Category: friday feature

By David G. Firestone

We live in an age where medical science has extended lifespans to unheard of lengths. Many diseases that were death sentences in the past are now curable. Many sick people can get healthy with the right medical treatment. However, we had to come a long way to get where we are, and not all medical companies were on the up and up. While some of these companies have been forgotten, others have been remembered in various different ways.

Bristol-Myers Squibb was formed by Edward Squibb, when he founded a pharmaceutical company in Brooklyn, New York in 1858. Squibb was in favor of higher quality, and was a supplier to the Union Army in the Civil War.

In 1887, two friends, William Bristol and John Myers purchased the Clinton Pharmaceutical company of Clinton, New York for $5000($124,600.93 in 2017 dollars). Bristol and Myers first national product was named Sal Hepatica, a laxative mineral salt that, when dissolved in water, reproduced the taste and effects of the natural mineral waters of Bohemia. The new product, was a bestseller by 1903.

As time went on, both companies grew, both in size and in wares. Both companies acquired several smaller companies. Then, in 1989, Bristol-Myers and Squibb merged, with Bristol-Myers becoming the nominal survivor. The company renamed itself Bristol-Myers Squbb. Those two little companies founded in New York have become one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Sal Hepatica was first made in 1887, became nationally recognized in 1903, and was discontinued in 1958. The product consisted of sodium sulfate, baking soda, tartaric acid, common salt, sodium phosphate and traces of lithium carbonate and water. Supposedly, it was meant to replicate the taste and effect of “Bohemian mineral water.” It was originally marketed as a saline laxative, and an alkalinizing agent. It was also claimed it could help with gout, and other stomach, liver, and kidney disorders. This is an early example of a sample set. It was given to doctors to give to patients. It is still in good condition, and comes in an 6.5 inch by 2.5 inch tube. The set consists of a big container and five smaller containers of Sal Hepatica. There is also an information manual.The larger container of Sal Hepatica is roughly 1.5 times the size of the smaller containers. The label also contain more information, and it appears as though it was meant for the doctor to hold on to. It’s about 3 inches high by 1.5 inches across. The package comes with an information manual, containing information that doctors could use to help their patients. For many years, medical companies in the United States went unregulated. There were dozens of small, local drug companies across the country. Some were more unscrupulous than others. One such company was the Dr. E. L. Welbourn Company of Union, Indiana. Dr. E. L. Welbourn graduated college in 1866, and started his practice in 1893. He experimented with vegetable mixtures to cure aliments. In 1900, he started his own drug company. Welbourn continued the company until his death in 1926, and his son continued the company until 1973.

Dr. E. L. Welbourn’s biggest product was Sweet Bugle Elixir was made from Bugle Weed, and was used for teething, colic, diarrhea, bloody flux, cholera, morbus, and burns. This is a small brass printing plate used for a bottle of Sweet Bugle Elixir. I have a number of printing plates from the Dr. E. L. Welbourn Company. This is another Sweet Bugle Elixir label printing plate, this one a slightly larger, and newer. Note the fact that the alcohol content is 28%, or 56 proof. Another Sweet Bugle printing plate, this one is much larger, and has a lot more information than the smaller ones. This printing plate is for a different product, used to treat “lung, fever, pleurisy, coughs, whooping cough, mumps, and measles. The name plate fell off. It is also an older plate where part of it had to be made by hand, one letter at a time. These next two plates are squares printing plate with Dr. E. L. Welbourn’s picture, which was used for advertising materials. This is a bottle label with the product name and symptoms not present. This particular product has 31% ABV or 62 proof. These are printing plates for Dr. E. L. Welbourn’s Queen of the Meadow Tonic. It is meant to treat kidney, stomach, and liver diseases, dropsy, and general debility. It has 34% ABV or 68 proof. Another bottle label printing plate, this time for Rheumatic Aegis, used to treat Rheumatism, Scrotula, Cancer, and all Blood and Kidney diseases. Another unknown product printing plate, presumably for Sweet Bugle Elixir. In addition to teething, colic, diarrhea, bloody flux, cholera, morbus, and burns, this also treats “Infantum, Heart Failure, Cramps, Spasms, Dog, Cat or Rat bites, Sting or bite of any poisonous insect. It also has 28% ABV or 56 proof.(Editors note, these things are a pain in the neck to try to read.)

Another Sweet Bugle printing plate, this one is much larger, and has a lot more information than the smaller ones. Dr. EL Welbourn also produced pills in addition to tonics. These were his “Anti-Bilious Pills,” which were used to treat “Liver and stomach troubles, and were “Warranted Purely Vegetable.” This is for an advertising brochure that was used to promote the product. The Dr. E. L. Welbourn company also produced ointments, such as Dr. E. L. Welbourn’s Pile Ointment, used to treat “piles,” commonly known as hemorrhoids, and Ringworm, Tetter, and Trysipelas. This is a printing plate for a receipt from the Dr. E. L. Welbourn Medicine Company, which has all of their wares listed, and spaces for numbers and prices. This is a printing plate for a label or a box of Dr E. L. Welbourn’s Lung Syrup, which treats “Lung Fever, Pleurisy, Whooping Cough, Coughs, and Colds.” It has 33% ABV or 66 proof. This is a printing plate for either a newspaper ad or a handbill for Dr E. L. Welbourn’s Malarial Fever and Blood Pills. It is large, and has a lot of text about what the pills treat, and why you should buy them. Similar to the previous plate, this is an advertising plate for Dr. E. L. Welbourn’s Anti-Bilious Pills. Yet another advertising printing plate, this one for “Elixir Sweet Bugle.” The last advertising printing plate lists the names and information for all of the products of the Dr. E. L. Welbourn company. The last printing plate is a full box printing plate for bottles of Queen of the Meadow Tonic, which is the largest of the plates, and contains a lot of information about the product.

