Re: Racing "Did You Know" Thread

[gone-sovereign]

Alan Kulwicki was the first Winston Cup champion with a college degree; specifically, in mechanical engineering. There are currently two active NASCAR drivers with degrees: Ryan Newman (engineering) and Paulie Harraka (markets and management).

Out of curiosity, were there any NASCAR drivers or any other racing driver from another series that had a degree related to engineering?

Oriol Servia holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Catalonia Polytechnic.
Lelani Münter got a degree in biology (I don't know where)
Bill Lester holds a fairly prestigous bachelors in electrical engineering from UCal Berkley. He was an engineer for Hewlett Packard for many years (and may still work for them in some form. I believe he did freelance work while he was pursuing his racing career).
Brett Bodine has an engineering degree from the University of New York.

Mark Donohue had a bachelor's degree in engineering as well. The latter competed pretty much everywhere: Trans-Am, Can-Am, IROC, Formula One, USAC Champ Cars, and NASCAR. He's won something in every field (including an Indianapolis 500 in 1972 and a 24 Hours of Daytona in 1969) except for Formula One, where his best finish was third in the 1971 Canadian Grand Prix. He made a brief retirement in 1973 in part due to the horrific events of that year's Indianapolis 500, but was persuaded to return to racing by Roger Penske in 1974. In one of Penske's cars, Donohue was killed in an accident during practice for the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix, when a tire let go and he hit the catch-fencing in the fastest corner on the track. Though he seemed unharmed and was shown talking to rescue crews, he slipped into a coma and two days later died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

(OOC: He was also from New Jersey. :3)

[crl]

Only two countries that have produced an F1 World Drivers' Champion have never hosted a Grand Prix themselves - Finland and New Zealand.

[Milan655]

Only two countries that have produced an F1 World Drivers' Champion have never hosted a Grand Prix themselves - Finland and New Zealand.

New Zealand have never hosted official F1 Grand Prix, however during the period of the Tasman Series in the 60's there was a New Zealand Grand Prix run to F1 regulations and later was used by F5000 and Formula Holden, primarily at Pukekohe. Today it's used by the Toyota Racing Series at Manfeild.

[navycook75]

The 1954 British Grand Prix is known to be the only time SEVEN people had the same fastest lap. Timing back then only counted a tenth of a second. People were also awarded a point for fastest lap, and as a result all seven people recieved a seventh of a point, which is .14.

Fastest lap was 1:50.

Out of all the tyres in Formula One, only Avon Rubber has yet to win a race. Goodyear holds the most with 368 wins.

[Alpineopossum]

F1 Races with extensive Non-F1 history:
* The Australian GP was first run in 1928. It was held every year from 1947 to 1984, its last year before becoming a world championship event, at a great variety of circuits. Among them were Bathurst, Albert Park (which existed as a track in the 1950s.), Longford (a crazy Tasmanian track), Warwick Farm, Sandown, Lakeside, Warwick Farm, Oran Park, Barbagello, and Calder (among many others).
* The Malaysian Grand Prix was held in the 70s at a now defunct track called Shah Alam.
* The Canadian Grand Prix existed for six years before becoming a championship event.
* The Singapore Grand Prix was a race run in the 1960s and 70s. The field comprised of a variety of Ex-F1 cars as well as some lower formula specials.
* The inagural Japanese Grand Prix was held in 1963 at Suzuka. It also was at the Fuji International Speedway in the 60s, but had few non-Japanese driver in the field. Both Suzuka races were won by British drivers.
* The Detroit Grand Prix may not be an F1 race any longer, but as you probably know it still exists today as an IndyCar race.

By the way here are F1 Grand Prix by number of races. (Top 20 only)
1. British - 64
1. Italian - 64
3. Monaco - 61
4. German - 60
5. Belgian - 58
5. French - 58
7. Canadian - 44
7. Spanish - 44
9. Brazilian - 41
10. United States - 35
11. Australian - 30
11. Dutch - 30
13. Japanese - 29
14. Hungarian - 28
15. Austrian - 26
15. San Marino - 26
17. South African - 23
18. European (stand alone race) 22
19. Argentine - 20
20. Malaysian - 16

[SpeedDemon37]

- While Danica Patrick is the only female to have ever scored a pole position in NASCAR's Cup Series, 4 drivers have won poles in ARCA (most of them were on superspeedways). Erin Crocker has scored 5 poles, Patty Moise has 3, and Shawna Robinson and Milka Duno have 1 each.

- As some may know, Mark Martin was penalized 46 points after the second race of the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season at Richmond when a carburetor spacer plate was determined to be too large after post-race inspection, and the penalty indirectly cost him the championship 9 months later. It was later admitted that this plate was not actually oversized. It had been bolted instead of welded, which wasn't a conventional method, yet it was technically not illegal, but it drew complaints to the officials from that year's eventual champions Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress.

