Speed, Guts, and Glory Read online

  Book and DVD copyright ©2006 by Garner Creative Concepts, Inc.

  BOOK CREDITS

  Editorial and text assistance provided by Lynnsey Guerrero, Stuart Miller, Todd Schindler, Bill Stroum Story consultant, Don Smyle; Photo editor, Abigail Ray

  DVD CREDITS

  Executive producer, Joe Garner

  Host, Jeff Gordon

  Narration, Ryan McGee; Project director, Gerry Martin

  Director of photography, Al Francesco; Producer, Joe Ligon

  Camera operator, Gary Johnson; Teleprompter operator, Bill Barnes

  Audio technician, Chris Horton; Makeup artist, Rebecca Jones; Lighting director, Frank Freas

  Studio production facilities provided by MediaComm, Charlotte, NC

  Postproduction provided by NASCAR Images, Charlotte, NC

  Footage is courtesy of NASCAR Images

  NASCAR Digital Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved.

  Warner Books

  Hachette Book Group

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  New York, NY 10017

  Visit our Web site at www.HachetteBookGroup.com.

  First eBook Edition: November 2006

  Warner Books and the “W” logo are trademarks of Time Warner Inc. or an affiliated company. Used under license by Hachette Book Group, which is not affiliated with Time Warner, Inc.

  ISBN: 978-0-446-55409-1

  The “Warner Books” name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  Book Design: Judith Turziano

  PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

  © Alan Schein Photography/CORBIS: XII; AP Photo: XVI–1, 10–11, 16–17, 20–21, 29, 31, 36–37, 44–45, 51, 52–53, 55, 63, 71, 72–73, 75, 76–77, 78, 80–81, 83, 86, 89, 92–93, 100, 150–151, 152–153, 162, 166–167, 176–177, 182, 187, 208–209, 220, 222–223, 230–231, 239; Bill Hall/Getty Images: 181; Brian Cleary/Getty Images: 124; Cameras in Action Stock Photography, Inc.: 184, 189; Chris Stanford/Getty Images: 2, 4, 134, 236–237; Darrell Ingham/Getty Images: 126, 130, 219; David Taylor/Getty Images: 99; Donald Miralle/Getty Images: 141; Dozier Mobley: 18, 28, 34, 47, 54, 59, 62, 94–95, 102, 103, 105, 108–109, 115, 118–119, 148, 164, 165, 174 (both), 179, 190, 202, 206, 226, 234–235; Focus on Sport/Getty Images: 110, 138–139, 161; Frances Flock: 218, 233; © George Tiedemann/NewSport/Corbis: II–III, 120–121; Getty Images: 168–169; Icon SMI/Corbis: 216–217; Jamie Squire/Getty Images: 3, 22; Jim Gund/Getty Images: 156–157; Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images: 6–7, 56–57, 112–113, 132–133; Julian Gonzales/Getty Images: 186–187; © Larry Kasperek/New Sport/Corbis: 48–49; Motorsports Images and Archives Photography: 8–9, 12, 13–14, 26(left), 26–27, 38, 40–41, 42, 50, 60–61, 84–85, 90–91, 106–107, 125, 127, 129, 136, 142–143, 146–147(all), 158–159, 170–171, 172–173, 200–201, 204, 210, 214–215; Pal Parker Archives: 65, 66–67, 68–69, 154, 192–193, 194, 195, 197, 198, 212–213, 225, 228; Ray Shough and Bristol Motor Speedway: 79(all); Robert Laberge/Getty Images: 32–33, 116, 229; © Sam Sharpe/Corbis: XI, 24–25; © Sutton Motorsport Images/Corbis: 144–145, 221; Vincent Laforet/Getty Images: 96–97, 122–123; © William R. Sallaz/New Sport/Corbis: XIII; WINN © Reuters/CORBIS: XIV Illustrations by John Corbitt/Duet Studio

  Contents

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  Chapter One: CHASE TO THE CHECKERED FLAG

  Chapter Two: CINDERELLA MEN

  Chapter Three: THE DOMINATORS

  Chapter Four: “THEY ACTUALLY WALKED AWAY?!”