Since the days where Dr. Welbourn was making tonics and pills that could cure anything, we now live in an age where medical science is taken much more seriously, and standards are much higher. One of the most prolific companies is Bayer AG. Though they will be forever known for selling medicinal heroin, they are also a major seller of aspirin, at one point, holding the trade mark on the word aspirin, until the seizure of German assets by the Allies in World War I.

While Bayer Aspirin was sold in the US, it was actually made by Sterling Drugs, which acquired the license to sell aspirin in 1918. They manufactured and sold Bayer Aspirin from 1918 until 1994, when Eastman Kodak bought the company. Bayer would purchase back the rights for Bayer Aspirin in the US later that year. There are a lot of Bayer factories in Pennsylvania, and this is from one factory. It is a small display featuring some of the first pills that factory made, on September 14, 1964. They are in a small case, with a printed label indicating that. As a people, we are healthier. We have medical science to thank for that. Can we cure everything? No, but we can cure a lot of things that were once death sentences.

Next week, the topic of swatch cards!

By David G. Firestone

When “Flaming” Frank Pedregon passed away in 1981, he had no idea his sons would become some of the most respected drivers in Funny Car. Fast forward to 2016, and one son Tony has 43 event wins, third on the all time win list, and two championships, and the other Cruz has 33, and two championships, including the only Funny Car championship not won by John Force. The Pedregons have gone down as one the greatest families in the history of drag racing.

The first brother to have real success in Funny Car was Cruz. He started racing in 1987 in a top alcohol dragster, moved to top alcohol funny car, then to top fuel in 1991, and in 1992 won the Funny Car championship. The biggest rivalry in drag racing in the 1990’s was John Force vs. Cruz Pedregon.

Cruz retired in 2001, and served as a color commentator for ESPN’s NHRA telecasts. In 2002, he returned to the track as an owner/driver, driving the Advance Auto Parts Pontiac Firebird. After switching to Chevy with some success, he started driving a Toyota in 2008. That was the same year that the race distance was shortened to 1000 feet. Cruz would win the last three races of the season, and won his second NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car Championship. In 2011, Cruz picked up Snap On Tools as a sponsor, which he still carries today.

I had the chance to interview Cruz about his racing uniform.

DGF-From a driver’s perspective, how would you like your suit to fit?

Cruz-Well let me put it to you this way, I’m a proponent of comfort, and suits are not meant to look good walking around. Suits are meant to be comfortable while you are in the car, assuming the position so to speak. I’m a believer in having a looser fitting suit, while you are in the car. I’m a fan of loose fitting clothes in general, I wear my pants loose, everything loose, you know what I mean? A lot of people get caught up in how it looks walking around, but that’s not the goal. The goal is to have it comfortable in the tight confines of a race car, where there is little to no movement. There is probably less movement in a funny car than any other kind of race car. We’re not asked to “saw the wheel” as they say, we have a very limited space. Every inch is taken up, and there is very little space to fit the driver.

DGF-How do you rotate suits, helmets, shoes, gloves, etc over a race weekend?

Cruz-Well, the environment we drive in, we get clutch dust, which comes out of the clutch bell housing, and it causes a dark smoke that comes out of the bell housing, and in turn, gets on our suits so it looks like we were in a chimney. On a day when the car is really thundering down the track, we’re going to get a lot of clutch dust. Generally, I’ll wear my backup suit for qualifying, and my primary suit on race day. Sometimes I’ll wear the same suit for the event, it depends on the comfort of it. Both suits are usually identical, but if they’re not, I’ll favor one of the other

As far as helmets, I’ll go with the paint scheme, or whatever I feel is right. I have half a dozen helmets that I carry with me, different designs, whatever the scheme calls for, whatever I feel like. Let’s say we’re in a part of the country, where there are some Raider fans or anti-Raider fans, in Denver, I’ll bust out my Raiders silver and black helmet, at those events. Bell does a great job with my helmets, they are all identical. I’ll switch them, and can’t tell I’m wearing a different helmet.

As far as accessories, as they need to be cleaned, I’ll riffle through them. When it comes to my gloves and fire boots, I’ll wear them for two races, and then get them dry cleaned. If we are in a three race stretch, I’ll go to my spares.

DGF-You mentioned your Raiders helmet. As we know, the NFL is very protective of their trademarks. Have you had to deal with issues from the NFL?

