Throwback Thursday: October 6
– On this date in 1957 Bob Welborn dominated the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway (VA) on his way to victory. Welborn started on the outside of the front row and led 435 laps in his 1957 Chevy Convertible. Jimmy Massey was second, the only other car on the lead lap. Lee Petty was third, two laps down.
THE THIRD TURN: 1957 Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway
– In USAC Stock Car action in 1963, Paul Goldsmith won on this date at Illiana Speedway (IN) in the Tony Bettenhausen Memorial. Goldsmith won twice that season at Illiana as Don White won the USAC Stock Car title with 12 top 10 runs in 16 races.
– David Pearson conquered the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (NC) on this date in 1974. From the pole, Pearson took the Wood Brothers Mercury to win after leading 91 laps. Richard Petty was second and a young Darrell Waltrip was third. Petty was the champion that year with 10 wins, Person won seven times in 19 starts, but missing 11 races left him third in the standings.
THE THIRD TURN: 1974 National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
– Sticking with the Charlotte theme, Geoff Bodine pulled a minor upset over Davey Allison in 1991, who had won the All-Star Race and the 600 at Charlotte leading up to the fall race. Bodine led 23 laps to score the win over Allison, trailing by 11 seconds at the end of the race. Mark Martin led 198 laps before his engine expired after halfway. Dale Earnhardt lost a motor 32 laps from the finish, but picked up key points on Ricky Rudd that day to help seal the title.
THE THIRD TURN: 1991 Mello Yello 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
– Kirk Shelmerdine is widely known as the former Crew Chief for Dale Earnhardt for four of his NASCAR Cup titles. Once he left the RCR team after 1992 he got to fill his passion for driving, and on this day he won the Winston Sportsman 100 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (NC) in 1993. Wally Fowler was second in the field that was dominated by the old Monte Carlo bodies. Shelmerdine would later go on to run NASCAR Cup events with his own team as an owner and a driver.
THE THIRD TURN: 1993 Winston Sportsman 100 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
– The race was on for the gun at the Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway (IN) in 2002. Gary St. Amant led 99 laps from his fourth starting spot and took home the historic trophy. Despite the win and 18 finishes in the top 10 in 20 races he lost the ASA National Tour title to Joey Clanton by a single point. The Georgia driver finished third after Kyle Busch broke in the late laps. Clanton was four laps down, but he did lead 21 circuits. Bond Suss was the crew chief for Clanton who won one of the craziest finishes in ASA Championship history.
THE THIRD TURN: 2002 Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway
