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Forty-five years ago, in 1965, Rockingham was in its first
season. Richard Petty was the pole sitter and Curtis Turner took the
win.
Forty years ago in 1970, at Rockingham, Charlie Glotzback was
the pole sitter and Richard Petty took the win.
Thirty-five years ago in 1975, Buddy Baker was the pole
sitter and Cale Yarborough was the race winner at Rockingham.
Thirty years ago in 1980, Darrell Waltrip was the pole sitter
and Cale Yarborough took the win at Rockingham.
Twenty-five years ago in 1985, Terry Labonte was the pole
sitter at Rockingham with the late Neil Bonnett taking the win.
Twenty years ago in 1990, Kyle Petty could do no wrong as he
won both the pole and the event at Rockingham. Petty absolutely
excelled at this track.
Fifteen years ago in 1995, the Busch Racing Series joined the
NEXTEL Cup cars for a double header at Rockingham. Chad Little was
the pole sitter for the Busch event but it was Johnny Benson taking
the win after he passed Ken Schrader with eight laps to go. Jeff
Gordon took the NEXTEL Cup event over Bobby Labonte and Dale
Earnhardt Sr.
Ten years ago in 2000 at Rockingham, Rusty Wallace was the
Busch Pole sitter. Ricky Rudd was on the outside. Bobby Labonte took
the win with Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishing second. Mark Martin
dominated the Busch event.
Five years ago in 2005, New Smyrna leftovers: Long Island
modified driver Kevin Goodale came away from New Smyrna with one of
the greatest gifts a driver could ever get, confidence! Prior to the
World Series Goodale was just another obscure middle of the pack
runner. With a win plus a runner-up finish and a fourth in points
Goodale has emerged as a possible top runner once the Whelen
Modified Tour begins. Despite winning the Modified championship, his
seventh, Ted Christopher went away a little disappointed. In
addition to winning four Modified races Christopher won one of the
Super Late Model races and was leading the point standings in that
division until he was forced to miss the last two events because his
team was out of engines. Zach Sylvester went to Florida with a new
paint scheme and a somewhat new crew, hoping to get a leg up on the
2005 Whelen Modified Tour season. Sylvester’s best finishes were a
third and a couple of fourths. Car owner Tom Sylvester felt
confident and believed the week was a learning experience which
would give them an advantage once the regular season began. Milford
Connecticut’s Chris Jones left New Smyrna with a bloody nose and has
vowed never to return. Jones, who was thrown out of Stafford in 2004
because of his antics and over aggression, ran in the SK Modified
division at New Smyrna. Jones was leading the point standings and
the feature until the final lap on the final night when an explosive
situation developed. Jones was obviously blocking second place
runner Steve Reed. As they exited turn two Reed made a move under
Jones. The pair touched and Jones spun out of the lead. As Reed was
slowing down to stop in victory lane Jones walled him in
retaliation. It didn’t end there as Jones stormed into the middle of
the victory celebration and ended up in a wrestling match with a
track official.
While the New England region was getting pounded by yet another snow
storm Developer Gene Arganese's proposal for a zone change to bring
a racetrack to Plainfield, CT. was in process. The meeting kept the
Planning and Zoning Commission, along with close to 600 residents,
at the high school longer than most would have liked. The five-hour
hearing ended after midnight when the commission voted to close the
public hearing on the proposal. It will discuss the issue March 3.
With the public hearing closed, the commission has 65 days to render
a decision on Arganese's second attempt at changing zoning
regulations to allow a resort/recreational development (C-5) zone
which is needed to construct his proposed enclosed racetrack.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) settled
their case against the Daytona International Speedway involving the
death of track worker Roy Weaver during the 2004 Dash race. He was
on the racetrack surface during a caution period to retrieve debris
in Turn 2 of the Speedway. In the future track workers would have
written guidelines, hands-on training and a definitive chain of
command during racing events as part of a settlement agreement which
was arrived at. OSHA withdrew its most serious citation against the
track, its failure to have a written protocol for workers stepping
onto the track. The track will also train its safety teams at least
once a year and strengthen radio communication between the control
tower and those on the ground tending to accident situations. A
speedway spokesman stated that the track has been training its
safety crews but does not have written documents on the subject. It
was the first track worker death at the speedway since it opened in
1959. There were 12 additional violations and fines the Speedway did
not contest. The Speedway would pay fines which total $4,875 for
other minor citations dealt with issues including a security
employee without hearing protection and a track worker without a
helmet.
Hello SIRIUS, goodbye Motor Racing Network? NASCAR signed a
five-year $107.5 million agreement that would make SIRIUS its
official satellite radio partner. SIRIUS will broadcast all Nextel
Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck series events on a specially created
24-hour NASCAR channel beginning in 2007. SIRIUS will hold exclusive
rights to radio coverage of NASCAR races and have exclusive
trademark and marketing rights.
NASCAR’s top divisions were on the West Coast. Rookie Kyle Busch,
the 19-year-old brother of defending NASCAR Nextel Cup champion
Kurt, was the top qualifier as he took the pole for Sunday's Auto
Club 500 at California Speedway.
Busch became the youngest pole winner in series history. Busch set
the track record with a fast lap of 188.245 miles per hour in a
Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Brian Vickers,
who qualified second with a lap of 187.740 mph in another Chevy,
joined Busch on the front row. Martin, who originally retired from
the NASCAR Busch Series after the 2000 season, returned to victory
lane by winning Saturday's Stater Bros. 300 at California Speedway.
Mark Martin won the Saturday Busch Series race at Fontana. It was
his 46th career victory and first since winning at Darlington
Raceway on September 2, 2000. Martin held off Kevin Harvick, over
the final laps.
After Saturday's qualifications, Gregg Biffle predicted he would be
the leader by the fifth lap. He did that one better by getting his
Ford Taurus in front on lap 4 after starting fifth. Although he was
later shuffled back, Biffle re-emerged by the time the checkered
flag waved. Biffle went under Roush Racing teammate Kurt Busch for
the lead in the third turn on lap 228 and cruised to the fourth
Nextel Cup win of his career. He finished 0.231 seconds ahead of
Jimmie Johnson, who’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo took a second away from
Busch on the final lap. Jamie McMurray's Dodge Charger was fourth,
followed by Carl Edwards' Ford. Biffle overcame a one-lap deficit
midway through the race when his car started to develop a loose
condition, but his crew made the adjustments to pave the way to
victory lane. Johnson scored his second straight second-place finish
at California Speedway. The Nextel Cup division enjoys a week off
this weekend.
Steve Park completed his comeback from a serious head injury
sustained in 2001, capitalizing when leader Mike Bliss ran out of
gas with six laps remaining Friday night for his first NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series race victory. The win at California Speedway
was Park's first since taking the checkered flag in a Winston Cup
race at Rockingham in February 2001, making him the 10th driver to
win races in each of NASCAR's top three professional series.
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This week are several vintage racing
photos from the Danny Pardi Collection, courtesy
of SpeedwayLineReport.com & VintageModifieds.com.
Click on Photo for Full Size |
That’s it for this week from 11 Gardner
Drive, Westerly RI 02891. Ring my chimes
at 401-596-5467. E-Mail is:
smithpe_97_97@yahoo.com |