  Chapter Five: THE RECORD BREAKERS

  Chapter Six: THE BEST ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

  Chapter Seven: THE DAYTONA 500

  Chapter Eight: DALE EARNHARDT

  Chapter Nine: ONE-WIN WONDERS

  Chapter Ten: NASCAR'S DYNASTIES

  For Colleen,J.B., and Jillian…and the fans.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Just like any winning driver, I am beholden to the support of a dedicated team.

  My sincerest gratitude to Jamie Raab and Warner Books for giving me this opportunity. I feel fortunate to be with such a dynamic publisher. And to my editor, Colin Fox, for his invaluable guidance and enthusiasm.

  As always, thank you to my agent, Sloan Harris, for his wise and savvy counsel and most of all his friendship.

  I am profoundly grateful to Jeff Gordon for contributing his talent, expertise, and integrity to this project. It's an honor working with him.

  A very special thank-you to John Bickford of Jeff Gordon, Inc. for seeing the potential in this project from the beginning. It's little wonder that Jeff is so successful after spending time with John.

  Thank you to Jeannette Eaves at Jeff Gordon, Inc., for presenting my proposal to John, and for her graciousness and skillful coordination.

  I am grateful to Abigail Ray, whom I cannot thank enough. She is enormously talented and able to wear many hats…most times simultaneously. And as I've noted in the past, she does it all with grace, enthusiasm, and a wonderful sense of humor.

  A special thank-you to Lynnsey Guerrero for his boundless enthusiasm, creativity, talent, and knowledge of all things NASCAR.

  I am grateful to NASCAR Images for joining me in this venture; in particular, Jay Abraham and Jill MacPhee for their determination to “make it work.” Thank you to Gary Ramsey for his skill and patience in hammering out our agreement. Thank you to Gerry Martin for his creativity, enthusiasm, and skillful coordination of our production. I am grateful to Don Smyle for enthusiastically sharing his invaluable expertise on NASCAR's history. And thank you to Ryan McGee for his crisp and entertaining narration. A big thank-you to Joe Ligon for a masterful job in producing the DVD segments.

  Thank you to Frank and Mable Scott for sharing their personal history in order that we may have a better perspective on the legacy of Wendell Scott.

  As always, thank you to my friends Louise Argianas and Wendy Heller-Stein for their support.

  Special thank-yous to two integral members of the GCC “pit crew”: Janel Syverud, for always making sure there's gas in the tank; and to Scott Sturgis for making sure that information flows.

  Thank you to the following people for their determination in providing us with the very best images: Regalle Asuncion and Heidi Schaffner at AP Images; Alexis Kerr at Motorsports Images & Archives; Jennifer Rose and Jason Sundberg at Getty Images; Dozier Mobley, Pal Parker, and Francis Flock.

  I am always grateful to Bill Kurtis and Bob Costas for being there in the beginning.

  And finally, my deepest gratitude to my wife Colleen, my son James (J.B.), and my daughter Jillian. This is only possible because of their love and unwavering devotion. I am grateful to my parents, Jim and Betty Garner, for their love and for instilling in me the belief that anything is possible; and to Jerry and Sandi Barnes for their continuing love and encouragement.

  INTRODUCTION

  Ever since my first book, We Interrupt This Broadcast, in 1998, I have been exploring the historical pop-culture landscape of America. In that book, and in the eight that have followed, I have chronicled the nation's landmark events in broadcast news, sports, television, famous films, and comedy, employing a multimedia approach that brings together text and photographs with archival audio, video, and film. It has been gratifying that these books have done well on the shelves, but more gratifying still to hear from hundreds of readers, teachers, and librarians who have told me that my work has managed to “bring history to life.” I'm lucky enough to have been able to turn a genuine passion into a career and to share that passion with others.

  So why NASCAR?

  The story of NASCAR racing is little more than six decades old. It's a homegrown American sport that had its modest beginnings, just after World War II, in
the rural Southeast, where bootleggers and farmers dueled each other in souped-up jalopies on dirt tracks for nothing but bragging rights and pocket money. Today, those backwoods tracks have become mammoth superspeed-ways, the rambling wrecks have given way to technologically advanced, custom-built monster machines, and daredevil drivers now risk their lives at speeds of more than 200 mph in pursuit of billions in sponsorship, merchandising, and prize money. By any measure, NASCAR's growth has been phenomenal.

