NASCAR Family Tales, Did You Know?

By Orlena Miller

January 2, 2003

One of the greatest joys this time of year is visiting with family and friends. We catch up with each other, look at pictures of new babies and report milestones reached during the past year. Soon however someone will say, "Do you remember...?" And this will send the entire assemblage tripping down memory lane. Our NASCAR family is no different. So children fill your glasses one more time and gather ‘round for some of our family’s tales.

You probably don’t remember it but did you know that NASCAR once had a Convertible Division? The ragtops not only competed against one another but they also ran in some of the same events as the hardtops. In fact, there were convertibles in the first Daytona 500. While it wasn’t around for long this division made its contribution by making the sport aware of aerodynamics for the first time. And a young Richard Petty made his stock car racing debut in the convertible division at Columbia Speedway 1958.

Being second generation NASCAR, Richard Petty grew up at racetracks. One of King Richard’s first official duties was to clean his father’s windshield during pit stops. During an event at High Point, NC Lee Petty dove into the pits for service. The conscientious 15-year-old climbed onto the hood of his daddy’s Dodge to do a thorough job. The rest of the crew completed their tasks and Lee went charging back onto the track. Unfortunately, Richard was still on the hood of the car. Lee hollered for him to jump off on pit road but Richard held on for dear life. His father took to the track and made a full lap at speed with Richard still on the car. Lee only returned to pit road after he was black-flagged by NASCAR.

Lee Petty was competitor in the purest sense of the word. The first time Lee and Richard competed in the same Grand National event Lee "put the bumper" to Richard as they jostled for position. Richard ended up in the wall; Lee ended up in victory lane. Several years later while his son celebrated what he thought was his first Grand National victory at Jacksonville Speedway Park, Lee was protesting the finish. Petty argued that Richard had been one or more laps down when he took the checkered flag. Upon further review race officials agreed with Lee, Richard had been three laps down. The win was awarded to the runner-up, Lee Petty.

Since the first green flag fell, superstitions have abounded in the racing world. At one time green cars, peanuts and women in the pit area were all considered bad luck. Joe Weatherly was probably the most superstitious driver in the history of the sport. Ol’ Joe was particularly cautious about the number 13. Once at Bristol he qualified in 13th position. He was in the hunt for the title at the time but refused to start the race. He only started the event when the promoter allowed the records to show he was starting in position 12a. That same year when The Southern 500 celebrated its 13th anniversary Weatherly would not enter until the race was dubbed "the 12th Renewal of the Southern 500."

Racing is a dangerous, high-pressure sport and the competitors are passionate about what they do. For this reason, more than a few on-track altercations were ultimately settled in the garage after the race. While it’s not unusual to see a punch thrown in the garage, even now, firearms were not uncommon during racing’s formative years. Curtis Turner who was very passionate about his racing and his driving style could politely be called aggressive. At one race after Turner had put Billy Meyer in the wall the ticked off driver went looking for Curtis toting a tire iron. When Meyer finally found Turner, Curtis was toting a .38 pistol. "Where are you going with that tire iron, Billy?" Turner asked. Wisely Meyer replied, "Why I'm just looking for a place to lay it down."

Curtis Turner was, as we say down south, a character. He raced hard, drank hard and partied hard. In 1966 Turner was driving Junior Johnson’s Holly Farms sponsored Ford. Well aware of Turner’s often-outlandish behavior the sponsor suggested he "clean up his act." One request was that he ditch his jeans and tee shirts and wear a drivers suit. At the next event Curtis showed up wearing a three-piece suit. He explained later, "They didn't specify what sort of suit they wanted me to wear so I wore my best. You gotta look good, you know?"

Yes, the NASCAR family’s heritage is indeed rich; there are many, many wonderful tales that can start with "Do you remember…?" Thirty years from now you may hear, "Do you remember when Ol’ Sterling Marlin climbed out of his car during the red-flag at Daytona?" After a chorus of laughter someone will say, "Yeah, said he saw Earnhardt do it 'oncet' at Richmond. So he figured it was OK. That ol’ boy was a character, wasn’t he."

So everyone, Happy New Year. Let’s all say a prayer that when we look back on the 2003 season we will have wonderful, happy events to recall.

You can contact Orlena at: Insider Racing News

select Product Apple Sony Artist Title Label DVD Title