1001 NASCAR Facts. John Close

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      71 One of the biggest detriments to launching a Strictly Stock division after World War II was the lack of new cars. Out of production since 1942, auto manufacturers had to retool before they could offer the public more than warmed-over pre-war styles. That put the Strictly Stock racing idea on hold until 1949 leaving the modified division to do most of the racing from 1945 to 1949. These 1937-and-newer coupes and sedans were required to have a stock-appearing look by retaining full fenders and windshields. They were also required to use the original ignition system and gas tank. The engine rules were wide-open as there were no bore and stroke requirements (they could be made as large as the engine could withstand). New and/or multiple carburetors, ground crankshafts and cams, and high-compression heads were also allowed to produce engines that could carry the small, lightweight cars to speeds well over 120 mph.

       Red Byron (22) and Swain Prichett (17) battle their way through a pack of cars at the Hall County Fairgrounds in Gainesville, Georgia, on July 4, 1947. (Photo Courtesy Georgia Racing Hall of Fame)

      72 While new tubeless and radial tire designs were introduced and manufactured in the 1940s, most racing tires were still bias-ply rayon cord construction. The use of regular passenger car or truck tires got a boost in the late 1940s with the introduction of the 4-ply rayon cord tire. Although the thicker rubber carcass of the tires created more heat at high speeds, the double strength four-plies advanced both safety and speed because they stood up to the rigors of racing better than prior two-ply models.

      73 NASCAR legend Ralph Moody’s first car (a 1940 Ford Coupe) is typical of the low-buck stock cars that competed throughout the South after the end of the war. Moody’s car remained stock to a large degree, with wheelwells enlarged for clearance and the doors welded shut for safety. Both front and rear bumpers were removed and replaced with steel “booger bars.” Under the hood, the mostly stock 239-ci Ford Flathead V-8 was bored out to a total displacement of 250 ci. Thanks to performance parts such as an Ed Iskenderian camshaft and a Stromberg 97 carburetor, the engine produced an estimated 100 hp. The power was delivered to the wheels through a stock 3-speed transmission and a Ford 3.78 rear-end gear. As with many stock cars of the day, Moody’s car retained its headlights so it could be driven home after the race.

      74 Lee Petty was a hardscrabble farmer from Level Cross, North Carolina, when, at the age of 35, he decided to give stock car racing a try in 1948. Petty and his brother Julie built a stock car out of an old 1937 Plymouth coupe and entered it in a race at Danville, Virginia. Amazingly, Petty won and at his next racing event in Roanoke, Virginia, finished second. Buoyed by his success, Petty borrowed a Buick Roadmaster from Gilmer Goode and headed to Charlotte for the first NASCAR Strictly Stock race in 1949. The big car was no match for the hard-cornering racing conditions and Petty wound up barrel-rolling the new vehicle into scrap iron. After the race, Petty swore he’d never race a big, heavy vehicle again and when he returned for the third NASCAR Strictly Stock race at Occoneechee Speedway, it was in a 1949 Plymouth Business Man’s two-door coupe. Powered by an inline Plymouth 6-cylinder engine, the lightweight car, producing just 97 hp, proved to be a formidable racer as Petty posted five-straight top-10 finishes, including the brand’s first NASCAR win at Heidelberg (Pittsburgh) Speedway October 2, 1949. The $1,500 Heidelberg first prize, and more than $3,300 in season winnings, gave Petty the money and the resolve to continue racing Plymouths to six wins through the 1952 season. Petty switched his efforts to Dodge in 1953 after Chrysler Corporation introduced its new Hemi V-8.

      75 The success of NASCAR’s new Strictly Stock division in 1949 was based on the premise that each car had to be as close as possible to what an Average Joe could purchase. Meaning, for the first season, 1947–1949 American manufactured cars were eligible to enter. Unlike today’s modern rulebook, however, the Strictly Stock had just two rules. The first was that the car must be showroom stock. The second rule allowed for the installation of a steel reinforcing plate on the passenger-side front wheel. This was done in the interest in safety because without the reinforcement, the lug nuts would likely pull through the wheel due to heavy loading in the corners.

      76 While duct tape earned the nickname, “200-miles-an-hour tape” in modern NASCAR, the first widely used tape in the sport was masking tape. Drivers spent hours prior to a 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock race taping off the headlights, signallights, and taillights as well as bright work, including bumpers, grilles, and bodyside and roof moldings. A giant visor made of masking tape was also often placed across the top of windshield. All this was done to protect the car from debris that kicked up off the track or beach at speed during a race. At the conclusion of the event, the “100-mph masking tape” was easily removed, any residue cleaned up with a little body solvent, and the car was ready to drive back home after the race.

      77 Initially, the Roadster Division was part of Bill France Sr.’s vision for NASCAR. France knew he couldn’t hang his hat on only Modified races, so Roadsters and a Strictly Stock division seemed like complementary add-ons. Besides, Roadsters were already playing to big car counts and crowds, especially across the Northeast and Midwest. As much as he wanted it to succeed, Roadster racing never really caught on with the predominantly Southern fan base. As late as February 1949, France was trying to make the Roadsters part of the mix with the First-Annual National Gran Prix Roadster Classic. The Broward Speedway race attracted the best Roadster drivers of the day including “King of the Roadsters,” Dick Frazier, an Indiana driver who won an incredible 21-straight Roadster events in 1948. Bob Flock wound up winning the 100-mile event, but the writing was on the wall for Roadsters in general as NASCAR dropped the Yankee Division in 1950 and the class had all but faded away by the middle of the decade.

      78 Chrysler Corporation didn’t invent hydraulic brakes, but did introduce the first reliable hydraulic disc brake system as standard equipment in a mass-produced car, the 1949 Chrysler Imperial. The system featured the now-familiar flat pressure plates (or discs) coated with a lining called Cyclebond. Front disc brakes became common in NASCAR for the next two decades. Team owner Roger Penske, driver Mark Donohue, and their AMC Matador became the first to use a four-wheel disc brake configuration on a Winston Cup car at Riverside, California, in 1973.

       The Olds nameplate first visited the Strictly Stock and later the Grand National Victory Lane 35 times from 1949 to 1952. Bill Rexford scored one of those wins en route to the 1950 NASCAR Strictly Stock championship. (Photo Courtesy General Motors)

      79 New technologies mastered in World War II launched a wave of automobile innovation after the war. One wartime achievement was the development of aviation gasoline formulas that produced higher octane. By mating high-octane gas with higher compression limits, post-war automotive engineers at General Motors created a new overhead valve V-8 and introduced it in select 1949 Oldsmobile and Cadillac models. The 303-ci powerplant featured a shorter, stiffer cast-iron engine block housing, aluminum pistons, and forged steel crankshaft topped with a dual-plane intake manifold and 2-barrel downdraft carburetor. Power was rated at 135 ponies and it could push a 3,580-pound 1949 Olds Club Coupe from 0 to 60 mph in 13 seconds. The new combination (quickly coined The Rocket 88), was the “hot iron” on the block, winning five of eight 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock events. The ultimate success of the new engine spurred a wave of Big Three V-8 innovations with Chrysler introducing its Hemi V-8 in 1951 and Ford the Y-block in 1954.

      80 The first NASCAR Strictly Stock race at Charlotte СКАЧАТЬ