Cruz-No I haven’t, and I’m very aware of that. Dealing with sponsors through the years, they are protective of that. I was with McDonald’s for seven years, and there is probably no corporation that protects the arch like that company does. I’m aware of it, and thankfully so. I’m a Raiders fan, and I know some of the Raiders, I know some of the people in the organization. So I do have a connection with them. I visit them every year.

You know, it all started with Joe Gibbs, the three time Super Bowl winning coach. I forget the exact program, but we had different helmets from the NFL. We had all authentic stickers and everything. My teammate Corey Mac [McClenathan] had a Vikings helmet. So I chose to stick with the Raiders, I never had anything else painted. My painter painted, and they provided me with the helmet stickers, and the center stripe, in a thick guage plastic vinyl. This was back in the mid-90’s. Ever since then, I’ve felt like I had a connection with the Raiders. I’m still friends with Joe Gibbs to this day. Those are my colors, and if they tell me not to have it, it’ll still be silver and black.

DGF-Some drivers black out parts of their helmet visor to cut down on distraction, which Jack Beckman referred to as “the Clydesdale effect.” I have noticed that you prefer to have your whole visor clear, have you tried the Clydesdale effect?

Cruz-I did, but honestly, to me, if your susceptible to that, you probably have something else going on. Part of your God given ability to focus, to me should be, even if something is in your vision, your focus should be the thing you are focused on, not things on the outside. I did try that at one time, and all it did was verify that I’m really screwed up.

DGF-When the HANS device first became mandatory, how hard was it adjusting to it?

Cruz-It was awkward at first. Then I remember thinking put it on and take it off out of the car. The design of them, especially the latest greatest one, called an “R3,” Simpson makes it, and it straps to your body. The original HANS was the one that they stuck on your neck, and the straps of your shoulder harness went over it, so when you took your harness off, it came off too. The one I like, and I’ve been using for years has its own independent straps, and I can get out of the car. It still straps to the harness, and tethers to your helmet. I forgot it one time, and I felt completely naked. I got out of the car, and I thought “I’m missing something.” It took six months, but now it’s a part of the uniform.

DGF-You used to wear a helmet that had respirators in them, why did you make the change to standard helmets?

Cruz-The change was made for me, due to the lack of availability of that helmet. The respirator concept is one that I would like to pursue in the future. For my application for the Nitro Funny Cars, that environment requires a respirator system of some sort in there. I just haven’t gotten around to talking and working with Bell. That was something that Impact did for us back in the day. It had no fire restraint qualities to it whatsoever. It was like a paint mask, which was good for the fumes, that the Nitro puts out, but it never had any safety qualities to it. When I switched from Impact to Bell, I never pursued it. Maybe the firefighting industry has something that could work. It’s probably the last thing I would need to feel `100% safe. The fire danger is an element we have in our type of racing, more than any other auto sport.

DGF-You also race dirt track, what is the difference in SFI ratings for a Funny Car and a dirt track firesuit?

Cruz-From my understanding, there’s quite a bit. My Funny Car suit is 5 layer. My dirt track is of the 2 layer variety. Less is more, it’s so much more comfortable. It’s like putting on a pair of sweats. When I went dirt track racing, thin suit, no respirator, different type of car, different dangers.

DGF-Do you keep any memorabilia from your career?

Cruz-I have quite a bit of boxes, one day I’ll get around to building a room. I have literally pallets of it, stored away, some of it is in the office, some of it is in the shop. The main thing for me is helmets. I’ve always had a thing for helmets, and I’ve sold more than I want to admit through the years. I’ve sold 20-25 helmets, and I have just as many or more, 20-25, and that number grows every year. I’ve never been one to have a single design, like F1 guys, if it’s their country or whatever. It’s kind of a cool idea, but I’ve always felt like, either something that matches the car, or something that represents something important to me.

DGF-What is the strangest thing you have every autographed, or been asked to autograph?

Cruz-Everytime I think of one, it gets outdone at the next event I go to. I signed a bowling pin once. Another time, a guy took his aritifical leg off, leaned on the trailer, handed it to me to sign.

While Cruz is still a full-time owner driver, he is also a dirt track racer in his spare time. He’s also a huge boxing fan, and lists Muhammad Ali as one of his idols. He also has his own brand of habanero hot sauce, Cruz Pedregon’s El Cucuy Hot Sauce. He is a die hard Oakland Raiders fan, and uses Raiders imagery in his uniforms and cars. At an age where many drivers hang their helmets on the mantle, Cruz is still tearing up the NHRA, and shows no signs of stopping soon.

Next week, some medical memorabilia.

By David G. Firestone

In 1990, a NASCAR movie was released that took the world by storm. It used real life racing footage, had great prop cars, and a well-known actor in the lead. That move was…Dorf Goes Auto Racing. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of it. Most people haven’t.

Written by, and starring comedian and actor Tim Conway, the Dorf series featured Conway as Duessel Dorf. Duessel Dorf was a rehash of the character Mr… Tudball, in the Mrs.. Wiggins skits from The Carol Burnett Show. Mr. Tudball runs an office, and wants to run it smoothly. Mrs.. Wiggins is his secretary, and constantly screws up. This was successful because of the chemistry that Burnett and Conway had. For the Dorf movies, Conway took Mr.. Oddball, added a hairpiece, and decided that the best way to rejuvenate the character is to make him shorter, so most of the scenes he is in, he is standing in a hole, with shoes on his knees.

