H
HardScrabble
Guest
Headlines from the past:
September 11, 1999 People kept asking if Tony Stewart was going to win a
race in his rookie year. It was a feat that had not been accomplished since
Davey Allison managed it in 1987; Stewart came close often but could not
quite close the deal. In the 25th race of the season, Tony answered the
question. He scored his first career victory at the Exide NASCAR Select
Batteries 400 at Richmond International Raceway and he did so in dominating
fashion. Bobby Labonte mounted a late race challenge, but finished 1.114
seconds back. Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin and Kenny Irwin rounded out the
top 5.
September 11, 1993 Rusty Wallace took the lead from Mark Martin on lap 267
of the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Richmond International Raceway and held
on to win his 27th career NASCAR race. Bobby Labonte started from the pole,
but it was Ernie Irvan who jumped into the lead on lap 1 from his outside
front row starting position. He held that place for 8 laps until Labonte was
finally able to grab the lead. This was Labonte's first career pole. Irvan's
engine blew on lap 57, relegating him to last place in 36th. Wallace's
victory came by ½ second over Bill Elliott.
September 11, 1988 In the 1st race since the renovation that transformed
Richmond International Raceway from a .542 mile short track to a .750
mini-Speedway, Davey Allison blistered the field with a qualification
attempt of 122.850. He set the pace in the Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400 most of
the day. 5 cautions for 42 laps kept the average speed down to 95.770, but
it was still the fastest race ever run at this track. The win was Allison's
4th career victory.
September 11, 1983 In 1983, Bobby Allison backed up his Southern 500 win
with a short track victory at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in the Wrangler
Sanfor-Set 400. Allison took the lead from Ricky Rudd on the 285th lap and
kept a close eye on him for the remainder of the race. When Rudd moved to
the high groove and began to close in on Allison, Bobby moved up as well,
and beat Rudd, driving a Richard Childress Chevrolet, to the finish by less
than a second. Allison's closest competitor in the points standing, Darrell
Waltrip, finished 3rd, 1 lap in arrears.
September 11, 1977 Neil Bonnett avoided a track blocking crash on the final
lap of the Capital City 400 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway to score his 1st
ever NASCAR victory. He led the final 100 laps en route to the Checkered
Flag. A rapidly closing Richard Petty had to dive down Pit Road to avoid the
wreck and that clinched the win for Bonnett and gave car owner Jim Stacy his
first win. 5 cars finished on the lead lap, including Benny Parsons, Cale
Yarborough, and Lennie Pond.
September 11, 1970 Once Bobby Isaac started winning at Hickory Motor
Speedway, he kept on until he was done. In the 1970 Buddy Shuman Memorial
Isaac scored his fourth consecutive win, ending a streak that began in the
1969 Hickory 250. These four wins marked his total at Hickory. The victory
was a squeaker, as Isaac beat Petty to the finish line by only 8 car
lengths. 3rd place finisher Bobby Allison was also on the lead lap. The win
was the 31st career victory for the 1970 NASCAR Champion.
September 11, 1966 David Pearson scored his third consecutive win at
Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds (a.k.a. Richmond International Raceway). It wasn'
t as easy as it looked in the final run-down. Pearson beat runner-up Buck
Baker by more than 5 laps, but early contenders Richard Petty and Junior
Johnson both retired with mechanical problems after leading. Pearson scored
his 28th career win driving a Dodge for Cotton Owens.
September 11, 1964 David Pearson scored his 14th career pole and led the
first 21 laps in the Buddy Shuman Memorial on the dirt track at Hickory
Speedway. Pearson briefly gave the lead over to Junior Johnson before
Johnson's Ford began to falter, eventually giving in to an overheating
problem. Johnson finished 22nd. Pearson re-assumed the lead on lap 65 and
romped over the field for his 11th career victory. He beat Larry Thomas by
more than 3 laps. Thomas put on a great show, however, driving his Ford from
a last place 27th starting position to become the runner-up.
September 11, 1962 In NASCAR's first appearance at Dog Track Speedway in
Moycock, NC, Ned Jarrett scored his 14th career win. This was his 6th win of
the season; all of the other wins were also on dirt. The track was rough on
equipment with only 6 of the 15 starters finishing. Jarrett beat Joe
Weatherly, Curtis Crider and Mel Bradley. 5th place finisher George Green
broke a transmission 22 laps from the finish of the 250 lap event.
