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Sprint Cup
CUP: New Hall Nominees Were Pioneers
Clay Earles founded Martinsville Speedway, NASCAR’s oldest track...
Martinsville Speedway hosts two annual Sprint Cup Series events. (Photo: Getty Images)
The five newest of the 25 nominees up for election into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2012 were all innovators in the sport in one way or another.
Following are the bios on the five newest nominees, who were announced Tuesday live on SPEED.
H. CLAY EARLES
Hometown: Martinsville, Va.
One of the original pioneers of stock car auto racing, H. Clay Earles played an integral role in the early years of NASCAR's development. Earles built and opened Martinsville Speedway in 1947, and the short track remains the only facility to host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races every year since the series’ inception in 1949.
The speedway held its first race Sept. 7, 1947 – three months before the creation of NASCAR. That initial race drew more than 6,000 fans to the track, which had just 750 seats ready.
Built as a dirt track, the 0.526-mile asphalt speedway has grown from a dusty, primitive operation into a multi-million dollar facility covering over 340 acres. It’s been called “two drag strips with short turns” due to the 800-foot straights and tight turns banked at only 12 degrees.
Back in 1947, Earles originally had planned to put only $10,000 in the facility, but spent $60,000 before an engine was fired.
Martinsville also has been called “the Augusta National of auto racing.” Earles had roses climbing the outhouses, azaleas in the turns and ducks roaming the grounds.
In 1964, Earles decided it was time for a “different” type of trophy for his race winners. He gave winners grandfather clocks instead of trophies, a tradition that continues today.
Earles passed away on Nov. 16, 1999 as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the speedway.
BOBBY ISAAC
Hometown: Catawba, N.C.
Bobby Isaac knew one speed: Fast.
His uncanny skill at qualifying a race car proves that. His 49 career poles ranks tied for eighth all-time. Maybe more impressive: Isaac captured 19 poles in 1969, which still stands as the record for a single season. Only 37 drivers have 19 or more poles in their entire career.
Isaac began racing in NASCAR’s premier series in 1961. He finished runner-up in the series standings in 1968 behind NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee David Pearson. In 1969 he finished sixth in the standings after posting 17 wins and those 19 poles.
In his breakthrough season, 1970, Isaac won the championship posting 11 victories, 32 top fives and 38 tops in 47 starts.
A year later, in September 1971, he set 28 world class records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in his Dodge. Many of his records still exist to this day.
Isaac won 37 races in NASCAR's top series during his career, which ranks 19th on the all-time wins list.
In 1998, Isaac was named one NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.
COTTON OWENS
Hometown: Union, S.C.
There are successful drivers and there are successful owners. But, rarely are there both.
Cotton Owens joins NASCAR Hall of Fame member Junior Johnson as masters of the two crafts.
Owens was more than successful behind the wheel, winning nine times in NASCAR’s premier series competition, including the 1957 Daytona Beach road course, which marked Pontiac’s first NASCAR victory. He nearly won the 1959 championship, finishing second to NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Lee Petty. Concurrently, Owens raced NASCAR modified stock cars and won the 1953-54 championships.
But as an owner, Owens stood out as one of the greats of NASCAR’s early eras. His eye for talent was unmatched. He hired Johnson in 1962, the same season in which he began a future championship relationship with another NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, David Pearson.
Johnson spent only four races with Owens, but with Pearson, well, that was another story. Twenty-seven of Pearson’s 105 NASCAR premier series victories were recorded in a Cotton Owens car. The pair teamed to win the 1966 championship after Pearson, driving an Owens Dodge, finished third in points in 1964.
In 1998 Owens was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.
LES RICHTER
Hometown: Riverside, Calif.
Les Richter achieved extraordinary success as both a NASCAR executive and a National Football League defensive star.
After becoming an All-American and All-Pro as a hard-nosed lineman and linebacker, Richter, a native of Fresno, Calif., brought an incomparable work ethic to the world of motorsports. His second career began in 1959 at Riverside International Raceway, where he quickly rose to become president and general manager in 1961.
