Tag: AJ Foyt

  • Hot 20 – If only the action at Pocono could be as cool as its name

    Hot 20 – If only the action at Pocono could be as cool as its name

    Some things matter. Some do not. Every weekend, no more than 30 entries matter to some degree. The rest do not.

    Most weekends NASCAR features a race and while some matter to race fans, most do not. Bristol, Charlotte, Darlington, Daytona, Sonoma, and Talladega races matter due to what they deliver and a long history of tradition.

    Some are loyal to the short tracks at Martinsville and Richmond. Indianapolis is an over-hyped crown jewel, great history but not much gripping action delivered. Homestead gets the nod as long as it hosts the final race of the season. Those tracks present 16 of the 36 points events each season.

    Pocono gives us two. It is a track ranked by some down amongst such venues as Chicago, Fontana, Kansas, and Kentucky. Cool name. Interesting layout. Lovely trees in the background. Like Indianapolis, it might be more entertaining for open-wheel racing than for the fender folk. Still, twice a year they return there, and twice a year I forget about the last one and actually look forward to the tri-oval. Each year I hope that it will all come together for a terrific contest.

    Maybe this year. Maybe this will be the one. It is a track that boasts of the performances put in by the likes of Jeff Gordon, Emerson Fittipaldi, Danny Sullivan, Juan Pablo Montoya, and A. J. Foyt.  Kyle Busch won there last July. Ryan Blaney is the defending June race champion. Chris Buescher won there for Bob Jenkins in 2016. Denny Hamlin has four Pocono wins. Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch each have claimed three.

    Yes, the highlight packages of the past from Pocono look truly awesome. The highlights. The actual action come race day….well, maybe this will be the year. I sure hope so. Such things matter.

    1. KYLE BUSCH – 4 WINS – 573 Pts
    If he runs at Pocono like he did at Charlotte, he might be the only one who matters.

    2. KEVIN HARVICK – 4 WINS – 1 E.W. – 485 Pts
    Today, that encumbered win comes in to play.

    3. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN – 506 Pts
    Picks up an average of 39 points per race. You do not have to be loved to be awesome.

    4. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. – 1 WIN – 430 Pts
    If he only had some Kryptonite to toss as Superman on Sunday, he could have won it.

    5. CLINT BOWYER – 1 WIN – 421 Pts
    Crew chief Mike (Buga) Bugarewicz would love a happy homecoming.

    6. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN – 244 Pts
    If he had finished second at Daytona, he would be less successful than Suarez.

    7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 437 POINTS
    Won Saturday’s Xfinity race. Please raise your hand if you give a damn.

    8. KURT BUSCH – 429 POINTS
    The only driver in NASCAR to have seen Kyle Busch wearing a diaper. I hope that is true.

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 429 POINTS
    “We’re either really good or we’re average at best.” Finishing third is average?

    10. KYLE LARSON – 382 POINTS
    Raced Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Raced Wednesday as an outlaw in Fairbury, Illinois.

    11. ARIC ALMIROLA – 376 POINTS
    The decision to move over from the King to join Smoke has proven to be a good one.

    12. RYAN BLANEY – 375 POINTS
    A cylinder let go around lap 150 and they tried to limp it home. Instead, they started a barbecue.

    13. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 327 POINTS
    Imagine. Almost an entire year with a single win. I bet Michael McDowell can.

    14. ERIK JONES – 314 POINTS
    Three bad luck pit road moments buried any hope of shining last Sunday.

    15. ALEX BOWMAN – 299 POINTS
    One of the greatest coaches in NHL history. What? Sorry, wrong Bowman.

    16. CHASE ELLIOTT – 296 POINTS
    According to TMZ, he believes “Judging Hooters Competition Harder Than Racing Cars”

    17. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 296 POINTS
    His Charlotte experience was better than someone else’s Indianapolis adventure.

    18. PAUL MENARD – 263 POINTS
    Another Cup guy racing Xfinity on Saturday. One more young driver fails to get a ride.

    19. DANIEL SUAREZ – 245 POINTS
    More than 50 points out of the Chase…unless he wins. Winning is always good.

    20. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 231 POINTS
    One ahead of Newman and Byron, two up on Wallace.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: The Profit on CNBC 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: The Profit on CNBC 500

    With the first knock out qualifying of the season and special guests like AJ Foyt celebrating the 50th anniversary of Phoenix International Speedway, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from The Profit on CNBC 500 presented by Small Business Fueling America.