September 11, 1960 Jim Cook won the pole and won the race in a 100 mile
event on the 1-mile dirt track at Sacramento Fairgrounds. It was his only
career win. Scotty Cain kept it close, finishing on the same lap as the
winner. He averaged 70.629 mph for the victory. Cook was the third 1st time
winner at Sacramento Fairgrounds in 5 events.
September 11, 1959 Only 14 cars started the 250 lap event at Hickory
Speedway and only one car finished on the lead lap, but 12 cars were running
at the end to give the fans a show. Lee Petty scored his 45th career
victory over Buck Baker. No time trials were held, and Petty drew a last row
(13th place) starting position to add a little spice to the race.
September 11, 1955 In their 2nd visit to Montgomery Speedway, Tim Flock
backed up his April win with another victory. He led Flag-to-Flag in the 200
lap (100-mile) contest, beating Herb Thomas by more than a lap. It was his
31st career win and he did it from the pole.
September 11, 1949 In this day of cookie-cutter 1.5-mile race tracks, I long
for diversity. The racing world didn't get much more unique than Langhorne
Speedway in Pennsylvania. This 1-mile dirt track was round, and it made for
some very exciting racing. In NASCAR's first season, they visited Langhorne
for the 4th ever race. Curtis Turner scored his 1st career victory over Bob
Flock by a margin of 20 seconds. He was the fourth different winner in the
first four events. Women were more of a fixture then than now. Sara
Christian finished a strong 6th in her husband's Oldsmobile. Louise Smith
finished 16th in a self-owned Ford and Ethel Mobley finished 45th and dead
last in a Buick.
September 11, 1949 Bill Whittington was born. He competed in 2 races in
the 1980 season. His best finish was in the Winston Western 500 when he came
home in 9th, two laps down to winner, Darrell Waltrip.
September 11, 1930 Joy Fair was born. Competed in 2 events in 1956, with
a career best finish of 9th in a race on an impromptu track at Soldier Field
in Chicago, IL.
September 11, 1929 Joe Lee Johnson was born. He competed in only 55 events
in the late 1950s - early 1960s but he made the most of them. His 10 top 5s
and 20 tops 10s were capped by two victories the first at the short track in
Nashville in 1959 and his greatest in the 1960 World 600.
September 11, 1926 Bob Harris was born. He competed in one NASCAR event at
Langhorne Speedway in September 1953 and finished 33rd in a Dodge.
September 11, 1999 People kept asking if Tony Stewart was going to win a
race in his rookie year. It was a feat that had not been accomplished since
Davey Allison managed it in 1987; Stewart came close often but could not
quite close the deal. In the 25th race of the season, Tony answered the
question. He scored his first career victory at the Exide NASCAR Select
Batteries 400 at Richmond International Raceway and he did so in dominating
fashion. Bobby Labonte mounted a late race challenge, but finished 1.114
seconds back. Dale Jarrett, Sterling Marlin and Kenny Irwin rounded out the
top 5.
September 11, 1993 Rusty Wallace took the lead from Mark Martin on lap 267
of the Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Richmond International Raceway and held
on to win his 27th career NASCAR race. Bobby Labonte started from the pole,
but it was Ernie Irvan who jumped into the lead on lap 1 from his outside
front row starting position. He held that place for 8 laps until Labonte was
finally able to grab the lead. This was Labonte's first career pole. Irvan's
engine blew on lap 57, relegating him to last place in 36th. Wallace's
victory came by ½ second over Bill Elliott.
September 11, 1988 In the 1st race since the renovation that transformed
Richmond International Raceway from a .542 mile short track to a .750
mini-Speedway, Davey Allison blistered the field with a qualification
attempt of 122.850. He set the pace in the Wrangler Jeans Indigo 400 most of
the day. 5 cautions for 42 laps kept the average speed down to 95.770, but
it was still the fastest race ever run at this track. The win was Allison's
4th career victory.
September 11, 1983 In 1983, Bobby Allison backed up his Southern 500 win
with a short track victory at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in the Wrangler
Sanfor-Set 400. Allison took the lead from Ricky Rudd on the 285th lap and
kept a close eye on him for the remainder of the race. When Rudd moved to
the high groove and began to close in on Allison, Bobby moved up as well,
and beat Rudd, driving a Richard Childress Chevrolet, to the finish by less
than a second. Allison's closest competitor in the points standing, Darrell
Waltrip, finished 3rd, 1 lap in arrears.
September 11, 1977 Neil Bonnett avoided a track blocking crash on the final
lap of the Capital City 400 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway to score his 1st
ever NASCAR victory. He led the final 100 laps en route to the Checkered
Flag. A rapidly closing Richard Petty had to dive down Pit Road to avoid the
wreck and that clinched the win for Bonnett and gave car owner Jim Stacy his
first win. 5 cars finished on the lead lap, including Benny Parsons, Cale
Yarborough, and Lennie Pond.
