Editor’s Note: In a nod to our 91 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 20, 40 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
20 Years Ago — 2006
News: The five manufacturer teams who are threatening to start their own F-1 series will be given a single 10-day window to sign up for the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship. The FIA will only accept entries for 10 days beginning on March23, 2006.
“It makes sense to open entries soon Formula 1 and then to close them again quickly,” FIA President Max Mosley said. “Then we can discuss with the people that have entered refinements to the regulations before the (new rule) deadline of the end of June.”
F-1 in its current form ends after the 2007 season when the Concorde Agreement, the contract that binds the teams, the FIA and the commercial rights holder, expires.
At the moment, Ferrari, Williams, MFl, Red Bull, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Super Aguri have committed to the FlA. BMW, Renault, Honda, Toyota and McLaren Mercedes, members of the GPMA, remain outside the fold. The latter five have a contract between themselves to stick together, but they now have just over a month to decide what to do.
“From 2008, nobody has either a right or an obligation to enter the championship,” Mosley said. “It would not surprise me to see some defections (from the GPMA) next month when we open the entries. I hope everybody will be sensible and see these are sensible rules and everyone will enter.”
Because of space limitations in the pit garages, the total number of entries will be restricted to 12 two-car teams.
While the FIA welcomes the big car companies, Mosley says the core of F- 1 is the independent teams that should be able to be competitive on a budget of $100 million.
“I have got a real determination to see this through,” Mosley said. “I honestly believe that if F-1 is to prosper; then we have got to get the costs down so that the independent teams can survive.”
Mosley suggested freezing engine design for three years.
“The manufacturers have collectively spent over $1 billion on engine development programs,” he said. “The problem with them is that if you permit them free reign you get into a money-spending competition, which raises the danger of putting a lot of smaller teams out of business.”
Winners: Jimmie Johnson dealt with controversy the best way possible. He won the 48th Daytona 500.
A perennial contender for the Nextel Cup championship, Johnson’s chances to win this race were dealt a serious blow Feb. 13 when crew chief Chad Knaus was ejected by NASCAR officials for cheating. Even without the innovative Knaus setting up his car, Johnson scored the biggest victory of his career in a race that ended in a green- white-checkered finish because of a late crash Sunday at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Johnson’s qualification speed from Feb. 12 was disallowed, and Knaus was sent home when the No.48 team’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo did not pass technical inspection.
But Johnson overcame the loss of his crew chief for his first Daytona victory.
“I am so, so proud of this race team,” Johnson said. “It’s been a great week for us. I wish Chad Knaus was here to celebrate with us.
“I can’t believe this. Tomorrow morning it might soak in. After all the trouble this team has been through, I have to dedicate this to my team because we won the Daytona 500. Deep down, I thought we could still win. Everybody stepped up. I’m so proud of this team.”
Victory was all in the numbers.
“It’s pretty. cool that it worked out that we won the 48th running of this race and we’re the No. 48,” Johnson said.
40 Years Ago — 1986
News: Emmett “Buddy” Jobe, the principle owner of Phoenix Int’l Raceway since last September when he and Patrick T. Johnson purchased the facility from Dennis Wood, announced last week be has assumed sole ownership of the speedway.
“I have purchased Pat Johnson’s interest in the track because of my strong desire to become more involved in the day-to-day operation of the facility,” said Jobe. “At the same time, Pat felt he needed more time away from the track to concentrate on personal matters.”
Since purchasing the 22-year-old track from Wood, Jobe and Johnson have overseen three events, the October Dana 150 Indy Car race, the November Skoal Long Cut Classic and the recent Skoal Bandits Copper World Classic earlier this month.
Wood has remained on I’IR’s board as the track’s’ operations consultant and will continue to work with Jobe in that capacity.
The one-mile oval’s next event comes, April 6, with the season-opening Dana 200 for the CART PPG Indy Car World ·Series.
Winners: Geoff Bodine packed a bigger lunch than Dale Earnhardt. And when his horse got hungry, he had enough hay to make it go the distance.
Earnhardt came up a little short on fuel, and Bodine had just enough. And that was the key in the fuel crisis that was Sunday’s Daytona 500 for two Chevrolets. ·
The anticipation that was building for an exciting showdown between the rivals went poof three laps from the finish. Earnhardt ran out of gas and pitted. From there, Bodine had the open seas and clear sailing to the first major NASCAR victory of” his career.
Earnhardt and Bodine had last pitted at the same time on lap 159. Thirty-eight laps later, Earnhardt ran out of fuel. Bodine ran 41 laps in competition then added another lap after taking the checkered flag and drove into victory circle.
Later at the pumps, the winning car held 21.1 gallons of gasoline. Twenty-two gallons is the maximum legal tank size.
Terry Labonte, in the Piedmont Airlines Oldsmobile, was second to Bodine’s Levi Garrett/Exxon Chevy, 11 seconds behind. Darrell Waltrip, in the· Budweiser Chevy, was third.
Young Bobby Hillin had his best finish, fourth, in the Miller American Chevrolet, and Benny Parsons rounded out the top five.
60 Years Ago— 1966
News: The Flemington Fairgrounds, for 11 years a NASCAR stronghold in New Jersey, will operate weekly stock car racing on an independent, open competition basis, this year, it was announced this week.
William Kinnamon, executive vice president of the Flemington Fair, gave no reason for the change, but rather announced a series of improvements planned for the half-mile dirt track.
Kinnamon stated that additional grandstand seating is going in as are improved concession facilities. Purses will be increased and a larger point fund is planned.
Rules and specifications remain unchanged for the new season with opening day to be announced soon.
Winners: Amazing Richard Petty and an equally fantastic Dick Hutcherson battled high wind and a damp race track at Daytona Int’l Speedway to grab front row positions for the February 17 Daytona 500 stock car classic.
Petty, brilliant after a year’s layoff on the NASCAR circuit due to Chrysler’s boycott, blazed his 1966 Plymouth Belvedere around the 2.5-mile track at a sizzling 175.165 mph average to win the pole position. His speed broke the previous record of 174.910 set in 1964 by Paul Goldsmith in a hemi-powered Plymouth.
Hutcherson, equally dazzling considering that it is only his second 500 try, led a powerful contingent of Ford factory drivers by posting a two-lap qualifying run of 174.313 mph.
Sunday’s runs which were for the two front row positions only, set the stage for a torrid battle between Petty and Hutcherson in the 500-mile race.
