Credit to Travis Joyner for the featured image

By using UltimateRacingHistory, newspapers of the day, the few still-available broadcasts, and much cross-referencing, I have put together a massive spreadsheet consisting of all 42 NASCAR Sportsman Division races. You can access that spreadsheet here. I have also created a driver spreadsheet, which can be found here.

I also made a video looking into the division. You can watch that here.

If you have any info I can add, please let me know! With that said…

The NASCAR Sportsman Division was an intriguing experiment. It pit weekend short trackers, journeymen, and budding talent against one another in low-speed duels at high-speed tracks in old equipment that had once been used in either the NASCAR Winston Cup Series or the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series. Races were short, yet televised. Crowds had low standards, but were decently sized. It was a great way to get one’s name out there. The Division was a racer’s dream, and yet at the end was a nightmare many wanted to forget. Today, in an article so long I’ve split it up into sections, we take a look at a series usually remembered as a division with its highs and lows, the NASCAR Sportsman Division.

PART 1: 1989

The NASCAR Sportsman Division was thought up by Humpy Wheeler, the President and General Manager of the Charlotte Motor Speedway, in mid-January 1989, and was made public later that month. The idea was simple. Take old NASCAR Winston Cup and NASCAR Busch Grand National cars, tune them down, and let short track racers lap the Charlotte Motor Speedway in them.

Drivers were allowed to use any Winston Cup car that had been made between 1982 and 1986, and were permitted to use any Late Model Sportsman/Busch Grand National car from between 1975 and 1986. In 1990, cars from 1987 would be permitted, in 1991, cars from 1988 would be permitted, and so forth. Drivers had to use 350 cubic inch engines and two barrel carburetors, meaning cars usually generated between 250 and 300 horsepower. Drivers who had made more than five Winston Cup or Busch Grand National starts were not permitted to race in the division. Additionally, the division would not use a points system, nor would it have a champion. It would purely be for glory and prize money. To participate, drivers only required a valid drivers license, which is actually not required in the Cup Series today, a NASCAR license, and to have had experience on a superspeedway, which could easily be achieved through the various racing schools at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Humpy announced that the schedule would consist of six or seven races, and that the first would be on Wednesday, May 24th. He also announced that the Sportsman Division would be supporting the October race, but every other race was left up in the air.

A large field showed up to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for their inaugural race, called the Wiscassett Super Speedway 150, 40 of which timed their way into the show. Ward Burton of South Boston, VA set the fastest time in an Oldsmobile. The Winston Cup pole speed that weekend was 173mph. Burton’s pole speed was a blazing 152mph.

Screencap

Burton dominated most of the race, but with about 20 laps to go, his right rear tire blew, sending him around in turn three. This left left Jack Sprague, a Concord-area short tracker in a 1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, in the lead, and Sprague faced little competition from there.

However, after the race, it was discovered that the cylinder heads on Sprague’s car were several cubic centimeters too small. Smaller cylinder heads increase compression in an engine, and with it increase the horsepower. Sprague, who NASCAR officials believed wasn’t aware of the infraction, was disqualified that evening, and the win was given to Tim Bender, a snowmobile racing expert from Bolden, NY, in a Buick. Kirk Shelmerdine of Philadelphia, crew chief to Dale Earnhardt, Sr., finished second, and Jay Fogleman of Pittsboro, NC finished third. Burton had to settle for 12th, one lap down. The race had been expected to be such a complete mess that the race’s caution count, five, was seen as surprisingly low.

The “six or seven” race schedule never came to fruition, however the series still ran at the Charlotte Motor Speedway again on October 4th for the Wiscassett 150. Tim Bender started on the pole, however a three car crash broke out after two laps that sent Chevrolet driver Dwight Cass of Union Grove, NC to the hospital with a broken shoulder. No one knew it at the time, but Cass would be the first injury in a long line.

At quarter distance, a major crash broke out that took eight cars out of the race, including Maurice Petty’s son and Richard’s nephew, Ritchie Petty, of Randleman, NC. Also collected was Neal Connell, Jr. of Tallahassee. The May race had been very clean, with only one car confirmed to have wrecked out (that of Bunnlevel, NC’s Jimmy Neighbors), but the October race was very different. It showed a problem with the NASCAR Sportsman Division: when pileups broke out at high speed, drivers, more accustomed to short tracks, had no idea what to do. A spinning car on a tight short track can be difficult to dodge, however the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s banking and apron allowed for lots of maneuvering room, leaving drivers with more options than just to pile in. This led to drivers scattering at full speed when a crash occurred, sometimes directly into another car. Only 24 of the 40 starters finished the race. The race up front, however, was quite interesting, as towards the end of the race Bender had to hold off Todd Bodine of Chemung, NY. Bender secured the lead for the last time with four laps to go. Bender had won both races that year, but unfortunately, since the division was an exhibition one, he wouldn’t be getting the champion’s spoils.

PART 2: 1990

The Sportsman Division got started in April at the Richmond Int’l Raceway in a race simply called the Winston Twin 200. It was a 200 lap race paired with the NASCAR Modifieds, who were also running a 200 lapper. The race, unfortunately, turned out to be a huge crashfest, with 15 yellows for 87 laps. It was won by Dennis Setzer in a tough fight between him and David Blankenship of Moseley, VA.

The second race, the Sportsman 100 at Charlotte, netted 72 entrants. The entry list had a wide variety of names, even having two Australians on it in Kim Jane and Terri Sawyer. Kim, the son of Calder Park Thunderdome owner Bob Jane, was running a car fielded by Reid Paget of Colorado, while Terri Sawyer ran for herself. Both competed in AUSCAR, an Australian stock car series which mostly ran at Calder Park, a 1.119 mile oval located in Melbourne. Sawyer had in fact won the first AUSCAR race in 1988. Due to the large amount of drivers who hadn’t raced on a superspeedway before, the Charlotte Motor Speedway conducted a set of practice sessions for the newcomers. These sessions were held before registration, so some drivers didn’t even have numbers on their cars.

