I was watching an old video as I am recuperating from surgery late last week. I forgot about this quote from the late great Neil Bonnet while watching the 1990 Winston 500 from Talladega, Alabama. This is Neil's first press conference after the grinding crash at Darlington that should have ended his career permanently. Neil, speaking to the press about his recovery said Bobby Allison had came to visit him and here's the golden quote: "Between Bobby trying to remember what he was saying and me trying to remember what he was thinking it was a hell of a conversation." I literally busted out laughing because I had forgotten that golden quote. Any more quotes anyone has feel free to throw in here. If I see some more I'll try to throw some in here.
The two that immediately come to mind, both involving #3: "I was just trying rattle his cage a little" "How about Dale? Is he okay?
“If you’re not a race driver, stay the hell home. —Don’t come here and grumble about going too fast. Get the hell out of the race car if you’ve got feathers on your legs or butt. —Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won’t climb up there and eat that candy ass.” ~ Dale Earnhardt
"Well, he lived in the northern end of the house and I lived in the southern end." - Ward Burton on how he and brother,Jeff have such different accents.
"How do the gauges look?" - Jeff Clark (engine tuner for the Bud team,asking about the oil and water temperatures under the long caution period) "Nice. They're silver and they all have nice little red needles…" - Dale Earnhardt,Jr
"He went to beating on my fist with his nose. That's my story and I'm sticking to it."- Bobby Allison on his fight with Cale Yarborough
It's hard not to pick on a guy with his ears pinned back.- Kevin Harvick on Kurt Busch after his 'earjob'
My dad was in the same room at HealthSouth Rehab Hospital in Kingsport with Sherman Utsman brother of John A. Utsman in 2004. I always got to hear some good early NASCAR stories from Sherman and John A. when he visited. They didn't seem too high on Big E.
I became acquainted with Sherman and Layman through my Dad's car competing with them in the early 60s. I got to know John A and Ricky when I was involved in putting on the race program at Kingsport. One of my high school classmates married Larry. The story of their early days at the old Sportsman Speedway and other tracks was that if you started a fight with one of them, you had to fight them all. I suppose you are aware that John A won a race at Bristol driving in relief for Benny Parsons. Bobby Allison in a TV interview talked about his good friend John A Utsman being the best driver he knew.
Junior Johnson on being told D. Waltrip being quoted that going from Junior to Hendrick was like leaving a mule to ride a thorougbred said "I don't know about any mules, but we did have a Jack Ass for awhile, but he left". TV color man Buddy Baker during a race where the leader was running away from the field in response to Ken Squire's comment that the car was handling well said, "He's handling awfully good down the straight-a-way too." I believe it was Jeff Gordon.
I remember them telling that, but I didn't remember the specifics. My dad worked with Gene Glover at some point (at AFG Industries I think). We used to go to the Kingsport Speedway to watch Gene run. Good times.
Gene Glover was one of the most successful local drivers winning the Sportsman Division Natl. Champ. He drove a car locally for the driver of my Dad's car, Bud Rambo, and they were very dominant. His son Tony had much success as the Crew Chief for Morgan-McClure.
He was always an extremely nice guy to me as well. Did he work anywhere else? I know he and dad worked together somewhere. May not have been at AFG. It was in late '50s early '60s or there abouts. Tony was a nice guy. I weaseled my way into the pits at North Wilksboro somewhere around 1989. It was the race where Ricky Rudd wrecked Earnhardt on the final lap allowing Geoff Bodine to win. When Rudd came around to the front stretch, I have never in my life witnessed so many chicken bones and beer cans (full and empty) being hurled from the stands at a car. Without that incident, Big E has 8 championships. anyway, I was running around the pits looking for a souvenir. I approached Tony and he asked if I would like a hat. Gave me the one off his head. I thought that was very cool.
There were many drivers from the Tri-Cities area that helped grow NASCAR in the fifties and sixties. The previously mentioned Sherman and John A Utsman, Gene Glover, Brad Teague, Conny Saylor, George Green, Paul Lewis, Herman Beam, Gene Blackburn, Bill Morton, LD Ottinger, Mike & Randy Potter, GC Spencer and some I cannot remember all drove in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. Glover and Ottinger won Natl. Champs in the original Nationwide series. GC Spencer was Darrel Waltrip's hero. Mike Beam and Tony Glover are active crew chiefs, and Mike Helton, President of NASCAR, and Eddie Gossage, Gen. Mgr. of Talladega are from Bristol.
RB, didn't the guy who invented the in-car camera hail from the Tri-cities? Don't remember the name, but he died of a brain tumor a few years ago.