Thirty-three years ago today.

L

LUKE'57

Guest
One of the best drivers to ever strap into a stock car left us. Always figured those planes were gonna get him.

20031044738704569315016.jpg
 
Nice Luke, real nice. Somehow I sense I missed getting to watch one of the great ones.

BTW Mongo.....tell sponse it's nothing The Blond Blizzard wouldn't have done....

from http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/main/..._halloffame.htm

"He won 22 races in NASCAR's old convertible division in 1956 and added 17 and the Southern 500 in the Grand National division for good measure. With his free for all style, Turner won 360 races, in NASCAR and out. Perhaps, though, one of his most memorable races was one he didn't win. In the Rebel 300 at Darlington, SC. Turner and Fred Lorenzen started the last lap fender to fender. What had started out as fender banging evolved into a minor demolition derby around the 1-3/8th mile track. Lorenzen got in the last bash and won the race but on the extra "cool down" lap, Turner plowed into Lorenzen, smashing the front end of his own car to bits. He walked back to the pits."
 
Originally posted by LUKE'57@Oct 5 2003, 03:10 AM
One of the best drivers to ever strap into a stock car left us. Always figured those planes were gonna get him.

20031044738704569315016.jpg
Click to expand...
A large part of the legend of Curtis "Pops" Turner came from his exploits off the track as well as on. His legendary landing his airplane on the main street of a sleepy town to buy booze and the countless antics he performed with Joe Weatherly assist in the mystique of Turner.

Curtis "Pops" Turner might have been one of the best but he was also one of the dirtiest drivers, ever.

Note the politically correct way of describing him in another post on this thread as having a "free for all style" of driving. Turner himself bragged he would wreck anyone who stood in his way of winning. Turner was hard on equipment and was more likely to break or wreck. When Turner did finish, more often than not he was not on the lead lap or a threat for the win.

This opinion is not intended to take anything away from Turner. Curtis Turner was a very good driver and worthy of many accolades, but like every other person who has started to fade into history, the memories we chose to recall and the actual events that took place are two different things.
 
............but like every other person who has started to fade into history, the memories we chose to recall and the actual events that took place are two different things.


Ain't THAT the truth :D
 
Denial is not a river in Egypt, it is a bay in Austrailia :D
 
Whizzer, I'd like to make a comment on both your post and your little "saying" at the bottom of your posts. You have found the safest way to kick a tiger and you don't even have to watch out for his teeth. But maybe it's just me, I think kicking a long dead tiger borders on cowardise.
 
Originally posted by LUKE'57@Oct 6 2003, 12:01 AM
Whizzer, I'd like to make a comment on both your post and your little "saying" at the bottom of your posts. You have found the safest way to kick a tiger and you don't even have to watch out for his teeth. But maybe it's just me, I think kicking a long dead tiger borders on cowardise.
Click to expand...
COWARD or COWARDICE: Lack of courage, esp.; shamefully excessive fear of danger, difficulty, or suffering.

Cowardice is when people say nice things and choose to overlook negative things about those no longer with us by focusing only on the positive, for fear of recriminations from others. I have nothing to fear from you or your opinion(s).
My comments took nothing away from Curtis Turner. They were truthful and backed by documented statements made by Turner himself and the content of a media story.

Luke, my observations of Curtis Turner came from personal observations in the era when he drove. My comments were the same then as they are today. I noted then Curtis Turner was a dirty driver and he was a darn good driver.

His death did nothing to change my opinion of his driving style.

If this offends you, so be it.
I owe you nor anyone else an appology for what I personally observed and remember. My observations were complete and not cloaked only in the good things. They contained the good, the bad and the ugly without including the personal.

At the time of his death and to this day, nothing has changed my opinion of him as a driver. Curtis Turner was what he was. When Turner met his maker his mark on earth was well known and any opinion of him as a person or driver is established in the mind of each observer. My personal opinion did not change or die with the man. It remains the same.
 
mmmm?Well isnt this interesting guys.

Whiz---who I have butted heads with on more than one occasion,trust me----makes a comment you can pretty much bet is a lot more factual than most on here....and blam!Suddenly his SIG is questioned,Luke?

C'mon man.Whizzer can rip most of us on here apart with a clear and caustic logic.Let me stress he doesnt need a johnny- come- lately like me to defend him...but your attacking his quoted slogan was a cheap shot Luke.I dont know you that well and apologize if one posters opinion conflicts with your hero worship.If that is the case,my suggestion would be suck it up like a man and get over it.

Sorry for the harsh words to all involved folks.But give me a break from this 'any opinion with which I disagree is wrong' BS.Hell,even I was never that narrow minded.
 
I'm buying the popcorn, somebody grab the beer and bring them to the front row seats. :bounce: :bounce:
 
Originally posted by bowtie@Oct 7 2003, 04:00 PM
I'm buying the popcorn, somebody grab the beer and bring them to the front row seats. :bounce: :bounce:
Click to expand...
On my way, bowtie! :lurking: :cheers: :lurking: :cheers: :lurking: :cheers:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom