The inaugural World 100 winner, four storied Southern drivers and a chassis
manufacturer are among members the Class of 2009 for the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.
The class, which will be inducted August 8th at the North South 100 $50,000 to win dirt late model race at Florence Speedway in Union Kentucky was revealed at K-C Raceway at Chilicothe Ohio last October during the 28th annual Dirt Track World Championship weekend.
Bruce Gould of Milford, Ohio, the 1971 World 100 winner at Eldora Speedway
who died last August, leads six driver inductees, four of whom will be inducted posthumously.
The other late inductees are Tennessee's Tootle Estes, North Carolina's Stick Elliott and Alabama's Gene Chupp, the father of veteran crew chief and driver Randle Chupp.
Also being inducted are just-retired Michigan driver Kris Patterson and Mississippi's Don Hester, the first-ever champion on the 26-year-old O'Reilly Southern All Star Series.
Those entering the hall as outstanding contributors to Dirt Late Model racing are Carlton Lamm, long-time car owner with North Carolina-based Dunn-Benson Motorsports, and Mark Richards, the co-founder of West Virginia's Rocket Chassis.
Long-time NASCAR driver and Dirt Late Model racer Ken Schrader was awarded the 2009 Hall of Fame Sportsman Award.
The induction ceremonies are scheduled for Aug. 8, 2009, at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., the site of the Hall of Fame.
Inductees will be honored that afternoon prior to action for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned North-South 100 at the half-mile oval in northern Kentucky.
A closer look at the inductees:
Gene Chupp: The late Alabama driver with more than 500 career feature victories piled up 30 victories in 1979 alone and was among the South's winningest drivers through the 1980s. Among victories were the 1982 Winchester 50 at Winchester (Tenn.) Speedway, three wins in the Rebel Dirt Track Championships at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., and the World Class 100 at Southern Raceway in Milton, Fla. Three times he finished in the top three in Southern All Star points and was second to fellow inductee Don Hester in the first series season.
Chupp's son Randle was an accomplished crew chief before starting his own driving career in the mid-1990s.
Stick Elliott: The late North Carolina driver, a contemporary of NASCAR legends Ralph and Dale Earnhardt, collected more than 400 career feature victories, 106 of them from 1967-69 while driving for Toy Bolton.
He drove a Ralph Earnhardt-owned car in 1973, winning 18 straight races, and Carolina legend says he tutored Dale Earnhardt how to race on dirt.
He had four Super Big Ten Series victories at Metrolina Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., and piled up at least nine track championships.
He also had 93 starts in NASCAR's premier division from 1962-71.
Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C., annually runs an event honoring the driver who died Nov. 1, 1980, at age 46 from cryptococcal meningitis.
Herbert "Tootle" Estes: The east Tennessee driver captured more than 1,500 victories overall in several divisions during his career from 1951-82, including more than 200 in Dirt Late Models. During one season alone in the early 1960s, Estes, who was tabbed "Tootle" by his grandmother when he was 6 years old, won 85 races in 104 starts at tracks across the Southeast.
A full-time racer, his career also included some NASCAR starts, including a 10th-place finish in the 1958 Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C. Among his major Dirt Late Model victories was the 1974 Firecracker 75 in Gadsden, Ala., the 1975 Hall of Fame 200 at Atomic Speedway near Knoxville, Tenn., and the 1980 Volunteer 100 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn.
Estes died of a heart attack at Volunteer Speedway shortly after winning the night's feature event..
Bruce Gould: The late Ohio driver was the first driver to claim the checkered flag in World 100 at Eldora, the race that's become the most prestigious Dirt Late Model event in the country.
Besides winning the inaugural event, he was third and fourth each of the next two years in his only other starts in the events. Among his other victories was the 1966 Indiana Governor's Cup at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, the 1980 Southern Ohio Invitational at Southern Ohio Speedway and the 1981 NDRA Schlitz 50 Qualifier at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky. He also had 17 victories in the ARCA New Car division.
