Cale Yarborough dies at age 84

[PontiacHO]

Me too. I liked them all , even the Pettys, but The King did have quite a few (well, many) advantages the others did not.
So I really liked n pulled for Cale, the Allisons and even David Pearson. The sport has seen lots of good guys pass thru but that was a magic time when Cale and the others were always out front and trading paint!

Buddy Baker said when Pearson puts out his cigarette he is coming to the front. All these old guys drove cars that couldn’t be driven by today’s current drivers. Bias ply tires with the right rear hanging out in the corners at 170+. The brief time when Pearson was a car owner (retired) with his son driving was telling in many ways. The son was practicing on the track and couldn’t get the car up to speed. Pearson’s team tried different adjustments etc.. Finally David Pearson gets in the car and turned several laps that were fast enough to have put the car in the top five quickest cars of the previous year’s race. He tossed his son the helmet and said, it ain’t the car…

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Buddy Baker said when Pearson puts out his cigarette he is coming to the front. All these old guys drove cars that couldn’t be driven by today’s current drivers. Bias ply tires with the right rear hanging out in the corners at 170+. The brief time when Pearson was a car owner (retired) with his son driving was telling in many ways. The son was practicing on the track and couldn’t get the car up to speed. Pearson’s team tried different adjustments etc.. Finally David Pearson gets in the car and turned several laps that were fast enough to have put the car in the top five quickest cars of the previous year’s race. He tossed his son the helmet and said, it ain’t the car…

My Dad had a brother who lived very close to several race tracks in Tennesse & the Carolinas. He knew people at Bristol race track plus the old Nashville Speedway. Uncle Pete told me a friend at the Nashville track arranged for him to drive one of the older - well used - retired stock cars they kept around in running condition. There was even a small , up start amatuer driving school there at the time.
He planned to take the car for 2-3 laps. He said that ONE lap was all he wanted after he found out what it was all about. Pete said in the late 50s he was in the Armored Division in the US Army and was a tank crew member and he said driving that stock car was more of a fight than it ever was for him to drive an Army tank! LoL He said he always had in his head "I bet I could compete on those speedways in stock cars!" until he tried it. NOT. Said it was like wrestling a bear with your hands tied.

 

[PontiacHO]

That’s a great story and a real account of how hard it was then especially to drive those cars. **** Trickle made a comment about driving at Bristol “It’s like driving a fighter jet inside a football stadium “. By the way, he was NASCAR Rookie of the Year at 48 years old.

 

[bbhero]

That’s a great story and a real account of how hard it was then especially to drive those cars. **** Trickle made a comment about driving at Bristol “It’s like driving a fighter jet inside a football stadium “. By the way, he was NASCAR Rookie of the Year at 48 years old.

Actually **** Trickle said, “ it is like flying a fighter jet inside a gymnasium “ That’s what Trickle said.

I saw and heard that on the Bristol race with Bob Jenkins on espn calling that race. I think it was the 1990 spring race when he said that. Or the 1991 spring race.

Those nascar races are on YouTube…

 

[fantastic]

Rip

 

[joekingcorvette]

Brings back old memories. RIP.

 

[PontiacHO]

Actually **** Trickle said, “ it is like flying a fighter jet inside a gymnasium “ That’s what Trickle said.

I saw and heard that on the Bristol race with Bob Jenkins on espn calling that race. I think it was the 1990 spring race when he said that. Or the 1991 spring race.

Those nascar races are on YouTube…

Thanks. I couldn’t recall the exact statement but either way, it ain’t easy!