Milestone Moments in NASCAR

NASCAR is currently celebrating its 72nd year of competition after the sanctioning body was officially incorporated on Feb. 21, 1948, in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Many significant milestones have been achieved over those seven decades that have positioned NASCAR racing among the premier major league sports around the world.

Seeking to prove which make of car was the fastest and most reliable among America’s auto manufacturers, their “Win on Sunday/Sell on Monday” sale strategies were successful as auto executives hired the absolute best drivers to wheel their latest creations on a variety of race tracks around the country.

Those who piloted the earliest creations were farmers, millworkers, mechanics and moonshiners. They were unafraid to push Chevrolets, Dodges, Fords, Hudsons and Mercurys to their absolute limits, while seeking to become woven as champions into NASCAR’s incredible history.

The sport’s legendary superstars are household names – Allison Baker, Earnhardt, Panch, Pearson, Petty, Roberts, Turner, Weatherly and Yarborough, to name only a very few. Many were fathers who raced to glory on NASCAR’s short tracks and superspeedways before passing their professions down to their sons.

Here is a look back at several milestone events that helped shape American stock car racing into the sport we celebrate and enjoy today.

When World War II officially ended on Aug. 9, 1945, American servicemen returned home to rebuild their lives and they searched for work to support their families.

Some had raced cars in vacant pastures before the war, which began with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The rush of wartime remained, prompting a large number of men to either try their hand at stock car racing or return to the new and vastly popular pastime that was quickly being organized.

When William Getty “Bill” France formed NASCAR on Feb. 21, 1948, there were five other groups attempting to organize sanctioning bodies to present stock car racing.

Driver Robert Nolin “Red” Byron won 11 of 52 races during the 1948 season and was crowned NASCAR’s first Modified champion.

The success of the Modified stockers made France thirst for more. He then promoted NASCAR’s first Strictly Stock race on the newly built Charlotte Speedway, a dirt track located near the North Carolina city’s Wilkinson Boulevard.

From the very start, the Strictly Stocks were billed as NASCAR’s premier division, which today is known as the NASCAR Cup Series.

For weeks leading up to the June 19, 1949, race, talk of the upcoming event spread rapidly. Predictions of a large crowd were correct as 13,000 filled the makeshift wooden bleachers.

After 200 laps on the three-quarter-mile, dustgenerating dirt surface, Kansan Jim Roper was declared the winner in the Lincoln he drove from his home state. Roper inherited the victory when the rear leaf springs on the 1947 Ford driven by apparent winner Glenn Dunaway were deemed illegal.

Roper had seen a comic strip in the newspaper announcing the race and drove without stopping over several days to get to the track.

“That strip always advertised the air shows and it was pretty popular at the time. I always read it,” Roper said in the April 1992 edition of American Racing Classics. “That fellow (cartoonist Zack Moseley) had the race mentioned in it and we decided to give it a try.

“That ($2,000 to win) was pretty big money back then (nearly $21,600 in today’s money).”

There were 12 Fords, four Hudsons, six Oldsmobiles, three Lincolns, two Buicks, two Chryslers, two Kaisers, one Cadillac and one Mercury in the 33-car field. Roper drove his winning No. 34 Lincoln, with his trophy in the passenger seat, back to Kansas after the race.

On Dec. 13, 1949, land developer Harold Brasington became somewhat of a laughingstock around Darlington County, South Carolina, after he began clearing 70 acres of brush from a former cotton field adjacent to Hartsville Highway.

After attending the Indianapolis 500 in May 1949, it became Brasington’s dream to build a race track that resembled the famed 2.5-mile Indy layout.

Everyone thought he had lost his mind but still, many around the small hamlet of Darlington, South Carolina, bought stock in his risky venture.

The second biggest shareholder, Sherman Ramsey, gave Brasington the acreage needed to make the venture come to fruition. On a handshake, Ramsey agreed to Brasington’s terms as long as the minnow pond located outside the second turn remained untouched.

The two business entrepreneurs created an egg-shaped oval that became one of the toughest tracks in motorsports.

Brasington is known to have said to Sherman, “You go fishing and I’ll go to work.”

