Top 25 Break-ups In NASCAR History

The announcement of H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler’s departure as the promoter at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway rocked the NASCAR community. The less than amicable split with Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner Bruton Smith immediately became one of the most significant break-ups in the sport’s history. Here follows one writer’s opinion of the Top 25 break-ups in NASCAR.

1. Richard Petty leaves Petty Enterprises (1983) — Shortly after getting caught with an oversize engine at Charlotte, which was built by brother Maurice, “The King” left for the team of Mike Curb, where he won his 199th and 200th races.

2. David Pearson fired by the Wood Brothers (1979) — The crew chief yelled “Whoa!” and the driver thought he heard “Go!” When the wheels fell off the Purolator Mercury at the end of the Darlington pit road after Peason departed from what he thought was a two-tire stop, they also fell off a legendary combination.

3. “Humpy” Wheeler splits with Bruton Smith (2008) — Smith alienated the Charlotte community with his threat to move the Lowe’s track while insisting on installing a drag strip for an NHRA event despite a conflict with the Cabarrus County Commissioners. Wheeler, who had spent three decades cultivating the track’s relationship with the community and establishing himself as the best known promoter in American racing, was left holding the bag.
When Wheeler asked for a raise for a $1.1 million salary that is paltry compared to other major sports executives, the deal was sealed by Smith’s refusal. As president of SMI, Wheeler would also have overseen the new track purchases in New Hampshire and Kentucky — and possibly a future purchase of Pocono.

4. Tim Flock and his ulcers leave Carl Kiekhaefer (1956) — Flock’s 18 wins in 1955 remain second only to Petty’s 27 in 1967. But after four more (of his career 39 victories), an emaciated Flock declared his health couldn’t handle the demanding and blustery team owner’s regimen. He left a team that would establish a record 16 straight victories that season.

5. Curtis Turner breaks up with “Big Bill” (1961) — When Turner, in an effort to save the Charlotte Motor Speedway from financial troubles, cooked up a deal with The Teamsters, NASCAR founder Bill France suspended his license for trying to organize drivers in a union.

6. Dale Earnhardt let go by Rod Osterlund (1981) — One year after winning his first championship, Earnhardt learned the California businessman thought he was expendable. He moved to the car of Richard Childress, who retired as a driver, for the second half of the season. He moved on to Walter “Bud” Moore’s squad for two years. When Childress had sufficiently built up his team, by prior agreement Earnhardt returned and began his string of six championships in 11 seasons.

7. Jeff Gordon escapes contract with Bill Davis and Ford (1992) — When Rick Hendrick saw Gordon drive the Ford of Davis in a Busch Series event in Atlanta, he decided to sign him. Unfortunately for Davis and Ford, their contract with Gordon gave him the option to become NASCAR’s first bonus baby at Hendrick Motorsports.

8. Ed Otto sells his share of NASCAR to “Big Bill” (1964) — It made the NASCAR founder nervous when Bill Tuthill, one of four original shareholders, retired and ceded his shares to Otto. Although president, France then also owned an equal 40 percent of the shares of NASCAR. Following a period of inevitable friction, France made it clear he thought the outspoken and flamboyant Otto was a liability. Otto offered to sell his shares to the suspended Curtis Turner (the inventive promoter always had a good sense of humor), but then settled with France. Otto sold his 40 percent to him for $250,000. Otto, among other things, immediately began promoting drag races in Daytona.

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. splits with stepmother Teresa Earnhardt and DEI (2007) — The contentious relationship really blossomed when Little E almost burned up in a fiery episode aboard a Corvette in the ALMS race at Infineon Raceway in 2005. Teresa declined to allow Earnhardt Jr.’s mother Brenda to fly on the DEI company plane en route to race weekends while helping to treat the driver’s second-degree burns.

10. Darrell Waltrip buys his way out of contract with DiGard Racing (1980) — Not yet known as “Dee Dubya,” Waltrip had to pay Bill Gardner a princely sum to move to the team of Junior Johnson, where he won three championships in five seasons.

11. Dale Inman inks deal with Billy Hagan, leaves Petty Enterprises (1981) — After directing Petty to his seventh and final win at Daytona with a gas-and-go on the final pit stop, Crew Chief Inman took a better paying job at Billy Hagan’s team. With Terry Labonte at the wheel, Inman won a record eighth championship. Inman subsequently returned to Petty Enterprises and was on board when “The King” retired in 1992.

