As Our Legends Leave Us, Who Will Take Their Place?
6/13/2014 |
I bid
you welcome gentle readers to a dissertation which at the moment has no
direction or destination. A warm welcome as well to our assigned NASCAR reader,
hidden away in an office within the confines of the beautiful new Fan and Media
Espionage Center in the Queen's City of Charlotte, North Carolina. Please enjoy
your stay and wherever our journey today may take us.
Even the
youngest among us, regardless of whether any of the names were or are familiar,
has had to take notice of the number of NASCAR deaths reported in the news over
the past two weeks alone. That's one thing about growing older that becomes
increasingly hard to take... the growing familiarity with the obituaries. It
seems like only yesterday that the names found there were friends of or in the
generation of my parents. Alas, that is no longer so, as I now watch folks
leave that I've known either personally or been acutely aware of for years.
On May
26, we said good-bye to Betty Carlan, gone at 85. Many
will remember Betty as the Librarian and Historian at the International
Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
On May
29, it was car owner Ray DeWitt, gone at only 63. Ray fielded cars for drivers
that included Ted Musgrave, Tim Fedewa and the late
Rich Vogler in Cup, Busch and ASA.
On May
31, the final bell tolled for car owner Charles "Hoss" Ellington.
Hoss was 79. What's that you say? You never heard of Hoss Ellington? Well,
perhaps you've heard of some of his drivers. They included David Pearson, Cale
Yarborough, Fred Lorenzen, A.J. Foyt, Bobby Isaac, Buddy Baker, Davey Allison,
Benny Parsons, Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett and Sterling Marlin. Remember
the wreck between Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison at the 1979 Daytona 500? The
#1 Hawaiian Tropic-sponsored Oldsmobile that Donnie drove that day
belonged to Hoss Ellington. See! You knew him; you just didn't realize it until
now.
June 3
saw the departure of Bill "Speedy" Smith at age 84. Perhaps Bill's
name would be the least known on this short list, as he plied his trade... that
of parts supplier to racers of many venues... primarily in the Southeast, the
birthplace of stock car racing. Still, throughout the Carolinas, Georgia and
Florida, his name was well known among the racing family.
On June
4, we bade a last farewell to driver/car owner Ed Negre.
Ed was 86 when he departed. His NASCAR career was as one of those
"Independents" we hear about, meaning that he operated with no
factory backing and little or no sponsorship funding. His moment of fame, it
turned out, was when he gave a Grand National ride to a rather rough-cut son of
another driver, Ralph Earnhardt. I think we all know the rest of that story.
Finally,
on June 9, our hearts were broken when we said good-bye to long-time car owner
and all-'round good man, Junie Donlavey. Junie got his wish, to live to 90 in
commemoration of his car #90, so familiar to so many for so long.
Yes
gentle readers, that is a lot of loss in only two weeks, but it really does
seem true that life accelerates as we age. Those all around us grow older as we
watch, though of course, we ourselves never age but remain fixed in time...
until time catches up with us and hands us a mirror.
In
reality, this has all happened before and will surely happen again. Looking
back to the beginnings, we see names such as Big Bill France, Raymond Parks,
Red Byron, Red Vogt, Lloyd Seay, Roy Hall, Curtis
Turner, Marshall Teague, Lee Petty, Herb Thomas, Bob and Fonty
Flock, Billy and Bobby Myers and a veritable host of others... all gone now.
In their
place, there came folks like Richard Petty, David Pearson, Rex White, Fred
Lorenzen, "Tiger" Tom Pistone, Tim Flock, Joe Weatherly, Cale Yarborough, Benny Parsons, Ned
Jarrett, Bobby and Donnie Allison and an almost endless list of others, some
gone and some still with us.
That
"generation" quietly slipped away as well and gave way to names
better known today... names such as Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Harry
Gant, Rusty Wallace, Tim Richmond, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Ken Schrader,
Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, Mark Martin and all of their compatriots. Most of
those are still with us today, though sadly not all.
Nearing
the turn of the Century, a new group of racers came to pass, and we welcomed to
the NASCAR family names like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte, Carl Edwards, Kevin
Harvick, Ryan Newman, Kurt and Kyle Busch and a list that all of you could
complete.
Is it
possible that Jeff Gordon, long known as "The kid" or "Wonderboy" will turn 43 in August and that Jeff Burton
will be 47 at the end of this month and is already "semi-retired?"
How about Dale Jr. flirting with 40 in October?
Yes race
fans and gentle readers, it's happening again. Even as we speak, the guard that
we've watched change so many times over the years of NASCAR, is about to change
again. Already, youth is beginning to move age aside, as has happened since the
dawn of civilization and shall continue to happen until it comes to an end.
That is the natural progression of all things, and is to be expected.
Keep
your eyes open for the youth movement, as drivers like Kyle Larson, Austin and
Ty Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Trevor Bayne, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Brian
Scott, Dylan Kwasliewski, Ryan Blaney and Ryan Truex
all make their bids at stardom and multiple trips to Victory Lane. Some will
make it; some will not. Which is which is impossible to tell until it unfolds before
us like an artist filling in a picture on a canvas. And of course, there will
be names added here that aren't yet old enough to have a driver's license, but
they'll appear on the racing horizon soon enough. Who'll be the next Jeff
Gordon? Who'll be the next Casey Atwood? Only time will tell, but I promise,
the answers will be worth the wait.
For this
aged fan, the fun has always been watching the changing of the guard. Yes,
there has been sadness as the old give way to illness and death, but there has
also been gladness and thrills as the young take over the sword and hold it
high... until once again, it's their turn to pass it on to ever advancing youth
one more time... and another and another.
It's a
shame, gentle readers, that some of my generation cannot see the good in the
young ones that are taking up the sword. Yes, these times are different from
when we were children. My heavens, that was decades
ago and one would hope the world hasn't been marking time all that while. For
sure and certain, my world has not. For over 60 years now, racing has been my
pastime, my avocation and at many points, my life. That said,
I have no intention of sitting on my duff and complaining because things aren't
just the way they were in 1960, or 1970, or 1980 or... well... 1990 was pretty
good, thinking back, but it too is gone. This old geezer is more than content
to be alive in 2014 and looking forward to 2015 and whatever it brings. As a dear friend of mine loves to end his tales... Let's go
racing!
Time
now for our Classic Country Closeout guys and gals. It occurred to me that I've not
given you even one song by the Master of them all, Hank Williams. We shall
remedy that right now, and you probably expect one of the favorites that the
world knows so well... Your Cheatin' Heart, Cold,
Cold Heart, Lovesick Blues and so many more. Everything the man wrote or
sang seemed to become an instant hit, yet in truth, Hank was one of those
"overnight successes" that took about ten years in the making. Then,
in less than four years, he was gone at age 29, and an entire world mourned his
passing. Enough of the history lesson; here is Hank doing one of his more
upbeat numbers that I just love... "Settin'
the Woods on Fire." Please enjoy:
Finally,
here is Hank showing off his much lighter side with a little ditty called
"Fly Trouble." No, it's not one of his biggest hits, but it's on my
Hit Parade since childhood.
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~
PattyKay