Only nine months later, Brasington cut the thick red ribbon on his 1.25-mile superspeedway, the first paved oval of its kind in the South and a sight to behold by the townsfolk who had never seen such a spectacle. NASCAR scheduled the track’s first race – the Southern 500 – for Sept. 4, 1950. Brasington worried he wouldn’t fill all 9,000 seats he had constructed by way of concrete bleachers. Instead, 25,000 spectators showed up and camped all around the speedway with nowhere to house them. Many camped around the town square and on the courthouse steps in Darlington hoping to score a race day ticket. A field of 75 cars took the green flag for the 400-lap event led by pole winner Curtis Turner from Virginia. The 500-mile race spanned 6 hours and 38 minutes with drivers suffering so many blown tires that some were secretly taken off passenger cars in the field to finish the race.

California native Johnny Mantz wheeled an underpowered six-cylinder Plymouth to victory using a set of hard Indianapolis-style tires for the entire race, averaging 75.250 mph. Team owner Red Vogt protested the win but nothing illegal was found. Mantz’s strategy of pacing himself while others raced hard was his advantage for winning.

When Daytona International Speedway opened on Feb. 6, 1959, it was truly the largest race track NASCAR racers had ever seen at 2.5 miles in length.

Drivers had experienced the treacherous Darlington Raceway at 1.25 miles in length for eight previous seasons, but the newly constructed superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, was expected to generate the fastest speeds ever experienced to that point in stock car racing.

Bill France, the founder of NASCAR and builder of the speedway, recognized the value of newspaper headlines and stretched practice and qualifying sessions over a 10-day period. He also conceived the idea of holding single-car qualifying sessions as well as two traditional 125-mile qualifying events to set the starting field.

When race day arrived, 59 cars lined up for the 200-lap race with Shorty Rollins and Bob Welborn leading the field. Seven drivers did not make the starting field and were forced to load their cars and return home.

There were 33 lead changes in the race with driver Johnny Beauchamp flagged the winner over Lee Petty in a three-car photo-finish that included Joe Weatherly crossing the line one lap down. Petty felt he was the winner and posted a protest to have the finish checked.

At the time, the only way to resolve the issue was through the use of a photo-finish camera posted at the start-finish line. The film had to be developed and enlarged enough to see which car was ahead at the finish.

Both drivers commented they felt they had won, according to Greg Fielden’s “40 Years of Stock Car Racing” book series.

“I had Beauchamp by a good two feet. In my own mind, I know I won,” Petty said during post-race interviews.

Beauchamp replied, “I had him by two feet. I glanced over to Lee Petty’s car as I crossed the finish line and I could see his headlight slightly back of my car. It was so close I didn’t know how they would call it, but I thought I won.”

Fireball Roberts, an early leader in the race, was standing near the finish line and said: “There’s no doubt about it, Petty won.”

Photos and newsreel footage were studied over a three-day period before France declared Petty the winner the following Wednesday. Petty was given his trophy and check in his home. It was Lee Petty’s only Daytona 500 victory.

The 1964 NASCAR Cup Series season began on Jan. 19 at California’s Riverside International Raceway. That day, driver Joe Weatherly had returned to the nine-turn road course after a transmission change when his Bud Moore Engineering Mercury slammed driver side first into the turn six wall, taking his life instantly.

Only five months later, multiple tragedies occurred at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600 and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Indianapolis 500.

At Charlotte, NASCAR legend Glenn “Fireball” Roberts suffered severe burns in a three-car crash involving Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson during the seventh lap of the 400-lap race.

The Tavares, Florida, native succumbed to his injuries 39 days later on July 2, 1964, after remaining in critical condition.

The same day as of the 600, Eddie Sachs and Dave McDonald lost their lives in a horrendous multi-car crash and fire on the second lap of the Indianapolis 500.

Another driver to lose his life during the 1964 season was Jimmy Pardue, who was killed during a tire test at Charlotte on Sept. 22.

As a direct result of those crashes, fire-resistant uniforms were developed to keep flames away from drivers amid terrible crashes. Also developed that year were tire inner liners that kept tires from blowing out completely at high speeds. The inner shell of the tire remained intact to give drivers stability while bringing their cars under control. Also, roll cage construction was improved to protect the drivers.

Possibly the most important innovation came with the introduction of the fuel cell, a rubber bladder designed to prevent fuel-tank explosions, as was the case in Roberts’ crash at Charlotte.

Also, fire extinguisher systems were eventually developed and added to the front, rear and cockpit areas on the race car that can be activated by the push of a button.

