Howie
03-05-2008, 07:04 PM
I’ve linked a couple minutes of a video below. It is not modifieds, but in 1968 we went to a Grand National (I guess that means it was actually a Sprint Cup race) race at Orange Speedway in Hillsborough (aka Hillsboro), N.C. It was a 9/10 (some say a mile) dirt track, long, long straights and tight turns. Some of the drivers racing that day where, Richard Petty (43), Bobby Allison (2), Bobby Isaac (71), David Pearson (17), Wendell Scott (34). and Buddy Baker (3). To give this a modified connection, Ken Meisenhelder who some of you may remember racing Manny’s TV #4 modified at Stafford and Riverside (and now he is KGM Video) made his very first Grand National start (in Buck Baker's #88) in the race. It was also Curtis Turner’s (#15) very last start in a Grand National race.
We’ve come a long way! I picked this couple minutes because it includes Petty’s pit stop. Forty years ago and no pit wall or anything. Bill France shut down the operation after Richard Petty's win. Bill France moved to Alabama, where he had brought an 1,800 acre site forty miles east of Birmingham. There he built the biggest and fastest Nascar track of them all. Talladega Super-speedway. This was one of the first NASCAR tracks and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now in a state park and there is a walking trail that includes the track.
I shot the race with an 8mm camera, KGM Video converted it to VHS tape and then to DVD, so quality isn’t like today’s standards. Kevin grabbed a couple minutes for me to share with you.
See the video here. (http://www.giloscafe.com/ngn/stuff/grandnatl.wmv)
An aerial view of the track.
We’ve come a long way! I picked this couple minutes because it includes Petty’s pit stop. Forty years ago and no pit wall or anything. Bill France shut down the operation after Richard Petty's win. Bill France moved to Alabama, where he had brought an 1,800 acre site forty miles east of Birmingham. There he built the biggest and fastest Nascar track of them all. Talladega Super-speedway. This was one of the first NASCAR tracks and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now in a state park and there is a walking trail that includes the track.
I shot the race with an 8mm camera, KGM Video converted it to VHS tape and then to DVD, so quality isn’t like today’s standards. Kevin grabbed a couple minutes for me to share with you.
See the video here. (http://www.giloscafe.com/ngn/stuff/grandnatl.wmv)
An aerial view of the track.