I paid the usual $8 to get in and had to go find my good friend Rex White. Rex was there talking to a couple of other drivers from the good old days along with his friend and former crew chief Slick Owens. Rex and I caught up on a few things and I was supposed to deliver a kiss to Rex from a female fan of his. When I told Rex, he said “I really appreciate it, but I’m not that kind of guy”. We both had a good laugh. I also told him about the orange Nehi that we brought in the New Year with and he got a good chuckle out of it and pointed to the gentleman who had gotten those for Rex. Slick was busy talking with a couple of other folks and I could hear him going on about transmissions. He has a thing about transmissions as he built a lot of them over the years for Cale Yarborough and eventually sold his shop to Cale. He’s one of the few folks who talks to Cale on a regular basis.
I had to go put a few things back in my car and pick up the Benny Parsons Rendezvous Ridge banner I’ve been taking to events to get autographed. On my way back into the museum, I was behind Dr Don Tarr, the world’s fastest physician. Dr Tarr and I had a few things to discuss while he was on his way into the autograph area and while he was getting set up. The good doctor is involved with a number of charities back in Tennessee and was wanting a way to help promote them. When I had seen him at the annual Old Timers Racing Banquet, he had mentioned possibly having a web site. So we discussed this for a bit and he also mentioned a restoration project he’s going to do with a 1967 Dodge Charger. He’s planning to turn it into one similar to what he drove. The only down side is that it has a 383 cubic inch engine and not a 426 Hemi like his Daytona has. Still, it sounds like it should be fun. I can’t wait to see the finished product.
I was surprised to see my neighbor from down the road, Peanut Turman. He was there autographing things and had some of Louise Smith’s cards that he was passing out to fans along with some of his own cards. Next to him was his son Hank, whom I had seen race a number of times at Motor Mile Speedway. I gave Peanut our condolences over the passing of Bonnie, his wife, and let him get back to signing. One fan asked Peanut why he was called The Outlaw. It goes back to his racing days when he ran at a lot of non-sanctioned tracks, which were referred to as “outlaw” tracks. He and a lot of other drivers did the same thing back then. Some were little more than an oval in some farmer’s field and others were full blown tracks that simply weren’t “blessed” by the Frances.
While I was talking with Peanut, Dick May, who’s also a member of the Old Timers Racing Club, came over and gave me one of his autographed cards, which I really appreciate. I’ve talked with Dick before at a couple of other events and he seems to have remembered my face. Lord knows I have the perfect face for radio. Too bad I couldn’t have taken up the job offer I had in Atlanta last year. After moving as much as I have during the course of my life, I’m not ready to move again any time soon.
I ran into Mike Sykes, who is the President of the Old Timers Racing Club, and also responsible for the Legends Helping Legends events. He was amazed at the turnout of not only the former drivers but also at the fans that turned out for the event. If this event is anything to go by, he may be running 2 events this year and in the future as it had such a good turn out. If they have a second event, I’ll be there as I enjoy them and am also a member of the Old Timers Racing Club, so I have to support my group as best I can.
As usual with these types of events, I get to talk to a lot of other race fans, both new and old. One gent I was talking with is a big fan of Jerry Nadeau and Kasey Kahne. He got Jerry to sign the Army team jacket he was wearing. This gent is also involved with a part of Gillette-Evernham Motorsports diversity program. He gets some things from time to time from GEM and distributes them to some of the under-privileged kids in his area. He also installs wells and pumps in Mooresville and the surrounding area and has installed a number of them for various drivers, one of whom is my old buddy Ted Musgrave, who was in attendance. Ted let him know he might be needing another pump installed after he gets done clearing off some of his property.
When you have this many fans together, you hear a lot of talk about the hot issues going on today. The Camry of Today was one of the things being discussed and a lot of the comparisons I’ve made of it being like an IROC car were being discussed. I guess I’m not alone in that observation. The appearance of it was also being discussed. Everything from how butt ugly it is to the horrible appearance of the color scheme on Jr’s car. Yes folks, I could put together a better looking one, but as no one asked me, I won’t be doing it. There was also some discussion on the tires at Daytona and like my fears of another Charlotte tire debacle; these fans were saying the same things.
L. D. Ottinger was in attendance and was busy talking with other veteran drivers, fans, and signing things for fans. Several of L.D.’s cars are on display in the museum. Harlow Reynolds was making the rounds talking with folks. For those who don’t know who Harlow is, he’s mentioned in Rex’s book “All Around the Track”. Jabe Thomas was in attendance and although I didn’t get a chance to talk with him, I know he’s just up the road from me, which means calling on him sometime soon and hopefully seeing if he can make the trip to Augusta for the next drivers‘ reunion since he drove there.
Needless to say, it took me almost two hours to get to the guest of honor, who was in the “pole” position. Sam Ard was surrounded by his family and friends and although he was in a wheel chair, you could see that gleam in his eyes. God bless him for being there and autographing everything fans brought to him. His daughters were keeping a good eye on him and also answering questions which fans posed to him. He had to take a break every so often, but would return to the table and do some more autographs.