As the decades passed, car construction, five-point seat belt harnesses, full-face helmets and HANS devices have brought injury and death in NASCAR competition to an absolute minimum.

“The 1964 NASCAR season as well as the tragedy of the deaths at Indianapolis that year paved the way for many safety innovations that were so desperately needed,” said H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler, formerly with Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. and also Charlotte Motor Speedway. “Because of those tragic deaths, other drivers were able to remain safe in the years to come. So many innovations have been improved upon that are still being used to some degree today.”

There are times in professional sports when one season stands out above all the rest. Everything comes together perfectly, and no one can truly explain why or how it all came together.

That happened in 1967 when seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty drove a single 1966 Plymouth to more wins in a single season than anyone in NASCAR history.

After 48 starts during that year’s NASCAR Cup Series season, Petty had won 27 races, including a NASCAR-record 10 consecutively. In all, the dominant signature Petty blue Mopar machine tallied 36 victories from 1966 to 1967.

At that time, having a car that finished 27 races was quite a feat, let alone win them. Many times, cars were crashed so badly they had to be scrapped and replaced with new ones. Miraculously, this particular car never suffered major damage of any kind, other than the occasional sheet metal rubs and bumps while battling for position. No matter where the car was raced, it was considered the class of the field and the car every driver wanted to defeat.

The famed Plymouth was the first to be loaned to the NASCAR Hall of Fame for its grand opening in Charlotte in 2010.

“The Plymouth Belvedere was a special car,” Petty said the day it was presented. “Back then we usually found a car that was good on short tracks or speedways or dirt tracks, but not many that were good everywhere. That Plymouth was fast no matter where we ran it.”

Dale Inman, crew chief for 193 of Petty’s 200 career victories, remembers the car as one of the absolute best that ever came out of the team’s Level Cross, North Carolina, shop.

“Back then, it was such a feat to not fall out of 10 races in a row, let alone win them,” Inman said. “There were a lot of 100-mile races, but still, to win that many was remarkable with the way the motors, wheel bearings and rear-ends were in that era. All that stuff is so much better now. “

Since opening 72 years ago, Petty Enterprises fielded Oldsmobiles, Plymouths, Fords, Dodges, Chevrolets and Pontiacs. Through 2007 when the organization ceased its NASCAR Cup Series efforts, the team had collected 268 wins, 10 Cup Series championships and nine Daytona 500 victories with Lee and Richard Petty as well as Pete Hamilton. The Pettys’ phenomenal 1967 season helped bring NASCAR to the forefront in newspapers alongside professional stick-and-ball sports.

From its inception in June 1949 through November 1970, NASCAR’s premier series grew in popularity, most notably as a regional southern sport.

Then, circumstances far removed from stock car racing prompted a well-known corporation based in Winston Salem, North Carolina, to look for a new stage from which to promote its products.

On April 1, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed legislation banning tobacco advertising from being broadcast on television and radio. For years prior to the decision, public health advocates had touted the risks of using tobacco.

The timing was perfect as Detroit’s Big Three automakers – Ford, General Motors and Chrysler – had all but eliminated their factory support of race teams after years of entering and leaving the sport over rules disputes.

When Junior Johnson, a former NASCAR driver turned team owner, approached R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. officials about sponsoring his Chevrolet for the 1971 season, he quickly realized their desire to be a part of the sport was far bigger than sponsoring a single car. Johnson introduced RJR executives to NASCAR founder Bill France with the idea of becoming the first series sponsor in the sanctioning body’s then 23-year history.

The tobacco giant’s entrance into auto racing was a life preserver for NASCAR that resulted in several other Fortune 500 corporations being introduced to auto racing in the decades to come. RJR reduced the Winston Cup Series schedule from 48 races to 33, eliminating many dirt and asphalt short tracks from the circuit. A revamped points system was also put in place to accommodate the shorter, streamlined schedule.

In 1971, RJR spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on track improvements, repairing and painting buildings with the company’s signature red-and-white Winston colors and adding signage, structures and seating where needed. RJR also began sponsoring the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

From 1971 through 2003, the Winston Cup Series was recognized as one of the best auto racing sponsorship programs around the world. RJR also delved into NHRA Drag racing, the IMSA Camel GT Series for sports cars and backed the Lotus Formula One team from 1987 until 1990.