- There are currently three NASCAR stock cars on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Derborn, Michigan:

a Carl Kiekhaeffer 1956 Chrysler 300-B


Bill Elliot's 1987 Ford Thunderbird (that set the NASCAR qualifying speed record of 212.809 MPH)


Trevor Bayne's 2011 Ford Fusion (that won the 2011 Daytona 500)

[flyingturns89]

The oldest driver to ever win a pole for an ARCA is Vern Slagh, who has an interesting story for his pole. Slagh, at 62 years, 5 months, and 25 days, won the pole for an ARCA race at Kentucky in 2002. He then for unknown reasons did not start the car in the race and was credited with a 40th place DNS, but still got credit for the pole.

[Syzygy]

The oldest driver to ever win a pole for an ARCA is Vern Slagh, who has an interesting story for his pole. Slagh, at 62 years, 5 months, and 25 days, won the pole for an ARCA race at Kentucky in 2002. He then for unknown reasons did not start the car in the race and was credited with a 40th place DNS, but still got credit for the pole.

After setting his time, race officials told him his right-side tires were too soft. He got the trophy for the pole, and promptly withdrew from the race afterwards. I've heard both sides where it's been told that he packed up and left in protest, and I've heard another story that ARCA forced him to withdraw after a lengthy meeting with the officials. What I can say for certain is that a week later he put his ARCA stuff up for auction, went Busch racing once at Michigan the next year, and returned to ARCA in '04 at Kentucky only to crash on the first lap, effectively ending his racing career.

[flyingturns89]

The oldest driver to ever win a pole for an ARCA is Vern Slagh, who has an interesting story for his pole. Slagh, at 62 years, 5 months, and 25 days, won the pole for an ARCA race at Kentucky in 2002. He then for unknown reasons did not start the car in the race and was credited with a 40th place DNS, but still got credit for the pole.

After setting his time, race officials told him his right-side tires were too soft.  He got the trophy for the pole, and promptly withdrew from the race afterwards.  I've heard both sides where it's been told that he packed up and left in protest, and I've heard another story that ARCA forced him to withdraw after a lengthy meeting with the officials.  What I can say for certain is that a week later he put his ARCA stuff up for auction, went Busch racing once at Michigan the next year, and returned to ARCA in '04 at Kentucky only to crash on the first lap, effectively ending his racing career.

That's why I put it as "unknown reasons". I couldn't find for sure answer to why he left.

Another interesting fact about ARCA, no driver in the history of the ARCA Racing Series has ever won $500,000 in race and championship earnings in a single season. The most single season earnings record belongs to Frank Kimmel, when he scored $496,368 in 2001, according to ARCA records.

[navycook75]

The oldest driver to ever win a pole for an ARCA is Vern Slagh, who has an interesting story for his pole. Slagh, at 62 years, 5 months, and 25 days, won the pole for an ARCA race at Kentucky in 2002. He then for unknown reasons did not start the car in the race and was credited with a 40th place DNS, but still got credit for the pole.

After setting his time, race officials told him his right-side tires were too soft.  He got the trophy for the pole, and promptly withdrew from the race afterwards.  I've heard both sides where it's been told that he packed up and left in protest, and I've heard another story that ARCA forced him to withdraw after a lengthy meeting with the officials.  What I can say for certain is that a week later he put his ARCA stuff up for auction, went Busch racing once at Michigan the next year, and returned to ARCA in '04 at Kentucky only to crash on the first lap, effectively ending his racing career.

That's why I put it as "unknown reasons". I couldn't find for sure answer to why he left.

Another interesting fact about ARCA, no driver in the history of the ARCA Racing Series has ever won $500,000 in race and championship earnings in a single season. The most single season earnings record belongs to Frank Kimmel, when he scored $496,368 in 2001, according to ARCA records.

Well that explains why Wayne Peterson start and parks every week.

[Mother of Invention]

Actually the reason Wayne Start and Parks is cause ARCA won't let hi death traps run the full race. Wayne got so pissed off for being forced to Start and Park at Kansas, he threatened to leave ARCA for NASCAR trucks, I hear he's still trying to get a truck from Richard Childress.

[RyanB06]

I found it interesting that Bayne's car is still in the condition it left Daytona USA in.

[navycook75]

http://racing-reference.info/race/1956-46/V

What's so special about this race is that only one car was left running at the end, and as a result the race was red flagged and ended.

You won't see that nowadays.

[Sparkz47]

You won't see that nowadays.

Well, you never know...

[Spannerhead29 (Nelson)]

You won't see that nowadays.

Well, you never know...

That was last lap tho

[BooyakaDragon]

You won't see that nowadays.

Well, you never know...

That was last lap tho

and at Talladega lol

[navycook75]

With Darrell Wallace's win at Eldora, he became only the second black driver to win on dirt, as Wendell Scott's only win came on a dirt track in Jacksonville.

There was a Formula One driver by the name of Cliff Allison who could speak French despite not knowing a word of it. He mysteriously learned how to after a crash that injured him.