Don Hester: The Tupelo, Miss., racer piled up 500 career victories on dirt and goes down in history as the first champion on B.J. Parker's O'Reilly Southern All Star circuit, one of the longest-running Dirt Late Model tours. In 1979 alone he raced to an amazing 51 feature victories.
Among his noteworthy career Dirt Late Model victories were the 1977-78 Southeastern Winternationals at Volusia County Speedway in Barberville, Fla., the 1980 Boss 100 at Rome (Ga.) Speedway and the 1982 Tri-State Championship at Whynot Speedway near Meridian, Miss. He also captured the lucrative National 100 in 1979 at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, Ala.
Kris Patterson: One of Michigan's winningest Dirt Late Model drivers, the the 54-year-old veteran has more than 530 career feature victories after launching his career in other divisions and settling into Late Models in the mid-1980s.
He's a six-time champion on the Sunoco American Late Model Series and the all-time winningest driver on the series with 36 victories, 14 more than the next winningest driver.
He owns more than 20 track championships, including five titles at Eldora Speedway, where he had five World 100 starts. Besides his ALMS victories, Patterson is a three-time winner of the Barney Oldfield Memorial at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, won Eldora's Johnny Appleseed in 1993 and captured the STARS stop at Crystal (Mich.) Raceway in 1988. He announced his retirement in September.
Carlton Lamm: The long-time team owner for Dunn-Benson Motorsports fielded cars for accomplished drivers including Rodney Combs, Clint Smith and Earl Pearson Jr., who capped the Lamm family's ownership era in 2006 with a World 100 victory at Eldora Speedway. Carlton, who operated the team with his son Kemp, sold the team to Bobby Labonte Motorsports at the conclusion of 2006.
Mark Richards: Richards, who co-founded Rocket Chassis along with Steve Baker, developed the Shinnston, W.Va., chassis manufacturer into one of Dirt Late Model racing's major players in recent years. Richards, who originally worked with WRC Race Cars, has also successfully fielded the Rocket Chassis house car team for drivers including Tim Hitt, Steve Francis, Bart Hartman and Josh Richards, his 20-year-old son who is a regular on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
Ken Schrader: Although the 53-year driver has competed in NASCAR's highest ranks since the mid-1980s, winning four times, the Fenton, Mo., native has never truly left the bullrings where he first started racing.
Schrader regularly competes in Late Model and modified events at dirt tracks throughout the country. He also owns I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., near St. Louis and co-owns Macon (Ill.) Speedway.
He captured one of his richest Dirt Late Model victories this season at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway when he outdueled Jason Feger for a $6,000 Northern Allstars victory on May 30
http://nationaldirtlatemodelhof.com/
GENE DAVES, aka 'STICK ELLIOTT'
He could do things with cars that most people had never witnessed before, usually on the last lap to usually please his fans or rile the others.
A true master of the dirt, he sold all his land and belongings in the early 60`s to go NASCAR racing.
An old story was confirmed by 'Miss Hurst Golden Shifter' Linda Vaughn that they did indeed pass the hat at Columbia SC one night to get Toy to replace Stick with somebody else.
Lee Petty was the ringleader and brought the hat full of money to Toy Bolton.
Toy told them that "we aren`t here for the money. We are here to race".
And drivers knew to hold on tight when Toy (Top Cat ) Bolton waved that red shop rag from the inside rail late in the race.
"It was like waving a red cape at an old bull" Bolton aften said.
When Stick came back to the local dirt scene, terrorized the area with 106 wins in the Toy Bolton #18 55 Chevy & later was asked by Ralph Earnhardt to drive his # 8 Chevelle while Ralph recoverd from a heart attack and built a Camaro.
The two later became teammates, but would spin each other out if given the chance, leaving the fans in a frenzy.
It is said that Dale Earnhardt picked up a lot of his driving style from "The Big Stick".
