Question for ya

[txtom]

Anyone want to guess any of these cars or drivers? Or the track?

Texas fans should get two of the drivers easily, and hard-core fans will get a third.............

[Mel]

I see the 61 & 36 for sure, but don't recognize the others.

[mfbarnes]

I see 56, 29, 61, 36, 8

[txtom]

I see the 61 & 36 for sure, but don't recognize the others.

 

I see 56, 29, 61, 36, 8

 

BUT, who is driving them?

2 of them should be easy. The third a little harder.

[FryarFan]

I'll take a shot, only from some old programs I have laying around gathering dust.....

 

my question is...was this a pic from the Nov 72 Nascar race at TWS? Or one of the other sanctioned events.

 

of course, the easy ones are the great Clarence Lovell in 61 and (not related, but funny cuz I also had an uncle H.B.) H.B. Bailey in the familiar 36.

 

(funny sidenote....one of those USAC races in 76 or 77, both dad and my uncle were there in the stands, and then on pit road they would have the radio guy from Houston, Bill Bailey, interviewing the driver H.B. Bailey......we kept on saying......nah, they're right here in the stands with us)

 

one of the programs shows 29 to be Bill Hollar(?).....and I'll take a stab at the 8 being legendary Ed Negre. The ones I have don't show a 56, so I am thinking this was some other race.

 

Heck,.....took a swipe at it.

Billy Bailey

[mfbarnes]

Couldn't be a NASCAR Race with HB Baily's Pontiac in it. Possibly a USAC or ARCA or even an ASA race. The Firebirds and Camaros were never OK'd by NASCAR I am pretty sure.

[jakdad]

yep, Berl in the 36. Don't know 'bout the rest.

[NeilTPS]

1972 had to be a USAC Stock Car Division race at TWS. Only USAC would allow cars like H.B. Baily's Firebird in the field. A.J. Foyt had a Camero. #56 was likely Paul Jett in his Handy Andy Ford.

 

I announced that race but have no paperwork on file. Just my memory.

 

 

Neil Upchurch

[txtom]

Ya'll got most of it as a group.

 

It is the 1972 Royal Triton 300, an ARCA sanctioned race at TWS.

 

Among the cars:

#29 Ron Hutcherson, the race winner;

#36 H.B. Bailey, 2nd place,

#61 Clarence Lovell 6th place,

#56, Paul Jett, finish not known,

That 69 Chevelle you can see outside of Bailey's Firebird is Tony Bettenhausen, who finished 5th.

Also in this race was Phil Cronin in a sister car to Bailey's Firebird, probably #6.

 

On a bad note, this is also the race in which Louis Wusterhausen lost his life on the first lap when his Camaro was t-boned in the right side door.

Louis was the son of A.B. Wusterhausen who got Austin Speedorama/Longhorn started.

[mfbarnes]

Here's what I came up with:

[mfbarnes]

Boys and girls I have been doing a little research, just because it has been buggin me all this time after I made the "uncertain" statement that the pony cars were never approved to run with the Grand Nationals (Cup Cars). Well I stand to be corrected.

 

There is a short Grand National history of the NASCAR Grand American Firebirds, Camaros, Mustangs and the Javelins. These cars were part of a trial by NASCAR to mix the Pony cars (GT or Grand-American) with the Grand National (now known as Nextel Cup) cars. That experiment was to be tried for the first time on September 19, 1971 at North Wilkesboro, NC. That race was to be the first to mix the smaller cars with the Grand National cars. Unfortunately the race was postponed by rain. It was later run in October. Prior to the rain, Charlie Glotzbzch in Junior Johnson’s Monte Carlo won the pole on the 5/8-mile oval. Eight cars from the Grand American ranks were in the lineup. 59 cars were entered 17 of which were the Pony cars.

 

Tiny Lund was the fastest GA qualifier in fifth place. The smaller and lighter cars acquitted themselves very well against their gangly brethren. The North Wilkesboro race was also to be the first run under a carb sleeve rules package that was to replace the carb plate rule that had been in effect. The rain-out only postponed the experiment for a short time, however as the Grand American cars ran several races with the Grand National cars in 1971. The experiment was intended, according to published reports at the time, to get more entries and also to provide more competition to the few regular winners such as Richard Petty.