Dorf Goes Auto Racing starts out with Door racing and winning the Formula 1 Championship, using questionable methods. When asked about his championship, he states that he has won the “Romanian 50, the Bulgarian 20, Liechtenstein 10, and the Minsk 2.”When the reporter states that “The Yanks say that until you’ve won with the stock car, you ain’t won yet.”When Dorf asks who said that, the reporter states “Dale Earnhardt, Kyle Petty, Richard Petty, Mark Martin.” So Dorf decides to race in NASCAR.

He gets signed by Col. Ovid Bolus, a cheap owner, who flies Dorf from Europe to California on a biplane. He meets Bolus’ assistant, Dipstick Taylor, a talkative nerd, who is slow to understand things, and they arrive at a hotel, where Dorf holds a press conference, attended by three people.

The scene cuts to Sonoma Raceway, then known as Sears Point Raceway. Dorf introduces his pit crew, Dipstick, Tony Chboike, who spends the entire movie eating a sandwich, Timber Jim, who is 7 feet tall, Willie Davis who incessantly plays a flute he carved by hand, Boom Boom, a hot blonde woman, who contributes nothing and who is ignored by the crew, and Pops Morgan and old man who is slow. This is followed by a sequence where Pops gets stuck on the track while cars fly by.

Dorf is next asked about his car, and a vintage Monte Carlo with steam pouring out of the engine is moved across the screen behind him. The announcer then sarcastically remarks “The pieces are in place, top driver, cream of the crop pit crew, a lousy car, and a greedy owner.” This is followed by interviews with Harry Gant, Ken Schrader, Geoff Bodine, and Michael Waltrip, who is working on his wrecked #30 Country Time Pontiac, while blaming Dorf.

As the announcer is talking, he is given a piece of paper, and he announces that with 30 minutes left to go before the race, Budweiser and Junior Johnson will supply Dorf with a car. The next scene is a series of qualifying events including Rusty Wallace, Harry Gant, and Sterling Marlin, Dorf being forced to qualify for his NASCAR license, and the Budweiser hauler driving to the track. Dorf somehow gets his license, and the car is given over to his incompetent pit crew. Dorf qualifies well. Another series of Interviews follows, including Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, and Darrell Waltrip, all of whom blast his abilities.

The scene shifts to a hotel where Sears Point is holding a banquet, and Dorf is a guest of honor. The keynote speaker discusses changing a spark plug, and makes it sound even more boring than it is in real life.

The next day, the race is held, the vice president of NASCAR states that because of Dorf, they are going to review their licensing process. Unocal’s representative states that he ran Dorf out of the office, but reluctantly admits that he has to provide fuel to Dorf’s team. Ned Jarrett even takes a shot at Dorf. Hoyt Axton made a cameo, singing the National Anthem, Willie plays along, while Dorf struggles to remove his helmet.

Getting Dorf into the seat is a struggle, and the crew fights over the steering wheel. Dorf fires the engine, but it sounds terrible. The steering wheel comes off. Dipstick radios Dorf stating “Dorf, come in.” Dorf pulls into pit lane, only to be told, I wanted to talk to you on the radio. Upon returning to pit lane a second time, Dorf finds his crew literally doing nothing. Dorf asks for water, Tony holds a stick that is too short for Dorf to reach. He leaves, telling Tony to “find a longer stick, I’ll be back.” Dorf comes back in a third time, and Tony spills the water in Dorf’s lap. Glad he didn’t order the hot soup, Dorf drives off.

A 4th pit stop occurs, with Dorf complaining he’s low on fuel, the tires are low, and the glove box door fell off. The classic Benny Hill jack gag, where the jack is under car, and lifts the driver as opposed to the car takes place, and all the air is let out of the tire. Dipstick climbs in the car, and Dorf is forced to make a pit stop, wheel the announcer quips that the crew is “the Keystone Cops of auto racing.” The car is refueled, using a 1950’s gas pump.

Dorf then somehow drives out of the track entirely, through a fast food restaurant, and is given directions back to the track from some cops. Boom Boom begins sunbathing, and slowly removes her jumpsuit. Dorf wrecks the two leaders, and the rest are distracted by Boom Boom, now down to her bikini top, leaving Dorf the leader. The flagman was going to throw the yellow, but Boom Boom, now only wearing a bikini distracts him, and he throws the checkered flag instead.

As Dorf celebrates in victory lane, an angry mob comes for Dorf. Dorf then grabs one of the mooring lines of the Goodyear blimp, and flies away, the end,

I will give this movie credit, for a direct to video release, they got cameos from some top NASCAR talent. Cameos included Harry Gant, Ken Schrader, Geoff Bodine, Michael Waltrip, Richard Petty, Rusty Wallace, Darrell Waltrip,and Ned Jarrett.

Also, the on-track announcing is really good, something that in movies and TV shows isn’t always the case. The Brady 500 has some of the worst racing announcing I have ever seen. In this movie, the announcer, Bruce Flanders did a great job. Flanders is a real announcer, and he made it work.