Before his death, Dale was known to tell tales of his short track battles with Stick, and some in the know knew that Dale may have embellished the finish of some of those Friday & Saturday night battles as Stick was the man to beat any night when a young Dale Earnhardt was running the dirt tracks & honing his skills.
Named Gene Daves, aka Stick Elliott after his Grandfather whom was a railroad security officer raised him in Lawndale NC. He would take little Gene with him to work. The hobos on the trains would see Mr Elliott coming & say, " here comes that big man with that big stick, & he has that little stick with him ".
Thus the nickname "Stick'.
Stick was a car driving mercenary, showing up with helmet in hand
( sometimes late after a late night ) and only the top cars available would do.
He commanded deal money from the promoters to show up in addition to his driving fees. He was known to have won four races in a weekend more times than once. Sometimes two in one day-night.
His two most famous cars were the white # 18 55 Chevy of Toy Bolton and the infamous blue & yellow #57 Malibus and Camaros of car owner OL Nixon of Mt Holly NC.
Stick filled in in 1971 for Jim Vandiver in Nixon`s # 31 Dodge at the World 600 & turned in a 7th place finish.
OL Nixon loved Stick Elliott and hired him and fired him, sometimes all in the same night and used to say "if you can keep that boy hungry, he`s the best there is".
He even drove the Grand American series and on the road course at Daytona, where he displayed his dirt track prowess by passing cars in the grass on the insides of the turns. These exploits got him on the front page on the Daytona papers & turned heads in the garage area & got him a few laughs!
This was the way of one 'Stick Elliott'.
Later, a 'racing incident' on the last lap ( of course) with Bobby Allison, at Bowman Gray Stadium in a NASCAR Grand American event, he gained some national attention on the then 'Wide World of Sports'.
Bobby did also, but it was from the infield, while everybody else was on the cool down lap, motioning to Stick that he was 'number one' !
This writer remembers fans leaning in the window of the #57 an offereing cash for Stick to spin out a certain driver. He would always reply "okay, get in , you can ride with me". That would change their minds real quick!
And when this writer had the opportunity to go to Atlanta raceway to help pit Freddy Smith in the last race they could run the big Chevy Caprices, one driver named Dale Earnhardt got us both in trouble in the drivers meeting, asking what had happened that Friday night at Metrolina Speedway in Charlotte between Stick and Billy Scott.
I was just about to show with my hands what happened when I realized it was quiet and everybody was looking at us. Tim Richmond, Kyle Petty, Darrell Waltrip.
Then a voice heard the man on the podium say "if you guys can end that race over there, we would like to have one here today ".
And Darrell Waltrip responded " hold on, hold on, Stick Elliott & Billy Scott got into it Friday night" !
The whole room broke out laughing!
I looked up and Earnhardt had moved around behind somebody and was grinning ear to ear, ducking down.
Everytime I`d see that grin on TV, or him leaving a reporter with the last word, I`d think of Stick!
Stick was struck down in November 1981 by a little known disease, Cryptoccocal Meningitis, from dust in the dirt that was delivered to his yard that was taken from a chicken farm. The racing world was shocked.
Humans are exposed to it everyday and there is no known cure & no reason why more don`t get it. It remains a puzzle how such a big man coud be struck down in his prime by such a little known virus.
The reception & funeral in Gaffney SC looked like a who`s who of NASCAR at the time as stars of the day and the past showed up to pay their respects.
Stick Elliott was tough as nails, drove a hard bargain just like a fast car, filled the grandstands of the Southeast but had a comical side, was famous for leaving you to ponder what he had just said by having the last line of any conversation , as Dale Earnhardt would be known for later on.
He had married the beautiful & striking Charlotte Wyatt and they had one daughter, Gena, then twin girls, April & Dawn.
Charlotte would put those girls in a playpen in the infield at Concord Speedway just beside one of the first motorhomes seen at a short track that Stick had before getting married, complete with the leopard skin curtains!