 

The little Pony Cars were more than up to the task. Their lighter weight coupled with their high-winding 305 (or in Tiny's case a Smokey Yunick 302 with a 180 degree crank) cubic inch motors, were very competitive. Neil Upchurch can confirm this I am sure, When Tiny ran out at TWS he brought the Smokey Yunick 302 in a Chevelle.. It had a very distinctive sound when it went by. It sounded like it was turning 18,000 RPM's and sounded like hell on wheels out there with all the Big Blocks. I ended up buying that very motor from Smokey in 1974 and ran it in a sprint car for several years and then sold it to Kent Lewis Sr and he ran it. The 180 degree crank design of Smokey's was put together to run at Indy and they outlawed it and wouldn't let him run it for various reasons. Sorry got sidetracked.

 

Anyway, the H.B. Bailey Firebird actually led nearly 100 laps of one of those mixed races prior to succumbing to a blown tire very near the end. Bobby Allison’s Holman and Moody Mustang was always competitive. Tiny Lund driving either a Camaro or a Firebird was always competitive, as were the Javelins. If I remember right Donnie Allison won a race in a Javelin, flying the Red, White and Blue of the AMC, and I think Roger Penske owned the car. And I think it is the same year Donnie Allison ran in the Indy 500 for Penske. I could be totally mixed up on this and I am still trying to confirm it.

 

It should be noted that several of the Grand American cars were modified SCCA Trans-Am cars, although by the time these former T/A cars competed in NASCAR, they were extensively modified to meet the NASCAR safety rules and weight limits. Pontiac, for instance, sent nearly all of their supply of the temperamental 303 engines and parts to H.B. Bailey and Tiny Lund in support of their Grand American programs. The 305 cubic inch limit eventually was increased to 366 to help with performance and reliability of the Grand American cars.

 

The Grand American cars faded from the NASCAR scene after 1972 to be replaced by the Busch Grand National formula with the advent of that series. The Grand American cars, at least those that survived, were to become the IMSA racers or short track Saturday night specials. It is surprising that any of theses cars survived. That was what was so satisfying about getting the H.B. Bailey car that had been discovered nearly complete and in tact residing under a tree outside a barn in Texas several years ago. It was restored and I have a picture of that car at a car show several years back.

 

 

Here are some old magazine clippings on HB Baily and Herb Adams.

 

 

 

 

So guys don't let your wives throw out your old hot rod rags, they come in handy.

 

So the point is, that original posted picture could have very well been a NASCAR race in 1971, the cars are the right year models, the grass growing over the outside wall is just throwing me. It has a superspeedway look to the track just can't pull it out of the methenol fog in my brain.

[jakdad]

Well Done Mr. Barnes!!!!

A veritable walking encyclopedia!!!! Great pics, by the way.

[mfbarnes]

 

[Note from Nick: The above pic was posted using a link to another website. That other website has removed that page so the link no longer is valid. There are quite a few pics posted on here like that, but sometimes it's better to just post pics as an attachment to the post instead of a link.]

 

Could be the Matador the Donohue Drove I am thinking of, but I could have sworn Donnie Allison drove an AMX for him. Still searching for the amswer..............to be continued.

 

 

Well it appears it was a Matador that Allison drove but it was "Bobby" not Donnie and they won several races as it appears.

 

http://www.americanmotorsracing.com/stcar1975.htm

 

[mfbarnes]

It also appears the Donnie drove at Indy for AJ in a George Snider prepaired car owned by AJ Foyt.

 

Finished a respective 4th in 1970 and 6th in 1971, not bad for a modified Driver from Hueytown, Alabama

[RETrott]

The Matador was also driven some by Gary Bettenhausen. In the '74 Talladega spring race, Gary was racing with the leaders prior to the pit stop accident when his car and crew was struck by the spinning car of Grant Adcox. One crewman had a very serious leg injury, but it could have been worse. As I recall, Grant hit a wet pavement area while braking for the pits and spun out of control. After a rain delay, the track was dry, but a few "flat areas" had wet spots/puddles.

[bailey36]

H.B. was my dad, does anyone know who currently has the car that was found behind the barn in Texas a few years back? Or any of the other cars? Please let me know if anyone has any information.

 

--Saralynn Bailey

[elliottfan]

Anyone want to guess any of these cars or drivers? Or the track?

Texas fans should get two of the drivers easily, and hard-core fans will get a third.............

 

One thing to note is, there are four entirely different FOMOCO product body styles in that picture. AND... two makes that dont even exist anymore (Mercury and Pontiac)