RJR’s most popular sponsorship package in NASCAR was the Winston Million, which was won by Bill Elliott in 1985 at Darlington Raceway as well as Jeff Gordon at the same track in 1997.

Throughout their careers, NASCAR Cup Series champions Richard Petty and David Pearson finished first and second to one another a total of 63 times with Pearson coming out first 33 times to Petty’s 30.

In February 1976, the ending to the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway came down to one of the most exciting finishes in the then 17-year history of The Great American Race.

The two legendary drivers dogged each other throughout the 200-lap event with Pearson playing a waiting game in second as the laps clicked down to the finish. With one lap remaining, Pearson, driving the famed Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 Mercury, dropped low going into turn three to make his move around Petty’s No. 43 STP Dodge. Pearson had Petty cleared but saw Petty drop low to come back as they two leaders worked through the fourth turn with the checkered flag in sight.

In the chute between Turn Four and the start-finish line, it appeared Petty had Pearson beat, but when he pulled in front to complete the pass, the cars bumped. Petty worked to clear Pearson’s Mercury but came up short by a mere foot, sending both drivers hard into the outside retaining wall and spinning wildly into the tri-oval grass.

Petty spun down the track while Pearson spun toward pit road and clipped a lapped car. Petty was a mere 25 yards from the startfinish line frantically trying to get his Dodge refired. Pearson had the presence of mind to push in the clutch to keep his engine running and drove under the checkered flag at only 20 mph. Petty’s power came from a few crew members who ran to push him across the line.

“My engine never died,” Pearson said in Victory Lane. “Before I hit the wall I popped the clutch, put it in neutral and revved the engine as high as I could to keep it from stalling.”

The significance is that national news outlets, such as ABC’s “Good Morning America,” interviewed both drivers the day after the race in New York City, further bringing NASCAR into the national spotlight. It was the first time NASCAR had been featured on a major news show the morning after a race.

The 1979 Daytona 500 marked the first time the crown jewel event of the NASCAR Cup Series was televised live, flag to flag to a national

audience.

After days of hard rain in Daytona Beach, Florida, the 200-lap event at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway started under threatening skies. The Feb. 18 race was viewed by a national television audience on CBS as well as 120,000 fans in attendance.

Millions on the eastern seaboard were trapped in their homes by a massive snowstorm that stretched from north Florida to the state of Maine. There were only three national television networks at that time as broadcasting choices that day were NBA basketball, a western movie and the Daytona 500.

Seventy-eight drivers attempted to qualify for 41 available positions in the 500 field, led by pole position winner Buddy Baker. By race’s end, there were a total of 36 lead changes in the 3-hour, 30-minute race.

Drivers Donnie Allison, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison crashed together to bring out the second caution flag on lap 31. All three drivers would be the center of attention at race’s end when Donnie Allison and Yarborough crashed on the final lap while battling for the victory, with their damaged cars coming to rest at the bottom of Turn Three and handing the victory to Richard Petty.

When Bobby Allison stopped to give his brother a ride to the garage area, a fight broke out among the trio of drivers.

The brief skirmish on national television caught the attention of those watching who had never seen a NASCAR race, prompting conversations among casual fans as well as those who had followed the sport for many years. Among those who were introduced to the sport that day were a number of people from corporate America, looking to possibly join the sport in a sponsorship capacity.

While Yarborough and the Allison brothers were later fined for their actions, Petty enjoyed his sixth of seven Daytona 500 victories as the surprise winner. The native of Level Cross, North Carolina, had undergone major stomach surgery just a week before the race and was told by his doctors that he should not race due to the severity of the procedure.

The Daytona 500 victory also helped the Petty team renew its sponsorship with STP. Petty went on to race an additional 13 years before hanging up his helmet in 1992.

At the NASCAR Cup Series Awards Banquet in New York City during the winter of 1984, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. offered $1 million to any driver who could win three of NASCAR’s four biggest races.

Ironically, the series sponsor felt the odds were a bit great to fulfill, as they did not initially set aside the funding to pay the Winston Million.

Bill Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Melling Racing Ford Thunderbird fielded by his family team, was able to accomplish the impossible by winning the 1985 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, giving NASCAR one of the greatest Cinderella stories in all of professional sports.

