David Bonnett #12 Plasti-Kote Restore Automotive Products Chevrolet

    When looking back on the history of NASCAR, David Bonnett is not a name you're likely to see very often~ The son of NASCAR legend Neil Bonnett, David's career in the BGN series lasted only 19 races, during a six year time span~ On today's edition of the blog, I'm gonna be going over his time in the #12 Plasti-Kote/Restore Automotive Products Chevrolet~

     I've heard from several people over the years that Steve Park was the first guy to drive for Dale Earnhardt Inc.~ In fact, on many racing programs, they've said that very same thing~ The truth is, the first Cup driver to drive for DEI was Robby Gordon, in 1996~ Jeff Green also drove for DEI in 1996, and then Steve Park came along in 1997~

    DEI was fielding cars in the BGN series before 1996, and the first ever BGN start of David Bonnett's brief career was in the #3 GM Goodwrench/Sports Image Chevrolet, fielded by Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, all the way back in 1992, in the C-1R Firecracker 200 @ Volusia County~ He scored his solo career top 10 in the race with a 9th place finish~

                                                      Bonnett on track in the #12 car~

    David's first start in the #12 car came in the 8th race of the 1993 BGN season, the Miller 500 @ Martinsville~ (I've never understood why it was called the Miller 500, when it was only 300 laps on a 1/2 mile track)~ After starting 24th in the 32 car field, he was only able to pick up 3 position during the race, resulting in a 21st place finish~

    He next raced 4 races later, in the Carolina Pride/Budweiser 200 @ Myrtle Beach~ He qualified 22nd, and finished 20th~ Jeff Burton won the race, while his brother Ward claimed the pole position~ Ward would finish second, marking the first time in BGN series history that brothers had finished in the top 2 spots~

                                                  David Bonnett in a fierce battle on track~

    Bonnett next raced in the Detroit Gasket 200 @ Michigan, where he started a season worst 37th in the 41 car field~ Due to a large amount of drivers exiting the race due to crashes, or mechanical issues, Bonnett was able to pick up a season high 17th place finish~ This was also the first BGN start for Bill Elliott's nephew, Casey Elliott, who finished in 20th after starting in 8th place~ He beat his Uncle Bill, who finished 34th after starting on the pole~ Dale Earnhardt finished 2nd in the race, but was regulated to a last place finish due to having an illegal motor~

   David would fail to qualify for his next two events, the Autolite 250 @ Richmond, and the Advance Auto Parts 500 @ Martinsville~ He started his final race of 1993 in the AC-Delco 200 @ Rockingham, and qualified a career high 3rd in the event~ However, he suffered engine failure on lap 44, and ended up finishing a disappointing 39th in the 42 car field~

                                               Custom David Bonnett Racing Champions card~

    His first race of the 1994 season would be his final race with sponsor Plasti-Kote, as well as his last with the team, as Neil Bonnett was the team owner, and he had just passed away~ David ran the car in the 2nd race of the season, in the Goodwrench 200 @ Rockingham, where he started 13th, and finished a season high of 18th place~ He would run 3 more races that season in the #03 car, owned by Hank Parker Sr, finishing no better than 19th place (AC- Delco 200 @ Rockingham)~

    David also ran 6 races in 1995 for Parker Sr., as well as 2 in 1996, before making his final career BGN start with Doug Taylor's #40 Dunlop Golf Ford, in the Detroit Gasket 200 @ Michigan~ His career consisted of 19 starts, along with 11 DNQ's, 1 top 10 (Volusia County 1992), and 1 lap led 1996 Goody's Headache Powder 300 @ Daytona~ After his career ended, Bonnett drifted away completely from NASCAR, and not much has been written about him since~ It was nearly impossible for me to find enough information about him to write this blog post~

                        David Bonnett #12 Plasti-Kote/Restore Automotive  Products Chevrolet~

                                                             Click pics to enlarge~

    I actually just got this car yesterday, and I had never seen it before then~ I do remember the car on the track, but not the Racing Champions version~ I was at the flea market, and just randomly found it~ I love days like that, when you're not expecting much, then you find a treasure~ It's a great feeling, and I needed something to make me feel good yesterday~

   This car is decked out with contingencies all over it~ The card is a photoshop custom that I made, the car just came in a clear pvc box that said it was 1 of 5,000 made~ The cars that come in those tend to have better paint, and more contingencies~ You can't tell in the pictures, but the tires on this one are a little odd~ They seem less black than the normal tires, like they have a matte finish to them~

    Overall, this car is an excellent piece to have in your Racing Champions 1/64 NASCAR diecast collection!~ The colors are nice, the paint is shiny, with hardly any mistakes.. the body is smooth as glass~ It's easily an A+ on the Racing Champions quality scale.. even if it didn't come with a card and stand~ This car is a very rare piece of forgotten NASCAR history, and I'm honored to own one of them, and help to keep the memory of David Bonnett alive in the NASCAR world~