  Yet the sport remains steeped in the traditions, values, and ideals of its origins. Among the hundreds of thousands that pack the grandstands on race weekends are scores of families, sometimes two and three generations' worth, for whom racing is as much a tradition as church on Sunday. Ask yourself, what other professional sport begins each event with a prayer before the national anthem? NASCAR is a major cultural phenomenon no matter how you cut it.

  There is nothing quite like the experience of a NASCAR race. It's a total assault on the senses. If you're lucky enough to have attended one, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't, there's really no way to adequately describe it. As my friend and long-time NASCAR enthusiast Lynnsey Guerrero pointed out, it's difficult to make the experience sound the least bit enjoyable. The crowds are enormous. Parking is impossible. You have to get to the track long before the race begins or you run the risk of missing the start altogether. If you don't leave before the checkered flag falls, you'll be stuck in traffic for hours. And of course, it's chest-rattlingly, earsplittingly loud! But no first-timer leaves the track unchanged. Once you've been baptized in sweat and the smell of gasoline and the thunder of forty-three 800-horsepower engines, you're a fan for life.

  And simply put, there's no fan like a NASCAR fan. Unique in professional sports is the almost familial bond between NASCAR's stars and the folks in the stands. To the fans, these drivers are bona fide American heroes, but they aren't a breed apart; often they seem as familiar as a brother, an uncle, or a neighbor down the street. Why? Because they're approachable. From the moment they step out of their luxury motor homes until they climb into their cars, NASCAR drivers are mingling with the crowd, shaking hands and chatting with well-wishers, posing for pictures, signing autographs. There are no crowd barriers to scale, no security details to breach. Every fan can rub elbows with the greats. Imagine standing at the free-throw line at the Staples Center before a big game, walking up to Kobe Bryant, and saying, “Hey, Kobe, when you're done shooting, would you mind signing my ball?” It would never happen. But it happens all the time in NASCAR. And the fans repay the favor in unswerving loyalty—to their favorite drivers and to the sport as a whole. Such unfettered access is a huge part of NASCAR's success, and everyone associated with the sport knows it, accepts it, and embraces it.

  So, “why NASCAR?” Because the sport is now woven into our pop culture. With its rich history and colorful characters, its grand traditions and thrilling moments, NASCAR has become part of our national mythology. And if you are among the NASCAR faithful who regularly attend the races or those who are grateful for the television coverage, this book is for you.

  From the moment I began working on Speed, Guts, and Glory, you, the fans, were foremost in my mind. I wanted to create a book that put you trackside to relive some of the greatest moments in NASCAR history. I wanted to make it fun to read and to illustrate it with compelling and dramatic photographs. I also wanted you to be able to experience the sights, sounds, and thrills of NASCAR by including race footage on the DVD. Not only will you read about Richard Petty and David Pearson colliding at the 1976 Daytona 500, the razor-thin door-to-door finish of Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven at Darlington in 2003, and the biggest of the bone-jarring “Big Ones” at Talladega in 2005, you'll also be able to watch them, along with many other high-speed, fender-bending, metal-swapping, second-splitting thrills from NASCAR's glorious history.

  Selecting the moments to include in Speed, Guts, and Glory wasn't easy. There are 100 stories here, the most I have ever included in any of my books. I chose them based on what I believe fans hope for in a race: exciting door-to-door finishes; unexpected come-from-behind victories; daring performances by racing's dominant drivers; and crashes, as long as everybody walks away. NASCAR and many stock car racing publications have compiled lists season after season of what they consider to be the most significant moments of each year. After culling through those lists, aided by the expert opinions of NASCAR archivist Don Smyle, writer Ryan McGee, and others, I settled on these stories. I hope you'll find some of your favorites among them. I also decided to include tribute sections dedicated to the pioneers of the sport, the Daytona 500, and Dale Earnhardt.

  NASCAR Images was also instrumental in helping me select the best broadcast footage for the featured story of each chapter on the DVD.

  As important as finding the right material was choosing the right host to present the ten moments highlighted on the DVD. I am thrilled that four-time NASCAR Cup champion and driver of the number 24 DuPont Chevy, Jeff Gordon, accepted my invitation. What impressed me from the start about Jeff was his genuine interest in the history of the sport. His amazing accomplishments, coupled with his knowledge, talent, and warm personality, made him the perfect choice to host the DVD. It has been an honor and a pleasure working with Jeff, his stepfather John Bickford, Jeanette Eaves, and everyone at Jeff Gordon Incorporated.

