Jump to content

Picture from the past


txtom

Recommended Posts

The picture posted above was taken 1985 at Texas World Speedway in College Station. The occasion was a Texas Race of Champions 100km event on the 2 mile road course.

 

The #96 Camaro appears to have been of owner and driver Greg Davidson. Greg was the only #96 that I ever recall competing in TROC races. He had many sponsors over the years. Kendall Oil could have been one of them.

 

The #01 appears to have been driven by Bobby Labonte in his first race on a large speedway. The car was owned by Bobby's dad, Bob Labonte. The car usually competed on short tracks like Concord Speedway, North Carolina.

 

Not pictured was the #44 Piedmont Airlines Pontiac Firebird driven by Terry Labonte who called me to determine if it would be OK to file Bobby's entry for this race.

 

 

Neil Upchurch

Former Race Director

Texas Race of Champions at Texas World Speedway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the car of tommorow ain't got nuthin' on the that spoiler on the 96!!

 

Since you mentioned car of tomorrow--

How about Rick Rapp here with his car of tomorrow, circa 1985?

post-21-1174680746_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another picture from this set.

 

I don't really ned to identify these, but here is the 44 of Terry Labonte leading the 22 of Bobby Allison in the low groove, while the 14 of Freddy Fryar leads the 99 of Rick Rapp up high.

post-21-1174684498_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first pic is Greg and Bobby Labonte.

This is almost 22 years ago, but I seem to remember Greg telling me that he worked on this deal, and the Kendall guy agreed to a sponsorship. Greg did up the car as you see it, and then the Kendall deal turned out to be free oil. Greg probably spent more on the paint and lettering than the oil was worth....

 

This next pic is for Fryarfan and any other fans of the Beaumont flyer. This is his 85 car. Freddy won the 84 TROC in the #46 car that belonged to Eddie Howard of Harahan, Louisiana. This is the Eddie's Auto Parts you see on the side of Freddy's car here.

post-21-1174692638_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

bobby allison loved racen tws ..i talked to his son chris at sas i think it was the all pro 250 .. that was after bobby got hurt ..nice down to earth kid ..didnt have that im an allison so im above you . goes to show the respect the allison deserved ... sad when a few months later he was killed ..he left an impression on me ..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

nice down to earth kid ..didnt have that im an allison so im above you

 

And Davey was just like him. Many times, Davey would bring his Dad's car to TWS and do all the practice and stuff. I have a pic here somewhere of Davey in the car similar to the one above. When he saw someone taking a picture, he would look at the camera and smile like he appreciated having his picture taken. At night, you could find Davey in a pool hall or video arcade playing games with anyone who showed up.

Many times, it was our own Greg Davidson, and I am reminded of an All-Pro race I went to Greg with about 1990 or so. We were lined up on pit road waiting for the start, and up walks Davey. He was not racing, but was in P-Cola for some pilot training. He made a point to stop and talk to Greg and the crew and to wish him luck.

 

Something about that Alabama Gang; it did not stop with the Allisons. I have racing stories that involve Red Farmer and Neil Bonnett as well. On one of my tool boxes at home, I have an original "Alabama Gang" decal that was given to me by Bobby himself. He gave me about 5 of them, and my dad has one, and the rest are put away.

 

Every one of them acted like a stranger was a friend they had not yet met. I try to be like that myself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Somewhere around here I've got a pic of Bobby Allison standing on the pit wall at TWS. all by himself, wearing his Gatorade jacket watching the showroom stock cars practice. So, there's Bobby Allison - one of the best and most famous NASCAR Cup drivers of all time - straining to get a better view of a half dozen showroom stockers playing around... Think he might like racing a bit?

 

Believe it or not, the first time Davey Allison showed up at TWS to drive in a TIDA LM show, he came over to Rick Rapp's car - I was working with Rick at the time - and asked me for some advice on what springs were good for the road course. Bobby had told him that Rick always ran strong at TWS, so Davey came over looking for some info. The next time he showed up at TWS - a year or two later - he came over to say thanks and said that he ended up using the springs I suggested. He even remembered my name. You'd have trouble finding a nicer, more sincere guy anywhere.

 

Does anyone remember the little guy who used to race with TIDA sometimes at TWS? He used a walker to get around the pits and had special pedals and controls so he could drive. He never did too well, but he was out there giving it all he had. I admired the heck out of that guy and so did Bobby. If someone will tell me his name I'll share one of those special Bobby Allison moments in another post.

