Editor’s Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
15 Years Ago — 2010
News: Sunday afternoon the five inductees of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame were ushered into place in a quiet, respectful ceremony.
The five were Bill “Big Bill” France, his son Bill France, Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and the late Dale Earnhardt.
Two presenters detailed the accomplishments of each inductee. NASCAR Vice President of Corporate Communications Jim Hunter introduced the crowd to Big Bill France, and France’s longtime friend and legal adviser John Cassidy told about his first meeting with France, which happened while Cassidy was working for then United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy. At the time, France was having “some trouble” with Jimmy Hoffa and looking for legal help. This chance meeting led to a 50-year relationship between the two. Cassidy said France had many attributes, and that he could “walk with elegance in the corridors of power and with equal grace through the infield and garages.”
France could be the “consummate politician when needed,” explained Cassidy. France’s son Jim, vice chairman and executive vice president of NASCAR, received the engraved ring that came with the induction and said the Hall of Fame honor was the ultimate tribute to his father.
France donated the ring back to the Hall for display.
TV broadcaster Mike Joy emceed the proceedings, with Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley playing a large role.
Kelley introduced Dale Inman, longtime Richard Petty crew chief and Inman said that from day one “Richard understood what it meant to be good to the fans and his sponsons.” Petty’s on-track record of seven championships, seven Daytona 500 victories and 200 victories in NASCAR stock-car competition speaks for itself.
Yet Inman related Petty believed, “If they remember you at all, that’s enough.”
Kyle Petty talked about how his father was the first to embrace the media and what it meant to the sport and that his dad was so even-keeled and even tempered he “was the same whether he won or lost.”
Kyle said his dad is known as “Mr. The King” from the “Cars” movie, and when Mr. The King went to receive his ring, he also received the event’s first standing ovation.
The second-generation of the France legacy, Bill, was credited with exceptional vision, geographic expansion, sponsor growth, media attention, track building, series building and public acceptance for and of NASCAR.
Ken Clapp, former West Coast NASCAR rep and loyal friend, spoke of how Bill secured the R.J. Reynolds’s Winston brand sponsorship, and always looked to the future.
There isn’t anyone in motorsports who has been around the last 20 years who doesn’t remember Bill France sitting on a stool in the garage area, willing to talk with anyone who happened by:
Rick Hendrick inducted France, with Bill’s daughter Lesa France Kennedy and son Brian accepting.
Who better than Darrell Waltrip to introduce Junior Johnson? Waltrip did so with some folksy tales and genuine respect and affection. Waltrip reminded the audience that Johnson’s on-track career of 50 victories was eclipsed by his career as a car owner with seven titles, and that Waltrip’s driving six years for Johnson defined his own career.
Johnson was perhaps even better known for being an innovator; from inventing the bootleg turn to discovering the draft at Daytona.
Before welcoming Johnson to the stage, Kelley told how Johnson not only built a still for the Hall of Fame to commemorate his days as a moonshiner, he also installed it in the Hall.
Junior’s son Robert presented the Hall of Fame ring to his father.
NASCAR President Mike Helton praised Dale Earnhardt, the last inductee.
“He added more character at that point in time,” said Helton, “and became the working man’s hero.”
Earnhardt’s on-track exploits were detailed by video interviews and to a man, all the drivers who raced against him spoke about how tough he was. Ned Jarrett summed it up when he said, “I don’t think any of us realized just how big he was until his death.”
Richard Childress, who called Earnhardt his best friend. said Dale was the most competitive
person he knew, in or out of a car, and that Earnhardt could do more with a race car than anyone else.
Earnhardt’s widow Teresa, along with Earnhardt’s children (Kerry, Kelley, Dale, Jr. and
Taylor) accepted his Hall of Fame induction and ring. They all spoke and Teresa quoted Bud Moore’s tribute to her late husband, “There’s Earnhardt, and then there’s everybody else.”
Winners: Ryan Blaney wired the CRA Super Series late-model field Sunday afternoon at Hickory Motor Speedway en route to his first victory with the series.
Blaney started the 150-lap event on the front row alongside polesitter Danny Bagwell and stormed into the lead on the first lap. He led the complete distance on the historic .363-mile oval.
“We had to have tire management over the first 100 laps or so,” said Blaney. “When you’re leading you’re always worried that something is going to go wrong with the
car or someone’s going to run into you, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.”
The only drama during the race took place behind Blaney as Augie Grill battled Colt James for second. James hounded Grill for 30 laps before making contact with Grill on lap 131 in turn four, allowing James to move into second.
Grill, unhappy with the contact, hounded James for six laps before making contact with James in turn two, sending both drivers into the outside wall for the seventh and final caution flag of the afternoon.
Both drivers recovered from the crash, with James finishing sixth and Grill seventh.
Jeff Fultz inherited second as a result of the crash, which is where he finished.
Chase Elliott was third, followed by Daniel Hemric and T.J. Reaid.
