High Banks and Memory Banks
|
07/13/2016
Vivian Simons |
I have always been told and
have also read that we all have recesses in our mind that hold memory banks. We
don't always remember everything that happened in our life, but sometimes
something will trigger a memory and it will then come to the forefront of our
mind and allow us to share. Below are some of the memories I want to share with
other race fans. I would like to express that I felt, and still feel very
privileged to have lived there during the time history was being made in this
sport beginning with the first Daytona 500.
I remember February 1959. A new 2.5 mile
auto racing track had opened in Daytona. It was huge and the banking was very
impressive. The first race at the track was the Daytona 500 and was held on
February 22 that year. A group of my
classmates and I were fortunate enough to attend that race. We were in total
awe at what we saw. It was very exciting and fun to be there in person. They
named the stock cars that were running the Grand National Series. The sound and
the smells immediately made me realize I could be a very avid fan of this
sport. Although it was titled about
types of fans, my article about my experience at that race can be read here.
It was a very close finish
and Lee Petty was declared the winner three days later. There was no electronic
timing so they had to resort to photographs to determine the winner. Most of us
fans had left the track thinking Johnny Beauchamp had won and were surprised
they changed the results. There was a gentleman who drove the first and only
Dodge in that particular Daytona 500 and he finished in 28th place. More about
him will follow at the end of the article.
The race took 3 hours and 41
minutes to complete and the average speed was 135.521mph. Most of us were
amazed the cars went that fast.
February 18, 1962. I was in attendance at the
fourth Daytona 500. I was just as excited as I had been at the first one.
A driver named Edward Glenn
Roberts won this race. He was better known as Fireball Roberts and was a
favorite by most fans. He was a Florida boy and had grown up about 60 miles
from Daytona.
The race took only 3 hours
and 10 minutes to complete that year and the average speed was 152.529 mph
which was quite a bit faster than the first one. The margin of victory was 27
seconds.
We would lose Fireball in
July 1964 as a result of burns and injuries he had suffered in a crash at
Charlotte in May.
In December1963
Wendell Scott was the first African American to win a Grand National Race.
Driving a Bel Air Chevrolet he had bought from Ned Jarrett, he won a Grand
National race at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, FL
Author's Note: I was not at
this race, but since it was history, I included it.
February 23, 1964. The winner, Richard Petty won this race by a lap over 2nd place
finisher Jimmy Pardue. The average speed was154.334
mph and the margin of victory was 1 lap and 9 seconds. There were 3 cautions
and 6 lead changes, even with leader finishing on the lead lap by himself.
There were almost 70,000 fans in attendance that year.
February 14, 1965. This race was completed under caution due to rain. Fred Lorenzen was
declared the winner as he was leading when the caution came out. The race was
shortened and they only completed 133 laps rather than the usual distance,
which is 200 laps. Fred Lorenzen was NASCAR'S original “Golden Boy.”
The race lasted only 2 hours
and 22 minutes. There were 3 cautions and the average speed this year was
141.539 mph with 7 lead changes.
February 27, 1966. This was the year of the return of the Chrysler Hemi engine. Richard
Petty won the race with a 1 lap lead and the race lasted 3 hours and 4 minutes.
There were 4 cautions and the average speed was 160.927 mph.
1966 was
also the year of the first 24 Hours of Daytona race, which I attended.
February 26, 1967. Mario Andretti, an open wheel
driver, won this Daytona 500. It is the
only time someone born outside the United States has won a Daytona 500. His
entry information said he was from Nazareth, PA.
This race had 6 cautions and
ended under caution. The average speed was 146.926 mph and lasted 3 hours and
24 minutes.
1969 and 1970,
Chrysler brought winged cars - the Dodge Charger Daytona and the Plymouth Superbird. These
cars were the fastest yet. Qualifying speeds at Talladega were approaching
200mph.
A speed test was arranged,
with Buddy Baker driving a Charger Daytona on a closed course at Talladega. He
went an amazing 200.447 mph on March 24, 1970.
Author's Note: It was at
this time that I moved away from Florida but I also want to include some other history
that I feel was significant to the sport.
In 1972 they
changed the Series name from Grand National to Winston Cup Racing as RJ
Reynolds began sponsoring NASCAR racing.
Nextel took over the sponsorship in 2004 and then Sprint acquired Nextel
in 2005.
February 18, 1979 Richard Petty once again won the Daytona 500 with an average speed of
143.977 mph. The race lasted 3 hours and 28 minutes. There were 7 caution flags
during the race.
The young man who finished
8th in this race went on to become the 1979 Rookie of the Year. His name was
Dale Earnhardt and he was driving the #2 Buick. The very next year in 1980,
Dale won his first Winston Cup Championship in only his second season of NASCAR
Cup racing. During his career, Dale would go on to win 7 championships and is
tied with Richard Petty, who has the same number of championships. Sadly, on February 18, 2001 we would lose
Dale on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in a crash. After his death, NASCAR
implemented many new safety improvements and has continued to make safety
improvements a number one issue in the sport.
In my memories of 1959 above,
I mentioned a gentleman who drove the first Dodge in a Daytona 500. I met him
in 1963 and he became one of my favorite car racing mentors and helped increase
my knowledge in the sport. Although he is no longer with us, I would like to
honor him by directing you to the following link. Thanks to Marty Little for
helping preserve history on some of the LEGENDS of NASCAR. Please allow me
introduce my friend and mentor, Dick Joslin.
Thank you for reading. Your
comments and views are welcome.