    Surprising:  While Kevin Harvick may be known as the ‘Closer’ and ‘Freaky Fast’, he can now add a surprising new moniker, that of ‘Leader’.

    Harvick led more than 200 laps for the fourth time in the Cup Series, as well as leading a race-high 224 laps.

    The driver of the No. 4 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet also took the lead from six-time champ Jimmie Johnson as the winningest driver at Phoenix International Raceway with five victories.

    Finally, Harvick became the leader of the pack at Stewart-Haas Racing, grabbing the team’s first win, as well as his first win with his new team.

    “This just solidifies so many things and so many decisions,” Harvick said after the race. “What a race car.”

    Not Surprising:  With PIR being a one-miler, it was not surprising that there was at least one short-track temper tantrum. And this time, that honor went to Danica Patrick, who was more than annoyed with Justin Allgaier.

    “That damn 51 was driving like a complete jack**s out there,” Patrick said. “I’m not at all surprised we wrecked.”

    Patrick went on to spin out again as a result of the damage inflicted in the incident with Allgaier’s car, finishing 36th.  Since she also crashed out in the Daytona 500, she now sits 41st in owner points for the 2014 season, potentially endangering her chances in making races if she continues on that path.

    Surprising:  In spite of significant and integral parts of their team missing, with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s spotter TJ Majors out for medical reasons and Brad Keselowski’s crew chief Paul Wolfe out for the birth of his child, both drivers did their missing compadres proud.

    Dale Junior finished second in his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet and Brad Keselowski finished right behind him in third in his No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford. This was Earnhardt Jr.’s 11th top-10 finish and Keselowski’s fourth top-10 finish at Phoenix International Raceway.

    “Yeah we had a great car,” Junior said. “We leaned on our teammates and got the car a lot better.  Steve (Letarte) and those guys just keep getting better and better.  These cars I’m driving I think are the best in the garage.”

    “That was everything we could do to get up there and get third,’ Keselowski said. “We did the best we could and that was really all we had.”

    Both drivers texted and tweeted their respective missing team members before and after the race, keeping them as connected as possible, as well as celebrating their good finishes together.

    Not Surprising:  With Team Penske being stout in qualifying it was no surprise that Joey Logano also had a good finish in his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, taking the checkered flag in the fourth spot. In addition, Logano also had the quote of the race day.

    “It was fun out there,” Logano said. “I had a really good Shell Pennzoil Ford but that 4 car was just so fast.”

    “I was joking on the radio that on the back bumper of that car it says freaky fast and they weren’t lying when they put that on there.”

    Surprising:  Kasey Kahne, who had surprisingly been the lone Hendrick Motorsports struggler, fought off an ill handling car to catch up to his teammates, finishing 11th.

    “The guys battled hard today,” Kahne tweeted after the race. “11th was good for us after all that. On to Vegas!”

    HMS drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson also had good runs, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

    Not Surprising:  Phoenix International Raceway, which requires some finesse and experience, was not quite so kind to the rookies in the field. In fact, the highest finishing rookie was Kyle Larson in the 20th position.

    Austin Dillon finished 24th; Cole Whitt 27th; Justin Allgaier 30th; Michael Annett 34th; Ryan Truex 35th; Alex Bowman 41st and Parker Kligerman 42nd.

    Surprising:  Casey Mears, behind the wheel of the No. 13 Geico Chevrolet had another surprisingly good run finishing top-15. Mears had a great run in the Daytona 500, taking the checkered flag in the tenth spot.

    So, after leaving Phoenix, albeit only the second race of the season, Mears now sits 11th in the point standings, having one of his best starts to the year.

    Not Surprising:   Kurt Busch, who had been a student at the University of Arizona, returned to the state to learn one tough lesson at PIR, blowing an engine to finish 39th in the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet.

    “That was another disappointing finish for the No. 41 team,” Busch said. “We had a good Haas Automation Chevrolet early on and ran in the top-10 for more than 200 laps but we dropped a cylinder late in the race and couldn’t do anything to fix it.”

    “We learned some things today,” Busch continued. “The school of hard knocks happens out on the road and in life.”

    Surprising:  While Kurt Busch was fighting his own engine demons, Brian Vickers was facing some surprising challenges of his own, turning his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota into a nightmare.

    “The second run we were trying to make an adjustment and the left rear jack screw broke so we didn’t get our adjustment,” Vickers said. “I think we even went the wrong way and that killed us — we lost track position and went a lap down.”

    Vickers soldiered on to finish the race in the 25th position.

    Not Surprising:  Ryan Newman served as leader of the Richard Childress Racing team, finishing seventh in his No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet.

    “The guys did a good job in the pits,” Newman said. “We caught a good break with the debris caution but that happens. I’m sure we’ll get the opposite at some point this year, too.”

    The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Kobalt 400 on Sunday, March 9th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its prerace show at 2 p.m.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]From the command to start engine from Victory Junction Gang campers to Brad Keselowski manning the tank to rip up the Kansas track after the race ended, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 2nd Annual STP 400.

    Surprising:  While Kansas may be known as the Land of Oz, it was more like the land of highs and lows for this race day, with an extremely high number of engine failures and pit errors to a record low number of cautions.

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard, was one of the first to struggle on pit road, missing it completely as he attempted to pit early in the race. Other drivers, such as Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick barely made it to the pits after running short on fuel. And even five-time champion Jimmie Johnson had his own set of pit woes with his team struggling with a loose lug nut.

    There were also an extremely high number of engine problems, affecting  drivers from Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin to four-time champion Jeff Gordon, all of whose engines either sputtered or just plain blew up completely.

    And as for cautions, there were only three, the lowest ever for a Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway. Although there was the lowest number of cautions, on the flip side, the average speed was surprisingly the highest at Kansas, 144.126 mph, a new track record.

    Not Surprising:  On the rough surface of the Kansas Speedway, it was not surprising that tires made all the difference in the outcome of the race. Just ask Martin Truex, Jr. whose tires fell off after leading 173 laps, costing him the race win and handing it to Denny Hamlin with just 31 laps to go.

    “We put that last set of tires on and it wasn’t anything like it had been all day long – just bad, bad loose,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry said. “We had them. I don’t know what happened with that last set of tires but they were terrible.”

    With Truex’s tire troubles, Denny Hamlin capitalized, scoring his 19th victory in 231 Cup Series races. This was the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota driver’s second victory and fourth top-10 finish in the 2012 season. It was also the first time his manufacturer, Toyota, was in victory lane at Kansas.

    “I knew that he was driving his heart out as well as I was driving mine,” Hamlin said. “What got me the lead was driving hard and that’s kind of where we were able to stretch it out.”

    Surprising:  After scoring the pole position, it was surprisingly heartbreaking that the troubles that have been omnipresent for A.J. Allmendinger continued. The driver of the No. 22 AAA Dodge for Penske Racing went from race leader to a 32nd place finish because of engine troubles.

    “Man, it’s just starting to feel like ‘Ground Hog’s Day’,” Allmendinger said. “We were off to such a great start and then the gremlins hit us.”

    “Not sure how to explain it other than you’re on the pole one minute riding around leading laps and then the next thing you know your car isn’t right,” Dinger continued. “I just couldn’t believe it. Like I said, ‘Ground Hog Day.’

    Not Surprising:  With his confidence growing, it was not surprising to see fellow Penske racer Sam Hornish Jr. have a respectable run in his one off deal for the team. The driver of the No. 12 SKF Penske Dodge scored a 19th place finish.

    “We had a decent day,” Hornish Jr. said. “We led some laps and made a very respectable effort.”

    “It was good to get back in a Cup car again.”

    Surprising:  Since everyone wants to win in front of their friends and family, it was surprising that no home town heroes were in victory lane at Kansas Speedway. Carl Edwards, who was able to drive to the track from his home, finished ninth and Clint Bowyer, fellow Kansas native, had engine troubles, finishing in the 36th spot.