Having suffered brake issues during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Elliott family, of Dawsonville, Georgia, made the quest for stardom even more special because they were considered everyday folks, just like their fans. They pulled off the impossible simply by giving their absolute best effort in the garage and behind the wheel.

Each time the Elliott brothers – Bill, Dan and Ernie – would enter a track during the 1985 season, Bill Elliott set up the Ford’s chassis in addition to driving. Ernie Elliott would build and tune the car’s engines while Dan Elliott would manage the car’s springs and shocks. It was a magical union among brothers, often taking them away from the media to concentrate on making their Fords go so fast.

“There was a good deal of pressure on the team all week, and there was pressure to keep the car together during the race,” Elliott told the NASCAR Hall of Fame. “Anything could have happened. I could have run the car into the wall. But everything worked out.”

All told, the Elliotts collected 11 victories in 1985 but fell just short of winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship to driver Darrell Waltrip and team owner Junior Johnson. Still, having won the Winston Million made it a season to remember throughout NASCAR’s incredible storied history.

Elliott’s total Darlington earnings were $1,053,725, more than five times his take for winning the Daytona 500 earlier that year.

All told, Bill Elliott recorded 44 victories during his career and earned the 1988 Cup Series championship. He made his final series start at Daytona in July 2012.

Dale Earnhardt’s love for Daytona International Speedway began as a young child when his father, Ralph Earnhardt, brought him oranges from Florida when he ran Sportsman Division races there during the early 1960s.

On Feb. 18, 1979, Dale Earnhardt, of Kannapolis, North Carolina, fired the engine in his Rod Osterlund-owned Chevrolet and began a 20-year quest to win the Daytona 500. But seemingly every year, there would be some type of mechanical issue, a crash not of his making or worst yet, he’d come up agonizingly short of victory.

From 1979 through 1997, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion logged 34 wins at the Florida track in events such as 125-qualifying races, Busch Clashes and IROC (International Race of Champions) races. The one race that eluded him year after year for two decades was the Daytona 500.

The close ones came in 1986 when he ran out of gas and lost it to Geoff Bodine. Then, in 1990, he blew a tire on the final lap and lost to Derrike Cope. In 1991, he was forced to watch Dale Jarrett beat him to the checkered flag. Then there was another second-place finish to Jarrett in 1996.

On Feb. 15, 1998, the Daytona 500 victory finally came. While driving his black No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Earnhardt averaged 172.712 mph over the 500-mile distance and took home a then-record $1 million prize.

Following his victory, crews from competing teams lined pit road to congratulate the 46-year-old racer before he drove his car onto the grass and did several celebratory doughnuts prior to visiting Victory Lane.

Earnhardt’s 1998 win is arguably the most sentimental of all Daytona 500 triumphs considering no other driver had come so close so many times before rolling into Victory Lane.

Those around him that memorable February afternoon had never see him more relaxed and upbeat than when he finally achieved his greatest personal accomplishment.

“Twenty years! Can you believe it? We won it! The Daytona 500 is ours! Every which way I could lose it, I’ve lost it. Now I’ve won it and I don’t car how I’ve won it. We won it,” Earnhardt said in a post-race interview that day.

BY BEN WHITE

NASCAR FOUNDER BILL FRANCE AND THE NAME GRAND NATIONAL

After seeing

the movie “National Velvet” starring Elizabeth Taylor in 1944, NASCAR founder Bill France adopted the Grand National label for his premier stock car series. The movie featured horse racing with Taylor competing for a victory in the Grand Nationals. The division is known today as the NASCAR Cup Series.

PETTY DID NOT WIN ALL 200 WITH NO. 43 Seven-time NASCAR Cup

Series champion Richard Petty is known for driving the iconic No. 43 throughout his 32-year career. However, eight of Petty’s 200 victories came using different car numbers. The King won twice with No. 42 (1962 and 1966) and six times with No. 41, five in 1963 and once in 1964.

ROOKIE WINNERS IN THE CUP SERIES Since 1972,

rookie winners in the NASCAR Cup Series are: Earl Ross, Dale Earnhardt, Ron Bouchard, Morgan Shepherd, Davey Allison, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Trevor Bayne and Chris Buescher.

INDY CAR DREAMS Drivers Tony Stewart,

Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Ricky Rudd set out to build Indy Car careers before they came to NASCAR. Among them, only Stewart and Johnson have fulfilled that mission. Stewart was crowned the 1996 Indy car champion while Johnson is currently pursuing an Indy car career.