30 Years Ago — 1995
News: North Carolina Motor Speedway officials announced Wednesday that Penske Speedways, Inc., recently acquired a minority interest in the 1.017 -mile speedway.
Penske purchased approximately 50,000 shares of stock in the Rockingham track, or about 2 percent.
The transaction follows a purchase a month ago by Bruton Smith of approximately 532,000 shares, or 24 percent of the stock. Smith allegedly paid in the neighborhood of $4 million for his shares.
N.C. Motor Speedway’s total stock numbers 2.2 million shares. The family of the late L.G. DeWitt owns 65 percent of the stock, and Jo DeWitt Wilson, DeWitt’s daughter, serves as president and CEO of the corporation.
Penske Speedways, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Penske Corporation, operates Michigan Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.; Nazareth Speedway in Nazareth, Pa; and is currently constructing the California Speedway in San Bernardino County, Calif.
Smith’s credentials include chairman of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which owns Charlotte Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway (under construction) and 600 Racing Inc.
The current structure of the board, based on stock holdings, provides the DeWitt family with eight members and Smith with three members.
Walter Czarnecki, president of Penske Speedways, becomes a new member of the board at Rockingham, as does H. A. (Humpy) Wheeler, president of Speedway Motorsports, Inc.
Winners: The mountain Jacques Villeneuve was forced to climb on his way to victory in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 must have seemed like the tallest, most unattainable peak in the world.
Especially since he had to race 505 miles to win a 500-mile race.
By the time he took the checkered flag some 3 hours later, however, he was looking down from that lofty peak.
Villeneuve and Team Green overcame a botched pit stop, a two-lap penalty for passing the pace car, a second botched pit stop and the best efforts of Scott Goodyear to win the 79th Indianapolis 500.
Villeneuve became just the second man to win rookie-of-the-year honors and the race in consecutive years. Rick Mears turned that trick first in 1978-79. He’s also the first Canadian driver to win at Indianapolis, and at 24 the youngest since 1952 winner Troy Ruttman.
“When I learned I was two laps town, I swore a little bit,” Villenueve said. “I’m glad I wasn’t plugged into the network. I made a mistake twice, once I stalled and another time I left the pit early. We did everything we could do to not win this race and when we did it, it was very exciting.”
Goodyear, who led 22 laps early, was penalized for passing the pass car and wound up 14th.
Christian Fittipaldi finished second, with Bobby Rahal third.
60 Years Ago— 1965
News: The National Championship Car Owners Ass’n has asked that a bigger share of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway income be added to the 1965 race purse.
Bob Wilke, president of the group, which has been in existence since 1949, said Saturday the IMS officials had agreed to add $2,000 per car in the starting field to the purse this year as a share of the closed-circuit television receipts — the first time any TV money has been added to the official purse.
It has been rumored that the speedway’s share of last year’s TV receipts was $73,000.
“We feel the amount of prize money paid to participants is not in proportion to the increased cost of owner participants in the 500 and that our shares is not commensurate with the increase in gross receipts. We have been promised $2,000 per starting car from TV receipts but we feel this amount is grossly inadequate,” read a prepared statement issued by the NCCOA.
“We simply want more money paid into the prize fund by the speedway,” Wilke said. “We are not attempting to put any pressure on anyone; we are merely stating our beliefs.
“We have asked for $100,000 from TV money and $50,000 from the speedway’s receipts be added to the purse. They have promised us $66,000 from the TV money and have agreed to add $15,000 to the purses from speedway money, just as they did last year.”
Later in the statement, it read: “We represent 85 percent of the cars entered here this year and 28 of the 33 starters and our group visualizes a total speedway purse of $500,000 within the next few years and as high as $1 million eventually.”
Winners: The 49th running of the Indianapolis 500 turned into a rout by former World Champion Jim Clark, as the 29-year-old road racing star thoroughly vanquished his formidable rivals in Colin Chapman’s team Lotus-Ford.
Clark, the first foreigner to win the classic since Dario Resta’s 1916 victory averaged a record 150.685 mph. and led all but 10 of the 200 laps. It also marked the first time a rear-engined car had won here and also the first time a Ford-engined car had triumphed.
Four-time national champion A.J. Foyt was the only other man to lead the race, taking the second lap from Clark and nine others as a gift when Clark made his first refueling stop. Foyt, in a modified year-old Lotus Ford, was no match for Clark, and was running a lap behind in second place when he retired with transmission troubles on the 114th lap.
1963 Indy winner Parnell Jones brought the Agajanian Hurst Lotus Ford home second, a minute and 58 seconds behind Clark.
Jones, whose car consumed excessive amounts of fuel, made three pit stops to Clark’s two, and ran out of gas just after taking the checkered flag.
Mario Andretti, in the Dean Van Lines rear engine Ford, became the favorite to grab rookie-of-the-year honors, finishing third, only six seconds behind Jones.