Charlotte got rid of those curtains & that rock n roll kind of lifestyle soon ended as the new family seemed to mellow Stick some but he was tough on the track to the very last race.
The last year or so the equipment just couldn`t take his demands. Those little girls didn`t get to grow up with their father. They have turned out to be successful, not to mention beautiful business women.
A rival to most of his peers, a hero to thousands more, including the stars of
the dirt tracks & NASCAR today, we will always remember "The Big Stick", the last of the great showmen behind the wheel & that smile he always had.
The Late John Moose of then the Charlotte Motor Speedway called him & Ralph Earnhardt "The Kings of the Last Lap".
-Duane Goins
'VOICE' of FASTRAK CHAMPIONS SERIES
www.fastrakracing.com
Listen To All The FASTRAK Events at :
www.racecastlive.com
AUG 7-8 NORTH SOUTH 100 / NDLMHOF CEREMONY FLORENCE KY
REPRESENTING FAMILY OF GENE 'STICK' ELLIOTT
AUG 9 TRAVEL DAY
AUG 11 37TH ANNUAL 'SHRINE 100' GASTONIA NC
AUG 21 TRAVEL DAY
AUG 22 'IRON-MAN CLASSIC' RICHMOND KY
AUG23 TRAVEL DAY
AUG 28-29 OPEN
SEPT 2 BIRTHDAY
SEPT 4-5-6 FASTRAK 'PRO NATIONALS' WYTHEVILLE VA $10,000
SEPT 7 TRAVEL DAY
SEPT 9-12 ELDORA SPEEDWAY ROSSBURG OHIO PRELUDE & WORLD 1OO
SEPT 13 TRAVEL DAY
SEPT 11-12 OPEN
SEPT 18-19 FASTRAK LAVONIA GA GA ST CHAMPIONSHIPS
SEPT 25-27 OPEN
OCT 2-3 FASTRAK LAVONIA GA 'GRAND NATIONALS' NIGHT 1
OCT 9-11 OPEN
OCT 16-18 OPEN
OCT 21-22 FASTRAK VOLUNTEER SPEEDWAY BULLS GAP TN NIGHT 2
OCT 23 TRAVEL 1/2 DAY
OCT 23-25 FASTRAK WYTHE RACEWAY WYTHEVILLE VA 2009 FASTRAK CHAMPIONSHIPS 'GRAND FINALE' $30,000
OCT 26 TRAVEL DAY
OCT 30-NOVEMBER 1 OPEN
Nove 5 - 7 WoO WORLD FINALS LOWES
Nov 14-15 LAVONIA GA
FASTRAK"ALL STAR INVITATIONAL"
Nov 15 $10,000 TO WIN
NOV 20-22 OPEN
NOV 26-29 (THANKSGIVING) NOT BOOKING DON`T ASK
DEC 10-12 ORLANDO FLORIDA PRI SHOW
(PRODUCT SPONSOR INTRODUCTIONS/CONSULTING SERVICE AVAILABLE)
www.performanceracing.com/tradeshow/
Jan 10-17 Tampa Fla/ Sandy Beaches Cruise 16
w/Delbert McClinton / Holland America's Ms Ryndam
www.delbert.com
JAN 24-29 FASTRAK CRUISE / BANQUET CARNIVAL 'SENSATION'
STILL BOOKING ALL OPEN DATES
CONtRACTS AVAILABLE UPON SERIOUS REQUEST
DUANE GOINS / DMG Marketing
Speedway / Stage Announcing
Concert / Race Promotions
Consulting / Sponsor Search Service
Lake Norman NC
'10 PEOPLE AT $10@ IS $1OO
DO YOU WANT THEM BACK NEXT WEEK ?
DO YOU WANT THEM INFORMED & ENTERTAINED ?
DOES THE PRESS NEED TO KNOW ?
