Curb Motorsports Museum Tour: 40 Years of Racing History From Earnhardt to Andretti

Dale Earnhardt's first championship car he's a real car up here so we're here at the curb Motorsports Museum and if you don't know who Mike Curb is you probably heard his name before but Gene's gonna fill you in on that Mike curve has started a record company in Los Angeles California in 1960s this is just a handful of the ones that he's produced for thousands of people so how does a recording music guy get into all of this I'm still not even clear on how the transition happened I'm not really clear on it he started uh he started ownering his sponsoring race team back in the 80s one of his first cars was Dale Earnhardt's first championship card but you have that over there don't you we have that car here yes uh a matter of fact we have 38 personal and race cars here we got a Leanne Rhymes we got her first car here and she is on curb records the first car there you see is the Napa car it won the k n Pro West Series in 2016. and uh the Red Man car uh that's the last car that was on the track with tobacco products I don't remember the date that they made them stop taking uh advertising off of cars with tobacco products but that will run at Daytona and it was the last car on the track with tobacco products Jay sawler and Johnny sautter drove these cars uh the uh those two ran out of our shop and uh they used to be about three blocks up the road up here is that like across from the Food Lion that's the perfect Food Lion on the food line started was what it was it was a car dealership it would build up Motors and uh Mike bought that building and we moved the race shop into there and that's where the actual Race Shop was at that's where it was at is that the same places where Whiting house Motors was yep I know no no white house beside it okay but they tore White House Down one of the pictures that we've got right here of the old building uh you'll probably notice the guy if you want to walk back take a filter Dale Jarrett drove out of that building so this is across the street from the Food Lion across the street across the street if you notice how many race cars that we were just a little small they were just a small team back then and uh when you look at the race car lined up and down the wall but Dale drove up Dale drove the 98 car brought a new sharp drove out of that building Stevie Reeves uh numbers a number of drivers drove by that field that's the 32 call run it North wiltonboro my Hickory a lot of y'all were short right called uh race track the Mike never had to go hunt these cars down to get him back he just kept them we just kept them yep so these never left the possession of Curves when we uh before we opened up the museums we had a storage building in Concord that most of these cars were in huh when we would take when they would uh move the race team or change race team we'd take one of the cars and keep it so that was that like a established thing you just keep keep one and move on yeah interesting more software with a good spot for us who is the AGA janian okay Kerry uh he was a big Indie person he uh he didn't drive he just sponsored an owner he was part honored with Mike if you noticed the sticker If you think you took a picture of the sticker cut her bag of Jamie and Motorsports yeah uh it used to be a long time ago it was CAA performance and that was curb agenda and Andrea really which is part of it huh he uh he backed out and they didn't change the Seagate performing through a CA Motorsport and these Indy cars are something that are pretty interesting that I don't know much about because that's not in my wheelhouse or something else uh these all these these four are back in the 80s uh there's some stickers on these up here that shows 84 I think 84. uh Billy's Boat drove for Mike with that one there uh it uh had a speed record at Memphis Speedway at 203 mile an hour this shows that this isn't really what we showed here we showed a difference in the aerodynamics yeah what the 1980s were and uh you know back in 2012 2013 . I like this little velocity stack for this turbo here was the original exhaust pipe missing for this let's see it's just like fooled me for a second and I'm like wait that's a PVC pipe I can imagine after 30 years stuff you know these things were just insane it looks like an aircraft fuselage in here this one caught my eye when we were in here with Carrie because I read John Andretti's book and he talks about this car yeah in the book which is a very good book by the way you should read it were the Indy cars from Kannapolis too California so they had two bases of operations I can't know they didn't have nothing in Canapolis in this level in California so did he only have the Indian the NASCAR like NASCAR was here India was in California was here Andy was out in California was there any other types of Missouri not being at one back then it won uh now we run the outlaw cars with Casey Kane and Mike uh the silver crown series with Tony Stewart and Mike back in the day before you guys had paddle shifters and all kinds of screens and stuff they actually had to take their hand off the wheel and do it themselves wow they're so there's like no room in this thing I can't even like somebody my size probably could never have even raced a car like this back then and here you got one of them sticker that showed 1984. when I saw that one over there I was under the impression there was a seat insert or something that was not there but this just looks like I mean was there some kind of phone that went in there they just sit right on the metal well see nowadays they make their fit to dry back then I wouldn't be surprised if they sat right on the middle I don't know yeah what's the back story on this car the other heart's first championship car that's the Oldsmobile uh the way I understand it they drove the Oldsmobile on the Super Speedway track drove the Chevrolet on the short tracks uh that's the one that uh that's the Super Speedway car there I have the Chevrolet on the trailer out back that I take to the events if uh somebody would like to you know sponsor it one day to take it out to a party or open the grand opening or something like that I'm sure people are going to do that if they knew the option was there yeah