Curtis Turner ... Born ... One of NASCAR's earliest starts and among its most controversial drivers....won 17 poles and 17 races in his career, which spanned 1949 through 1968....he won the fourth Winston Cup race of its inaugural season of 1949, then won 16 more, almost all of them during the '50s....he was suspended fron competition by NASCAR president Bill France, Sr. in 1960 because he tried to organize the drivers for the Teamsters Union...was the first president of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and needed a loan from the Teamsters in 1960 to repay creditors....when France got wind of it, he banned Turner until late in the 1965 season. During the time that he was banned from NASCAR Turner raced in the USAC stock car series....he died in a plane crash in 1970.
Buck Baker scored his first career NASCAR Grand National win, taking the 100 mile race on the 1/2 mile dirt Columbia Speedway in Columbia, South Carolina. Baker's Hudson Hornet finished 14 seconds ahead of Lee Petty in a Plymouth. Petty took the point lead from Fonty Flock, sidelined with a dislocated shoulder suffered in an April 6th Martinsville flip. Gober Sosebee filled in for Flock. On lap 25, a spectator tried to drive his car across the track and E.C. Ramsey's Ford slammed into it. The furious Ramsey climbed out of his car and beat up the drunken driver.
Ross Cheever... Born ... an American race car driver and is the younger brother of former Formula One driver and Indianapolis 500 champion Eddie Cheever. Born in Rome, Ross never completed a full season in elite level motorsport, however, he did make four CART starts for A.J. Foyt Enterprises in 1992 and drove for Dome in Formula 3000 and Japanese Formula Three in the early 1990's. He retired in 1994 but returned to become a test driver for Eddie's Cheever Racing in 2000 as the team transitioned to Infiniti engines. He was entered in a second Cheever Racing car for the Indianapolis 500 and completed rookie orientation but did not make a qualifying attempt.
A.J. Foyt won the 30 lap USAC Sprint Car race over Johnny White and Jimmy Maguire at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove, PA.
Parnelli Jones , driving the #98 Edwards Offy, won the 50 lap USAC Midget race at the Orange Show Stadium, San Bernadino,CA.
Will Cagle won the Modified Stock Car race over Jackie Evans, Rags Carter, Leon Manchester and Pee Wee Griffin at the Orange County Fair Speedway, Middletown, NY.
( Click here for the race report. )
Bobby Allen won the Super Sprint Car race over Bobby Tester and Kenny Weld at the Lincoln Speedway, Hanover, PA.
( Click here for the race report. )
Johnny Grum won the Super Sprint Car race over Leroy Felty, Junior Ritchey, Elmer Ruby and Lou Johnson at the Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal,PA.
( Click here for the race report. )
Pete Hamilton won the NASCAR GN 'Alabama 500' on the 2.66 mile Alabama International Motor Speedway in Talladega, Alabama. Hamilton took the lead when Buddy Baker pitted his Cotton Owens' Dodge Daytona. Baker, who had led 105 laps, was closing on Hamilton when a tire blew and rubber chunks ruptured the oil cooler, setting Baker's car on fire. Baker spun the car to extinguish the flames and was OK. Baker's retirement left Hamilton with a lap lead over Bobby Isaac. Hamilton backed off and took the Petty Enterprises Plymouth SuperBird across the line 44 seconds ahead of Isaac's Krauskopf Dodge. Other happenings: Goodyear introduced a new treadless tire, Junior Johnson & Banjo Matthews' teams with drivers Donnie Allison & LeeRoy Yarbrough again boycotted Talladega, Cale Yarborough had a beer bottle go through his windshield and the race was the first live network telecast since 1960. Isaac won the pole at a speed of 199.658 mph.
Larry Dickson won the 40 lap USAC Sprint Car race at the Dayton Speedway, Dayton, OH. Johnny Parsons was second followed by Gary Bettenhausen, Cy Fairchild, Lee Kunzman and Greg Weld.
ONE DAY
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