HighMaintenance2099@yahoo.com
Duane Goins, Since 1984
manufacturer are among members the Class of 2009 for the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.
The class, which will be inducted August 8th at the North South 100 $50,000 to win dirt late model race at Florence Speedway in Union Kentucky was revealed at K-C Raceway at Chilicothe Ohio last October during the 28th annual Dirt Track World Championship weekend.
Bruce Gould of Milford, Ohio, the 1971 World 100 winner at Eldora Speedway
who died last August, leads six driver inductees, four of whom will be inducted posthumously.
The other late inductees are Tennessee's Tootle Estes, North Carolina's Stick Elliott and Alabama's Gene Chupp, the father of veteran crew chief and driver Randle Chupp.
Also being inducted are just-retired Michigan driver Kris Patterson and Mississippi's Don Hester, the first-ever champion on the 26-year-old O'Reilly Southern All Star Series.
Those entering the hall as outstanding contributors to Dirt Late Model racing are Carlton Lamm, long-time car owner with North Carolina-based Dunn-Benson Motorsports, and Mark Richards, the co-founder of West Virginia's Rocket Chassis.
Long-time NASCAR driver and Dirt Late Model racer Ken Schrader was awarded the 2009 Hall of Fame Sportsman Award.
The induction ceremonies are scheduled for Aug. 8, 2009, at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., the site of the Hall of Fame.
Inductees will be honored that afternoon prior to action for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned North-South 100 at the half-mile oval in northern Kentucky.
A closer look at the inductees:
Gene Chupp: The late Alabama driver with more than 500 career feature victories piled up 30 victories in 1979 alone and was among the South's winningest drivers through the 1980s. Among victories were the 1982 Winchester 50 at Winchester (Tenn.) Speedway, three wins in the Rebel Dirt Track Championships at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala., and the World Class 100 at Southern Raceway in Milton, Fla. Three times he finished in the top three in Southern All Star points and was second to fellow inductee Don Hester in the first series season.
Chupp's son Randle was an accomplished crew chief before starting his own driving career in the mid-1990s.
Stick Elliott: The late North Carolina driver, a contemporary of NASCAR legends Ralph and Dale Earnhardt, collected more than 400 career feature victories, 106 of them from 1967-69 while driving for Toy Bolton.
He drove a Ralph Earnhardt-owned car in 1973, winning 18 straight races, and Carolina legend says he tutored Dale Earnhardt how to race on dirt.
He had four Super Big Ten Series victories at Metrolina Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., and piled up at least nine track championships.
He also had 93 starts in NASCAR's premier division from 1962-71.
Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C., annually runs an event honoring the driver who died Nov. 1, 1980, at age 46 from cryptococcal meningitis.
Herbert "Tootle" Estes: The east Tennessee driver captured more than 1,500 victories overall in several divisions during his career from 1951-82, including more than 200 in Dirt Late Models. During one season alone in the early 1960s, Estes, who was tabbed "Tootle" by his grandmother when he was 6 years old, won 85 races in 104 starts at tracks across the Southeast.
A full-time racer, his career also included some NASCAR starts, including a 10th-place finish in the 1958 Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C. Among his major Dirt Late Model victories was the 1974 Firecracker 75 in Gadsden, Ala., the 1975 Hall of Fame 200 at Atomic Speedway near Knoxville, Tenn., and the 1980 Volunteer 100 at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn.
Estes died of a heart attack at Volunteer Speedway shortly after winning the night's feature event..
Bruce Gould: The late Ohio driver was the first driver to claim the checkered flag in World 100 at Eldora, the race that's become the most prestigious Dirt Late Model event in the country.
Besides winning the inaugural event, he was third and fourth each of the next two years in his only other starts in the events. Among his other victories was the 1966 Indiana Governor's Cup at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway, the 1980 Southern Ohio Invitational at Southern Ohio Speedway and the 1981 NDRA Schlitz 50 Qualifier at Florence Speedway in Union, Ky. He also had 17 victories in the ARCA New Car division.