I would was the arrangement between Mike Curb and Rod Australian back then yeah did Mike by the Cadet Championship season no he bought them before the championship league he owned the car when he won his first championship interesting yeah so that's from foggy on us because everybody said used to Dale one was Rod australind and I don't know what the I don't know what the agreements or not yeah I don't know that either I'm sure people know this out here know about it but yeah we'll read about it in the comments afterwards somebody was there for it I took their car to uh Concord Motor Speedway in 2015 and we made a TV commercial for Bush beer he had a few older cars that were down there with us and Kevin Harvick was there with his car and uh is this the same Concord Speedway that doesn't exist anymore got graph growing up through it matter of fact that grass growing up when we uh we did the TV commercial really but I think that now they've tore it up towards lap down not sure but we'll probably get comments on that baby if you like the hat and the shirt that I'm wearing you can find those at stapletonautoworks.com anything we have on the website gets packed and shipped by us right here in our shop we just have it there so you can be a part of the channel of what we're doing if you'd like to support the documentation and preservation of racing history you can check out our website now the piano car that is the 199 wind cost I own the team and sponsored the team when pity won his last two races so what did not work like uh Richard for whatever reason left Petty Enterprises took the 43. him and his brother got in a big fuss and he just moved out so he took the 43 and STP with him to Mike Curb boxer number everything with him we came up to a building it used to be about three blocks up the road here moved into that bill and I'll show you a picture in a minute about that bill and uh the last two races that he won was 100 car motor cars that's the 199 car the 200th car we donated to the Smithsonian Institute does it still have an engine oh yeah it does yes 25 years later after Peter won his 200th win we ran uh Jason Keller drove that car at Daytona we took this car to Daytona and he drove it around to track for his 25th anniversary of uh they wouldn't let them have the one I dismissed on him so this runs still yeah yeah can we see the engine still run uh yeah I don't know if somebody came here they could just come up here and pop the hood but at least we can show them what it looks like these are real cars here these these hoods about as heavy yeah is that the same engine from that race too like how original did this part I think this engine was built uh after we moved the car or after we got the car into our shop and uh all they done was fixed it up to uh run at Daytona for his 25th anniversary it's a I always like seeing these things like just the the things they used to do back then like that unique breather set up with that Arch welded in there and they put it on the left sides because all the oil would want to go up to the outside of the turn all the shocks I use now they don't pew yeah one shot on each side babe they're engine in that one no uh just the other one we have the museum up we took and uh and this one's completely restored was it in rough shape before that it was in fairly rough shape it one uh it went to the point where we going to junk it uh it was in pretty good shape that uh repainted had a bumper re-chromed on it and everything Rick brakefield that lives across town over here he shop across town he's the one that uh he's the one does all our cars then we go this side this side of the room got a Outlaw car case he can and Mike's on the road the Tony Stewart Mike the owner of that one if we had all the cars that might have sponsored an old we'd have to have a bill and twice inside is there another building somewhere else with more stuff in it yeah this is it this is it does Mike still have current does he just sponsor cars now does he still own a team uh I don't know if he owns he don't own a team by itself uh just like he owned him and Casey only was this Dino from the race shop I know it was from the race shop up here it was outside and uh when we uh moved out here before we put the doors in the front of the building we moved it in here had them bolted down to the floor and uh it actually matter of fact the day before we moved it down here there was a race car something already run really yep I mean it was used all the time up there when did that shop close in uh 2000 well when the race shop actual Race shop I came in when it actually closed but the uh 2007's when we moved into this building is that how the that car was stored before it was restored so that one is one that they found uh somewhere up north up it was up like up toward Winston-Salem or somewhere up there a guy called and said that he had an Earnhardt car and uh Jerry Spurgeon that used to work for Mike here at the old building and also this building he talked to him and uh Jerry told me that they found that car and he called he called Mike or something that I don't know if we needed this car and he was told no we didn't need it so we think that's the one is at Alex beams in memory Lake okay he's got a curved car over there and we think that's the one that was up there because we called him back about two three days later see if he still had it he didn't have it yeah so what year was that yeah it's probably in 91 way way on May he was back in the early 90s yeah beam was throwing that place up in the early 90s so it's it doesn't look like it's in too bad shape there this is the big here of the old building that's where the actual Race Shop was and Petty moved into it was it done on purpose to make this place kind of look like that I feel like it's like the windows are sorry it was a car dealership that was where they worked on their cars the huge cars and new cars when they something what happened to them that was back in the back in the where the actual cars they worked on this last picture right here on the bottom is uh that's where uh when they decided to reopen North Wilkesboro there's a gentleman came in here one day with that picture and uh he said I want to show you something and he showed me that picture and had Dale Earnhardt