Just can not get enough of the factory sheetmetal. Here is Richard Petty in one of his early runs in a Chevrolet at Darlington for the 1978 Southern 500. That is Sterling Marlin's Father, Coo Coo in the 14 car.
Dale Earnhardt in 1984
These winged creations were the ultimate of excess. Bill France had seen enough of it after two years and brought things back in line. The 1970 Daytona 500.
This is Neil Bonnett after taking the checkered flag at Ontario Califonia in 1977. If anyone wonders where the Rick Hendrick Powerhouse came from it started here. Harry Hyde was the crew chief and a very young Randy Dorton built the engines for Jim Stacy's Dodge. It was Hyde and Dorton that Hendrick tabbed to start his race team in 1984. Bonnett was no slouch and knocking off Richard Petty for the first two wins of his career was a pretty good way to start.
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Great pics and memories, RL.
ReplyDeleteAmazing how much the sheetmetal work changed from 1977 to 1984.
I had forgot about the split back window in the Monte Carlo until I saw your pic of Cale's #11.
Is there something in the atmosphere? I've been glued to Myspace videos of Dale Sr. tributes for a couple of hours now. Thanks for taking us back in time again.
ReplyDeleteRL, glad to see that you're back. I really enjoy your insight on the old school drivers and races.
ReplyDeletesorry if I offend anyone....but that paint scheme of Dale's looks dismal.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys.
ReplyDeleteNo offence taken Tez. I put that car up because I found it in a large format and it is Dale Earnhardt. This was before he became the Bad Boy of racing.
ahh ok, I thought he was always that, lol
ReplyDeletehis black car just looks far more imposing I reckon.
RL! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteYou always have the best old pics...hope to see more of you around this year!
Happy New year to you also Kristen, Good to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteI look foward to posting more pics here.
Rick
Enjoyed the photos. Although they are from before I became a fan, they are a great reminder of when it was man and machine. Now it's man, machine, computer, engineer and NASCAR inspector. Bumpdrafter.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteBu
A week after Neil got his first Cup win at Ontario in the final race of the 77 season, he and the JD Stacy team went to Phoenix for a Winston West race. Oddly, he had as a teammate the newly crowned Winston Cup champ, Cale Yarborough. Yep, Cale wasn't in a Junior Johnson Chevy. Instead, he raced a JD Stacy-owned, Harry Hyde-prepared #6 Dodge. Cale won the race, and Neil finished 2nd.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this really great post. I liked seeing Richard Petty from the Southern 500 from 1978. I love catching up on the old school history of these races. Have a great day and keep up these amazing posts.
ReplyDeleteClassic Body Worx