Stock Car Racing Needs To Regain Its Triple Crown

[DebWilliams-GFN]

By Deb Williams

Throughout last week the media focused on Big Brown and whether he could become the first Thoroughbred in three decades to run off with the Triple Crown. Even though he didn't accomplish the goal, the event reminded me of something that once existed in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing – a triple crown.

Stock car racing's triple crown consisted of the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500. Those three races defined stock car racing. They were the sport's most prestigious event, its longest and its oldest. To win those three superspeedway races in a single season signified a special accomplishment.

The Southern 500, traditionally held on Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway, was a tough, grueling race from its very beginning in 1950. Not only did the competitors have to deal with the cantankerous, egg-shaped 1.366-mile track, they also had to contend with the brutal heat that always consumed South Carolina on Labor Day.

From the time the inaugural Daytona 500 was held in February 1959, a victory in the race was always considered stock car racing's pinnacle. The 2.5-mile track possessed a status among the media that the competitors had never encountered. It drew international attention, and seemed to set the tone for a team's season.

When the inaugural 600-mile race was scheduled for the 1.5-mile track, then known as Charlotte Motor Speedway, it had to go head-to-head with the Indianapolis 500 for publicity. Bruton Smith, who constructed the track with business partner and well-known driver Curtis Turner, needed something to draw attention, to set his event apart from its historical rival. Therefore, he devised the longest stock car race.

Capturing stock car racing's triple crown was just as difficult as it has been in horse racing. Only three drivers accomplished the feat with just two others coming close before it was eliminated.

Lee Roy Yarbrough, driving his familiar No. 98 Junior Johnson-fielded Ford, became the first to claim stock car racing's triple crown in 1969. David Pearson, piloting the Wood Brothers candy-apple red No. 21 Mercury, followed in 1976. It was then more than two decades before Jeff Gordon added his name to the list in 1997 in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

The two drivers who came close were Cale Yarborough in 1968 when he drove the familiar Wood Brothers Mercury, and Bill Elliott in his No. 9 Melling Racing Ford. Yarborough was victorious in the 1968 Daytona 500 and Southern 500, while Elliott won the same races in 1985.

Stock car racing's triple crown was used by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in determining the races that comprised the Winston Million. RJR sponsored the spring Winston 500 at Talladega, so it was added to the triple crown, making it necessary for a driver to win three of the four events to claim the $1 million prize. Elliott captured it in its inaugural season by winning the Daytona 500, the Winston 500 and the Southern 500. Gordon was the only other driver to walk off with the honor before it was discontinued in favor of the Winston No Bull 5 program.

Unfortunately, stock car racing lost its triple crown when NASCAR stripped Darlington of its Southern 500 date and moved it to California Speedway. At the beginning of the season, NASCAR officials said they wanted to honor the sport's history. If they wanted to prove they were sincere and not just providing lip service, they would reinstate the Southern 500 on the Saturday night of Labor Day weekend. This could be accomplished by moving the Labor Day California race to the Kansas weekend and transferring Kansas to the spring Darlington weekend. Granted, Kansas is the home of the series sponsor, but this date switch would give a Chase date to the larger Los Angeles market. Also, all of the race date switching would be among International Speedway Corp.-owned tracks.

Someone will probably make the argument that the triple crown could be reinstated using the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600 and Brickyard 400, but it just wouldn't be the same. After all, you certainly wouldn't substitute the Kentucky Derby, Preakness or the Belmont with the Breeders' Cup.