September 11, 1970 Once Bobby Isaac started winning at Hickory Motor
Speedway, he kept on until he was done. In the 1970 Buddy Shuman Memorial
Isaac scored his fourth consecutive win, ending a streak that began in the
1969 Hickory 250. These four wins marked his total at Hickory. The victory
was a squeaker, as Isaac beat Petty to the finish line by only 8 car
lengths. 3rd place finisher Bobby Allison was also on the lead lap. The win
was the 31st career victory for the 1970 NASCAR Champion.
September 11, 1966 David Pearson scored his third consecutive win at
Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds (a.k.a. Richmond International Raceway). It wasn'
t as easy as it looked in the final run-down. Pearson beat runner-up Buck
Baker by more than 5 laps, but early contenders Richard Petty and Junior
Johnson both retired with mechanical problems after leading. Pearson scored
his 28th career win driving a Dodge for Cotton Owens.
September 11, 1964 David Pearson scored his 14th career pole and led the
first 21 laps in the Buddy Shuman Memorial on the dirt track at Hickory
Speedway. Pearson briefly gave the lead over to Junior Johnson before
Johnson's Ford began to falter, eventually giving in to an overheating
problem. Johnson finished 22nd. Pearson re-assumed the lead on lap 65 and
romped over the field for his 11th career victory. He beat Larry Thomas by
more than 3 laps. Thomas put on a great show, however, driving his Ford from
a last place 27th starting position to become the runner-up.
September 11, 1962 In NASCAR's first appearance at Dog Track Speedway in
Moycock, NC, Ned Jarrett scored his 14th career win. This was his 6th win of
the season; all of the other wins were also on dirt. The track was rough on
equipment with only 6 of the 15 starters finishing. Jarrett beat Joe
Weatherly, Curtis Crider and Mel Bradley. 5th place finisher George Green
broke a transmission 22 laps from the finish of the 250 lap event.
September 11, 1960 Jim Cook won the pole and won the race in a 100 mile
event on the 1-mile dirt track at Sacramento Fairgrounds. It was his only
career win. Scotty Cain kept it close, finishing on the same lap as the
winner. He averaged 70.629 mph for the victory. Cook was the third 1st time
winner at Sacramento Fairgrounds in 5 events.
September 11, 1959 Only 14 cars started the 250 lap event at Hickory
Speedway and only one car finished on the lead lap, but 12 cars were running
at the end to give the fans a show. Lee Petty scored his 45th career
victory over Buck Baker. No time trials were held, and Petty drew a last row
(13th place) starting position to add a little spice to the race.
September 11, 1955 In their 2nd visit to Montgomery Speedway, Tim Flock
backed up his April win with another victory. He led Flag-to-Flag in the 200
lap (100-mile) contest, beating Herb Thomas by more than a lap. It was his
31st career win and he did it from the pole.
September 11, 1949 In this day of cookie-cutter 1.5-mile race tracks, I long
for diversity. The racing world didn't get much more unique than Langhorne
Speedway in Pennsylvania. This 1-mile dirt track was round, and it made for
some very exciting racing. In NASCAR's first season, they visited Langhorne
for the 4th ever race. Curtis Turner scored his 1st career victory over Bob
Flock by a margin of 20 seconds. He was the fourth different winner in the
first four events. Women were more of a fixture then than now. Sara
Christian finished a strong 6th in her husband's Oldsmobile. Louise Smith
finished 16th in a self-owned Ford and Ethel Mobley finished 45th and dead
last in a Buick.
September 11, 1949 Bill Whittington was born. He competed in 2 races in
the 1980 season. His best finish was in the Winston Western 500 when he came
home in 9th, two laps down to winner, Darrell Waltrip.
September 11, 1930 Joy Fair was born. Competed in 2 events in 1956, with
a career best finish of 9th in a race on an impromptu track at Soldier Field
in Chicago, IL.
September 11, 1929 Joe Lee Johnson was born. He competed in only 55 events
in the late 1950s - early 1960s but he made the most of them. His 10 top 5s
and 20 tops 10s were capped by two victories the first at the short track in
Nashville in 1959 and his greatest in the 1960 World 600.
September 11, 1926 Bob Harris was born. He competed in one NASCAR event at
Langhorne Speedway in September 1953 and finished 33rd in a Dodge.