Historical Motorsports Stories writes:

"The Day the North Tour Died - A Championship in Court"

Posted by nascarman on October 26, 2018

Viewed 3355 times Tweet Can a single race irrepairably damage a racing series so badly that it eventually shuts down? Apparently so.



On August 11, 1985 at Catamount Stadium, NASCAR's Coors North Tour reached a crisis point. A controversial officiating decision resulted in one driver protesting the outcome of the race and another driver filing a lawsuit. After all this mess, NASCAR decided the series wasn't worth the trouble anymore and closed up shop.







The North Tour was formed in 1979 through the efforts of broadcaster Ken Squier and his partner Tom Curley. NASCAR agreed to sanction the series and the cars used were similar late model sportsman cars to those used in what would become the Busch Series. There was an abundance of great short tracks in New England and Eastern Canada that were never reached by NASCAR, the North Tour would fill that void.



Over the first six years, the Tour grew to be quite successful. Beaver Dragon, Dick McCabe, and Robbie Crouch each won two championships between 1979 and 1984. And Southern drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker, and Terry Labonte even went north to run the series.



It didn't have many problems until August 11, 1985. During a race at Catamount Stadium, the series had a BIG problem.



After starting 21st, Randy LaJoie was spun on the first lap and the caution flag immediately came out. Caution flag laps did not count in the North Tour. Catamount's pit area was not in the infield like most tracks, but outside of the race track behind the grandstands. When the race restarted, LaJoie was still behind the grandstands in the pits. After the field took the green and went by the pit exit, LaJoie re-entered the track in turn one and assumed the last-place position.





Catamount, 1985



This was where the controversy was. Race officials claimed that because LaJoie was in the pits when the race restarted, not on the track, he should be scored a lap down. He needed to cross the start-finish line on track to be scored. LaJoie and his team argued that in all other tracks, crossing the finish line in the pits still counts as crossing the finish line; it shouldn't make any difference that the pits are behind the grandstands. For the rest of the event, race-director Tom Curley had LaJoie scored as a lap down.



On lap 60, LaJoie finally raced through the field and took the lead. But the officials said he was only on the tail end of the lead lap. When a caution came out on lap 68, Curley said that LaJoie incorrectly passed cars to restart ahead of them. LaJoie believed he was in the lead, Curley said he was further back in the field.



When the race restarted, LaJoie was given the black-flag. In accordance with NASCAR rules, four laps later, he was disqualified and his laps were no-longer counted.



The race went caution-free for the remainder of the event. Despite not being scored, LaJoie stayed on the track and led the rest of the way. Running second on track, Robbie Crouch was given the win. After getting disqualified on lap 71, LaJoie was credited as finishing 19th.



In disagreement with Curley and local North Tour officials, Randy LaJoie and his team protested directly to NASCAR's corporate headquarters in Daytona Beach. After reviewing materials related to the race, NASCAR declared that LaJoie was correct and they credited him as winner of the race. But even though the black flag was incorrect, it is against rules to disobey an order from NASCAR officials and LaJoie was fined $1,200.



While Robbie Crouch was upset he lost the win, the race took on a much larger meaning. LaJoie and Crouch were in a close battle for the 1985 Championship.



Feeling that NASCAR acted unjustly, Crouch and his car-owner, Glen Wright, filed a lawsuit against the sanctioning body claiming that they violated their own rules by overturning the initial decision. Rule 11-1 of the NASCAR rulebook stated that "[d]ecisions of NASCAR officials assigned to an event with respect to the interpretation of the NASCAR Rules, as they may pertain to race procedure, shall be final and there shall be no appeal or protest thereof." Because Curley and the local officials had stopped scoring LaJoie for ignoring the black flag, NASCAR's corporate officials had no right to overturn the local ruling and declare LaJoie the winner.



At the end of the season, LaJoie beat Crouch for the championship by only 20 points. The overturned decision cost Crouch the championship and his lawsuit suddenly had serious significance.



Amid all the controversy, NASCAR decided they no longer wanted any part of the North Tour. Whether or not the Catamount incident and subsequent lawsuit was the sole reason, it certainly was viewed as the straw that broke the camel's back. NASCAR dropped their official sanction, and the series, its competitors, and its schedule was left in limbo. Picking up the pieces, Curley formed the American Canadian Tour and tried to continue almost exactly as the North Tour had. While the ACT had long-term success, after a year away, NASCAR created the Busch North Series in 1987 to replace what it had lost in the North Tour. That series has evolved into what is currently the K&N East Series.





Randy LaJoie's Team



In the courtroom, Crouch's lawsuit against NASCAR moved slowly and took several court opinions before finally reaching a firm decision. On August 3, 1987, the U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vermont issued a summary judgment which ruled that NASCAR was wrong to overturn the initial disqualification. The procedural decisions of local officials could not be overturned by NASCAR's national organization. The Court awarded Crouch the win at Catamount, and therefore the 1985 North Tour Championship.



NASCAR and LaJoie appealed the court's decision. NASCAR especially hated the idea that judicial courts could overturn the results of one of their events. If that was true, it could mean even more lawsuits challenging race outcomes.



The decision to award Crouch the win was appealed in early 1988 in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City. On April 22, 1988, the Court announced their judgement. Unless NASCAR was acting with malicious intent, they are a sporting organization that creates their own rules. Because they make the rules, it's NASCAR's responsibility to interpret them, not a judicial court. The Appeals Court overturned the District Court and awarded LaJoie the race win, the 1985 championship, and the $50,000 championship prize.



"NASCAR is gratified to receive the decision reversing the previous decision regarding the Crouch case," vice-president Jim Hunter said, "and we are gratified the court has affirmed the very limited role of the judiciary in sports officiating."



LaJoie summed up his delayed championship briefly. "Better late than never."





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