  I hope this book and DVD provide you with hours of entertainment as you relive six full decades of NASCAR's legends and legendary moments—a remarkable history of speed, guts, and glory.

  Enjoy the ride.

  Chapter One

  CHASE TO THE CHECKERED FLAG

  The Closest Finishes

  Neither driver backed off, neither driver flinched. And for the first time in a long while, a race was decided by a driver's nerve, not an over-engineered car.

  Busch and Craven's 2003 Darlington Duel

  Ricky Craven doesn't look much like a race car driver, doesn't talk like one—probably a result of growing up in Newburgh, Maine. He has the credentials, though; you don't land a Nextel Cup ride without winning at every level. But in a sport that prides itself on fan accessibility to its stars, it's easy to see how someone who comes off rather quiet and unassuming can get buried in the residual glow from current favorites like Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart.

  (Overleaf): This image retrieved from the NASCAR scoring camera positioned at the start/finish line shows how Ricky Craven (32) beats Kurt Busch by .002 seconds to win the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway, Sunday, March 16, 2003 in Darlington, S.C.(Below): Ricky Craven speeds around the track in the #32 Pontiac.

  But there was a moment on the afternoon of March 16, 2003—a very, very brief moment—that changed everything for Ricky Craven.

  Officially, the length of time it took to catapult Craven from a someone-else-in-the-field to someone in the NASCAR record book was 0.002 seconds, about how long it takes for a light bulb to glow after you flip the switch. Snap your fingers or blink your eyes; each action lasts about two thousandths of a second.

  That magic number—0.002—is the margin of Ricky Craven's victory over Kurt Busch in what was and most likely will always be remembered as the most exciting finish in NASCAR racing.

  Craven passes Kurt Busch, driver of the #97 Rubbermaid Ford, on the final lap before becoming the eventual winner of the NASCAR Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.

  It was that close, that exciting, and that amazing.

  The fifth race of the season found the drivers in Darlington for the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. The historic 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval was NASCAR's first superspeedway, and since the inaugural 1950 race it has been considered one of the most treacherous tracks in the sport. With mismatched turns at either end, each with a different degree of banking, plus a concrete retaining wall that seems inexplicably to inch just far enough out to carve a jagged abrasion along the right side of a race car, pretty much from front fender to rear quarter panel, known with exas
perated affection as the “Darlington Stripe,” it has truly earned its nickname: The Track Too Tough to Tame.

  The weekend didn't begin well for Kurt Busch, the twenty-four-year-old driver feeling his way into a third Winston Cup season. He was forced to start in the last row after changing engines following Saturday practice. Busch was also racing on parts and pieces borrowed from his Roush Racing teammates. “I had Mark Martin's springs, Jeff Burton's sway bar, and Matt Kenseth's shocks.” But the combination clicked; after the green flag fell the number 97 Rubbermaid Ford was able to juke its way forward through the slower traffic.

  Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin dominated, combining to lead 162 of the 293 laps, but their chances for victory ended with lug-nut mishaps on pit road. Jeff Gordon moved to the front and led for 78 laps but was forced to retire after his car caromed off Elliott Sadler's and hit the second-turn wall. Busch, with the power steering on his car going-going-gone, was the benefactor of the accident, slipping into a lead that he would hold for the next twenty-one laps.

  After climbing out of his battered machine and collecting himself, Busch headed for Victory Lane to congratulate the winner… “That was the coolest finish that I've ever seen and I'm glad that I was a part of it.”

  At the same time, Ricky Craven had almost completed his charge to the front from the thirty-first starting spot, and with only twenty-two laps remaining his orange-and-white Tide Pontiac was stalking the back bumper of Busch's Taurus. Craven gained ground in each of the next twenty laps, pulling even on two occasions.

  With two laps remaining Craven tried to take the lead by going low in Turn 1, but on his worn tires slid into Busch, who scraped the wall. Craven then skated up the track in front of Busch. As both drivers regained control Busch tapped Craven on the rear bumper, went low, and retook the lead. “All of a sudden I found him in front,” Craven said. “Now how the hell did that happen?”