I got my new found friend to hold my spot in line while I went and talked with Ted Musgrave. Ted’s been a busy man of late. The deal with him driving the #59 truck down at Daytona was the results of them calling him up and asking them if he’d do it. They haven’t actually signed Ted as of yet. He’s trying to decided if he wants to go with the Harris Trucking team or the Morgan-Dollar team. Either team is going to end up with a great driver and I’m not just saying that because I like Ted. Plus Ted’s been busy clearing out some of his property before the start of race season. I asked him about his car projects he is usually involved in and he said they were all on the back burner for now. Ted posed with a couple of older female fans and said a little something that brought a smile to their faces and gave them a good laugh. Then he was off to get back to clearing his property.*
Dr Tarr must’ve spotted me carrying my “dead body” (as he called the rolled up banner) and he came over to get a picture taken with Sam. I got one of the two of them together as did a few other fans. Dr Tarr said a few things to Sam and you could see the smile in Sam’s eyes. A couple of seats down from Sam was Dave Marcis in his trademark Goodyear hat and wingtip shoes. Dave was busy signing things and also talking with some of the other drivers who’d come up behind him at the autograph table. Dave really looked like he was enjoying himself.
When Bobby Allison showed up, a lot of folks were happy to see him and jumped back in the line to get his autograph. One of the fans asked Bobby if he was going to get into his old Coke Torino which is on display at the museum and has been on the “Back in the Day” show several times. Bobby let out a big laugh and smiled. Several of the cars in the museum have been on “Back in the Day”, the movie “3”, and several non-racing movies. So it’s a good place to visit even when they’re not having events like this one. I had to make my usual stop at the Petty Torino and make sure the “Petty for President” bumper sticker was still there on the back bumper.
Ned Jarrett was there signing away and was his usual, great self. It was about this time that they had a group shot. All of the drivers who were there gathered around the centerpiece that was there, one of Sam Ard’s old cars. One of Sam’s daughters pushed him over to where the photo was being taken. Once everyone was there, Sam got up from the wheelchair and joined the group for the photo. That really shows me that the determination of spirit is still with Sam despite his affliction. God bless you Sam.
Bunny Turner Hall, Curtis Turner’s widow, was there along with her husband. She’s a friend of Peanut’s and somebody I definitely want to talk with. Some of the things I want to discuss with her include the proposed museum for Curtis here in Floyd. She gave me a poster of Curtis which I’ll frame and hang up in my office/computer/art room. Curtis was one of a kind and I think a museum honoring him is long overdue, especially in his hometown.
I heard a couple of older fans talking about a driver carrying a gun with him inside of his car and once I heard the rest of the story, I knew that could only be a discussion about Neil “Soapy” Castles. Yes, Soapy did have a gun with him inside his car. Soapy didn’t mess around. He has a reputation for being a tough guy, which is well deserved if you ever saw him race. There’s a book called “Dirt Tracks to Glory” which talks about a lot of drivers from this era and includes Soapy and his gun. Unfortunately, Soapy didn’t make this event as the weather prevented him from getting there.
As I moved through the line, I got down to where Carl Long was and got him to autograph the banner along with several other folks who were there. Lou LaRossa was busy discussing things with several other drivers from his era and went over to talk with Tiger Tom Pistone. Lou was joking that it looked like a meeting of the Mafia with all of the Italian descendant drivers who were in that group and it got a good chuckle out of everyone in earshot. Barry Dodson was sitting in front of the group and he was laughing pretty hard. There was a lot of racing experience in that corner, not to mention some good stories being told. There was a discussion about the NASCAR hard card and the cost of it. One former great said after all he put into racing in NASCAR, they damn well better give him a hard card. I couldn’t agree more knowing his record.
Alex Beam’s museum staff were busy keeping folks taken care of and selling tickets for the 50/50 raffle. The lucky winner at the end of the day got $255. Not too bad. And it was a gentleman in a wheelchair who won it, so God love him even more for it. Alex himself was being a good host and organizer making his way around talking to every one of the old drivers, crew chiefs, and mechanics who were there. There was also a student film crew there filming the event. The camera they were using had a NASCAR Images decal on it, so who knows, it could end up being on some future race show. They were asking some of the greats various questions and also asking folks for any stories they had about Tiger Tom. I can only imagine some of them since Tom was the brunt of some of Tiny Lund’s practical jokes.
John Boy and Billy’s Grillzilla crew was there but weren’t doing a lot of business. Considering how many fans were there and most of them hunting autographs, it was no surprise. One of the guys from the crew said “These have got to be some of the most non-eating race fans I’ve ever seen”. Well, I don’t know about that. I had me a BBQ beef sandwich as I like sampling some typical Southern fair when I’m at events. But as you don’t get a group of this many famous drivers and crew chiefs together very often, you can’t blame folks for not eating.
