McGriff Earned His Pioneer Status
Hershel McGriff, who is being honored as a Pioneer of Racing by the American Auto Writers and Broadcasters Assn. at its awards banquet Saturday night at the Sheraton Suites Fairplex in Pomona, defies description.
He is one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers, having driven in the first Southern 500 in Darlington, S.C., in 1950; won a Winston West championship in 1986; won a record 12 Winston West races in 1972 but finished second to Ray Elder in the standings; became NASCAR’s oldest race winner at 61 years 4 months, when he won a Winston West race at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield in 1989; and drove three races last year before retiring, at 74, at Fontana.
All of that is remarkable, but perhaps his most amazing feat was winning in 1950 the first Carrera Panamerica, a 2,135-mile, six-day race the length of Mexico, from Juarez on the Texas border to El Ocotal, across the line from Guatemala.
“I was just a kid of 22 at the time and it was no big deal then,” McGriff said in an interview a few years ago. “I drove a log truck for a living and weighed 170 pounds and was in good shape. I had a new 1950 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 and we [with co-driver Ray Elliott] took the back seat out and put a second gas tank in the trunk and stuffed four spare tires behind the seats.
“We could hit about 120 [mph] on some of the straight stretches. The worst part was that when we pulled into a town, most times there were places to sleep but no place to eat, and we didn’t carry any food. Mostly I drank Coca-Cola and in those six days, I lost 15 pounds. Ray lost 28.
“The car was just like it was driven out from the factory. We drove from Portland to Juarez before the race. We wore Clymer helmets and had safety belts, but there was no roll bar. We learned quickly how to tell where we could go fast and where we had to be careful.
“We found out that any time we saw a bunch of Mexicans at a corner, you knew it was a bad one. If it looked bad, but no one was around, we could go pretty fast. It didn’t take long to figure that out.
“The last day, we were out of tires. We had been using factory seconds that we bought for $12 each. The last day a General tire dealer in Mexico gave me a set of General Popos, thick, six-ply tires, and that’s what helped me win. That last day was through the jungle and over rocks. We threw everything out of the car except for two spares and just enough fuel to finish. We had to make up eight minutes in order to win and we did it, by 76 seconds.”
First prize was $17,000.
“That was a lot of money for a 22-year-old kid in those days, and the General tire dealer told me that if we won, we didn’t have to pay for the tires,” McGriff said.
McGriff then drove the winning Olds to South Carolina for the NASCAR race at Darlington, where he finished ninth.
Truly a pioneer of racing, he will share that honor Saturday night with Parnelli Jones, the 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner and a veteran of many off-road races in Baja California.
The dinner also honors the 2002 All-America team, but busy schedules will prevent most of the 13 selectees from attending.
Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart and U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown champion J.J. Yeley will be in Tulsa, Okla., driving midgets in the Chili Bowl. Stewart is defending champion.
The banquet, which includes cocktails at the NHRA Motorsports Museum and dinner at the Sheraton, is open to the public. Details: (818) 842-7005.
Riverside Remembered
Richard Holub, a Corona del Mar investor who drove in one of the last races at Riverside International Raceway before it was bulldozed in 1989 to make way for a mall, is spearheading a campaign to build a memorial to the famous road racing circuit.
The Moreno Valley city council approved the project, which will include a granite monument in the shape of the nine-turn track, and a racing theme for the TownGate II Community Center. Holub is soliciting funds to finance the monument in order to have it completed when the community center opens in late May or early June.
“Riverside is where the legends of racing became legends,” Holub said. “When I realized there was not even a historical marker at the site, I decided we -- those of us who drove or enjoyed Riverside races -- should do something about it. The result is a plan to build a monument and gather memorabilia to display at the community center, which is quite close to where the track existed.”
McGriff, incidentally, won 14 races there, from 1969 to 1985, more than any other driver in the track’s history. He was 60 when he drove in the final NASCAR race, in June 1988.
Donations may be sent to Riverside International Raceway Monument Fund, PMB 325 P.O. Box 68021, Anaheim, CA 92817-0821.
The Name Game
What is it about racing series stretching out their formal names?
CART recently announced its ridiculously long new name: Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford.
Now the IRL has followed suit. Its new name: Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
How are those two going to look in headlines?
Career Change?
Jeff Gordon, four-time Winston Cup champion, is taking on a new challenge this week when he serves as host of “Saturday Night Live.”
“I don’t know what to expect,” said Gordon, the first race driver-host of the show known for comedy spoofs. “It will probably be a lot like The Winston [all-star race] -- controlled chaos.”
Tim Kennedy, writing in Racing Wheels, wonders “if Gordon’s high-profile divorce from his wife Brooke will be the subject of a SNL skit,” noting that court documentation disclosed Gordon’s net worth as $48 million -- of which Brooke is suing for half.
Irwindale Speedway
The 2003 Guinness Book of World Records lists Irwindale as the site of the fastest radio-controlled electric model race car, 111 mph for a one-tenth scale car with Cliff Lett at the controls. The record was set on the oval track, but Lett said if his record is bettered, he will get it back on Irwindale’s drag strip.
The Vintage Auto Racing Assn. will hold its third annual technical inspection Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The inspection amounts to a car show for VARA racing machines, from Corvettes and Ferraris to Can-Ams and Porsches. It is open to the public, free of charge.
The weekly racing series will open March 29 with NASCAR stock cars.
Last Laps
Signs of the times? The Winston No Bull bonus program, in which winning drivers and fans each collected $1 million after specified races since 1998, has been eliminated. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. officials said the decision would have no effect on its Winston Cup sponsorship.
CART moved closer to an all road- or street-racing series by scheduling a Monday, May 5 bank holiday date at Brands Hatch, England, replacing the oval race at Rockingham. The only oval tracks on the 18-race schedule are Milwaukee’s and Fontana’s.... The National Hot Rod Assn. has extended its lease of Famoso Raceway, north of Bakersfield, for another 20 years. This will ensure continuation of the Auto Club’s popular NHRA California Hot Rod Reunion in October.
Rocky Moran Jr., of Coto de Caza, has been awarded the Human Performance International Scholarship from the Gorsline Company.... Mark Johnson, former CART and IRL team manager from Laguna Niguel, will take over a similar role for Team Chevy Trucks Kawasaki to oversee its 18-rider team headed by veteran Ezra Lusk and teenage phenom James “Bubba” Stewart.
Winston Cup veteran Jimmy Spencer, dropped by Chip Ganassi, has been signed to drive the No. 7 Dodge Intrepid this season for Ultra Motorsports team owner Jim Smith of Buena Park. Spencer will replace Casey Atwood. Tommy Baldwin, crew chief for Ward Burton’s win in last year’s Daytona 500, will handle the wrenches for Spencer.
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2003 Race Schedule