[navycook75]

Assuming Vettel doesn't win a race this year, this will be the first time in sixty years that the reigning champion fails to win a race while his teammate does.

[gone-sovereign]

-One of the most bizarre and tragic accidents in NASCAR history occurred on the opening lap of the 1953 night race at Raleigh Speedway. On the pace lap, Bill Blevins' car had stalled and would not reignite. Despite the outcry of fans, the flagman did not notice before the field had taken the green flag. Another car subsequently crashed into Blevins' stalled car, causing a chain-reaction crash and causing Blevins' car to burst into flames. Blevins and another driver, Jesse Midkiff, had both been killed.

-NASCAR's pit procedures in the early 1990's have not been their most bizarre regulations. Often times in the 1950's when there were less than 26 cars entered in a race, cars would be labelled with individual letters, intended for use as a method of scoring. A skilled typist would be seated in the scoring stand and would type the letters on the cars as they passed by. This was of course long before electronic scoring was a common practice.

-The greatest number of cars to ever start a NASCAR Cup race was 82 cars, in the 1951 Southern 500. The race was slowed for caution only four times. Frank Mundy had started on the pole, but had retired by lap 12, finishing 82nd and no doubt having the worst finishing position in NASCAR history. The race was won by Herb Thomas.

-Tim Flock had to sit out for most of his 1953 season because of an unusual accident: After a long drive from Syracuse, N.Y. to Spartanburg, S.C., Flock had decided to nap in the infield of the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds. While he was napping, a spark plug representative, having not seen Flock, backed over Flock's head with his car.

-Speaking of Tim Flock, despite having a sizable points lead in the 1952 championship standings coming into the final race, he had flipped on Lap 164 of the season finale at Palm Beach Speedway, effectively ending his race. His points rival, Herb Thomas, had won the race, but Flock retained the championship. Since then he'd always joke that he was the only driver "to win a NASCAR championship upside down."

-The last NASCAR driver to win in his first start was Johnny Rutherford in the second Daytona 500 Qualifier race in 1963. This was back when the qualifiers were still counted for points.

[navycook75]

-The last NASCAR driver to win in his first start was Johnny Rutherford in the second Daytona 500 Qualifier race in 1963. This was back when the qualifiers were still counted for points.

If they still counted for points, Coo Coo Marlin and Mike Skinner would have a win.

[gone-sovereign]

This image is not as terrifying as it looks.



Pictured here is the aftermath of Dink Widenhouse's wreck in the 1956 Southern 500. Widenhouse was climbing out of his crippled Ford after an early crash, when he fainted at the sight of his own blood from a cut across his arm, which left him dangling out of the side of his car, still caught in the seatbelt. Widenhouse was fine, but this race was his final NASCAR Grand National start.

[Spannerhead29 (Nelson)]

This image is not as terrifying as it looks.



Pictured here is the aftermath of Dink Widenhouse's wreck in the 1956 Southern 500. Widenhouse was climbing out of his crippled Ford after an early crash, when he fainted at the sight of his own blood from a cut across his arm, which left him dangling out of the side of his car, still caught in the seatbelt. Widenhouse was fine, but this race was his final NASCAR Grand National start.

Dude his right leg is totally bending the wrong way

[navycook75]

Speaking of party and a NASCAR reject, Steve Seligman was arrested for cocaine possession in 1998. It was said he used the cocaine to fund his NASCAR team. All of Seligman's attempts were DNQ's (ranging from 1989 to 1996), though he did make it in to the 1996 Pepsi 400, but his only engine blew during Happy Hour and was forced to go home.

Apparently he's back racing in Late Models at Grundy County, where on his first race back he flipped his car.

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/sports/28482234-419/auto-racing-driver-steve-seligman-walks-from-wild-wreck-at-grundy-county-speedway.html#.U_2CdGPSr9k

There are only two people to win on both Atlanta configurations. Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon.

Taki Inoue supposedly voted for himself in a poll to see who was the worst Formula 1 driver ever.

The 1950 Monaco Grand Prix was once stopped after the Harbor flooded and caused a pile up.

[Alta]

http://racing-reference.info/race/1956-46/V

What's so special about this race is that only one car was left running at the end, and as a result the race was red flagged and ended.

You won't see that nowadays.

There was a video on youtube of this incident i believe, I can't seem to find it now.

[Spannerhead29 (Nelson)]

Road America had a Cup date.

In 1956.

[tommykl]

The 1950 Monaco Grand Prix was once stopped after the Harbor flooded and caused a pile up.