 

Nick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nick,

Its probably not connected but in the early 70's there was a guy that raced at Razorback Speedway, a 1/4 mile dirt track in Fort Smith, Ark. who fit that description. He had false legs from the knees down, he had lost them in a landmine explosion in 'Nam. His name was Charlie Blue. My dad knew him well. He got around so good on his prosthetics and occasionally walkers and crutches that I didn't believe my dad when he said charlie had false legs. About twice a year Bobby Allison would come visit and race. The Coca-Cola distributorship was a big sponsor of a big 4th of July and a labor day race. Bobby had a 70 1/2 camaro and a 71 Monte Carlo in the old gold and red coca-cola paint jobs, #12. I seem to remember Bobby would be talking to Charlie a lot.

Like I said, probably no connection but it was a pretty neat picture, seeing Bobby just being a regular guy and taking time to visit and show respect with a guy who lost a lot in service to his country. I never knew what happened to Charlie. Just seemed to have lost track of him. I sure would like to have known. I guess we all know what happened to Bobby. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Troy Waldron was a regular competitor in SCCA races. When I first announced that we would be organizing the Texas Race of Champions at Texas World Speedway, I received a call from Troy.

 

He told me of his physical handicap and that he had passed the necessary drivers schools required by the SCCA and had been approved to race regionally. He suggested I call a SCCA Official to verify his claim. I did and shortly thereafter returned Troy's call to inform him that his entry would be approved to run in the Late Model class of the Texas Race of Champions.

 

Troy Waldron was a frequent TROC entry in his Dodge. He was always most professional and did well in the races in which he was running at finish. I was impressed by his self-application in a sport that many non-handicapped drivers find difficult.

 

 

Neil Upchurch

Former Race Director

Texas Race of Champions at Texas World Speedway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i talked to his son chris ... sad when a few months later he was killed ...

 

OldTimer - are you thinking of Clifford Allison?

 

Got my own Allison story... I was in Montgomery, AL from '88 - '93. The first year+, I was there by myself and my fiance was here in San Antonio. For my flights back to S.A., I used to drive 100 miles to Birmingham and fly from there due to the cost savings. On one flight ('88 or '89), this slender, dark-haired guy with a mustache & Texaco/Havoline Racing cap walks by and sits down a few rows behind me. I'm thinking he looks mighty familiar, so I go back and ask him if he's Davey Alllison. He said yes, and we chatted for a few minutes. He was going to pick up a car hauler from Mike Alexander (another guy who had some hard luck). I'd been a big fan of Bobby Allison ever since I built a model of his #12 Coke GN Chevelle, and when Davey broke in with Yates I rooted just as hard for Davey as well, and I told him so. He seemed very appreciative - it was a really enjoyable chat, and Davey just seemed like a really nice, approachable guy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought i said his name wrong ..thanks ... harry gant was another driver i met at tms .nice man .... a friend of mine was a tour gUide On a ranch in south texas .one year king petty .came for some R&R ...HE WAS SUPPRISED WHEN HE WENT INTO THE KICHEN AND FOUND RICHARD MAKEING A HAM SANDWICH .... HE WAS TOLD BY RICHARD AFTER HE OFFERED TO MAKE IT FOR HIM ..WHAT DO YOU THINK I DONT KNOW HOW TO MAKE IT MYSELF WITH A SMILE ..MY FRIEND TURNED RED AND SAID TO HIM YOUR THE KING I JUST THOUGHT YOU WOULD HAVE SOMEONE ELSE TO MAKE THAT FOR YOU ...RICHARD SAID IM THE KING OF RACEN AS EVERYONE CALLS BUT IM JUST LIKE EVRYONE ELSE ..AFTER THAT HE TOOK RICHARD HUNTING NOT KNOWING HE HATED HUNTING .HE WONT SHOOT ANYTHING ..THEY WERE FILMING A SEGMENT FOR OUTDOOR SPORTSMAN OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT ..IN THE SEGMENT WHERE RICHARD HAD TO SHOOT A DEER .THEY TOOK A FROZEN BUCK AND STOOD IT ON A HILL AND RICHARD WAS FILMED SHOOTING IT ..LOL ....IT WAS LATER SHOWN ON TV ..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In 1990 @ Daytona i got the pleasure of being in the pit area for all of speedweek. On Sunday morning i was in the garage (were Fr. Grubba was to be) visiting with Steve Lloyd . While i was sitting there, up walked Davey With his Indiana Jones hat on and started cutting up with Steve. I sat there in shock as DW, Sterlin, and Terry sat down to visit. As i got up to excuse myself, Davey said nice meeting ya and you don't have to run off, this guy gives a pretty good speech! All these people can be great role models to us all!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

davey's brother was clifford. i wish i'd have gotten to meant them.......i thought i was the biggest alabama gang fan on the planet , but i don't have the stories and the honor of meeting them to go along with it.

 

- i've got some pictures of the peach fuzz gang.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt
  • advertisement_alt


×
×
  • Create New...