Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum Tour! Legendary NASCAR Cars and Personal Artifacts

We just got this just a little over a month ago. This car will be able to tell the story about what Bill Elliot did forever. This is an authentic car. It actually finished second in the 1996 Daytona 500. I don't think this museum gets talked about enough for what it is. There's a lot of really neat stuff in here. You got a whole confiscated parts section in here. This How could you just walk right by this? I knew you would stop. This is the coolest cabinet in here. I knew you would stop. Well, it's sort of a hidden treasure here at Darlington. Not only were we the original super speedway 1950, we've got one of the earlier stock car museums here. Bill Elliot and the Elliot brothers, they were extremely nervous because no one had ever gone for a million dollars uh in our sport to win one race. And he had won two of the first three crown jewel events. Uh that was the Daytona 500 and the Winston 500 at Tallaladega where he made up almost two laps there under green. Um didn't win Charlotte. So, he came here with a chance to win a million. The first year of the program that Winston offered the the million-dollar bonus. And when they were putting this thing together, they put the number up here backwards by mistake. And it was said that they were just so nervous about it. And again, that race, Bill was not the fastest. Dale Nhard was faster, Kale Yarbor was faster, Harry Gant was faster, but all had trouble. and he wound up winning the million dollars, which was a as you can see back behind there, there's a there's a lot of symbolic um photography that sort of details that day. This is something pretty cool. We we talked about the Bill Elliot car earlier. This was one of the bills um one of the bills that was, you know, blown in victory lane after Bill Elliot won the race. So, I had this this $1 million bill. And so, what I did, I got I copied it on the back and I got Bill to sign it. But, it was a big- time day for the sport of NASCAR. It put Bill Elliot on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Um, it was it was something, especially the folks that were here that, you know, we will never forget. I was a I was a kid in the grandstand that day. I look at these cars, whether they're recreated or they're not, to me, they are just really, really cool because these machines get to tell the story when the drivers, we as humans, leave this earth. So, this car will be able to tell the story about what Bill Elliot did forever. Um, and so that's why I really love our museum here. I love going to other museums, just taking a look at cars. But every museum you've gone into, you just think about it. The, you know, some of the cars we've seen in here today, the drivers have gone, but their story lives and their spirit lives, uh, through these machines. We just got this just a little over a month ago. Uh, Kale Yarbor, five time Southern 500 winner. Kale actually gave this to the Florence Center, which is in Florence, South Carolina. So, we have it now on loan from them. But this is an authentic car that he had um in it actually was in his uh automobile dealership for many many many years. And probably about six or seven years ago, he decided to give it to the Florence Center. In 1987, he decided to become a car owner and he got out of the you know the ride that he had for so many years. Um the 28 car which eventually would go, you know, Davy Allison would begin driving the 28 car. Kale had a lot of success with Halman Moody. Excuse me, not Halman Moody with Robert. Good gosh, I'm Harry. I'm having a attack here. He had a lot of success with Harry Reneer in the 28 car winning the Daytona 500 and several other big races. But in 1987, he decided to go his own way. This actually the team that he bought was the old Race Hill Farms team, number 47, uh Jack BB's team. So he bought that team, changed the number to 29, went to an Ozemobile, and um he didn't win any races, but he did run this car the last two years of his career before he turned it over to some drivers like Dale Jarrett would eventually drive for him and a few others um before he finally got out of the business of being a team owner. Of course, Kale won five Southern 500s. He was a three-time uh NASCAR Cup Series champion, the first one to win three in a row, 76 through 78. Wonder if anybody watching knows what that little harmonica looking thing is for. I'm sure you've seen some cars that are more, you know, in today's standards a lot different. And believe it or not, that's from, you know, 87 and 88. Actually, that's from 1988. This car was last run 88. So, you can see how different it was there in the cockpit compared to what it is today. There's even this cockpit configuration is a lot more old school than even other cars of the same era. Like he had what he liked and kept using it. Like this seat looks like something that could have been used 20 years before that. But but and