Tag Archives: Curtis Turner

Evolve, Adapt, and Overcome or Become Obsolete

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Bill France Sr Photo – Getty Images

With the recent announcement of the new format for the Monster Energy All-Star Race to add a tire option, spirited discussions began immediately. After eight races with the new Stage racing at every type of track except a road course, most people have settled on their opinion of its entertainment value and impact on the sport. Some of the calls on the talk shows seem negative, but look at what changes the sanctioning body has made to improve the beloved sport of stock car racing.

From the beginning, NASCAR founder William Henry Getty France, known as ‘Big Bill’ ruled his creation with a ‘Iron Fist,’ crushing two different attempts by the drivers to form a union. The first was in 1961 when Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa and star driver Curtis Turner attempted to form the Federation of Professional Athletes prominently featuring NASCAR drivers.  France prohibited any union member from participating in any NASCAR events with authority: Continue reading →

Stock Car Racing Pioneer Raymond Parks Set the Standard During NASCAR’s Early Era

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1949: NASCAR’s first “Super Team,” consisted of car owner Raymond Parks (L), mechanic Red Vogt (C) and driver Red Byron (R). The trio captured the first-ever NASCAR title, the 1948 Modified championship, then went on this year to take home the first NASCAR Cup championship.
Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images

As one of early stock car racing’s most successful car owners, it is appropriate that Raymond Parks captured the first two championships offered by the fledgling National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, an organization Parks helped form in 1947.

Parks and his driver, Red Byron, won NASCAR’s modified title in 1948. The pair, along with mechanic Red Vogt, became the sanctioning body’s 1949 Strictly Stock champions – the initial season of what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

The Dawson County, Georgia, native and his racing team were gone from NASCAR after 1955, winning just twice. But Parks, who died in 2010 at the age of 96, was seen as one of the sport’s seminal figures and a visionary.

“He set the standard. Mr. Parks brought the sport class,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty in a speedwaymedia.com interview shortly after Parks’ death. “It took people like Mr. Parks to lay the foundation we’re living off of.

“And without him, we wouldn’t have the history we have and we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Parks’ contributions will be celebrated Jan. 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina, when he will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame (8 p.m. ET on NBCSN). His fellow inductees among the Hall’s Class of 2017 are Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Mark Martin and Benny Parsons. Continue reading →

2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Honors Five of Sports Greatest

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Portrait of the 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees, Bruton Smith, Jerry Cook and Terry Labonte following the induction ceremony at The NASCAR Hall of Fame, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016 Photo - Scott K. Brown/Pixel Factory

Portrait of the 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductees, Bruton Smith, Jerry Cook and Terry Labonte following the induction ceremony at The NASCAR Hall of Fame, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016 Photo – Scott K. Brown/Pixel Factory

2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Honors Five of Sport’s Greatest

Cook, Isaac, Labonte, Smith, Turner Officially Enshrined

Five of NASCAR’s iconic figures – four drivers and one motorsports entrepreneur – were enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina this afternoon during the Induction Ceremony held in the Crown Ball Room at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Those who added their names to the list of now 35 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees, included: Jerry Cook, Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte, O. Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner. Continue reading →

2016 NASCAR Hall Of Fame Class Announced

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Photo - NASCAR IMC

Photo – NASCAR IMC

Cook, Isaac, Labonte, Smith, Turner Comprise Hall’s Seventh Class

NASCAR announced today the inductees who will comprise the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2016. The five-person group – the seventh in NASCAR Hall of Fame history – consists of Jerry Cook, Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte, O. Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner. In addition, NASCAR announced that Harold Brasington won the Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Next year’s Induction Ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, broadcast on NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, live from Charlotte, N.C. Continue reading →