I am excited to read
about the plans for the Old School Racing Champions Tour (OSRCT). For those of us that have followed the sport of racing for
many years, the names of the drivers involved bring back some incredible memories: Harry Gant, Jack Ingram, Dave Marcus,
Ronnie Silver, David Pearson and many others.
To someone like me, a North
Carolina native, I am honored to say that I know many of these drivers personally and feel that I
was blessed to be there to watch them compete in their glory days. I'm sure that most of them could have never imagined what
our sport has grown into over the past 20 years.
Many of their careers
ended at about the time NASCAR really took off. Most of them never had the opportunity to earn the types of salaries
that today's stars command. Certainly, that was in no way a reflection of their talent, simply a matter of timing. I
bet any one of them would have, maybe still could, give Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and others a run for their money.
These guys came from
the small towns around the south. They raced wherever and whenever they could find a race. Often these legends would drive
hundreds of miles each weekend to participate on the short tracks around North Carolina, South Carolina
and Tennessee. They took their wives, their children, their parents, loaded
them in the car and headed out for 2 or 3 days of travel and racing. If they won an event, they had money to feed their families
for a week until they could get to the next weekend's race. If they did not have a good finish, they went back to their regular
jobs to earn enough to fix their racecar or to buy another one. They had friends, family and neighbors that pitched in to
work on the car to get it ready for the next race.
A few were blessed
to have a chance to drive for owners that provided financial backing; some seemed to prefer to make it on their own. They
were strong, fierce, and hardworking and they had a fire inside them that you can bet still burns to this day. I hope that the OSRCT will get the support that they need to succeed. If you get a chance
to go see one of these races, do not miss it. If you have never heard of these guys, you have no idea what you are missing. If,
like me, you know the names well and it seems like only yesterday that you watched them compete, please be sure to go and
support their effort.
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has advertising rates starting as low as $12.00 per month. Email us at scr@stockcarreview.com for more
information.
If nothing else, I'm
certain the stories that will be shared will be enough to provide hours of entertainment. Let's show them our appreciation
for the foundation that they helped to build. A foundation so strong that it now holds up the empire that is NASCAR. Thanks
guys for the memories and thanks even more for letting us make new memories. Each of you deserves the title of champion in
racing and in life.
2006 StockCar Review.