autograph on it and he said you know where that racetrack is at I said no I sure don't he said that's North Wilkesboro and uh he'd give me that picture to put on the wall in here there's something about those big body cars that are just cool so much I mean hey just huge look how big that thing is compared to heck even the one right next to it that was running a year later with the whole other half of this building is the what is that North Carolina Music Hall of Fame we moved to North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in here in 2014. uh it was in Mike's other building Uptown and they weren't a little bit bigger space that we let them move down here into this building and it has been one great attraction the front end of our truck here uh that's the 98 truck uh they wouldn't send me the whole truck I wanted the whole truck I thought those trucks were one of the prettiest trucks they ever made but if you notice the picture I don't know if you can get a glare on that picture or not but picture you'll see the 98 truck and it was like that's the front end of that truck okay uh it says historic one two three one two three four finished at Las Vegas led by current record driver uh all four of Thor Sports finish first second third and fourth first time it's ever been the these are some of the old flags and when Richard won his firecracker 400 Brad parrot Todd parrot is that Ray Fox uh some of those are so funny hard to read them Larry Wallace I don't know if that's the engine builder Larry Wallace or the cam grinder Larry Wallace for one Moody that's when Johnny sautter won the Richmond Virginia is that that same car setting the phone to dyno machine yep [Music] to look at some of those pictures in those posters that's 40 Years of racing [Music] it's not Greg Biffle that Carson 2010 I guess guy right here that's Kerry genuine right here and Mike Curb oh yeah I forgot you got more cars back oh yeah back over there right here got 12 more cars in it we got 38 cars total here we're going to go through the music side too but you can find that on the Stapleton 42 extra Channel we'll put a link in the description for it I've never seen this Jimmy Johnson car before this car won I think it was either 96 or 98 what I was told was uh Homestead Florida the last race of the year might put Jimmy Johnson in it and uh I'm not exactly sure where he finished I think 23rd but uh that was probably one of Jimmy's first NASCAR starts because he was running ASA in 98 I think and then eventually going to Herzog interesting now back here in the back is awesome we got a few personal cars a few a few race cars but if Mike can't find a sponsor for the team he'll sponsored himself we'll put the CD cover this is a CD uh we'll put the CD cover on the cart and run it the best example is Leanne rides January 25th 2005. that CD came out in stores we running on the race car for 15 18 15 races was that because he had to or because it was working free advertising Tim McGraw that's the CD for Tim McGraw Johnny saw this truck he uh finished second at IRP I'll make these trucks like this this body style truck and this body style Monte Carlo are like my two favorites from being a little kid was probably weird for you because that like my perspective of a long time ago was like this because I was five but you're probably like ass like you know that ain't old I'm gonna see coming from him for mine what what is the Viper for the black vipers Leanne rhymes with his first car she won Star Search in 1995 signed up with curb records and the way I understand it somebody sold her this car that's one heck of a first car how old was she 15 years old how the heck no driver's license first of all it's a stick so that's that's interesting in itself good no driver's license and uh the way you know I was told my power to show so driving around until she got her license she brought the car back here to store it and uh this is worth being ever since speaking of tiny cars found this car bought it and we took the body off of it and uh just to let people see what one looks like underneath because this is an older car you're probably looking at 90 98 99 baby but this was a Chevrolet matter of fact it was just like a Threading red and white blue one huh yeah they don't put the oil tanks there anymore blood of Tire blear oil tank out yeah but back then they weren't so much concerned about safety is putting all the weight to the left if they could that's it then the car back here the black Cadillac you see was Mike's first car it was in California at his house there uh the little Metropolitan and then the black Plymouth is uh the first car that won a southern 500 in Arlington South Carolina this is the actual car well I understand it it is uh Kerry James which was one of Mike's partner he helped him brought this car in here wow and uh the way I understand it the way it was told uh they toured a museum down or remodeling the museum in Darlington and they called everybody to find it try to find out who who could get this car and finally the call Carrie and Kerry call Mike and see if they could put it in the museum and he did we didn't show you all because uh we want people to come see us our address is 600 Dale Earnhardt Boulevard Kannapolis North Carolina and if you ever over this way come see us the mission is free we don't charge we don't charge anything we do have a little donation bucket that we put stuff in but uh need to come see us yeah our phone number here is uh 704-938-6121 and if you're driving down South for vacation or something and you're going down 85 Kannapolis is a right off of I-85 so you could hop over here Without Really any effort yep make sure you go to the link in the description to find the Stapleton 42 extra Channel which is where we post footage that doesn't necessarily Vibe with the kind of things normally post on this channel but it's still interesting like for example when we went up to Massachusetts to buy this old Bush series car the gate racing the guy had an abandoned rock quarry in his backyard so we went and walked around there with the camera and made that a separate video on the extra Channel you'll definitely want to check that out it's pretty cool maybe you don't even know we have that channel now you do we'll see you over there