and here's here's some of what that difference may be is you have Kale Yar who had been competing for many many many years since the late 50s. So he was used to a different kind of thing. He knew what he liked. Yeah. Yeah. And so someone that may have started in, you know, 84, 85, that might be different for them. Uh, but compared to someone who' been around for a long time like Kale, that's what he wanted. It's funny that uh blower fan in there, they look pretty much the same today. I just bought some of those for my car. It's a different brand, but it looks the same. This is This is my hero. Okay. This is my hero. um when I was a little boy, you know, we I came to races all over the Southeast and I wanted him to win. But this uniform, as I called him, I called him in 1990. I said, "Okay, you going to the Hall of Fame. Do you have an old uniform?" He said, "I don't have any." I I gave him all the way to charity. I said, "We got to find something. Something's got to be there at the house. Come on up here." And so I drove to Spartanberg, went through all we went through his closet, couldn't find anything. So, I walked outside and there's a barn right across the way and I could see some hay coming out of the barn, something white. I climbed up the steps, got up there, it was under hay. I moved it and I pulled it up and the whole back of that uniform is eaten out by rats. Oh my gosh. But the front was perfect. So, I brought it back with me, took it to a dry cleaner. You'd never know it. So, we got the uniform and put it in here. And again, pretty cool because he was the all-time winner here and um many of his wins came with the Wood Brothers and and that was Purator was a sponsor. That is a really awesome story. Is this a real Robert Gates car? Of course. Of course. Um I'm going to be honest. I don't know for sure um if it is or not. Um, I do know that in this card, Davy Allison came to Darlington with a chance for the Winston Million um, in 1992. And, um, they actually came down here for three days testing, hoping that they could win that million dollars. But Davey and Larry McRyns and that whole team, they came down here and tested probably about two weeks before the race, but they were here for three days. and they they really probably had the best car that day. Uh but we had a cycle of pit stops for gas and it started raining and a guy by the name of Daryl Walter did a rain dance and won that race. So David did not win the uh the million dollars that day. This is a very special car uh in the fact that it was driven by David Pearson. Uh David Pearson, a three-time Cup Series champion, and oh, by the way, is the all-time leader here as far as wins at Darlington with 11, excuse me, with 10 Cup wins and one Expinity Series wins for a total of 11 victories here. He was he was just so good here. And Leonard Wood would always say he always saved his equipment. And a place like Darlington, this is a place where you really need to do that. and he'd save his equipment for the end while everyone else wore theirs out. And um but this is a Cotton Owens Dodge. You know, David won three championships. Two with Halman Moody and then one with Cotton Owens. Of course, Cotton um right up there in the Spartanberg area where he and David, you know, were from. So, uh it was a very very good match. They won a lot of races together. Um and um we're very very proud to have this machine. Did this car come from Cotton? Yes, it's a 1966 Charger and um I know that um David's son, I know Eddie is involved in some kind of a partnership with this car. Uh which is very cool that one of the Pearsons is involved in it. You know, Spartanberg was the hub for a long time. You know, eventually the hub would become the Charlotte area and Morrisville and those areas, but for so, you know, for a very very long period of time, Spartanberg was the hub. You had Jack Smith up there. Of course, you had Pearson and Cotton. Um Bud Moore, uh who whose car you getting ready to see here in a few minutes beside the Dale Nhard car. Um of course, you know, when you talk about Darlington, you talk about Dale Nhard also. David Pearson won here 10 times. Dale won here nine times. He was as dominant as one could be uh here at Darlington. But Nhard won here nine times. He was he was very very good here before the radial tire, you know, back on the old biasly tires. He was he was as good as anyone who ever got on this racetrack. Do you know what the origin of this particular car is? Um, so this car was driven by Dale Senior. It was tested several times at Dayton and Tallaladega. Um, it actually finished second in the 1996 Daytona 500. This is an authentic car. Um, July of 1996, finished fourth. Uh, February 97 in the Bush Clash, he finished third. Um, so this car had some some some really good runs uh in it uh when Dale Nhard was piloting it. I like this era of those really maniacal looking spoiler braces. And what what's unique about this car is the reflective red and white tape that was applied