    “It was just a major bummer,” Clint Bowyer, the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, said. “I just wish it wouldn’t have happened here.”

    “It wasn’t a great result but a really good effort,” Edwards said of his run in the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion. “I wanted to win here more than anything but we get to come back.”

    “It’s humbling and I can’t wait to come back,” Edwards continued. “We’ll do it.”

    Not Surprising:   The quest for the 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports is not surprisingly beginning to resemble the streak that Susan Lucci experienced with her Daytime Emmy awards. While Hendrick Motorsports had a fairly good day, with the exception of Jeff Gordon, the 200th victory still remains elusive.

    “It just didn’t happen,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger said. “As a group, we know it’s coming.”

    “It’s just when you have a target, it always makes it more challenging,” Gordon continued. “We’re trying not to put too much pressure on us with that and just trying to go out and do our thing and do our job.”

    Surprising:  While Hendrick Motorsports struggled to reach their 200th win marker at Kansas, it was surprising to note that there is another quest for a 200th victory. The race winning No. 11 car in fact now has 199 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories, breaking a tie for most wins all-time with the No. 43.

    Other drivers who have won in the No. 11 car include Cale Yarborough with 55 wins, Ned Jarrett with 49, Darrell Waltrip with 43, Denny Hamlin with 19, Junior Johnson with 11, Bill Elliott with 6, Geoff Bodine with 4, Terry Labonte with 4, Bobby Allison with 3, Buddy Baker with 2, A.J. Foyt with 1, Mario Andretti with 1 and Parnelli Jones with 1.

    Not Surprising:  Greg Biffle, to no one’s surprise, has continued his consistently good runs. The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford finished fifth and more important maintained his points lead.

    “It’s not a disappointing day for a fifth-place finish,” Biffle said. “But it’s probably a disappointing day for how the car ran.”

    “It feels good to be disappointed with a fifth-place finish,” Biff continued. “Fifth is OK but we wanted to compete better on the race track.”

     

  • NASCAR Beginnings Featuring an Interview with ‘Tiger’ Tom Pistone

    NASCAR Beginnings Featuring an Interview with ‘Tiger’ Tom Pistone

    “Tiger” Tom Pistone was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 17, 1929. He began racing in 1950 at the age of 21 and became a legend at the famed Soldier Field where he won three consecutive championships from 1951-1953. He remains the all-time winner there with approximately 38 feature wins.

    He has often been called one of the best short track drivers of all time. Glenn “Fireball” Roberts once described Pistone as, “The toughest guy there is to beat on quarters and half-milers.”

    During his career, he competed in both the NASCAR Grand National and Convertible divisions.

    Pistone’s first win in a NASCAR-sanctioned race was at Soldier Field in 1956. He drove his 1956 Chevy ragtop to victory lane after passing leader Curtis Turner with only six laps to go. He captured his second NASCAR win, again at Soldier Field, in the Hardtop Series in 1957.

    His most competitive season was also his first full-time season.  In 1959, he scored two victories, 12 top-five finishes and ended the year in sixth place in the point standings in the Grand National Series. He scored a third win that year in the Convertible Series.

    His racing career lasted from 1955-1968 with two wins, 29 top-fives, and 53 top-ten finishes in 130 starts in NASCAR’s premier series. Pistone was known not only for his skill behind the wheel but for his ability to set up a racecar that could withstand his aggressive driving.

    “When I came south in 1955, they more or less had strictly stock automobiles,” explained Pistone.  “They were cars like you actually drove on the street.”

    Pistone changed all that. His innovative ideas and expertise led to a second career building racecars and engines. Drivers like Harry Gant and Bobby Issac drove to victory lane in his equipment. His most successful partnership came when he teamed up with his friend Tiny Lund in the 1960s.

    You’ll read about drivers with more wins and championships, but you would be hard pressed to find any with more heart and soul than Tiger Tom Pistone.

    His career is a reflection of the all the drivers who shaped the early beginnings of NASCAR.

    Pistone’s story began in 1950 when he met Andy Granatelli, a promoter at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

    “He more or less organized all the races,” Pistone said. “You run the way he wanted you to run. A lot of people didn’t know but in his races, the white flag was the winner, not the checkered flag. He put a show on.”