It's worse than that actually, the race wasn't even stopped
Apparently, Juan Manuel Fangio, who was leading the race after the first lap (when the pile up occurred), realised he had to brake to avoid an accident when he came up to the scene on lap 2 and noticed that no one was looking at him

Also, on the topic of trivia, I have this quiz over on F1 Rejects which is about loads of Formula One trivia. If you're interested, you can try it and PM me the answers

1. Which circuit held the Formula One Grand Prix with the most laps (except Indianapolis), and how many laps were there in the race? (0.5 points per correct answer)
2. Which 1970's team did noted reject Keith Greene manage?
3. Which reject was the first European to compete in NASCAR, and what was the name of the Formula One car he built? (0.5 points per correct answer)
4. Who were the first three non-fictional drivers to be in mentioned in the very first Michel Vaillant comic in 1958? (0.33 points per correct answer)
5. Which driver holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only man to die on the day of a Grand Prix he was entered for in circumstances other than a racing accident? And which Grand Prix was he entered for? (0.5 points per correct answer)
6. Of every Formula One constructor who has started a race (not counting any constructor who DNDq every time or qualified but couldn't make the start), which one covered the smallest race distance, at which Grand Prix, and who was driving the car? (0.33 points per correct answer)
7. Which Formula One driver is credited with the first application of a wing in a competitive motorsport context other than a speed record attempt, and in what year? For which Formula One team did he later work and presumably influence the design of their first F1 wing? (0.33 points per correct answer)
8. Similarly, which Formula One driver, inspired by winged sportscars, first had the idea of attaching a full-blown wing to a Formula On car? Where and when did this occur? What did he use to make the wing? (0.25 points per correct answer)
9. Which Grand Prix was the first to hold a prequalifying session?
10. Where did the name of the Camoradi International team come from?
11. On a similar note, who gave the amusingly named BS Fabrications team its name?
12. Which driver holds the record for race entries with the most different constructors, and can you name all of these constructors? (0.07 points per correct answer)
13. Why is the name of the entrant of Leslie Johnson's ERA in the 1950 British Grand Prix disputed?
14. What was unusual about the race format of the 1959 German Grand Prix?
15. On which previous chassis design was the Forti FG01 based?
16. Which non-championship Grand Prix's organisers first triggered the change from F1 to F2 for the 1952 season, and which championship Grand Prix was the first to announce its own switch to Formula 2 (something which all championship GPs eventually did)? (0.5 points per correct answer)
17. Everyone knows about saftey car driver and reject Eppie Wietzes famously picking up the wrong car in its first use, the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix. But who did Wietzes mistakenly pick up?
18. How did Swedish driver/drummer Karl Borgudd acquire the nickname "Slim", and how did this nickname cause him problems later on in his career? (0.5 points per correct answer)
19. Which driver once resorted to a one-page advertisement in a newspaper to attract personal sponsorship?
20. Name the two reasons why Emilio de Villota's entry in the 1981 Spanish Grand Prix was cancelled. (0.5 points per correct answer)
21. Name the four drivers who made their début in the 1989 French Grand Prix. (0.25 points per correct answer)
22. The 1955 British Grand Prix is well-known for being the scene of Stirling Moss' maiden victory ahead of Fangio, but who finished third?
23. Name the 7 Formula One drivers who also competed in the Olympic Games (not Paralympic). (0.14 points per correct answer)
24. Which controversial insurance broker turned racing driver was later implicated in a child pornography scandal, causing him to emigrate to Thailand?
25. Who was the first Swedish driver to enter a championship Grand Prix?
26. When did the final shared drive in Formula One occur, and which drivers were involved? (0.33 points per correct answer)
27. Which German-born driver's autobiography is titled "Blood, Sweat and Turnips"?
28. Which Formula One driver was introduced to motorsport as an interpreter for drivers?
29. Which notable reject is best known for being the last person to have spoken with James Dean before his death?
30. Which driver retired from motor racing by accident when he forgot to renew his competitive licence?

[navycook75]

Both the 1985 and 1986 Busch Clash are listed with the same race time and average speed. The time was 15 minutes 19 seconds and the average speed was 195.865 miles per hour.

[gone-sovereign]

So I have a NASCAR Trivia book here, and in addition to of course a lot of questions, it has some really interesting miscellaneous facts. I'll list of a few that I found to be interesting.

-"Prior to becoming a successful driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Carl Edwards passed out business cards that touted his driving skills."

-"Mamie Reynolds, at 19 years old, became the first female -- as well as the youngest -- car owner to win in the NASCAR premier series. The race was held on September 13, 1962, and Fred Lorenzen drove the Reynolds-owned car to the checkered flag at Augusta Speedway in Georgia."

-"The second-to-last race of the 1956 season was held on November 11 at Hickory Speedway in North Carolina, the same day the first race of the 1957 season was held at Willow Springs Speedway in Lancaster, California."

-"There have been several times in the history of the NASCAR premier series that two races have been run on the same day, but on October 14, 1951, and May 21, 1961, the NASCAR premier series held three races."

-"Clint Bowyer was working in a fabrication shop in his hometown of Emporia, Kansas, when Richard Childress called to inquire about hiring him as a driver. Bowyer almost didn't take the call thinking one of his friends was playing a joke on him."

