The NASCAR connections

By on March 25, 2009.
Saved under Musings

Floyd County has a long, colorful history with the National Association of Stock Car Racing (NASCAR).

Floyd Countian Curtis Turner was one of the early stars of the sport, one of the original moonshine runners turned racer that gave provided much of the lore.

County native Darian Grubb serves as Tony Stewart’s crew chief after stints with the Rick Hendrick and Richard Petty teams.

And Randy Hallman, a Floyd County High School classmate from the 60s made his name as a racing writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and now serves as Deputy Sports Editor and one of the stars of "R & R Racing," a webcast on the newspaper’s web site.

Hallman probably knows more about NASCAR and its history than just about anyone walking around today. He covered stock racing in the days before it became a media-managed, money-controlled spectacle.

Now you can test yourself against his knowledge or racing by matching your predictions on the outcome of each race with his. Try your hand this week as the drivers head to Martinsville.

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6 Responses to The NASCAR connections

  1. neal March 26, 2009 at 4:10 am

    YIKES! Who else in Floyd County is not who I think they are?

  2. neal March 25, 2009 at 9:33 am

    Also Floyd county is currently home to NASCAR legend Bobby Johns who raced in the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s and drove for famed tuner and engine builder Smokey Yunick.

  3. anonymous March 25, 2009 at 12:02 pm

    Better research that last post Neal. The real Bobby Johns lives in Miami Fl.and is in his 70′s…The one here in Floyd is not him.
    There was a special on Daytona during speed weeks and the REAL Bobby Johns was on it…and the one in Floyd is not that man No matter what he tells you.

  4. Doug Thompson March 25, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    According to the NASCAR legends web site:

    "You have to talk about Bobby Johns," said Jim Hunter, NASCAR’s director of communications. "I can’t emphasize enough how good he was. He and his daddy, nicknamed Shorty, lived in Miami and towed their car to the races. They were competitive with the Pettys and Bud Moores on a shoestring budget. Bobby won some races and was always a front-runner."

    Johns still lives in Miami, running Bobby Johns Enterprises, a tire/auto parts store that delivers internationally.

    Johns lost most of his racing memorabilia in the riots of 1980, but he hasn’t lost his memories that include winning the 1960 season finale in Atlanta, a runner-up in the 1960 Daytona 500 and coming in third in the points championship behind Rex White and Richard Petty despite running in 21 fewer races.

    "They changed the points system because of me," he chuckled during an interview a month ago.

    A couple of years ago, I was introduced to someone claiming to be Bobby Johns the NASCAR driver while having lunch in Oddfellas Cantina. It took just two questions to quickly determine he was not who he claimed to be.

  5. Joey Kaylor March 25, 2009 at 4:35 pm

    The one you describe is not the NASCAR legend Bobby Johns, but a different one.

    BIG difference, the one that lived in Floyd is currently evading several people, and has not been seen in a few months. This one was the former owner of 311 Speedway in Madison NC.

  6. Nelson Epperly March 25, 2009 at 4:27 pm

    Shortly before my father died in 2008 we visited Bobby Johns at his tire business in Miami. If there is someone in Floyd County claiming to be Bobby Johns, he is a fraud and should be exposed as such.