Sports Car History...

[Theodore]

I did an article recently on a Jaguar winning a NASCAR race...
http://www.thesoutherndriver.com/wp/2011...%E2%80%9D/

A Jag actually did win a NASCAR race in June of 1954... cool story.

Since then, I got a bunch of emails from people with all kinds of interesting info. One said he remembered Austin Healey 3000 competing at GReenville Pickens Speedway back when it was a dirt track in mid 60's. One sent this picture of an MGTD racing in a NASCAR race in 1962 at Bowman Gray Stadium. Check out the luggage rack, skinny exhaust pipes and ...yep... that's a Sunbeam Tiger behind him.

[jedimario]

Now that's cool. Talk about scary though, being on track in one of those things with all those boats around you.

[Theodore]

(09-29-2011 07:21 AM)jedimario Wrote:  Now that's cool. Talk about scary though, being on track in one of those things with all those boats around you.

Stranger still ... in that time period "racing is rubbing " was not only the rule in NASCAR. It was even in GP racing. I have a library of books filled with pictures of Gran Prix cars with the nose of the car and/or the tail busted and dented. It was common fare to push, rub, bully... I've got a few with car in winners circle with the front crushed where they bumped someone in back.
My first race at Greenville Pickens Speedway, I got squeezed in to the wall doing about 70. I was used to Road Atlanta (old days before it became a concrete walled jungle). Lots of run off room around the track. Suddenly I was a rat in a concrete maze... I can promise you, when you can look left and see the color of your competitor's eyes, and you hear metal screeching to your right and sparks start shooting in your passenger door window... your right foot gets incredibly light. Brown underwear would have been a good choice that morning...

[fiveo]

Ted, thats when you let off AND steer left............you end up hooking him into the wall. I've seen K. Busch use this a few times. He does not like to be on the losing end of a confrontation.

[Theodore]

LATER... I did... First time? Nothing can prepare you... ; )