-"Junior Johnson can be credited for helping bring R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and their Winston brand of cigarettes to NASCAR. R.J. Reynolds was interested in sponsoring Johnson's car, but had more budget to work with than what it cost. Johnson suggested they consider talking to NASCAR about sponsoring the whole series instead, and Winston ended up the title sponsor for NASCAR's premier series."

-"In 1951, the states of North Carolina, New Jersey and California proposed bills to "prohibit and curtail all forms of auto racing." Bill France was instrumental in addressing the threat and the Congressional bill never made it to the floor."

-"NASCAR premier series driver George Seeger of Whitter, California, drove his Tony Sampo-owned Studebaker to a 20th-place finish in the 1951 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. During Seeger's trip home with Sampo, they got into an argument while stopped at a gas station in Phoenix, Arizona. Sampo drove off when Seeger got out to use the restroom, leaving him stranded without any transportation home."

-"Jimmy Florian drove to victory at Dayton Speedway in Ohio on June 25, 1950, without a shirt. He later said that he removed it because he was unusually hot and there was nothing in the NASCAR rule book that stated a driver was required to wear a shirt during a race."

-"On September 28, 1952, Herb Thomas won the 100 Miles race at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina with an average speed of 35.398 mph. It holds the record for the slowest race in the NASCAR premier series."

-"Junior Johnson built up such a lead in the 1961 Virginia 500 at the Martinsville Speedway in Virginia that his crew repeatedly gave him the "EZ" sign to slow him down. During one of his pit stops, Johnson was threatened with a sledgehammer by Rex Lovette, his car owner, who demanded he slow down and save the car."

-"Joe Frasson was fined $100 by NASCAR for beating his car with a jack handle. He was frustrated with his Pontiac after he failed to qualify for the 1975 World 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Frasson later qualified for the race driving Henley Gray's No. 19 Chevrolet."

-"On February 9, 1952, Al Stevens placed 27th out of 118 cars in a NASCAR Modified Sportsman Division race at the Daytona Beach & Road Course. Alongside him in his car was a government-surplus phone from WWII that sat on a big box. Using the phone, he was able to communicate with his owner/crew chief, Cotton Bennett, and two spotters who helped him successfully navigate around a couple of accidents during the race (This was the first time two-way radio communication was used in the sport)."

-"A driver named J. Christopher from New York City drove a Jaguar in the 100-mile event at Linden Airport on June 13, 1954. Christopher had to drop out of the race after only 23 laps because of mechanical problems, finishing 39th. Christopher raced with an amateur sports-car group and changed his name for the Linden Airport event to protect his amateur standing. His real name was Conrad Janis, and he was a famous jazz musician and actor who played Mindy's father on the 1970s TV show Mork and Mindy."

-"On April 12, 1952, an "overserved" race fan attempted to drive across the track during the NASCAR premier series race at Columbia Speedway in South Carolina. A Ford driven by E.C. Ramsey could not avoid the car and plowed into it, eliminating Ramsey from the event. Ramsey was unharmed in the accident."

-"In the inaugural World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on June 19, 1960, Jack Smith was leading the field in his No. 47 Boomershine Pontiac by more than 8 laps. However, misfortune struck when a piece of asphalt punctured his race car's gas tank and he ended up finishing in 12th place, 48 laps back."

-"The gas trucks ran out of gas at the halfway point of the 1962 Gwyn Stanley 400 at the North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina on April 15. In order to get gas for their race cars, pit crews ran through the infield with buckets and hoses, siphoning gas from passenger cars. A caution was thrown to allow a gas truck to leave in search of more gas, but the truck never returned."

-"Junior Johnson drove a No. 27 Ford in the 1965 Daytona 500. He had competed with the No. 27 painted on his cars for several years, however, while leading that race, his right front tire blew and he hit the wall on Lap 27. Johnson was not injured, but he immediately changed to No. 26 from that point on."

-"On May 18, 1952, Ted Chamberlain carefully guided his speeding race car in the final 120 laps of the 200-lap race at Dayton Speedway in Ohio with nothing more than a steering hub after the steering wheel fell off. He finished 13th out of 15 cars."

-"Buck Baker won the May 20, 1956, NASCAR premier series race at Martinsville Speedway and Jack Smith won the October 28, 1956, NASCAR premier series race event at Martinsville Speedway, while both driving the No. 502 Carl Kiekhaefer-owned Dodge. It is the highest-numbered race car to win any race in NASCAR's three national series. Smith also drove three races in the 1956 season piloting the No. 999 Ford owned by Joe Jones, but he didn't win any races."

-"On August 6, 1971, Bobby Allison led 138 of 250 laps in the race held at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Although Allison crossed the finish line three seconds before second-place finisher Richard Petty, NASCAR did not officially count the victory towards Allison's career wins in the NASCAR premier series. Allison's car was a Grand American race car and not the style of cars they were running in the NASCAR Grand National Division (now the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) at the time. As a result, no driver is listed as the official winner of the race."

