B. Crowell - led 29 laps but fell out because of overheating
Charley Stofel - steering
Walter Wallace - engine issues. He joked "I even got a haircut to cut down on the car's weight, but we must have broken about a dozen rocker arms."

As the car counted dwindled, two drivers separated themselves from the rest of the remaining field. Burcham and the 1966 Flameless 300 winner, Freddy Fryar, pretty well had the race to themselves.

Near the midpoint of the race, Burcham made an unscheduled stop under green because of a flat tire and lost two laps. Fryar made his planned stop later but was able to do so during a caution. Burcham made up one of his two laps during Fryar's stop, but he still needed good fortune to have a shot at Fryar.

Burcham was all over Fryar with 25 laps to go. He raced him hard but clean with the aggressive hope of getting back on the lead lap. He made the pass to get back on the lead lap - barely, but Burcham needed to see another yellow flag to close the gap.

With only six cars remaining, however, the race stayed green the rest of the way. For the second time in three years, Fryar again took home the trophy and the loot. Though P.B. Crowell fell out of the race as a driver, he still got to visit victory lane as the winning car owner.

Source: The Tennessean

Finishing Order:

Freddy Fryar
Bob Burcham
Donnie Carter
David Hill
Chester Albright
James Veach
Stan Starr
Donnie Roberts
Ronnie Blasingim
Bobby Walker
Art Ellis
Ronnie Muller
P. B. Crowell
Otis Deck
Tommy New
James Ham
Jimmy Griggs
Bobby Hargrove
Bunkie Blackburn
Charley Stofel
David Sisco
Charley Binkley
Coo Coo Marlin
Walter Wallace
Jack Marlin
Charlie Higdon
Marty Robbins

TMC

July 25, 1982 - Mountain Dew 500

July 30, 1979 - Coca-Cola 500

August 5, 1972 - Nashville's STP 200

August 14, 1982 - Nashville's Winston 200

August 22, 1982 - Champion Spark Plug 400

August 26, 1972 - Nashville 420

August 28, 1976 - Nashville's Bob Hunley 100

September 1, 1975 - Southern 500

September 3, 1973 - Nashville's Frank Reed 100

September 6, 1982 - Southern 500

September 6, 1971 - Southern 500

September 19, 1976 - Delaware 500

September 22, 1974 - Wilkes 400

October 1, 1978 - Nashville's Marty Robbins 500

October 7, 1973 - National 500

October 22, 1972 - American 500

November 5, 1967 - Western North Carolina 500

1966 Flameless 300

1967 Flameless 300

1968 Flameless 300