RICHARD PETTY TOLD NOT TO RACE

A week

before winning the 1979 Daytona 500, Richard Petty had major stomach surgery and was told by his doctors that he should not race. The Randleman, North Carolina, native won his sixth of seven Daytona 500s when Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison crashed on the final lap.

WING TIPS WERE BEST Throughout a 35-year ca-

reer, driver Dave Marcis chose to wear a Sunday wingtip shoe when he drove race cars in NASCAR competition. The Wausau, Wisconsin, native selected the shoe over others because of its hard sole that protected his feet from blistering due to hot floorboards in Cup Series race cars.

CALE YARBOROUGH LED ALL 500 LAPS On March 25,1973, Cale

Yarborough drove his Junior Johnsonprepared No. 11 Chevrolet to victory at Bristol Motor Speedway, leading the entire 500-lap race distance. The driver from Timmonsville, South Carolina, lapped the field by the 100th lap and was never contested for the win on the famed .533-mile Tennessee track.

DAYTONA’S FIRST BLACK FLAG During the first practice

session prior to the inaugural Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959, driver Herman Beam received the track’s first black flag for going out to practice without his helmet. The Johnson City, Tennessee, native entered 194 NASCAR events from 1957 through 1963, scoring 57 top-10 finishes.

A PHENOMENAL SEASON In 1973, three-time NAS-

CAR champion David Pearson won 10 superspeedway races and one short-track event in only 18 Cup Series starts for Wood Brothers Racing that season. The Spartanburg, South Carolina, driver collected 43 of his 105-career victories, including the 1976 Daytona 500, with the Virginia-based team before his retirement in 1986.

JARRETT WINS BY A WIDE MARGIN Two-time

NASCAR champion Ned Jarrett, driver of the No. 11 Bowani Racing Ford, won the 1965 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway by 14 laps, or 19.25 miles. The Conover, North Carolina, native saved his engine by turning it off in the turns and refiring it on the front and back straightaways.

MAY DROVE FIVE CARS IN ONE RACE NASCAR Cup Series driver

Dick May drove five different race cars for five different owners, including himself, during the 1975 Mason-Dixon 500 at Dover International Speedway. With heat reaching nearly 100 degrees, May drove portions of the race in relief of four drivers as the race spanned nearly five hours.

Two-time NASCAR champion Tim Flock came from a family of showmen who loved to perform in front of crowds at every possible chance. By the fifth race of the 1953 season, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion had a gimmick to help garner headlines everywhere he raced during the 37-race season.

Team owner Ted Chester was visiting a pet store in Atlanta when he came across a rhesus monkey, one of the smallest and most personable of all simians. A sign on the cage indicated his name was Jocko. Chester knew it was the thing to do when he mouthed the name “Jocko Flocko,” and figured it would be a great addition to have the monkey ride along with Flock in NASCAR races, complete with a custom-made helmet and uniform.

Chester owned the car and knew he would have little trouble convincing Flock to be part of the stunt. After all, his champion driver loved publicity.

Flock honestly thought his team owner had been hitting the liquor bottle once too often, especially since it had never been done. The driver did not ask NASCAR and instead, had a special seat made for his passenger. Jocko broke into NASCAR racing at the Charlotte Fairgrounds Speedway on April 5, 1953, riding co-pilot in the No. 91 Hudson. They started from the pole position and led seven times for 87 laps but fell off the pace on lap 125 with engine problems. The two traveled to Richmond, Virginia, on April 19 but did not start, followed by Macon, Georgia, on May 3 where they finished fifth. They continued to Columbia, South Carolina, and finished second; followed by Hickory, North Carolina, on May 16 where they celebrated the victory. Then it was on to Martinsville, Virginia, where they finished 32nd, Columbus, Ohio, and finished 22nd and Raleigh, North Carolina, on May 30 and finished third. That is where Jocko’s racing career came to an end.

“He thought it was time to check the right front tire so he unfastened his seat belt and went down to the trap door to take a look,” Flock said in his book, “Tim Flock – Race Driver,” published in May 1991. “Jocko pulled the chain, peered in the hole and got zinged by a small piece of debris right between the eyes.”

Jocko went wild, forcing Flock to visit pit road and drop him off for the very last time.