Sadly, Flanders’ announcing is one of the only things that did work. Much of the racing footage was shot during the 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300, and it looks good. However, aside from that, the movie is a flop. As much as I like Tim Conway, and as much as I like Dorf, the movie falls flat. Tim Conway must not understand that much about NASCAR, because most of the movie relies on willfull suspension of disbeleif, which at some points in this movie, is almost impossible. The chemestry he had with Carol Burnett isn’t present with any of the other actors. The cameos actually work well because the actors are clearly annoyed with the whole premise, and a couple are clearly doing it for some extra cash.

The humor doesn’t work on several levels. You have to be a NASCAR fan to get many of the jokes, so it doesn’t work for non-racing fans. Many of the in-jokes don’t work, since they are so over the top, they are just not good. Dorf as a character doesn’t fit in NASCAR, and the premise is so bad, it borders on absurdity. I’m going to give this movie an F. It didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now.

Next week, I will start the month of February with an interview

By David G. Firestone

Richard Pryor will forever be known as one of the greatest comedians of all time. He started as a clean, middlebrow comic, which was decent, until September 1967, where he walked on stage, exclaimed “What the fuck am I doing here!?” and walked away. This was the jump-start he needed. He started working in profanity, and started doing blue material. This combination, along with a talent for storytelling, raised stand up comedy to a new level. Taboos were broken, lines were crossed, and Richard Pryor became a household name. Pryor’s material was so ahead of its time, that even today, much of what he said on stage still holds up, and is still relevant.

Pryor’s writing talent and acting talent led to television appearances, television shows, movies, and awards. He co-wrote Blazing Saddles, with Mel Brooks, and also won an Emmy for writing a Lily Tomlin special. One of his more serious roles was Wendell Scott in Greased Lightning.

If I told you there was a NASCAR movie written by Melvin Van Peebles, and stars Richard Pryor and Pam Grier, would you believe me? Well the movie does exist. Released in 1977, Greased Lighting is a sports biological film about Wendell Scott, the first African American driver to win in what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

The movie starts off by setting a tone that follows the course of the movie. In Danville, Georgia in the early 1930’s, a young Wendell Scott is challenged to a bike race by some white children. After beating them in the race, and earning their respect, one of them congratulates him with with a racial epithet. The movie then jumps forward to the end of World War II, and Scott comes home from the army.

At a party celebrating his return, he meets Mary Cole, played by Pam Grier. The two fall in love. Mary invites him to dinner at her family’s house. During dinner, he announces he is going to buy a taxicab, and wants to eventually open a garage. Her father asks Wendell if he has any crazy ideas, to which he responds “I want to be a racing champion,” which her father laughs off. After the two are married, the taxi business goes downhill, and Wendell is desperate for money. He witnesses a bootlegger chase, and drives down the driver, asking for a job.

He meets his best friend, who is also working for the bootlegger, and they both start running moonshine. The shine is moving well, the money is good, and Wendell is happy he gets to drive a car for a living. Wendell is so good at driving, that the police spend years trying to catch him. Finally, Wendell is arrested, and while in jail, the local track owner talks with the sheriff, and talks him into a deal. Wendell will race at the local dirt track, and if he finishes the race, Wendell will get probation and a fine. The track owner wants Wendell there because the white drivers will try to kill him, which the white people want to see, and the black people just want to see a black driver race.

The track owner turns the other drivers against Wendell by offering a $25 bounty for the driver that takes him out. Every driver takes him up on it, except one named Hutch. The race starts, the other drivers try to take Wendell out, but he preservers and is given probation. The next race he attempts, he is turned down because of his race.

Eventually he finds a track that will take him, and he finishes 4^th, where he meets up with Hutch. 4^th place earns two steak dinners at a whites-only steakhouse. Wendell and Hutch go there, get their dinners, but are chased out by the locals. Eventually, Hutch joins Wendell’s team as a mechanic. The next race, he finishes first, but racist driver Beau Welles is declared the winner. Wendell is obviously disgusted, and hangs around the track. After a while, one of the officials approaches Wendell and confirms that he did win the race. Wendell demands to know where the trophy, and is told that Beau Welles will give it back.

At a celebratory picnic, Wendell is presented with the trophy, and tells Hutch that there’s an opening at a new race shop. Hutch and Wendell part ways, and Wendell’s career takes off. He is seen racing at many different race tracks, including Talladega, where he is injured in a crash. The crash shown is the actual crash that ended Wendell’s career in real life.

He wakes up in the hospital, where he had a pole inserted into his leg. Mary begs him to retire. He mopes around the house, hearing about how great Beau Welles is as a driver, and decides to enter the “Grand National” at “International Speedway.” Most of his team comes back, the sheriff who wanted him to rot in jail is now the mayor, and he recruits sponsors for Wendell. Wendell’s wife states that she won’t watch him race. Wendell himself visits Beau Welles to try to buy an engine, and meets with Hutch. The two old friends share a few words, and even Beau Welles is cordial to Wendell. Hutch decides to reunite with Wendell’s team.

