Angie
Stock car racing has always been a team sport. Each person in the organization plays a key role in the success of the team. One minor mistake can ruin a driver’s day and the smallest thing can often make the biggest impact.
Just ask Doug Taylor.
After a brief career in the Air Force that taught him electronics, Taylor was looking for a new direction when he heard that 2-way radios were being used in Indy and stock cars. He began to focus on developing a better system for in-car communications.
At first only a few drivers were interested but through word of mouth advertising, more and more seemed to take notice. In 1974 things began to come together when Junior Johnson became his first customer.
You might recognize a few of the legendary names he has worked with in his 25-year long career. They include A.J. Foyt, Benny Parsons, Darrell Waltrip, the Woods Brothers, Paul Newman and many more. Continue reading →
Angie
I recently had the opportunity to cover the NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway as a member of the media. Below is a summary of my experience, slightly skewed for entertainment purposes.
My journey began with a trip to Darlington to pick up my media credentials to cover the upcoming Nationwide and Cup Series races. While I was there, I just had to stop by the Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum.
As I stepped out of my car and looked at the faces adorning the front of the museum, I knew that I was in for a treat.
Everywhere I looked, I saw a different piece of stock car racing history.
Some things were immediately familiar like the number 43, trademark blue, 1967 Plymouth of Richard Petty.
And then there were the surprises.
Over to one side was a 1956 Ford convertible. This particular car won 22 races in a single year racing in the convertible series.
One of my favorite parts of the museum was a glass case with an array of confiscated items taken off the competitors cars.
I just had to laugh at the ingenuity of these drivers who used every advantage they could find to win…at least until they got caught. It seems like some things never change. Continue reading →
Angie
J.C. “Jake” Elder, a former crew chief in the Cup Series, died Wednesday in Statesville, North Carolina at the age of 73. He was known as “Suitcase Jake” because he could never settle down with one organization for very long.
He is generally considered by the NASCAR community as one of the greatest crew chiefs of all-time. He won two championships with David Pearson and helped mold some of NASCAR’s legends including Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip and Benny Parsons.
If you want to take a look back at the grassroots of NASCAR, Jake Elder is a great place to begin.
He was born on November 22, 1936 and his education ended around the 3rd grade. Elder never learned to read and write but his knowledge of cars was almost unrivaled.
He began his NASCAR career in 1960 as a fabricator for Petty Enterprises.
Jake came to work for us in Level Cross in the ‘60s, down from the Hickory area, and he was a fabricator,” Richard Petty said. “Jake was old school. There was no engineering; it was all off the cuff. He’d put something on the car and say, ‘OK, now it’s right. Here, you go drive it. And don’t come back in complaining to me, because I got the car fixed. You go learn how to drive it.’” Continue reading →
Angie
Martinsville Speedway is one of NASCAR’s most celebrated race tracks and has always been a fan favorite. Its history is intertwined with that of stock car racing and it reflects the colorful traditions of NASCAR.
Located in Ridgeway, VA just south of Martinsville, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. This unique half-mile paper clip shaped oval is the only track that was on the schedule in the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and still hosts the series today.
The track, built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles, opened as a dirt track. Red Byron won the 50-lap feature race and took home a $2,000 purse. Continue reading →