Richter, affectionately known as “Coach” throughout the motorsports industry, came to NASCAR in 1983 and evolved into one of the most important advisors to then-NASCAR Chairman/CEO Bill France Jr. as NASCAR’s popularity expanded. Richter was named NASCAR's executive vice president of competition in 1986 and the senior vice president of operations in ’92.
His last job in motorsports was as vice president of special projects for Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., a track he helped come into existence and then become established as a big-time facility.
Richter was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February of this year.
Richter passed away last June at the age of 79.
LEONARD WOOD
Hometown: Stuart, Va.
Competed: 1950-Present
The Wood Brothers team is renowned as the innovator of the modern pit stop. Leonard Wood, brother of Glen and Delano Wood, was front and center in its development as chief mechanic – that’s what they called crew chiefs in the early days – and part-owner for the Stuart, Va.-based team.
Wood was what you might call a tinkerer. He built a washing machine engine-powered go-kart from parts and pieces he found when he was 13. It still runs and can be seen in the Woods’ museum.
When NASCAR began adding superspeedways – and pit stops – Wood figured out ways to get the race car serviced in the least amount of time.
One major achievement in the team’s pit stop arsenal was the light-weight jack that replaced floor jacks weighing more than 100 pounds found in the repair shops of the day. With Wood’s choreography the team excelled like no other. Wood continued to go over the wall to change tires well into his 50s.
In 1965, Ford and Colin Chapman hired the Woods to service Jim Clark’s car in the Indianapolis 500. Another Wood innovation, an internal device allowing fuel to flow more quickly from a gravity-based fuel tank, dramatically reduced pit times and was key in Clark’s victory.
Wood’s accomplishments were not confined to pit road. He ran the team’s engine shop that provided horsepower and longevity on a par with rivals Holman-Moody and Petty Enterprises. That was instrumental to the success NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee David Pearson enjoyed as Pearson won 43 races between 1972 and 1978. Racing legends Neil Bonnett, Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney are among drivers winning in Wood Brothers-prepared and crewed cars.
Following are the bios on the five newest nominees, who were announced Tuesday live on SPEED.
H. CLAY EARLES
Hometown: Martinsville, Va.
One of the original pioneers of stock car auto racing, H. Clay Earles played an integral role in the early years of NASCAR's development. Earles built and opened Martinsville Speedway in 1947, and the short track remains the only facility to host NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races every year since the series’ inception in 1949.
The speedway held its first race Sept. 7, 1947 – three months before the creation of NASCAR. That initial race drew more than 6,000 fans to the track, which had just 750 seats ready.
Built as a dirt track, the 0.526-mile asphalt speedway has grown from a dusty, primitive operation into a multi-million dollar facility covering over 340 acres. It’s been called “two drag strips with short turns” due to the 800-foot straights and tight turns banked at only 12 degrees.
Back in 1947, Earles originally had planned to put only $10,000 in the facility, but spent $60,000 before an engine was fired.
Martinsville also has been called “the Augusta National of auto racing.” Earles had roses climbing the outhouses, azaleas in the turns and ducks roaming the grounds.
In 1964, Earles decided it was time for a “different” type of trophy for his race winners. He gave winners grandfather clocks instead of trophies, a tradition that continues today.
Earles passed away on Nov. 16, 1999 as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the speedway.
BOBBY ISAAC
Hometown: Catawba, N.C.
Bobby Isaac knew one speed: Fast.
His uncanny skill at qualifying a race car proves that. His 49 career poles ranks tied for eighth all-time. Maybe more impressive: Isaac captured 19 poles in 1969, which still stands as the record for a single season. Only 37 drivers have 19 or more poles in their entire career.
Isaac began racing in NASCAR’s premier series in 1961. He finished runner-up in the series standings in 1968 behind NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee David Pearson. In 1969 he finished sixth in the standings after posting 17 wins and those 19 poles.
