Ned Jarrett joins Moore and Willingham at Speedway
March 13, 2009
CAYCE, SC – March 13, 2009 – When the First Annual Love Chevrolet Columbia Speedway Spring Festival enlivens the historic half-mile trace track again on Saturday, April 25, a number of the early stars of stock car racing will return to the facility for the extraordinary event. The Festival will feature dozens of vintage racecars and restored show cars, numerous famed drivers and mechanics as well as vendors as part of the daylong entertainment. Fans also can enjoy casual strolls around the one-half mile track that hosted many of the nation’s best stock car pilots beginning in 1948.
Ned Jarrett, former Limited Sportsman, two-time Grand National Cup champion and Coca Cola Racing Family member, will be back to meet his fans and sign autographs for the throngs expected for the presentation. Admission and parking is free at the track situated on US 321 in Cayce, SC from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m.
“It’s an honor to be invited back to a place where I was fortunate to win a lot of races in the 1950s and ‘60s,” said Jarrett who gained even more international fame as a race commentator for CBS Sports and most recognized for his call of his son, Dale’s, victory in the 1996 Daytona 500. “That was a great thrill. I was told to handle the final few laps of the race when it looked like Dale might get the win. What a day that was.”
Jarrett, a native of Conover, N.C. will be one of several top drivers of that era making appearances. Paul “Little Bud” Moore of Charleston and Columbia’s Haskell Willingham are two others who won many events at Columbia and other tracks during their colorful driving careers. After putting up the safety net on their cars for the final time, Moore became a marketing specialist while Willingham built cars for the Hooters USAR circuit.
Jarrett earned the nickname of “Gentleman Ned” but he says it might not be deserved. “It’s amazing what you can get a way on the backstretch of a dimly lighted track,” he said with a laugh.
The event is the first of its type presented by RacersReunion.com, a web site dedicated to continued recognition to the history of motor sports. The Internet service has members measuring in several thousands in the United States and 24 other countries.
Many other popular competitors will be added to the list prompting RacersReunion.com creator and Festival organizer Jeff Gilder to comment, “If these expected twenty-or-so fellows were here for a real race, this would be a great lineup. We’re doing this to help salute these legendary racers.”
Among the primary sponsors, in addition to Love Chevrolet, are Maurice’s Barbeque, Lexington Medical Center, Terminix, Inc., the 11 Frank’s Car Wash locations and a dozen Lizards Thicket Restaurants.