    The racers were a different breed and they handled problems with other drivers in their own way, without a rule book or a NASCAR official. Crashing someone on the track or fistfights after the race was not uncommon.

    “In Chicago, it was that way,” Pistone continues. All they did was fight and crash each other. It was pretty bad. But it was exciting for the fans. They loved it.”

    “Back then you had to be a man. I used to tell those guys, we’re all the same size in a racecar. I’m only 5’2” and I used to bring 10 guys with me to every race. You had to.”

    “Tiger” Tom had his admirers back in the day and one of them was a youngster named Fred Lorenzen. “His Mom used to tell me that Freddy wanted to be just like me when he grew up.”

    Pistone goes on to recall how he sold the “great” Lorenzen his first race car.

    Remembering Lorenzen, he says, “He was the first one that did pit stops.” And then he pauses and says, “We used to laugh at him and say what the heck is that guy doing?”

    Both Granatelli and Lorenzen would later play a pivotal role in Pistone’s career. Pistone calls it “the sore spot of my life,” as he recounts the story.

    Pistone came up with the idea to visit his old friend Andy Granatelli and talk him into sponsoring his cars in NASCAR. Granatelli had become prominent as a sponsor in Indianapolis and became an Indianapolis 500 winner in 1969 with driver Mario Andretti.

    “So Tiny and I flew to Indianapolis and we met him in the hotel and we got him to agree to sponsor our car.”

    Or at least they thought they had an agreement. But Granatelli decided to sponsor Fred Lorenzen instead.  However, that partnership didn’t last long and Lorenzen soon lost the sponsorship to Richard Petty. The rest, as they say, is history.

    Jack Roush, owner of Roush Fenway Racing explained the significance of that partnership.

    “When Richard did the STP sponsorship deal it forever changed the business model in American motorsports,” said Jack Roush. “At a time when a lot of people were panicking about money, not unlike today, he and that company presented a solution that changed the face of racing.”

    Pistone’s passion for the sport is evident as he talks about his experiences and the drivers he competed against.

    When he moved his family to North Carolina to continue his career, his biggest competitors were the drivers who got their start running moonshine. According to Pistone, “Junior Johnson was the kingpin and Junior Johnson and I were good friends. Junior helped me a lot in the racing industry. He’s the one that got Winston into racing and Winston put NASCAR on the map. Junior used to help me out with parts. Anything I wanted, he gave me. That’s the only way I survived.”

    Who were the best drivers in NASCAR? According to Pistone, “Larry Frank (Pop), Curtis Turner, Fred Lorenzen and Junior Johnson were some of the toughest drivers in racing.”

    Of course, he didn’t get along with all the drivers.

    “Buck Baker was about the meanest guy I ever met in my life. He just didn’t like Yankees. Jack Smith, guys like Speedy Thompson, they didn’t like Yankees. I didn’t even know I was a Yankee because I didn’t know what history was. When I was in Chicago I threw my history books away so I didn’t understand what they were talking about when they started calling me a Yankee.”

    Another memorable driver was Joe Weatherly who Pistone called, “the comedian of NASCAR.  Joe used to pull so many jokes on us guys.”

    Some of Weatherly’s pranks included stealing all the keys out of everyone’s racecars before the race or stealing all the gas caps. Pistone fondly remembers the time he says “Weatherly messed with the wrong guy.”

    “That guy was my great friend, the late Larry Frank, who we used to call Pop.” Pop chased Weatherly through the parking lot running from rooftop to rooftop. He never caught Weatherly who was still boasting about how he got away the next day.

    “He better be glad Pop did not catch him is all I got to say,” recalls Pistone.

    The stories kept coming as he talks about AJ Foyt.

    You have to remember that back then, the rules weren’t so well defined. Finding the gray areas and seeing how far they could push the boundaries was just part of the sport.

    So what did Pistone think of Foyt?

    “He was a bigger cheater than I was,” he said laughing. Then he tells a story to illustrate his point.

    “Do you remember when Tommy Irwin went into the lake?” This happened at Daytona in 1960 during a qualifying run. Irwin escaped safely, but the incident scared Pistone.