In his breakthrough season, 1970, Isaac won the championship posting 11 victories, 32 top fives and 38 tops in 47 starts.
A year later, in September 1971, he set 28 world class records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in his Dodge. Many of his records still exist to this day.
Isaac won 37 races in NASCAR's top series during his career, which ranks 19th on the all-time wins list.
In 1998, Isaac was named one NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.
COTTON OWENS
Hometown: Union, S.C.
There are successful drivers and there are successful owners. But, rarely are there both.
Cotton Owens joins NASCAR Hall of Fame member Junior Johnson as masters of the two crafts.
Owens was more than successful behind the wheel, winning nine times in NASCAR’s premier series competition, including the 1957 Daytona Beach road course, which marked Pontiac’s first NASCAR victory. He nearly won the 1959 championship, finishing second to NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Lee Petty. Concurrently, Owens raced NASCAR modified stock cars and won the 1953-54 championships.
But as an owner, Owens stood out as one of the greats of NASCAR’s early eras. His eye for talent was unmatched. He hired Johnson in 1962, the same season in which he began a future championship relationship with another NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, David Pearson.
Johnson spent only four races with Owens, but with Pearson, well, that was another story. Twenty-seven of Pearson’s 105 NASCAR premier series victories were recorded in a Cotton Owens car. The pair teamed to win the 1966 championship after Pearson, driving an Owens Dodge, finished third in points in 1964.
In 1998 Owens was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.
LES RICHTER
Hometown: Riverside, Calif.
Les Richter achieved extraordinary success as both a NASCAR executive and a National Football League defensive star.
After becoming an All-American and All-Pro as a hard-nosed lineman and linebacker, Richter, a native of Fresno, Calif., brought an incomparable work ethic to the world of motorsports. His second career began in 1959 at Riverside International Raceway, where he quickly rose to become president and general manager in 1961.
Richter, affectionately known as “Coach” throughout the motorsports industry, came to NASCAR in 1983 and evolved into one of the most important advisors to then-NASCAR Chairman/CEO Bill France Jr. as NASCAR’s popularity expanded. Richter was named NASCAR's executive vice president of competition in 1986 and the senior vice president of operations in ’92.
His last job in motorsports was as vice president of special projects for Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., a track he helped come into existence and then become established as a big-time facility.
Richter was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1982. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February of this year.
Richter passed away last June at the age of 79.
LEONARD WOOD
Hometown: Stuart, Va.
Competed: 1950-Present
The Wood Brothers team is renowned as the innovator of the modern pit stop. Leonard Wood, brother of Glen and Delano Wood, was front and center in its development as chief mechanic – that’s what they called crew chiefs in the early days – and part-owner for the Stuart, Va.-based team.
Wood was what you might call a tinkerer. He built a washing machine engine-powered go-kart from parts and pieces he found when he was 13. It still runs and can be seen in the Woods’ museum.
When NASCAR began adding superspeedways – and pit stops – Wood figured out ways to get the race car serviced in the least amount of time.
One major achievement in the team’s pit stop arsenal was the light-weight jack that replaced floor jacks weighing more than 100 pounds found in the repair shops of the day. With Wood’s choreography the team excelled like no other. Wood continued to go over the wall to change tires well into his 50s.
In 1965, Ford and Colin Chapman hired the Woods to service Jim Clark’s car in the Indianapolis 500. Another Wood innovation, an internal device allowing fuel to flow more quickly from a gravity-based fuel tank, dramatically reduced pit times and was key in Clark’s victory.
Wood’s accomplishments were not confined to pit road. He ran the team’s engine shop that provided horsepower and longevity on a par with rivals Holman-Moody and Petty Enterprises. That was instrumental to the success NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee David Pearson enjoyed as Pearson won 43 races between 1972 and 1978. Racing legends Neil Bonnett, Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney are among drivers winning in Wood Brothers-prepared and crewed cars.
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