Wednesday, December 25, 2013

A Gordon fan, not in disguise

JEFF GORDON, MANY YEARS AFTER
THIS STORY FROM DAYTONA.
(CHEVROLET PHOTO)
In the 1990s, I was at Daytona and working on a story for Winston Cup Scene. Walking along the main drag in front of the track, I was asking people how they picked their favorite drivers.

 This one guy looked like a walking advertisement for Jeff Gordon, then the BIG THING in stock-car racing. This guy was wearing a 24 cap and shirt and carrying a Jeff Gordon cooler with a Jeff Gordon flag stuck through the top. I don't remember, but I think he had some other Gordon paraphernalia, too.

 The weird thing is that his dad was a Ken Schrader fan, and other members of his sizable group wore or carried memorabilia from other drivers. I think Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett were also represented.

 I just waded in, laughed and said, "Obviously, we have a Rusty Wallace fan in disguise." I got a big laugh, and this guy and his family wound up the lead for my story.

 If you're wondering, there weren't any Dale Earnhardt fans in the group.

 For some reason, Winston Cup Scene didn't want the story, even though they'd assigned it to me. So I wound up selling it to Beckett Racing Monthly. Sadly, neither magazine is with us now.
Contact: I can be reached at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.

More entries from TARJ
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
(the book of great NASCAR stories)

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Friday, December 20, 2013

Passing the Superbirds at Talladega


Like many race fans who remember the '70s, I loved the famed winged Superbirds that Richard Petty and other drivers raced. And then I got to see them up close.

 In the mid-90s, I was covering NASCAR Winston Cup racing for a newspaper. I was driving from Interstate 20 to Talladega Superspeedway when I saw two blue Superbirds in front of me. They were in the slow lane, and I was in the left lane. I was doing 55, the speed limit, and the 'Birds were running about 50.

 So I passed them slowly and looked them over. The two cars didn't have race engines — no rumble — but it was a momentary thrill to pass them.

 I assume they went to the race track, but I never saw them there. It's also possible — maybe even more likely — that they went to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, which is near the track.

 It never came up, and I never thought to ask.

 FROM YOUTUBE: Richard Petty's 200mph Plymouth Superbird On The Road

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

More entries from TARJ
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
(the book of great NASCAR stories)

EDITOR@WORK blog entries 

Entries from The Dog Blog
More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie
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