    “I went out and bought a life jacket and an oxygen tube because I couldn’t swim.”

    But Foyt took advantage of the opportunity. “He took one of those (oxygen) tanks, put it in his car and filled it up with nitrous oxide and got away with it. Still laughing, Pistone said, “AJ was the best.”

    At the age of 82, Pistone is still active in the racing industry and shows no interest in slowing down. Pistone will tell you, “If you want to stay young you got to keep working.”

    His business ‘Tiger Tom Pistone Race Cars and Parts’ is thriving. Most days you’ll find him at his shop setting up cars and selling parts for all divisions of racing with an emphasis on Legend and Bandolero cars. He loves to mentor young drivers and is always there to lend a helping hand.

    When he’s not at his shop you’ll usually find him at the track.

    In 1987, Pistone took time off from his race car building and parts business to compete at Hickory Motor Speedway in a race for retired drivers. Showing that he still has what it takes, he took the checkered flag and drove into victory lane once again.

    In the early 1990’s, Pistone began his involvement with the INEX Legends series. This series is often a training ground for drivers hoping to progress to the NASCAR level.

    “When Humpy Wheeler first started it, he needed a technical director to help make the rules,” explained Pistone.  “So that’s how I got involved.  Then my grandsons got in it, and that’s what kept me in racing.”

    Pistone has been active in charities since 1957 and has his own foundation that he calls the Legends of Stock Car Racing. He works to raise money that will help former drivers and crew members who have fallen on hard times. It’s his way of giving back to those who helped make NASCAR what it is today.

    He recently teamed up with Jack Roush to help Steven Kraft, a NASCAR fan with stage four cancer. Pistone’s daughter had learned about the young man on Facebook and her father immediately wanted to do something to help.

    Pistone gives a lot of credit to Jack Roush for taking their idea and making it a reality.

    “Jack Roush is a good man. He helped my daughter Chrissy and I do a decal for David Ragan’s car in honor of Steven Kraft.   Jack Roush is a fine man and has all my respect and my family’s respect. He even texted me pictures of him and David holding the decal up so Steven could watch it from his hospital room. Thank you, Jack and David, for doing this special tribute!”

    It sounds like Pistone has done it all. But he has one more thing he would like to accomplish.

    His newest project is focused on helping one of his grandsons, Tommy III, pursue his NASCAR dream. They’re looking for sponsors now and plan to enter him in the Camping World Truck Series in 2012.

    The name of the team is the ‘Pistone Racing Team” and his crew chief will be the one Tommy III calls his “pint-sized hero, Grandpa Tiger Tom.”

    Tiger Tom and his wife Crystal raised Tommy III since he was 18 months old, after the loss of their son Tommy Jr. Tommy III has been through a lot in his young life. He battled with cancer at the age of 15 but won the fight and the Pistone family thanks God that he is still with them.

    Courage and strength of character are something he learned from his grandparents.

    “We had eight kids, four boys and four girls and we’ve lost a daughter and two sons. It’s not natural to outlive your children.  No parent should have to endure this horrific pain and huge loss and emptiness in your heart. “

    Tiger’s advice is to “cherish every day God gives you with your children or loved ones. Seize the day because a hug, a kiss or anything could be the last time.”

    Pistone is taking his own advice and living each day to its fullest. After all, there’s still one more dream he hopes to achieve. His ultimate goal is to win a championship with his grandson.

    Once a racer, always a racer.

    Achievements:

    1953 – 1955 Three consecutive championships at Soldier Field

    2010 – Inducted into the Racers Reunion Hall of Fame at Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville, NC

    2011 – Recipient of Smokey Yunick Achievement Award in Daytona, FL

    2011 – Recipient of Smokey Yunick Achievement Award at Charlotte Motor Speedway

    2011- Inducted into Jacksonville Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame on December 10, 2011

    2012 –Will be inducted into Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame on April 14, 2012

    Award from The Augusta International Speedway presented in an oak framed glass display with a picture of the Speedway in Atlanta and an original guardrail bolt

    A Special Thanks to Tiger Tom Pistone and his daughter Chrissy and to Racing Radio 740 The Game