   Not much is known about David's life these days, but it's good to know he's still alive somewhere~ I've often wondered if he had the same talking skills as his father had~ I would have liked to see him in the NASCAR booth.. he'd have to do a better job than ol' boring Dale Jarrett~ haha~ Anyway.. I was able to find a clip on YouTube that features David in it for a brief moment~ It's from an awesome race at Volusia County, which had TONS of action in it~ I've also posted a few other videos of random NASCAR stuff~ As always, thank you all for reading the blog, and have a wonderful day!~

                                              Volusia County 1992 - David's only top 10~

                                                    TNN's final Busch Series sign off~ :(

                                                           1990 Miller 200 highlights~

                                                          1995 South Boston finish~

       

Robert Griggs #S-1 Winston Cup Scene Buick

    Today's post had to be something a little special, because today is my birthday~ Last year on my birthday, I did the Harry Gant #7 Manheim Auctions post... and so I shall continue the tradition this year with the Robert Griggs #S-1 Winston Cup Scene Buick~

    I've been wanting to do this post for such a long time, but I was saving it for my birthday~ There were times I didn't think I'd be able to wait, but I made it~ I'm exited the day has finally come~ Not only is this an awesome car, but it was given to me by my great friend, Jeff Glover~ Thanks again, Jeff~ I really appreciate it, and now it will forever be enshrined in history.. as long as blogger.com stays in business~ lol~  And now, lets get on with the show~

                                                              The beginning of it all~

    Before there was Winston Cup Scene, there was Grand National Scene~ It was first published by Robert Griggs in 1977~ By 1981, Griggs had grown the company into quite a nice publication, that seemed to be getting bigger by the day~ Also in 1981, Griggs hired current NASCAR guru Steve Waid, who at the time worked for the Roanoke Times~ With Waid on board, the future seemed to have no limits~

   During this time, Griggs (who had grown his publication to 9,000) had ambitions to get involved in the growing CART Indy Car market~ Griggs hired sports writing veteran Gordon Kirby, who had done some writing an editing in the 1980 "Indy Car World Series Annual", of which Griggs had just purchased the rights to~ Kirby did 2 annuals with Griggs, as well as a short lived monthly Indy Car magazine~

                                                                 The rise of an empire~

Griggs had long had a discomfort for the name change from Grand National, to Winston Cup racing~ He refused to change the name of his publication until the late 1980's~ Around this time was when the NASCAR world was really in full swing~ The field was chocked full of talent, and above all.. personality~

    With the newly titled "Winston Cup Scene" now in full effect, Griggs had grown his publication to over 100,000 subscribers~ Griggs had built an empire, but he felt as if it was time to let it all go~ In late 1992, Griggs sold the publication to American City Business Journals for several million dollars~

                                                     Early retirement for Robert Griggs~

Robert was born in Alabama to a meager family~ After the sale of the Winston Cup Scene, he could have just laid back, and never worked another day in his life~ But that's not what someone does when they've had such a humble upbringing~ Griggs is still hard at it to this day, with his new business~

    In 2012, he founded Papa Robb's Paradise Ice in Concord, North Carolina~ Now known as "Papa Robb", Griggs spends his days serving up delicious treats to his many customers~ He is well known in the community, and is a model citizen in every way~ Just a humble, good honest guy.. doing what he does to make the world a better place~

                                         Robert Griggs #S-1 Winston Cup Scene Buick~

                                                           Click pics to enlarge~

    From the first time I ever saw it, I was fascinated with this little thing~ It truly is a unique Racing Champions car~ Being an early model Buick body, the actual car is very rough~ These pics have been edited on Photoshop to make them look as good as they can for historical purposes~ Anyway, on with the review~

    There are several odd things about this car~ The first, and I could be dumb for this.. but I don't understand why it's "#S-1"~ Is it "Season 1"?~.. "Subscriber 1"?~.. beats me~ The other thing, which is kind of an inside joke from my childhood.. is the "GPC" logo on the side and back of the car~ When I was a kid, I had a friend name Joe.. and his dad smoked GPC cigarettes~

    I always told Joe that his dad smoked Gay People Cigarettes, and it would piss Joe off~ lol~ It just adds to the joy of the car.. I get to think about Joe's ol' gay dad, smoking them Gay People Cigarettes~ A little memory from my childhood... a childhood that just got a year older today~

    I absolutely love the card with this car, with the exception of it's the only card that I know of that is completely blank on the back~ I found that kind of odd~ I give this car an A- on the Racing Champions quality scale, the - being for the blank card back~ Thank you all for stopping by the blog~ I've now got new pics up on every post~ Check them out, and please share this blog with your friends~ Below are some random NASCAR videos since there isn't any on Robert Griggs~

                                           Winston Cup Replay 1990 Atlanta Journal 500~

                                                            First Phoenix race 1988~

                                         Winston Cup Replay 1990 Tyson Holly Farms 400~

                                                  Winston Cup Replay 1988 Watkins Glen~

    