12. Bobby Allison leaves Junior Johnson (1972) — Despite winning 10 races under one of the first major commercial sponsorships — from Coca-Cola — these two fiery characters couldn’t see eye-to-eye. It would be 11 years before Allison finally won that elusive championship with DiGard, but only after finishing second twice to Waltrip and Johnson.

13. Ernie, Bill Elliott fly from Harry Melling (1992) — Melling rescued the family team and enabled the brothers to catapult to stardom. But when Peter Coors balked at a new, higher priced sponsorship, all concerned went their separate ways. Coors said he didn’t want to pay for the new, longer airplane runway behind the Elliotts’ shops in Dawsonville.

14. Andy Petree ends days of “Mr. September” (1993) — The crew chief responsible for Harry Gant’s sweep of races in September of 1991 on radial tires, Petree left Leo Jackson in favor of Richard Childress Racing. He directed Dale Earnhardt to back-to-back championships while coaching “Ironhead” on how to drive with radials.

15. Bobby Isaac leaves Talladega (1973) — The only veteran to drive in the first race at Talladega instead of joining the driver’s strike in 1969, Isaac received a gold watch from NASCAR president Bill France for his efforts. But four years later, Isaac said he heard a voice on the backstraight at Talladega telling him to get out of the car. He drove to pit lane and climbed out. His career as a NASCAR star ended not long afterwardl.

16. Kyle Busch disses Rick Hendrick (2007) — After “Shrub” wrecked his older brother Kurt in the all-star race in Charlotte, team owner Rick Hendrick had a conversation with his driver. They failed to see eye-to-eye. The result was Kyle Busch departing the team for Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick hiring Dale Earnhardt Jr.

17. Kurt Busch signs with Roger Penske, leaves Jack Roush (2005) — Following Flock, Pearson and Earnhardt, Busch became the fourth driver to split with his team owner following a championship season. Penske tried to hire Matt Kenseth first, but when that former champion elected to stay with Roush, sponsor Miller Brewing insisted on having a champion to represent its Lite brand after Rusty Wallace’s retirement. That turned out to be Busch.

18. Dave Marcis walks, wearing wingtips as usual (1978) — Angered by the sudden firing of Crew Chief Dewey Livengood, driver Dave Marcis quit his job as the driver for Osterlund Racing. That opened up the seat for a rookie named Dale Earnhardt.

19. Fireball Roberts moves to Smokey Yunick (1959) — Foreseeing the superspeedway era, Yunick hired Roberts from the Atlanta team of Frank Strickland, creating one of the sport’s legendary combinations. Fireball had become the first to win three 500-mile races in 1958 and was en route to becoming NASCAR’s first nationally recognized superstar.

20. Joe Gibbs leaves General Motors (2007) — The team owner took the money from Toyota and immediately began running up front.

21. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ends NASCAR sponsorship (2004) — The long union which helped NASCAR promote itself to major league status over the course of three decades ended inevitably with the attorneys general agreement on the advertising of tobacco products. Other major corporate departures have included tire makers Firestone and Hoosier Tires plus fuel sponsor Unocal 76.

22. Tim Richmond quits Hendrick Motorsports (1987) — Suffering from AIDS, Richmond was drummed out by his fellow drivers for erratic behavior. Hendrick Motorsports had been running a parallel program for sponsor Folger’s all season with Benny Parsons behind the wheel. Richmond, who won two races after his return from double pneumonia, dropped out before the summer was over and Parsons’s car remained as the lone entry for the sponsor.

23. Tim Richmond leaves NASCAR (1988) — In an apparent deliberate attempt to dismantle NASCAR’s new drug policy which was aimed squarely at him, Richmond loaded up on over-the-counter drugs before taking a drug test prior to the Busch Clash at Daytona. After banning him from the Busch Clash, NASCAR settled out of court for a sum of more than $500,000, according to the AP.

24. David Pearson leaves Cotton Owens (1967) — When the team owner visited his shops and found the entire team missing, an irate Owens fired everyone when they returned. The team protested that they were all at lunch. In any event, driver Pearson, who had won the championship in 1966, was among those fired that day. Pearson went on to join Holman-Moody, where he won two of his three championships.

25. Hoosier pulls out of NASCAR (1994) — When Bob Newton could not longer keep up with Goodyear’s radial assault, Hoosier Tires returned its focus to dirt tracks. Some would sayp this was one of the better break-ups in NASCAR history.

Monday, May 26th, 2008 Filed under Uncategorized |