Don Hester: The Tupelo, Miss., racer piled up 500 career victories on dirt and goes down in history as the first champion on B.J. Parker's O'Reilly Southern All Star circuit, one of the longest-running Dirt Late Model tours. In 1979 alone he raced to an amazing 51 feature victories.
Among his noteworthy career Dirt Late Model victories were the 1977-78 Southeastern Winternationals at Volusia County Speedway in Barberville, Fla., the 1980 Boss 100 at Rome (Ga.) Speedway and the 1982 Tri-State Championship at Whynot Speedway near Meridian, Miss. He also captured the lucrative National 100 in 1979 at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, Ala.
Kris Patterson: One of Michigan's winningest Dirt Late Model drivers, the the 54-year-old veteran has more than 530 career feature victories after launching his career in other divisions and settling into Late Models in the mid-1980s.
He's a six-time champion on the Sunoco American Late Model Series and the all-time winningest driver on the series with 36 victories, 14 more than the next winningest driver.
He owns more than 20 track championships, including five titles at Eldora Speedway, where he had five World 100 starts. Besides his ALMS victories, Patterson is a three-time winner of the Barney Oldfield Memorial at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, won Eldora's Johnny Appleseed in 1993 and captured the STARS stop at Crystal (Mich.) Raceway in 1988. He announced his retirement in September.
Carlton Lamm: The long-time team owner for Dunn-Benson Motorsports fielded cars for accomplished drivers including Rodney Combs, Clint Smith and Earl Pearson Jr., who capped the Lamm family's ownership era in 2006 with a World 100 victory at Eldora Speedway. Carlton, who operated the team with his son Kemp, sold the team to Bobby Labonte Motorsports at the conclusion of 2006.
Mark Richards: Richards, who co-founded Rocket Chassis along with Steve Baker, developed the Shinnston, W.Va., chassis manufacturer into one of Dirt Late Model racing's major players in recent years. Richards, who originally worked with WRC Race Cars, has also successfully fielded the Rocket Chassis house car team for drivers including Tim Hitt, Steve Francis, Bart Hartman and Josh Richards, his 20-year-old son who is a regular on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.
Ken Schrader: Although the 53-year driver has competed in NASCAR's highest ranks since the mid-1980s, winning four times, the Fenton, Mo., native has never truly left the bullrings where he first started racing.
Schrader regularly competes in Late Model and modified events at dirt tracks throughout the country. He also owns I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo., near St. Louis and co-owns Macon (Ill.) Speedway.
He captured one of his richest Dirt Late Model victories this season at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway when he outdueled Jason Feger for a $6,000 Northern Allstars victory on May 30
http://nationaldirtlatemodelhof.com/
GENE DAVES, aka 'STICK ELLIOTT'
He could do things with cars that most people had never witnessed before, usually on the last lap to usually please his fans or rile the others.
A true master of the dirt, he sold all his land and belongings in the early 60`s to go NASCAR racing.
An old story was confirmed by 'Miss Hurst Golden Shifter' Linda Vaughn that they did indeed pass the hat at Columbia SC one night to get Toy to replace Stick with somebody else.
Lee Petty was the ringleader and brought the hat full of money to Toy Bolton.
Toy told them that "we aren`t here for the money. We are here to race".
And drivers knew to hold on tight when Toy (Top Cat ) Bolton waved that red shop rag from the inside rail late in the race.
"It was like waving a red cape at an old bull" Bolton aften said.
When Stick came back to the local dirt scene, terrorized the area with 106 wins in the Toy Bolton #18 55 Chevy & later was asked by Ralph Earnhardt to drive his # 8 Chevelle while Ralph recoverd from a heart attack and built a Camaro.
The two later became teammates, but would spin each other out if given the chance, leaving the fans in a frenzy.
It is said that Dale Earnhardt picked up a lot of his driving style from "The Big Stick".