-"Race car drivers John Kennedy and George Bush both competed in the NASCAR premier series. Kennedy appeared in 8 races during the 1969 season and 11 races between 1977 and 1979. His best finish was at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he placed 14th on August 10, 1969. Bush competed in 5 races in 1952 with a best finish of 7th at Lakewood Speedway in Georgia on November 16."

-"Loy Allen, Jr. (1994), Mike Skinner (1997) and Jimmie Johnson (2002) all won the pole for the Daytona 500 in their rookie seasons (Danica Patrick was added to this list with her Daytona 500 pole in 2013)."

-"The Coca-Cola 600, held each year over Memorial Day weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, has traditionally been the longest race held in NASCAR competition. However, Michigan International Speedway attempted to host a 600-mile event in August 1969. The race was called because of rain after 165 laps, short of the scheduled 300 laps. It was the only time a track has tried to stage a NASCAR-sanctioned 600-mile race outside of Charlotte."

-"NASCAR driver Frank Mundy hitched a ride about 2,000 miles to the April 8, 1951, NASCAR premier series race at Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California, with fellow driver Marshall Teague, who ended up winning the 200-lap event. Mundy didn't have a race car to compete in, but hoped to find one once he got out west. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in his attempts, so he rented a Chevrolet from a local car rental company and went on to finish 11th among the 20 race entrants. He returned the car to the rental company after hours so they would not see the badly worn tires on the car."

-"The first NASCAR premier series race held under lights took place at Columbia Speedway (South Carolina) on June 16, 1951. Frank Mundy led 167 of the 200 laps on the half-mile track to win the event."

-"Darlington Speedway held two NASCAR premier series events in the same year for the first time in 1952. A 100-mile spring race on May 10 was scheduled as a support event for NASCAR's new open-wheeled Speedway Division."

-"In August 1952, Cannonball Baker announced that any driver convicted of reckless driving on the highway would be regarded as violating the NASCAR rule book. He cited the fact that the NASCAR Grand National Division was in the public eye and drivers were expected to maintain a high level of dignity in their behavior off the track."

-"Legendary mechanic Smokey Yunick made his only NASCAR premier series start as a driver at Palm Beach Speedway in West Palm Beach, Florida, on November 30, 1952. Yunick qualified last in a 19-car field and finished 18th after completing only seven laps because of ignition problems."

More coming at some point. I said I was only picking out the facts I thought were interesting, but there's a lot here...

[Spannerhead29 (Nelson)]

-"Prior to becoming a successful driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Carl Edwards passed out business cards that touted his driving skills."

[navycook75]

Jenson Button owns the car he won the WDC with in 2009 with Brawn GP.

Brawn GP is also the only F1 team to achieve a 100% championship success rate

[Alpineopossum]

Jenson Button owns the car he won the WDC with in 2009 with Brawn GP.

Brawn GP is also the only F1 team to achieve a 100% championship success rate

What about the Alfa Factory team in '50 and '51?

[navycook75]

Jenson Button owns the car he won the WDC with in 2009 with Brawn GP.

Brawn GP is also the only F1 team to achieve a 100% championship success rate

What about the Alfa Factory team in '50 and '51?

They returned to F1 in 1979.

[gone-sovereign]

I'll post the rest of the facts from the trivia book I mentioned that I wanted to post at some point. For now, here's some other facts from a couple of scattered sources.

-Before the start of the 1968 Middle Georgia 500 at the Middle Georgia Speedway in Macon, GA., Tiny Lund handcuffed "Tiger" Tom Pistone to the fence. After he was freed by a fan with a key, he dashed to his race car and put his helmet on, only to find that it had been filled with water.

-Believe it or not, there was a second NASCAR Winston Legends race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway short track on the All-Star race weekend in 1995, won by Ramo Stott. I haven't been able to find any footage of this event, or otherwise I haven't been looking hard enough.

-After Buddy Baker's nasty accident during a race in Maryville, Tennessee in which he had been knocked unconscious for a short while and he had broken a few ribs, he was helped out of his car by two men from an ambulance who tried to pull him out of the car without unhooking his safety harnesses, and loaded him onto a wheeled stretcher into the ambulance without locking the wheels down on the stretcher or securing the back door. So of course, when the ambulance started to pull away, Baker dumped out, still strapped to the stretcher, and rolled down the banking with cars coming at him under yellow. Every car had managed to miss him, but the gurney dug in to the mud in the infield, flipping it over, with Baker face-planting into the mud.

-In 1998, to celebrate the sport's 50th anniversary, NASCAR threw itself a party in Hollywood, called "NASCAR's Night in Hollywood -- A Golden Celebration" -- and it was just plain awful. The attending fans had to be instructed on how excited they should be, and then the announcer had misnamed a couple of the attending drivers. The opening number was a parody of "The Lady is a Tramp" sung by Robert Goulet and the Anita Mann Dancers, entitled "That's Why NASCAR Is The Champ". Later on, to pay tribute to one of the sport's first female drivers, Louise Smith, Mike Love of The Beach Boys and Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean did a cover of "Little Old Lady From Pasadena" as dancers in bikini tops shimmied and Morgan Shepherd joined them on roller skates. Richard Petty was presented with a lifetime achievement award by Oliver Stone, and I'll let you figure out what's wrong with that picture. This event was televised, and you could probably find footage of it somewhere.