The Grand National arrives, Wendell is near the back of the pack, Beau Welles is at the front. Just before the race starts, Mary returns. The race starts, and it seems that Wendell is scared, not wanting to race. Eventually, his confidence returns, and he starts passing cars, until he is 2^nd, just behind Beau Welles. Beau and Wendell pit at the exact same time, but Beau leaves first. Wendell drives away, with his right rear wheel not fully tight, and wobbling. The racing is fast, the battle for the lead is great, and eventually Wendell comes out on top, and the movie ends with his family celebrating around him.

This movie is one of the better vintage racing movies I’ve seen. Pryor and Grier’s acting and chemistry are great. Beau Bridges is great as Hutch. Earl Hindman, who will forever be known as Wilson Wilson from Home Improvement gives quite a great performance. There isn’t that much padding, and every scene has relevance. The music and racing scenes work very well, and the race cars look great. All in All, this movie is worth the A I’m giving it.

Next week, a 1990’s NASCAR comedy movie.

By David G. Firestone

Most sports have their own media production company, to produce television or DVDs. NASCAR is no exception having founded the NASCAR Media Group. The NASCAR Media Group has produced many books, television commercials, television programs and DVDs showing the history and the competitors of NASCAR. They are a promotional tool used by NASCAR for self promotion.

One of the DVDs that they produced in 2009 was NASCAR Presents Greatest Finishes & Dominators. This single DVD contains NASCAR Presents Greatest Dominators and NASCAR Presents Greatest Finishes. These are two 37 minute long specials which could have aired on television at some point. The DVD also has 60 minute long versions of the 2007 Daytona 500 and the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.

NASCAR Presents Greatest Finishes features a group of picks for the 10 greatest race finishes in NASCAR history. Their picks are:

10-1997 Mountain Dew Southern 500-Jeff Gordon Wins the Winston Million beating Jeff Burton

9-1999 Goody’s Headache Powder 500-Dale Earnhardt is racing for the win. He gets into the back of Terry Labonte, and spins him out, and collects the win.

8-2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500-Kevin Harvick wins a close finish against Jeff Gordon, his first race in what used to be Dale Earnhardt’s car.

7-1992 The Winston-Kyle Petty wrecks Dale Earnhardt to set up a close finish with Davey Allison. Allison would win, but the two cars wrecked, and Davey had to be flown to a hospital.

6-1992 Hooters 500-In the final race of the 1992 season, Bill Elliot, Davey Allison, and Alan Kulwicki were each racing for the championship. Davey Allison got wrecked by Ernie Irvan, and Alan Kulwicki would go on to win the 1992 Championship. Factor in the fact that this was Richard Petty’s last race, and Jeff Gordon’s first, and you have a race for the ages.

5-2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400-The then closest finish in NASCAR history saw Ricky Craven beat Kurt Busch in a frantic and physical race to the finish by 0.002 seconds.

4-1986 Miller High Life 400-Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt had a battle for the lead, which saw both drivers wreck, and Kyle Petty winning. Both cars were destroyed, Earnhardt had to pay $10,000,($29,284.19 today) had his neck broken, and was suspended for his actions.

3-1984 Firecracker 400-With President Reagan traveled to Daytona to watch the Firecracker 400. The race came down to Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough race for the checkered flag. Petty would win his 200th, after a wreck forced a late race caution.

2-1979 Daytona 500-Considered the most important race in NASCAR history. Broadcast nationwide by CBS, the race came down to a two car battle for the lead formed between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough in the closing laps. The two would wreck, and Richard Petty would win the race. A legendary fist fight between Allison and Yarborough took place in the infield, which made the front page of the New York Times sports section, thus bringing NASCAR into the national picture.

1-1976 Daytona 500-David Pearson had finished second to Richard Petty in the Daytona 500 on several occasions. In 1976. Pearson would finally get the better of Petty in a legendary wreck, where Pearson limped across victory lane with both cars destroyed.

I can’t say I disagree with their choices, they are all great finishes. They feature some of the greatest drivers in the sport. This is the better of the two features because everything about the program is good. The narration, editing, interviews, and music are all great. NASCAR Presents Greatest Finishes is a great production.

The same cannot be said for NASCAR Presents Greatest Dominators features the top 10 NASCAR Dominators. They are:

10-Rusty Wallace

9-Bill Elliott

8-Lee Petty

7-Darrell Waltrip

6-David Pearson

5-Cale Yarborough

4-Tim Flock

3-Jeff Gordon

2-Dale Earnhardt

1-Richard Petty

The first issue here is that THEY PUT THE LIST ON THE BACK OF THE DVD COVER! Who thought it would be a good idea to spoiler alert the outcome on the back of the DVD cover? I should purchase the DVD to see who made the list, but they couldn’t get that right.

NASCAR Presents Greatest Dominators is also quite dated. The DVD depicts Dale Jr. in Budweiser gear, Jimmie Johnson is never mentioned, the Gen 4 car is the newest car racing, and Rusty Wallace hasn’t retired yet. Another thing is that Cale Yarborough is lauded as being the only driver to win three championships in a row, and the point is driven that this will probably never happen again. This might not seem that bad, but again, it was released in 2009, AFTER JIMMIE JOHNSON HAD WON HIS THIRD CHAMPIONSHIP IN A ROW.

