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: “Charlotte, start your economic engines,” said North Carolina Governor Mike Easley, echoing the sentiments of his entire state Monday at the announcement the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be located in downtown Charlotte.
Outlasting a late bidy by Atlanta, Charlotte became the last one standing in the race among five cities to receive the NASCAR-only auto racing hall of fame.
The project, expected to cost an estimated $154.5 million, will be located adjacent to the Charlotte Convention Center, where the announcement was made; and is targeted for an early 2007 groundbreaking, with the museum to open by March 31, 2010.
NASCAR Chairman Brian France and President Mike Helton were among the large crowd in attendance. France complimented all of the cities, but explained the decision to select Charlotte.
“Like any tough decision, you look at what is going to be best in the long run,” France said. “I’m happy to tell you today; the NASCAR Hall of Fame is going to be right here, in Charlotte, North Carolina.”
Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory welcomed the attendees to “Charlotte, home of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.” “We’ve been saying for nine months that one of our goals is to connect NASCAR and Charlotte the same way that Hollywood is connected to movies, the same way Pasadena is connected to the Rose Bowl, the same way Augusta is connected to The Masters, the same way Cooperstown is connected to baseball,” McCrory said. “And now, forever, it will be NASCAR and Charlotte and the Hall.”
McCrory, who was joined by Easley and a host of other Charlotte and North Carolina governmental officials, is among those with high hopes for the hall of fame.
“This is going to be a tremendous boom to the traveling tourism industry,” McCrory continued. “Not just Charlotte, but the entire region and this entire state. Second, we think this will add an incredible amount of jobs for economic development. The NASCAR industry is right here. About 60 to 70 percent of the teams, the excellent athletes, technicians and drivers live in this area. This is the home of these drivers, and there is no place like home.”
The hall will be owned by NASCAR and will be located on city land off Brevard Street. NASCAR will rent the land for $1 per year and will also receive $4 million of city money for parking and an office building.
Winners: Last year home- town hero Luis Diaz and Scott Pruett missed winning the Grand American’s Rolex Sports Car Series finale because of a last-minute stop for a splash of fuel. This past weekend at the Rolex tour’s return to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, there was no such drama as Pruett and Diaz took their Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley Daytona Prototype to a wire-to-wire victory.
From the start of practice straight through to the final checkered flag after 100 laps of competition, there wasseemingly little anyone could do to overcome the performance advantage that the pair held in their hip pockets.
“It’s a total team effort first,” Diaz said. “I have to thank everyone involved from Telmex to (team owner) Chip (Ganassi) to Carlos Slim to the whole Ganassi team. We owed this win to the Mexican people after what happened last year. I have to thank Lexus as well, as they came a long way for us from last year in terms of fuel mileage. Scott did an awesome job for the team today, too. It was a flawless performance. This is the biggest win of my career, and I couldn’t be happier knowing it came with Chip Ganassi Racing in front of my family and friends.”
Indeed, about the only car capable of even staying close, the Pontiac-powered Riley of Alex Gurney and Bob Stallings, found itself behind the eight ball after Stallings, who had qualified the car, pulled in at the end of the first lap to hand over to Gurney because he wasn’t feeling well, a move that put them a lap down. Although Gurney, who drove the rest of the way, matched Pruett and Diaz on speed, he was never quite able to overcome the handicap he had started with and finished 13th.
lf Pruett and Diaz were the focus of attention by the Mexican crowd throughout the afternoon, several late-race cautions kept them honest, as Diaz crossed the line with just a few seconds advantage over the second-place Krohn Racing Ford Riley of Jorg Bergmeister and teenage sensation Colin Braun. Paul Tracy and Graydon Elliott were third in a Lexus Riley.
40 Years Ago — 1986
News: The American Speed Ass’n, All-Pro Racing Ass’n and the American-Canadian Coors Tour have formed a new sanctioning body to conduct a six-race $1.5 million Great American ChalJenge Series in 1987.
Stock Car Connection (SCC) was officially announced as the “umbrella” organization over ASA, All- Pro and the Coors Tour. Each sanctioning body becomes a division of SCC but will operate independently in scheduling of races, according to SCC and ASA president Rex Robbins.