to the car. Um Richard thought this was a good idea. Uh it was the first race that was run under the new lighting system, believe it or not. How about that? Huh? Oh yeah. Looks like probably just a show engine to help it move around, but it's got one probably. So, yeah, it's got some adapters on the headers. So, that's what a legitimate one looks like. I tell you, he was he was something else. Something interesting about Dale's car is he liked having a Zbar for his clutch instead of a hydraulic one like most people. So, he's got the Yeah. You know, like a factory car type deal. And loan by Hodgegden Realy Group. That's neat. You know, a lot of people remember this car. You know, a lot of people remember this car as part of the wreck uh for this 1979 Daytona 500. Um, you know, Bobby uh Donnie and Kale wreck going down the back straightaway, come to a stop and Donny's brother Bobby decides to stop, too. And that's that's what happened. The ensuing the ensuing fight occurred. But you can see the 15 car. This is Bud Moore's car. It's in the background of the fight. So, pretty cool. What a lot of people don't don't remember though about this paint scheme and and a Thunderbird was a year before Bobby Allison won the Daytona 500 driving a Bud Moore number 15 that looked just like this. But a lot most people now associate they don't remember him winning the 500. They remember he was a part of the fight in 79. It's funny we actually met Tim Walker because of the car that he has the he's got he's got he's got the authentic one. Yeah. as far as the 79 Daytona 500. Yep. You look how look how boxy that car is. Just say compared to Dale's car. Just look at the difference. How that one is just so smooth with the back glass and how boxy this one looks compared to it. It's truly amazing. You can really get a great idea of cars when you look at especially these first three. It's uh amazing. This era of Monte Carlo always reminded me of a cough drop. Yeah. Just shaped like a cough drop with a cab on it. Yeah. You got a whole confiscated parts section in here. This How could you just walk right by this? I knew you would stop. This is the coolest cabinet in here. I knew you would stop. The majority of them have you know what it is, what the part is, and and what the problem was. Um helmet with lead in it that weighs 40 lbs. Was that Daryl's helmet? It's um listen all every you could talk to the team the new teams of today. You can talk to the old teams of the day. You can talk to Richard Petty. You can talk to Leonard Wood. They all back in the day tried to get around the rules. That was the way that they could, you know, try to win. And uh but we needed goggles. A lot of times they got caught. Well, you remember earlier this year, you know, the whole uh deal with Joey Logano and his gloves, you know, so the same. It's still, you know, you're always trying to look for an advantage. Now, why doesn't it say who these were confiscated from? I do not know that. This should not be anonymous. We need accountability. Nitrous oxide cooler bottle. Funny, we actually met Tim Walker because of the car that he has. I really want to know whose helmet that was. That's the closedfaced helmets of that era were not super common. I couldn't imagine wearing a 40 lb helmet would be very comfortable. They didn't wear it. That's the thing. It was just in there for inspection and they took it out. I I thought he wanted more left side weight. I'm like, that's really strange, but okay. Okay. I think if you got in a wreck with a 40 lb helmet, your head might just fly off. Yeah. So, when you go through here, you can see different things um that are symbolic. Majority of majority of the voiceovers in here when you press the button is Eli Gold, who was with Motor Racing Network for many, many, many years. So, Dave Allison. Yeah. So, you look here, Davy Allison was he was known for wearing that cowboy hat. You know, uh, Richard Petty is by far the most widely known driver to ever wear a cowboy hat, but that was Davey's silver signature, too. He wore a cowboy hat all the time. Um, but a lot of, you know, helmets, uh, uniforms. Um, you have any other interesting procurement stories? Yeah, I'm looking for one. Be hard to beat that one, but I'm I'm looking for one, right? And if I can find it, uh, they redid this thing. You know, this is a replica. This car actually came in here two days ago. Uh Curtis Turner won the poll. Uh again, it's a remake of a 67 Chevel, but it was Smokeoky Unix's car. Uh a lot of people it was unheard of a Chavevel uh that was going to compete. And lo and behold, he wins the the pole position for the 67 Daytona 500. You know, he was known for the the the best damn garage in town. So, if you go back, you know, he was based in Daytona and that's his hat. you know, you look at it, there's the grease on it and um you know, he was back in the day, I mean, he was the guy and he was always trying to bend the rules and um his cars were always good. Over the years, especially