-At the conclusion of the 1952 Grand National event at Daytona Beach, after Johnny Bruner had flagged down Marshall Teague as the race winner, fourth place runner Tommy Thompson had spun coming across the finish line and struck Bruner, throwing him 40 feet in the air, but leaving him uninjured.

-This is nothing more than a rumor, but apparently before UPS had officially made its debut to NASCAR in 2001 sponsoring Dale Jarrett, it was undergoing sponsorship agreements years before. They entered negotiations with a Cup team, and after talks had reached a crucial stage, it was time for both parties to exchange paperwork. UPS sent its paperwork to the team, and the team completed the forms and polished its final proposal. The team's secretary gathered up material for the sponsor to agree to the team's proposal, but there was a problem -- the secretary had sent the paperwork via FedEx, and the talks were over.

-In the 50's, most drivers took a cold drink with them to have during the race. Buck Baker's selection was tomato juice. So when he was in a nasty accident in the first Southern 500, and the sight of the accident shocked fans, who thought Baker had been killed judging by the "blood" all over the place inside his race car. Except it wasn't blood. It was tomato juice.

-Before Cale Yarborough was a race car driver, he gained the reputation for the world's worst skydiver. He and Harold Lyles were commissioned to jump from 10,000 feet over Beaufort, South Carolina, and splash land in Port Royal Sound. But Yarborough was inexperienced. After jumping, he found himself drifting towards the center of a town, narrowly missing some power lines and landing on top of a dentist's office.

-Davey Allison was in contention to win the Winston Million in 1992, but ultimately failed because of a bad pit call -- Allison was in the lead closing in on the last 100 miles, but the race was threatened by rain, and Allison and his crew chief Larry McReynolds were left with the decision to pit for fuel or not. McReynolds asked a crew member to go check the radar. Even though the track was surrounded by storm clouds, the crewmen told McReynolds that they should be fine, and McReynolds gave Allison the go-ahead to pit. After doing so, the rain came, the race was called, and the victory went to Darrell Waltrip. The crewman had thought that the green on the radar meant that it was good. And since then, one of the main reasons we know Larry McReynolds is for his work in reporting the weather.

-Long time racing official Ernie Moore tells the story of a race in Southern Georgia on a recently harvested corn field. The track had a hole about five inches deep, and the driver's head would bang against the roof every time he ran over it. One driver ran over the same hole repeatedly, knocking himself unconscious and usually taking another driver with him in the resulting accident. Fans splashed water on the driver's face to wake him up, and each time he got back in the car and raced, only to repeat his mistake. Eventually, after the fifth time in doing it, nobody bothered with him.

[flyingturns89]

- ARCA driver and owner Wayne Peterson voluntarily served seven tours of duty in the US Army during the Vietnam War. He reached the rank of Sergeant 1st Class, Special Forces.

- The official team name of the team that Grant Enfinger won four ARCA races with this year is Team BCR Racing and Development Team.

- In 1974, two drivers tied for the championship, and were crowned co-champions. The two drivers were Ron Hutcherson, who won his third straight title, and Dave Dayton, who won his first. Oddly enough, Dayton would end up winning three straight titles as well.

- In the last 18 ARCA seasons, including 2014, Frank Kimmel has finished outside the top 2 in points only three times. In the last 23 seasons, he has missed the top 5 in points only once.

- Only one driver has won both an ARCA championship and a NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. That is Benny Parsons, who in addition to being the 1973 Winston Cup champion, won two ARCA titles in 1968 and 1969.

[navycook75]

The infamous 1982 Daytona 500 had no Chevys in the field due to the downsizing of the Monte Carlos, unfortunately making them terrible on the Superspeedways. However there were three that attempted but failed to qualify.

[bsoyuz]

Brazilian Stock Car Racing trivia, because I am mad at Barrichello winning the title, he should not win stuff, apart from races.

Don't get mad at Jimmie Johnson by winning 6 titles, at least you don't have Ingo Hoffman.
F1 Reject, drove the Copersucar for 6 races, DNQ'ed for 3 and didn't scored anything. When he returned to race in the Stock Cars he just stomped the field. He currently holds the following records:

- Most Titles: 12 (1980; 1985; 1989-1994; 1996-1998; 2002)
- Most Wins: 76
- Most Poles: 61
- Most Seasons Run: 1979 (innaugural season) - 2008 (his retirement) = 30 FULL SEASONS

The series is since it's formation, a Chevrolet-spec series,  even though other manufacturers have run in Stock Car, Chevy always dominated, what forced several manufacturers to join and leave afterwards, the only non-Chevy titles were: Cacá Bueno in 2006 and 2007, where he drove a Mitsubishi Lancer; and Ricards Maurício and Cacá Bueno in the #RedBullWinsLOL era (2008,2009,2011), drving Peugeots. The current cars are Chevy-spec, but or badged as the Chevrolet Sonic or the Peugeot 408.