Before his death, Dale was known to tell tales of his short track battles with Stick, and some in the know knew that Dale may have embellished the finish of some of those Friday & Saturday night battles as Stick was the man to beat any night when a young Dale Earnhardt was running the dirt tracks & honing his skills.
Named Gene Daves, aka Stick Elliott after his Grandfather whom was a railroad security officer raised him in Lawndale NC. He would take little Gene with him to work. The hobos on the trains would see Mr Elliott coming & say, " here comes that big man with that big stick, & he has that little stick with him ".
Thus the nickname "Stick'.
Stick was a car driving mercenary, showing up with helmet in hand
( sometimes late after a late night ) and only the top cars available would do.
He commanded deal money from the promoters to show up in addition to his driving fees. He was known to have won four races in a weekend more times than once. Sometimes two in one day-night.
His two most famous cars were the white # 18 55 Chevy of Toy Bolton and the infamous blue & yellow #57 Malibus and Camaros of car owner OL Nixon of Mt Holly NC.
Stick filled in in 1971 for Jim Vandiver in Nixon`s # 31 Dodge at the World 600 & turned in a 7th place finish.
OL Nixon loved Stick Elliott and hired him and fired him, sometimes all in the same night and used to say "if you can keep that boy hungry, he`s the best there is".
He even drove the Grand American series and on the road course at Daytona, where he displayed his dirt track prowess by passing cars in the grass on the insides of the turns. These exploits got him on the front page on the Daytona papers & turned heads in the garage area & got him a few laughs!
This was the way of one 'Stick Elliott'.
Later, a 'racing incident' on the last lap ( of course) with Bobby Allison, at Bowman Gray Stadium in a NASCAR Grand American event, he gained some national attention on the then 'Wide World of Sports'.
Bobby did also, but it was from the infield, while everybody else was on the cool down lap, motioning to Stick that he was 'number one' !
This writer remembers fans leaning in the window of the #57 an offereing cash for Stick to spin out a certain driver. He would always reply "okay, get in , you can ride with me". That would change their minds real quick!
And when this writer had the opportunity to go to Atlanta raceway to help pit Freddy Smith in the last race they could run the big Chevy Caprices, one driver named Dale Earnhardt got us both in trouble in the drivers meeting, asking what had happened that Friday night at Metrolina Speedway in Charlotte between Stick and Billy Scott.
I was just about to show with my hands what happened when I realized it was quiet and everybody was looking at us. Tim Richmond, Kyle Petty, Darrell Waltrip.
Then a voice heard the man on the podium say "if you guys can end that race over there, we would like to have one here today ".
And Darrell Waltrip responded " hold on, hold on, Stick Elliott & Billy Scott got into it Friday night" !
The whole room broke out laughing!
I looked up and Earnhardt had moved around behind somebody and was grinning ear to ear, ducking down.
Everytime I`d see that grin on TV, or him leaving a reporter with the last word, I`d think of Stick!
Stick was struck down in November 1981 by a little known disease, Cryptoccocal Meningitis, from dust in the dirt that was delivered to his yard that was taken from a chicken farm. The racing world was shocked.
Humans are exposed to it everyday and there is no known cure & no reason why more don`t get it. It remains a puzzle how such a big man coud be struck down in his prime by such a little known virus.
The reception & funeral in Gaffney SC looked like a who`s who of NASCAR at the time as stars of the day and the past showed up to pay their respects.
Stick Elliott was tough as nails, drove a hard bargain just like a fast car, filled the grandstands of the Southeast but had a comical side, was famous for leaving you to ponder what he had just said by having the last line of any conversation , as Dale Earnhardt would be known for later on.
He had married the beautiful & striking Charlotte Wyatt and they had one daughter, Gena, then twin girls, April & Dawn.
Charlotte would put those girls in a playpen in the infield at Concord Speedway just beside one of the first motorhomes seen at a short track that Stick had before getting married, complete with the leopard skin curtains!