Cale Yarborough #21 Ford Talladega Torino Cobra

    Welcome back NASCAR fans!~ I hope you all survived Independence day.. as you can probably tell, I did~ I'm on "vacation" for the week, so I'm gonna try and get a few more cars posted while I've got the free time~ I'm too poor to go on vacation~ haha~ In today's blog post, we're going further back in time than we've ever gone before here on the blog.. all the way back to the 1969 and 1970 NASCAR seasons, to take a gander at Cale Yarborough's time in the #21 Ford Talladega Torino Cobra, owned by the famed Wood Brothers~

    Cale's first race for the Wood Brothers came in the 1966 Southern 500 @ Darlington, which was the 42nd race of the season, for those who complain that the current season is too long~ :P From 1967-1968, he won 8 races with the team, along with 8 poles, 19 top 5's, and 23 top 10's, while competing in 38 of the scheduled 98 races during those 2 seasons~

                                                      Ready for the 1969 Daytona 500~

    Going into the 1969 season, the Fords and Mercurys had designed a new car to gain an edge on the competition~ For the Fords, it was the Ford Talladega Torino Cobra, and for the Mercurys, the newly designed Mercury Cyclone~ Cale attempted to run 20 races during the 1969 season with the Wood Brothers, but didn't make the field for the Talladega 500~

    This was a controversial race, as Richard Petty had tried to form a racers union, causing many of the well named racers to pack up, and go home without qualifying~ The drivers who left without qualifying were Richard Petty, Bobby Johns, John Sears, Buddy Baker, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Wendell Scott, James Hylton, Charlie Glotzbach, and Paul Goldsmith~ Goldsmith's car was still ran by Richard Brickhouse, who went on to win the race, picking up his only career victory~ Several other driver's cars who withdrew were still driven in the race as well~

                                             Cale's #21 Torino Cobra~ Colorized by me~

    For the most of the 1969 season, the Wood Brothers ran the Mercury Cyclones~ Of the 19 races they ran, only 4 of them were in the Torino Cobra, and 1 of those was the 50 lap qualifier for the Daytona 500~ In that qualifier, he started 9th, and finished runner up to David Pearson, also running the new 1969 Ford~

    Cale started in the 5th position in the 1969 Daytona 500, driving the car posted in the above picture~ Cale ran pretty strong all day, and had led for 17 laps... and then he blew a tire on lap 104, acquiring assistance from the track crew to get out of the car, in what was a pretty scary crash~ Thankfully, he only ended up with a few cuts and scrapes~ He finished the race in 38th place in the 51 car field~ LeeRoy Yarbrough went on the win the race on the very first ever last lap pass for the win in Daytona 500 history, passing Charlie Glotzbach on the final lap of the race~

                                                     Cale giving the camera the evil eye~

    He then ran the car in the Carolina 500 @ Rockingham, where he qualified in the 11th position~ David Pearson won the pole.. and while Cale was able to lead for 65 laps, he was no match for Pearson, who easily won from the pole position, and led 311 of the 500 laps~  It's worth noting that Cale was only driving these Fords because the new Spoiler II for the Mercury Cyclone wasn't approved by NASCAR at the time~

    Cale's final time driving a Ford of any kind for the Wood Brothers came in the 1969 Southeastern 500 @ Bristol~ He started in 3rd place, but wasn't quite fast enough to take the lead from David Pearson, and Bobby Isaac~ Isaac led for 249 laps before his radiator gave out 52 laps shy of the checkered flag~ Pearson led for 237 laps, before being passed by Bobby Allison, who led the final 7 laps, and won the race~  Cale finished 4th, but never led a lap~

    In his first race with the newly approved Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II, he started in 5th place, led 308 laps, and won the race~ The only car besides him on the lead lap was David Pearson~ Paul Goldsmith, who finished in 3rd place.. was 2 laps down, while 10th place Buddy Arrington was 22 laps down~

                                         Cale Yarborough #21 Ford Talladega Torino Cobra~

                                                               Click pics to enlarge~

    I absolutely love these "Collector's Series" cars that Racing Champions made~ I don't have a complete set of any of them, but I'm very close on all 5 sets~ The problem is, finding doubles of them to use here on the blog~ I'd love to do a post on the #30 Dodge Daytona that Dave Marcis drove, but I only have 1 of them.. so I have to wait and find another one for cheap before I can do a post on him~

    This Yarborough car is tough looking as can be~ He never won a race in it, but he came close.. and only ran it in a handful of races~ I love the 2 red stripes that go down the side of the car~ That really sets it off~ The card is pretty dang awesome as well, with Cale getting kissed on both cheeks by 2 lovely ladies~ :P I like the yellow, black, and red scheme on the left side of the card as well~ They should have done that with all the Racing Champions cards, but I guess they had to make these appear more special~

   I give this car an A+ on the Racing Champions quality scale, as I don't really see any flaws with it that I would care to address~ Great card, great quality(for Racing Champions), and a great car.. can't ask for any more than that~ Below are some clips of Cale, spanning throughout his famed career~ Thanks for stopping by the blog again, and feel free to comment with any suggestions on future blog posts~ :)

                                                     Cale wins the 1974 Southern 500~

                                                     The miraculous 1983 backup car~

                                          Cale goes over the wall in the 1965 Southern 500~

                                                            All of Cale's Cup wins~