Motorsport today is the safest it has ever been, not just from the perspective of reducing fatalities but also in general health. And while no one can claim it is easy to endure an entire length of a NASCAR race, today’s drivers have a lot of science and innovation behind them to make them as comfortable as possible. But what about back in the beginning days of American Stock Car racing?
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While reminiscing about the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013, ESPN’s Ed Hinton revisited a tale told by two-time Cup series winner Buck Baker that would have one rolling out with pangs of laughter but also appreciate the drivers from the golden age of motor racing.
After his return to the Lady in Black (Darlington Raceway) in 1976, Baker imparted a story from the first Southern 500 held at the track all the way back in 1950. Because it was the first time NASCAR was going 500 miles in a single race, so drivers racked their brains to find innovative ideas to stay hydrated.
2 tickets to the inaugural 1950 Darlington Southern 500. pic.twitter.com/Sz7yxhiknx
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) October 26, 2022
Baker revealed, “One guy took beer.” But the chaotic movements inside the car owing to the rough banking on the ovals meant, “that beer foamed up. The car had so much foam pouring out of it that it looked like a washing machine was overflowing inside it.”
The 46-time race-winner, however, had a different choice of beverage in mind. He opted to carry tomato juice with him inside the cockpit of his #87 ’49 Oldsmobile, hoping consuming it throughout the race would help him with his energy levels. However, his outing at the track did not last long enough for him to consume the contents of his juice in its entirety.
“Well, then I wrecked,” he recalled. And the tomato juice created a moment of epic hilarity that only Baker and the safety workers were privy to! “The tomato juice spilled all over me, and I was slumped over in the seat,” he said. When the safety workers finally reached him, they mistook the red substance (Tomato Juice) spilled all over the racecar for blood. This prompted one of the workers to say, “There ain’t no helpin’ this one. Po’ feller’s done got his head cut off!”
There have been several unique and interesting instances in the sport throughout its storied history, like the time when a driver took a monkey as his co-driver, amongst several others. But stories like these have become faded memories over the years, remembered by a select few.
