Full Throttle

(NOTE: This is another in a series of posts on the “Good Old Days” of NASCAR. This week, contrary to popular belief, we look at NASCAR’s long history with our Latin American friends to the south.)

NASCAR first became involved with Latin America during a celebration for the opening of the Pan American highway that crossed from border to border through Mexico and southwards to the tip of Argentina.

The year was 1950, La Carrera Panamericana road race was first held that year and continued through 1954 when it was shut down as a result of too many accidents and deaths during the event.

The NASCAR connection comes with the entry of NASCAR Founder Bill France Sr. as owner/sponsor of a 1950 Nash Ambassador driven by the legendary Curtis Turner. The event consisted of 9 legs for a total of 1907.537 miles (some claim 2,178 miles) and run from El Paso, Texas, across Mexico to Guatemala.

Turner teamed with Roy Pat Connor and Robert Owen to drive the event however Conner fell ill prior to the start of the last leg and Turner was brought in to replace him. This contravened the rules, and the car was disqualified.

Portland lumberjack and west coast NASCAR star Hershel McGriff and co-driver Ray Elliott won the event at the wheel of a 1950 Oldsmobile 88 (Monte Dutton has posted an image of the restored Olds 88) in a time of 27 hours, 34 minutes and 25 seconds. The team won an astounding sum for the time of $17,341. ($149,337 in todays dollars!)

The car was such a success Oldsmobile would hire McGriff to crisscross the country in the Rocket 88, making promotional appearances and racing the car. “The combination of the Olds chassis and the Rocket V8 was unbeatable in the hands of the right driver,” France said years later.

Lou Figaro (pictured above with co-driver Dempsey Wilson) one of the drivers who fielded “The Fabulous” Hudson Hornets in the early ’50s DNF’d the event crashing 18 miles into the seventh leg of nine.

Another NASCAR legend Johnny “Piloto“ Mantz competed with Bill Stroppe (a legend in his own right and 3-time La Carrera Panamerica winner) and Clay Smith driving a ‘49 Lincoln Cosmopolitan.

The team of Mantz, Stroppe and Clay Smith ran at or near the lead right up till the final leg when the big Lincoln couldn’t take the punishment any longer. With the finish line in sight and no more spares tires to run on, Mantz was forced to run on rims and limped across the finish line, Stroppe and Mantz had held the lead in a number of legs and could have won, but they ended up 9th overall, winning enough to pay for the trip.

With his success at the Mexican road race and his connection with Bill Stroppe and Clay Smith Mantz played a major role with Fords racing program leading the Lincoln-Mercury division to many stock car victories. Mantz continued to race and was killed in a highway accident on October 25, 1972.

Others participating in the event during its tenure from the world of NASCAR included Bob and Fonty Flock, Raymond Parks ( The Godfather of Stock Car Racing) and Red Byron. Marshall Teague would finish sixth (1951) and seventh (1952) in his La Carrera Panamericana starts.

For those interested in the events definitive history R.M. Clark’s “The Carrera Panamericana MEXICO covers the 5 years ( 1950-1954 ) is full of photos, stories by the pilotos and co-pilotos and daily and final results. Also the La Carrera Panamericana continues to this day with the 2008 edition set to roll off on October 29 with a very eclectic group of both cars and drivers, including an Olds 88 and what looks to be a reproduction of “Piloto” Mantz’s Lincoln Cosmopolitan.

Moving into more modern times, and a closer connection to this weekends Nationwide Series event, the venue Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is named after the late Mexican racing legend Pedro Rodríguez and his brother Ricardo.

Many consider Rodríguez as NASCAR’s Latino pioneer. A regular in sports car events at Daytona International Speedway, the first hairpin at DIS (the right-hand hairpin) is named the Pedro Rodriguez curve.

Pedro drove in six Cup races between 1959 and 1971 with 1 top five and 2 top tens to his credit, his best was fifth in 1965’s World 600 at Charlotte at the wheel of a #51 Holman-Moody Ford.

The Rodríguez era and on through the ninties it was NASCAR Southern Style - Confederate Flags, The Alabama Gang, Darlington, Barbecued Beef and Corn Muffins and possibly, tailgateing while singing The Cornhole Song.

As a result of marketing by the sanctioning body, and in small part the diversity program, the “new” NASCAR Southern Style also involves Telenovelas, Empanadas, Football, Turismo Carretera, and the winners of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

No better example of that is NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow being outsourced to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Argentina-based HAZ Racing a well-known racecar builder and crew chief in South America. Eventually the team plans to run in NASCAR but for now they will continue to develop the car with testing at the nearly 3 mile oval track in Santa Fe, Argentina, Autódromo Ing Juan R.Báscolo.

Moving up the South American continent to Brazil the NASCAR influence can be seen in the countries “biggest automobile racing category,” the Copa NEXTEL Stock Car Series.

The cars, OMG cover your ears NASCAR Nation, the cars come complete with wings, splitters and, wait for it… Brazilian style tailgating. As an added bonus drivers are given the ability to inject nitrous oxide three times per race to aid passing. (are you listening BF? - ed)

Moving back into North America, specifically Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs, along with the late Reggie White, has been at the forefront of the diversity program since it’s inception. At the Cup level is young Cuban-American Aric Almirola who has the unenviable task of taking over the #8 Chevy for DEI in 2008.

His road into that ride started with Gibbs and the diversity program in 2004 while driving at Ace Speedway that and the following year. Almirola drove the #75 Spears Manufacturing Chevy for Spears Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series, as part of the JGR development program and was part of the controversial 2007 incident with Denny Hamlin in AT&T 250 at the Milwaukee Mile last year.

All of which brings me to this point, the weekend of the Nationwide Series event in Mexico City.

There are many detractors to NASCAR’s diversity efforts, particularly when the subject is racing south of the border. Some objections are based on pure idiotic, and childish jingoism. Some are based on ignorance of NASCAR’s nearly six decade history and a false belief that “NASCAR is an American sport and should stay that way.” As detailed above it’s never been “that way.”

And some, sadly, who apparently think playing to the crowd by reporting a “fizzling” of support for this weekend’s event is more important than reporting on the positive effects of both the diversity program and holding events in Mexico.

There is a need to look for/groom Hispanic people to participate at every level: Garage and pits, drivers, owners. There are talented Latinos out there that will rise to the occasion and earn their places in NASCAR. Without events such as the Corona Mexico 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez it’s infinitely harder to connect with the culture, NASCAR needs to give Hispanics that option of communicating and participating and the Corona Mexico 200 in no small way does that.

NOW… ¡hola, deja para ir a competir con a muchachos, boggity, boggity, boggity!

UPDATE: Courtesy of the good folks at Team California Best Racing is a video of the 2004 edition La Carrera Panamerica and a must read account by Gary Faules who competed in the 2007 edition. (Make sure you read Gary’s coment in the thread.)

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