Several former F1 and IndyCar drivers raced and still race in Stock Car: Luciano Burti (he is a analyst here and races sometimes); Jacques Villeneuve (ran a few races); Rubens Barrichello (goddammit, you are not supposed to win titles);  Ingo Hoffman; Ana Beatriz; Raphael Matos; Ricardo Zonta; Tarso Marques; Antonio Pizzonia, Max Wilson, and many more.....

Stock Car Brasil does try to make a rip-off of NASCAR, our major series name: Stock Car Copa Nextel (Stock Car Nextel Cup). And we do have a chase; four races long, but it's still a chase.

[Alpineopossum]

I remember Caca Bueno racing in the WTCC at Curitiba. He's an amazing driver.

[tommykl]

Caca Bueno

Sounds familiar. Is he related to Luiz Bueno, by any chance?

[bsoyuz]

Caca Bueno

Sounds familiar. Is he related to Luiz Bueno, by any chance?

No he's not related to Luiz Bueno, altough he is the son of Galvão Bueno (the man that called Scott Speed a future champion just because of that name and calls Boulevard Albert 1er a "straight turn". - yes, Bueno is the lead commentator for F1 here since the 70's).

[Milan655]

He's had a great season in Blancpain Sprint too

[Backmarker]

Derrike Cope's 1990 Daytona 500 winning car was eventually sold to the future longtime car owner for Frank Kimmel, Larry Clement. After being converted to a Monte Carlo at some point, it returned to Daytona in 1996, and was the car that Bob Hill infamously rolled over. It's now in the hands of a private collector, who showed up on American Pickers, which is how I found out about this.

[Alpineopossum]

Mark Thatcher, son of UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was had a significant racing career. He even ran Le Mans in 1980 with Lella Lombadi (an ironic choice for a co-driver since his mother was the first female to run a western country and Lombardi was the first woman to score points in F1).

His motorsports career took a turn for the bizarre in 1982 when he disappeared for days during the Dakar Rally. All of this happened while his mother was the sitting prime minister and there was some considerable speculation that foul play was involved (possibly a kidnapping, as the rally went through the notoriously unstable African nation of Mali). The British military conducted a large scale search operation, but it turned out Mark had just gotten lost. He was found six days later. Margaret Thatcher personally paid for the search and rescue operation. Mark later said before the rally started "I did absolutely no preparation. Nothing."

[gone-sovereign]

At the age of nine, Bruce McLaren contracted Perthes disease, which is a childhood hip disorder. It left him with his left leg shorter than his right. That explains a lot, actually...

[Milan655]

At the age of nine, Bruce McLaren contracted Perthes disease, which is a childhood hip disorder. It left him with his left leg shorter than his right. That explains a lot, actually...

I reckon this is one of my favourite facts..

[Alpineopossum]

At the age of nine, Bruce McLaren contracted Perthes disease, which is a childhood hip disorder. It left him with his left leg shorter than his right. That explains a lot, actually...

That was just meant to be.

[crl]

Gary Gerould has been the radio voice of the NBA's Sacramento Kings for almost three decades.

[navycook75]

Tom Sneva was fired by Roger Penske after winning the USAC Champ Car championship in 1978 because he won it without winning a race.

[SpeedDemon37]

(I don't think that these have been posted in this thread yet.)

- Of all one-digit and two-digit numbers, the one that has not been used as recently as any other in the ARCA Racing Series is 93. An ARCA car hasn't started a race with the number since 2007.

- The only number that is officially retired in any NASCAR series is 61. The number is retired from the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in honor of Richie Evans, who won the series' championships nine times.

- At least two drivers have won championship titles in major stock car racing series posthumously. Richie Evans won the 1985 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship not long after his fatal practice accident at Martinsville Speedway, and Davey Allison won IROC XVII (1993) after being killed in a helicopter accident. Terry Labonte replaced Allison for the season's final IROC race and scored enough points to give Allison and himself the title, but Evans simply had a points lead in the Modified Tour that was too large to be surmounted by any competitors.

[navycook75]

The last Nascar points race to not be televised live was the 1996 due to a rain delay. As a result CBS switched to golf. One week later they aired a tape delay of the race a day after the Brickyard 400.

[flyingturns89]

Five time 24 Hour of LeMans winner Emanuele Pirro once raced in the 24 Hours of Lemons. Pirro's two sons were running their first motorsports race at Road America in a Lemons race, and Pirro decided that he would join them.

NASCAR driver Billy Wade spent three years racing in the Cup Series, and won only four races. When he won them is interesting though. Wade won the 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th races of the 1964 Cup season. The first win came on July 10th, and the last came on July 19th, so he won four NASCAR Cup races in 10 days.

[Sponsored content]