With that out of the way, NASCAR Presents Greatest Dominators is a mediocre showing. The structure for how the segments work is non-existent. Some segments run longer than others, and there are long awkward pauses for no reason. The music is decent though, and I do like the showing footage on vintage stock cars. Ken Squier’s narration is amazing, but Ken Squier could read the legalities of a mortgage, and make it sound amazing.

The two races, the 2007 Daytona 500 and the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, are trimmed down versions of the telecasts, but they are decent, and show some great racing action. I’m a fan of these kinds of things. The DVD is worth it for that alone. The top 10 list thing has been done better, but the races are worth the price of the DVD. Across the board, I’m giving this a B-. It’s decent, some parts are worth the money, other parts aren’t.

Next week, another vintage stock car racing movie.

By David G. Firestone

Before there was Talladega Nights, there was Days of Thunder. Before Days of Thunder, there was The Last American Hero. Directed by Emmy Award winning director Lamont Johnson, The Last American Hero is loosely based on the life of NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson. The Last American Hero is the name of an essay written by Tom Wolfe that appeared in Esquire Magazine, and was also released in “The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby.”

The movie starts off with Jeff Bridges playing Elroy Jackson, Jr., who is called “Junior Jackson.” He is a hot shot moonshine runner, who gets his father arrested and his family still blown up because of his hot shot driving. In order to pay for his father’s legal bills and provide for his family, Junior decides to become a racing driver. First, he places third in a demolition derby, where he adds a spear to the front of his car. After that, he decides to try stock car racing.

He races in a number of dirt track races in Concord, North Carolina After winning a number of races, he gets in a fight, where the track promoter gets hurt, and tries to blackball him. Junior travels to Hickory, where he works his way into a race, but his car fails him, and he doesn’t finish the race. When he gets to the speedway, he meets Marge, an attractive woman who takes a liking to him, as she does a lot of race car drivers. A country boy trying to adapt to city life,the pressure of providing for his family and racing takes its toll on him. He is approached by Burton Colt, a team owner with an offer to drive, but he declines.

After his dad is released from jail, he scolds Junior about wanting to work in moonshine. Junior reconsiders the offer, and races one race for Burton. In the climatic scene, Junior ignores the orders from the team, and ends up winning the race. The movie ends with Marge leaving, and Junior going into the VIP area for a press conference.

The movie was a box office bomb, making $1,250,000 on a $2,130,000 budget. The movie is best remembered for the theme song “’I’ve Got a Name” by Jim Croce. In fact, the theme song is really one of the best parts of the movie. The Last American Hero had a decent plot, and really good acting. The cars and racing scenes all look good. Jeff Bridges is really strong in this movie, as are most of the other actors.

The movie could have been much better, but there are quite a few things that bring it down. There is way too much padding in the movie. There is a sequence that takes place at a K-Mart, where Junior tries to call home, but nobody answers. He then sees a booth to make your own record. He records a rambling message to his family, and then walks away. This scene is completely pointless, and could be edited out, and the movie wouldn’t lose anything.

The “romance” that takes place between Junior and Marge is even worse. It’s established quickly that Marge is a race car driver groupie, who will sleep with any and all race car drivers she comes across. The romantic subplot is a waste of time, and it heads nowhere. While all of the characters are somewhat deep, Marge is as two dimensional as it gets. She’s as shallow as a parking lot puddle, and really unlikable.

The ending almost seems as though there was more about to happen. The last scene features Burton and Junior haggling over a racing contract, and then Junior heads into the VIP room. The credits roll, fade to black. This seems like there was another scene that needed to take place, but that scene was either never shot, or edited out. It’s a really odd ending, that leaves a few plot lines unfinished.

All in all, it’s mediocre at best. It’s got a few good things, but overall, it could be a lot better. I’m going to give this movie a C-. Not disastrous, but a lot of room for improvement.

Next week, Wheel Reviews continues with a NASCAR DVD set.

By David G. Firestone

The racing season is over, holiday music is playing in stores, we’ve all had our fill of turkey, and the Driver Suit Blog Paint Scheme Review Committee has met again. This time, I’ve added a third member, Lucy the beagle, in addition to Alejandro the cat. After extensive meetings, we have come to our conclusions for the Leaderboard ranking for Chevy’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series paint schemes. So, without further ado, here we go!

#1-Beard Motorsports #75 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: NA

Beard Motorsports has had a great year, in terms of paint schemes. They have run two races, had two A schemes, and earned a perfect 4 for the year.

#2-Hendrick Motorsports #5 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 11 of 24

While the Farmer’s Insurance and Great Clips schemes are meh at best, Kasey ran a series of A schemes for most of the year. He finishes the year with a respectable average in terms of grades.

#3-Circle Sport/TMG #33 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: NA

Cirlce Sport/TMG had a slew of great schemes for almost all of the year. They all had great A looks…except for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles scheme which earned a solid F. This not only knocked out of the first place spot, but down surprisingly lower than what they should have been.

