Vintage NASCAR

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Wing cars

David Pearson in the draft. The other Ford on the inside is likely being laped

 

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Cotton & David

David Pearson in Cotton Owens Dodge. Cotton also built a Hemi Dart wagon for David to drag race in

 

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Marty Robbins

Country music's Marty Robins in his familar purple & yellow Dodge. Built by Cotton Owens

 

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Wind tunnel

Ok the Wing Cars are gone. The Pettys & Chrysler engineers working in the wind tunnel on the 71 Road Runner

 

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Dover 1971

Buddy Baker in his Petty Dodge leads Bobby Allison, can't recall 3rd, Fred Lorenzen in the red Plymouth. Further back just entering the turn is Isaac, Hamilton & Petty

 

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Now this is drafting

The late Buddy Baker in his Petty Enterprises Charger pushing the Petty RoadRunner. Teamwork

 

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Buddy Baker

At 6'6 he was called the gentile giant. Very likable guy. Here posing with his Ray Fox Charger

 

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Ed Negree

Long time independent Ed Negree. Always ran Dodges. This is his Magnum after the race in Martinsville in 1978

 

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Fred Lorenzen

Pitting his Plymouth

 

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Tiny Lund

His famous #55

 

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1962 Plymouth

Petty rim ridding in the high grove. In 62-63 The Pettys ran single 4 barrel 413 Max Wedge engines on the super speedways. NASCAR only allowed 1 carb. On the short tracks they ran low deck engines.

 

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Sal Tovella

Legandary USAC & ARCA driver. I think this is a Kit Car. I remember reading an article in a magizine many years ago about him & the Kit Car program

 

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Hershal McGriff

Driving the Pettys 04

 

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Hershell's Magnum

Not a Petty car, but you can tell by the blue paint on the inside that it once was

 

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Hershel go's to LeMans

He took his Hemi powered Dodge Charger to LeMans 24 hour race in France in the early 70's. It was a crowd favorite as the big heavy Hemi struggled in the turns it rumbled down the straights. The European race fans had never seen or heard anything like it & loved it. There is some good video of this car restored & taken back to LeMans to run in a nostalgia race on Youtube. Watching this car run against the Porsches & Ferarri's was like watching a big lineman pick up a fumble & rumble & Stumble his way to the end zone

 

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I connected McGriff with racing of the 40s-60s. His later Engagements completely escaped me.
We had a former Le Mans winner (1960) by the Name of Paul Frere who was still test driving mostly Porsches in his late 80s, actually driving his private 911 till his death at 91. He gave up motorcylces at the request of his wife in his late 80s IIRC.

 

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He was a true racer. Very well respected

 

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Cotton Owens

Cotton was a Hemi man. That's him leaning over the fender of his 64 Dodge. This pic is supposed to be from the 64 Daytona 500. I think David Pearson was his driver then. Cotton retired as a car/team owner shortly after NASCAR banned the Hemi after the 73 season. He continued to build cars & engines and service others racers for many years at his shop in Spartinsburg, SC. Cotton was inducted in the NASCAR hall of fame last year. Well deserved!

 

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The open trailer days

Richard was one of the first to have a box truck for his tools & spare parts. Yet he was still using an open trailer as seen in this pic

 

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That looks like his son Kyle helping load the Charger & Richards late wife Linda watching