Charlotte got rid of those curtains & that rock n roll kind of lifestyle soon ended as the new family seemed to mellow Stick some but he was tough on the track to the very last race.
The last year or so the equipment just couldn`t take his demands. Those little girls didn`t get to grow up with their father. They have turned out to be successful, not to mention beautiful business women.
A rival to most of his peers, a hero to thousands more, including the stars of
the dirt tracks & NASCAR today, we will always remember "The Big Stick", the last of the great showmen behind the wheel & that smile he always had.
The Late John Moose of then the Charlotte Motor Speedway called him & Ralph Earnhardt "The Kings of the Last Lap".
-Duane Goins
'VOICE' of FASTRAK CHAMPIONS SERIES
www.fastrakracing.com
Listen To All The FASTRAK Events at :
www.racecastlive.com
AUG 7-8 NORTH SOUTH 100 / NDLMHOF CEREMONY FLORENCE KY
REPRESENTING FAMILY OF GENE 'STICK' ELLIOTT
AUG 9 TRAVEL DAY
AUG 11 37TH ANNUAL 'SHRINE 100' GASTONIA NC
AUG 21 TRAVEL DAY
AUG 22 'IRON-MAN CLASSIC' RICHMOND KY
AUG23 TRAVEL DAY
AUG 28-29 OPEN
SEPT 2 BIRTHDAY
SEPT 4-5-6 FASTRAK 'PRO NATIONALS' WYTHEVILLE VA $10,000
SEPT 7 TRAVEL DAY
SEPT 9-12 ELDORA SPEEDWAY ROSSBURG OHIO PRELUDE & WORLD 1OO
SEPT 13 TRAVEL DAY
SEPT 11-12 OPEN
SEPT 18-19 FASTRAK LAVONIA GA GA ST CHAMPIONSHIPS
SEPT 25-27 OPEN
OCT 2-3 FASTRAK LAVONIA GA 'GRAND NATIONALS' NIGHT 1
OCT 9-11 OPEN
OCT 16-18 OPEN
OCT 21-22 FASTRAK VOLUNTEER SPEEDWAY BULLS GAP TN NIGHT 2
OCT 23 TRAVEL 1/2 DAY
OCT 23-25 FASTRAK WYTHE RACEWAY WYTHEVILLE VA 2009 FASTRAK CHAMPIONSHIPS 'GRAND FINALE' $30,000
OCT 26 TRAVEL DAY
OCT 30-NOVEMBER 1 OPEN
Nove 5 - 7 WoO WORLD FINALS LOWES
Nov 14-15 LAVONIA GA
FASTRAK"ALL STAR INVITATIONAL"
Nov 15 $10,000 TO WIN
NOV 20-22 OPEN
NOV 26-29 (THANKSGIVING) NOT BOOKING DON`T ASK
DEC 10-12 ORLANDO FLORIDA PRI SHOW
(PRODUCT SPONSOR INTRODUCTIONS/CONSULTING SERVICE AVAILABLE)
www.performanceracing.com/tradeshow/
Jan 10-17 Tampa Fla/ Sandy Beaches Cruise 16
w/Delbert McClinton / Holland America's Ms Ryndam
www.delbert.com
JAN 24-29 FASTRAK CRUISE / BANQUET CARNIVAL 'SENSATION'
STILL BOOKING ALL OPEN DATES
CONtRACTS AVAILABLE UPON SERIOUS REQUEST
DUANE GOINS / DMG Marketing
Speedway / Stage Announcing
Concert / Race Promotions
Consulting / Sponsor Search Service
Lake Norman NC
'10 PEOPLE AT $10@ IS $1OO
DO YOU WANT THEM BACK NEXT WEEK ?
DO YOU WANT THEM INFORMED & ENTERTAINED ?
DOES THE PRESS NEED TO KNOW ?
HighMaintenance2099@yahoo.com
Duane Goins, Since 1984