#4-Richard Childress Racing #27 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: of 24

The 2017 Menard’s template has worked very well, with the exception of Knauf, Sylvania, and Jack Links Beef Jerkey. This is another instance of 3 schemes derailing what could have been a perfect season for 2017.

#5-JTG Daugherty Racing #37 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: NA

While the #37 team had a lot of A’s and no really bad schemes, the lower graded schemes took the whole grade from a great position to a dull position. Still, they didn’t get lower than a C, and their GPA was decent enough.

#6-Premium Motorsports #55 Chevy SS/Toyota Camry Rank Last Year: 2 of 24

Aside from Low T, Star Com Fiber, Wind River, the #55 has had a very solid showing in 2017, with a lot of A schemes.

#7-JTG Daugherty Racing #47 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 3 of 24

The #47 had a solid B+ year, and with an A graded throwback, they had a good solid showing in 2017. The Kroger looks were all great in 2017, and the throwback is amazing.

#8-Chip Ganassi Racing #1 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 22 of 24

The #1 had a varried season in 2017. They had a decent amount of A’s, but with the number of B and C level grades, it took what could have been a perfect year down to a decent year.

#9-Rick Ware Racing #51 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: NA

Rick Ware Racing has a lot of one and two race sponsors, and, as is prone to happening, the grades for these schemes are varied. However, overall, there are a lot of A’s, and only one really bad grade. But with all the grades averaged, the final rank is much lower than it could have been.

#10-Richard Childress Racing #31 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 12 of 24

The #31 has a lot of different schemes, which have been everything from bad to amazing. While no single scheme has received an F, the Okuma scheme did get a D grade, and the rest of the grades were all over the map in between. The final average is much lower than it could have been.

#11-Premium Motorsports #15 Chevy SS/Toyota Camry Rank Last Year: NA

Low T is a bad scheme, and Michael Waltrip’s D- Aaron’s scheme completely derailed an almost perfect season for paint schemes. The #15 had many one and two race sponsors, but they were almost all great. The #15 could have been higher, if not for the two low scores.

#12-Hendrick Motorsports #24 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 19 of 24

NAPA has a much better look, the Kelly Blue Book and Mountain Dew schemes work very well. The Hooters scheme left a lot of room for improvement, and the Sun Energy scheme is still a disaster. It’s sad the Hooters, and Sun Energy derailed what could have been a great season for the #24.

#13-Leavine Family Racing #95 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 17 of 24

WRL Contractors was awful. Race Wipes, and Devour Frozen Meals were mediocre at best. The rest of the schemes were great. Adding up and averaging the grades from all of the schemes takes what could have been a great season down to a mediocre season.

#14-Richard Childress Racing #3 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 16 of 24

The grades for the #3 were all over the place, with a number of Dow schemes working well, to other Dow schemes not working as well. #3 cars tended to be over designed in 2017, and the lower ranking is evidence of this.

#15-Germain Racing #13 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 23 of 24

Geico Military was the only blemish on the #13’s season. They had 3 A grades, Geico, Twisted Tea, and the Smokey Yunick Throwback. The branded camouflage scheme doesn’t work very well at all. It took a solid A down to a solid C.

#16-Hendrick Motorsports #88 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 10 of 24

Axalta had a series of really bad schemes this year. Mountain Dew-S-A was meh, and the rest of the schemes were great. Every other scheme was great, but the law of averages strike again. A great season derailed by a few bad apples.

#17-Tommy Baldwin Racing #7 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 18 of 24

Tommy Baldwin had 4 A schemes, but the other 4 schemes were either C or D schemes. Averaged out, they had a very low score this year.

#18-TriStar Motorsports #72 Chevy SS/Ford Fusion Rank Last Year: NA

I still hate the door numbers, but TriStar made it work. Many of the schemes range from decent to awful. They had many one and two race sponsors, but unlike Premium, weren’t able to make their schemes work as well, and the overall rankings took a major hit.

#19-Gaunt Bros Racing #96 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: NAA B+ and a C- for their two schemes do not add up to a great average. It was a meh year for a part-time team.

#20-Chip Ganassi Racing #42 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 13 of 24

The phrase “all over the map” accuratly describes the year that the #42 had. They had everything from high graded beauty, to low level messes. The grades were averaged, and the final grade is a meh grade, to say the least.

#21-MBM Motorsports #66 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: NA

Three bad schemes, a meh scheme, and a great scheme add up to a low ranking. Carl Long’s return to the Cup Series had a really blah season, both aesthetically, and on track.

#22-Star Com Racing #00 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: NA

A single C rated scheme for this late season entry by Derrike Cope. I don’t hate the scheme, but I don’t love it either. It’s a very forgettable scheme, that could have been a lot better.

#23-Hendrick Motorsports #48 Chevy SS Rank Last Year: 21 of 24

The #48 was either feast or famine. The schemes earned either F’s or A’s, but more F’s than A’s average out to a D grade average, the worst of 2017, both for Chevy’s teams and the Cup Series as a whole.

So that is Chevy’s rankings for 2017. Next Week, the Driver Suit Blog Paint Scheme Review Committee will release their rankings for Ford.