I had to step out and get some fresh air for a bit only to see some big, wet snowflakes coming down, so I got under the overhang of the Grillzilla set up and talked with Peanut’s son. Hank has something of a unique history in his career of racing. He’s raced at some famous and infamous tracks in Virginia and North Carolina and the one I was specifically interested in was North Wilkesboro. He ran there twice and has a videotape of one of the races. Hank and I will be getting together before race season starts up so I can get some history from him and discuss a few other things, like local short track teams.
When I went back in, I met author Perry Allen Wood. Perry has written a book called “Silent Speedways of the Carolinas”. It’s about a lot of tracks that use to have racing back in the old days. They’re primarily the old Grand National tracks and the time span is that of the period before Winston became the series sponsor. One of the tracks he visited is nothing but a bunch of trails nowadays with nothing to indicate there was a track there except maybe for a few bleacher supports here and there. The last chapter is the track that he calls the Grand Old Dame. North Wilkesboro Speedway. One of my favorites. The book started out as something he was doing for fun and the way he got it published was totally a fluke. But I think it’s great, whether it’s a fluke or not that he got the book published as it covers some of the great tracks from the good old days. Plus it’s published by McFarland, the same company which has published Rex White’s “Gold Thunder” and “All Around the Track”. While McFarland may publish a lot of academic books, they also have some pretty decent books on racing and no, I don’t get any kickback for mentioning that. I mentioned to him that he should check out the Save the Speedway web site for some more info and photos if he does a revision of the book as they continue to accumulate more and more of the track’s historical information. At the end of the day, Perry donated $5 from the sale of every book he sold at the event. That’s pretty generous knowing what I do about how much Rex makes off of his books and it’s not much.
Gene Weaver, from the Old School Racing Champions Tour, was there and we had a short chat about the upcoming season. Gene says that it’s a great opportunity for the young and new fans to get out and see the legends that folks have been talking about for decades. Sort of like a primer for the new fans or NASCAR 101 as he calls it. Gene said that the tickets will be going on sale before the Daytona 500 and you’ll be able to order them through the web site. The cars they’re running look like a cross between the old template racer and a late model you might find at the local track. I’m looking forward to seeing this series run. We discussed the web site briefly and Gene said he wanted something simple and easy to navigate after seeing the disaster that has become some of the NASCAR related web sites (like NASCAR.com - me). They did a good job. It’s simple, clean, and easy to get around. They had 400,000 hit’s the first two days it was up and running, which is a good indication of just how popular this series could be. This year, their operational budget is pretty big since they’ve had to manufacture the cars, but next season it’ll be lower which means more money to put into the overall program and give something to the fans that’s missing from Cup racing. Where else are you going to find David Pearson, Dave Marcis, Harry Gant, Dick Trickle, and a slew of other racing greats racing from the good old days racing against each other. It’ll be great to see David Pearson and Dave Marcis racing against each other again, just like in the good old days. Gene said they’re planning to have autograph sessions at the tracks they race at, so there’s another good reason to show up. “Meet and greet” some of the greats. Be sure to check out the site to see when the ticket sales start at www.osrct.com/index.htm
Things started to wind down about 3:00 pm and I started making my rounds saying goodbye to Rex, Slick, Peanut, and Hank. On my way out, there were a few fans in the gift shop talking about the old days when one of them spotted my Dick Trickle shirt which brought up the story of Dick and the ashtray. That’s always good for a few laughs and stories about Dick. One of the younger fans had spotted my shirt earlier and told me he grew up on watching Dick Trickle race in Wisconsin. Once I got out to my car and got it loaded, I was on my way out of the parking lot when I spotted a rusted car on a trailer. It was sort of mashed down on the rear end, but I was able to recognize it’s lines from the front fenders and where the grill should’ve been. It was a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 XL. Needless to say, this got my interest up, so I got out and looked it over as did some other fans in the parking lot. The car looked to be in pretty bad shape. But seeing what Alex Beam has done with some other cars that were in worse shape, this one could be another great piece for the museum. While there wasn’t much in the way of paint on the car, I found one spot which had some faded blue paint on it and part of an old Pure Firebird gasoline decal which causes me to speculate just a bit. The only blue car I remember from 1964 was that of Ned Jarrett, the #11 car. Could it be? I’ll have to check back with Alex.
All in all, it was a great event. Legendary drivers turned out to help support one of their own as
NASCAR and the Frances won’t do diddly to help them out even after these greats gave
everything they had to the sport. The Frances have made billions off of these drivers only to
give them squat and it’s a damn shame. So
unless or until the France family and/or NASCAR
gets off their haunches and helps these former
greats out, it’s up to other racing greats and us
fans to help them out.
To Assist Sam & Jo Ard:
Sam Ard Care Fund
Wachovia Bank
PO Box 1089
Lake City, SC 29560
Account# 1010151706802
I want to thank all the fans and the legendary
drivers, crew chiefs, and other racing
personalities for turning out for this and also Alex Beam and his staff for the use of the Memory Lane Museum and for Mike Sykes on putting this great event together.
*Since I wrote this, Ted was hired by the Harris Trucking team to drive the #59 truck for the upcoming season.
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