during our throwback weekend, we've had several drivers that have gone with this paint scheme, you know, that showcases the black and gold with the gold number on it. I wonder if some uh more casual fans come in here and think that this is Reese Bobby's car from Tallaladega Nights. Well, it's a little bit different. Uh yeah, you're right. There probably will be a few people that think that the Cougar. Yeah, of course. This is a unbelievable car right here beside it. Uh Richard Penny in ' 67. He swept both races here. Richard was Richard didn't have the greatest of luck here. Um he won three races and he won one in ' 66 and then he won both in ' 67. Um but this Plymouth was a terror on the racetrack. Of course he won the championship that year with it as well. Did this car come from the petty museum? I can tell you what this is. Richard and them years ago the the original was here and Richard wanted to get it and put it in his museum. So what they did they built another one and gave it to this museum. built it identical, but Richard wanted the authentic one. It's a Mark Martin car here. I mean, Mark was unbelievable in this car. Uh, over the years, that Wind Dixie car won so many races. He won pretty much anytime they would throw the green flag here in the Xfinity series. He was the guy to beat. Um, this is 1997 car in the 90s. You had him winning all the Xfinity races here and you had Nhard winning all the cup races. So it was, you know, our motto was too tough to tame, but we had these two guys who were sort of I remember talking to both of them about it. You know, you guys are ruining our motto here. You know, they just had a handle on this place and they were just good. They were just really, really, really good. Too tough for everybody else. That's exactly right. Has there been any attempt to get either one of those cars in here? There is. Uh we're working on that. They still exist. Yes. Yes. Um no other guy who owns this one. Uh so we're we're we're talking and Ricky knows the guy, too. So, um we're we're working on. Is it still in that shape or did they re-er? From my understanding, it's been redone some. I I don't I don't know the exact history on it, but um that's what I'm told. Does Kurt's car still exist? From my understanding, yes. So, we we've begun some conversations to see if we can't can possibly get both. I mean, this is by far the most recognizable finish because this was 0002 seconds. You know, it was great battle last five, six, seven laps. They're just changing the lead back and forth. They're both hitting the wall. Um, and the great thing is we got this video where they both talk about it that the thing I love about this racetrack is the drivers have to, you know, you say it, you hear it all the time. Drivers have to drive the racetrack. And that's exactly right. I mean, you know, if you look at this and you look at this, you see, you can just rub your hand on that and you can see, you know, we're we're not too far from the sand hills. We're not too far from Myrtle Beach where there's a lot of sand there. Combine that with a lot of some bad weather that we may have during the winter and asphalt. It's got rocks in it and heck, sometimes you might even find a little shell in there. Johnny Mance won our first race, the Southern 500 back in 1950. Entered this race and he was the slowest qualifier out of all the cars. It was 75 cars that made that race. It was the first time NASCAR had been on a big time super speedway, you know, made of asphalt. They didn't really understand what was going to happen with the tire wear. So Johnny Mance, he basically he outsmarted them. He put big hard truck tires on the car that would last the entire race while everybody else, all the hot shots were out there. They were popping tires and having to come in and change tires. He was sort of the story of the tortoise in the hair. And so Johnny Mance won the first race, led what over 300 miles of it. And um history is made. He's a first Southern 500 winner. Wasn't he an indie guy? He was an indie guy. That's exactly right. Exactly right. But uh still today, you got to be smart whenever you race this place. The fabulous Hudson Hornet. Uh Herb Thomas won three Southern 500s in a Hornet here, which is just really unheard of. U he got hurt in a wreck. Um he only competed in five Southern 500s, but he won three of them. So that just shows you how talented he was. Uh, and again, these were unbelievable race cars, you know, back in the day. Uh, and you can see they they would paint the, you know, the a sponsor or they'd paint the number on the side. A lot of times when they would come to the racetrack, you can see these have headlights. Mhm. So they would put tape across that to make the headlights not break while they're out there racing because they drove the car to the racetrack and they drove it home after the race or at least they hoped to drive it home after the race. That was the plan. That that was the plan. But but that was the way it was…