Eighteen states, Canada, and more than 60 race dates are represented in 1986 by the three groups.
“All three groups are in the stock car racing business, and we have effectively connected the South with the North and Canada,” Robbins said. “All those concerned with SCC will have greater visibility in the future, and we will have a major impact upon marketing.”
SCC was formed under the newly-formed Group A Inc., which will operate as a legal holding company under president Robbins, vice president Bob Harmon of All-Pro, and secretary-treasurer Tom Curley of the Coors Tour.
Harmon pointed out that the group’s strength “is that each division represents a large and specific demographic area.”
This season, the Coors Tour has 30 races in seven Northeastern states and Canada, ASA has 18 races in eight Midwestern states and Canada, and All-Pro has 15 races in five Southern states.
Curley attested, “Our three divisions cover the most populated areas of the nation. We can impact upon 120 million people, and our planned (cable) TV coverage adds unlimited possibilities.”
It was learned that SCC is negotiating with three cable networks over the rights to telecast the six-race $1 million series, which begins May 17, 1987, at Sanair Super Speedway in Quebec. Curley emphasized that the six challenge series races will be “evenly spread” throughout the geographic areas represented by the three divisions.
Winners: In daily travels of days gone by, and sometimes down a lonesome highway, he would ride and wonder if it would ever happen.
Sometimes it seemed as far away as the moon and, again, often as close as the next meal.
“Once, just once, I wanted to be able to take off and leave everybody. You know, blow ’em away. Drive away from the field and the whole bit.”
Terry Labonte’s dreams became reality, Sunday, at North Carolina Motor Speedway. “Yes, it was one of those days,” he admitted. “They don’t come often, and I’m really thankful for this one. It was an enjoyable afternoon.”
Labonte led 304 of the 492 laps in the Goodwrench 500, averaged 120.488 mph and collected $44,550.
The victory gave Oldsmobile its first win since May of 1980 when Buddy Baker won at Alabama Int’l Motor Speedway.
“Everything went about perfect as it can go,” the· Piedmont Airlines driver said. “I think I can truthfully say that this particular car Is the best race car I’ve ever driven In NASCAR competition. Neither the car nor the engine missed a beat. Every single person on the team is to be congratulated for doing an excellent job since we switched from Chevrolet to Olds.”
60 Years Ago— 1966
News: Five Grand National auto races with posted awards totaling at least $185,000 and including two 500-mile events, are on the NASCAR schedule in March.
They are set for Spartanburg, S.C., March 5; Weaverville, N.C., March 6; Rockingham, N.C., March 13; Bristol, Tenn., March 20; and Atlanta, Ga., March 27.
National champion Ned Jarrett will lead the circuit riders to Spartanburg’s Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds on the half-mile dirt track. Posted awards total $5,330 for the 100-mile event.
Next day, a 150-mile race offering $7,420 will be presented by the Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, a half-mile paved track.
First of the long-distance races will be the Peach Blossom 500 on the North Carolina Motor Speedway near Rockingham March 13. Posted awards total $68,050, with $13,500 going to the winner.
The sixth annual Southeaster 500, a 250-mile race on the half-mile paved and banked Bristol Int’l Speedway, will pay $28,215 in prize money, with $5,025 going to the winner.
Winners: Plymouth driver Richard Petty, an unspoiled country boy from Randleman, N.C., scored a smashing victory in the eighth annual Daytona 500 before a tremendous crowd of more than 90,000, the largest turnout for a sports event in the south.
Bill France’s luck held out once again and overcast skies that threatened to wash out the stock car classic kindly waited until later afternoon to fall, forcing the race to be cut short by five miles.
Not so luck were a number of star drivers who were knocked out of the race. Petty piloted his 1966 factory-backed Plymouth hemi head Belvedere through a trail of torn tire treads on the track and averaged a scorching 160.627 mph for the 198 laps.
Petty, the popular 28-year-old pre-race favorite, beat the mark of 154.354 mph he set in winning the 1964 Daytona 500.
Cale Yarborough finished second after making six pit stops to Petty’s seven and changing two tires, while Petty changed eight. Yarborough’s Ford lacked the steam of Petty’s hemi.
David Pearson, Fred Lorenzen and Sam McQuagg completed the top five.