Credit to Racer’s Reunion

One driver who did have a number on his car was David Gaines, 27, of Goldston, NC, a regular at the Caraway Speedway. Gaines, however, never got the chance to race. On May 16, during the final practice session before registration, Gaines was collected in a multi-car incident and his #36 Oldsmobile was struck by an unnumbered ex-Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet driven by Steve McEachern of Phoenix. Gaines was dead on arrival to the hospital, and McEachern suffered hand injuries.

Drivers and crews alike were puzzled as to why Gaines, whose cause of death was massive head trauma, had died. Driver Junior Franks of Skyland, NC noted that he’d been struck in a similar manner during the massive pileup in the October 1989 race, and he’d been mostly uninjured. The collision, though fierce, was in the car’s back end. The series continued on, and 40 drivers were lucky enough to time their way in to the race, which was entitled the Sportsman 100 and held on May 20. Tim Hepler of Tyrone, GA, who had never once raced anything outside of go-karts, surprised everyone with the pole. Charles “Tuck” Trentham of Orange City, FL and Robbie Faggart of Concord dueled one another throughout the last few laps of the race, and Faggart nipped Trentham by six inches. Kerry Teague outdid Todd Bodine in the Wiscassett 150 on May 23, winning by a car length. Teague started 32nd in the race, the furthest back starting spot for a Sportsman winner. Teague, another Concord area short tracker, apparently won the race in an old Late Model Sportsman car. As for the Australians, Jane qualified for the first race and finished midfield. Sawyer failed to qualify for the first race (in fact she was collected in Gaines’ crash). Sawyer qualified for the second race, but wrecked out early.

Mike Skinner of Ontario, CA, then a rising star running for Thee Dixon’s team, made what would be his only Sportsman start in the Wiscasset 150. He finished midfield.

The next race, the Armor All 125, was held on September 2 at the New Hampshire Int’l Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. T.W. Taylor of Chester, VA nipped Dennis Setzer for the pole, but Dennis took the lead quickly. The race went rather smoothly and Setzer was the winner.

The cavalry then moved on to Charlotte again. Robert Huffman of Claremont, NC piloted his Chevrolet Monte Carlo to victory in the first race, the Wiscasset 150 on October 3, a relatively clean show. The second race, the Sportsman 100 on October 6, saw a huge pileup off of turn four that wiped out over a half dozen cars, including Marc Madison of Irving, TX, Dennis Paasch of Marshfield, WI, and once again Neal Connell, Jr. No one was injured. Up front the race was a wild duel between Dennis Setzer’s Thunderbird and Robert Huffman’s Monte Carlo. Huffman took the lead and the win on the last lap, off of turn four, in the only confirmed last lap pass in the Sportsman Division.

In an interesting post-script, organizers had briefly been considering sending the Sportsman Division to Daytona for 1991, according to a Greensboro newspaper. This doesn’t seem to have gone anywhere.

PART 3: 1991

The NASCAR Sportsman Division once again started with a race at the Richmond Int’l Raceway, again alongside the NASCAR Modifieds.

#99 Lee Tissot, #8 Robbie Faggart, #46 Bubba Urban, #41 Ritchie Petty, #85 R. Monroe Snyder, #16 Will Hobgood, #17 Junior Franks, #68 Richard Jarvis, #93 Tim Hepler; Credit to Travis Joyner

Qualifying for the opener, called the Twin 200 and held March 24, was rained out, so the 35 drivers chose their starting positions in a lotto. Doug Sanders of Springwood, NC drew the pole, but Dennis Setzer, who started third, took the lead on lap one and never looked back. Sanders’ day didn’t last much longer than the first lap anyway, as he broke down around lap 50.

Next up were the May Charlotte festivities. The first race, the Sportsman 100, on May 19, required several qualifying sessions for the dozens of drivers, and many of those drivers had to run one of two 20-lap qualifying races to time their way into the race.

Credit to the Associated Press

The first qualifier saw action not on the track, but in the inspection bay, when apparent winner Robbie Faggart was disqualified for an illegal spacer. This decision stirred controversy, but officials didn’t budge, and Faggart, usually a Sportsman frontrunner, was sent home. In the second qualifier, a crash sent Gravenhurst, ONT’s Michael Goudie and Winston-Salem’s Doug Gold to the hospital with pains. Neither seemed to be badly injured. After the restart, Phillip Ross of Greer, SC, a 25-year-old racer of the northern South Carolina dirt tracks who was making his first Sportsman attempt, spun backwards into an opening in the pit lane. Ross’ Chevrolet exploded into flames, forcing Ross to bail out the passenger door when it became apparent that the safety crews weren’t going to extinguish the car anytime soon. The Speedway stated that fire and gasoline had spread to the rescue vehicle, which was parked nearby, and they had to attend to that. In any case, Ross suffered second degree burns and retired from motorsport from his hospital bed. Also on the DNQ list was Mike Skinner, who made no further Sportsman attempts.

The race itself went very smoothly – or at least it would have gone smoothly, if not for an early accident that sent William Metzger to the hospital. Metzger, of Deer Park, NY, required x-rays and a CAT-scan after being struck by a competitor in the quadoval. Robert Huffman dominated the entire race and won easily.

On May 22, the Goody’s 150 was held. Drag racer Mark Cox of Walnut Cove, NC led the field to the green and led the first lap, but Robbie Faggart took the lead quickly and led every lap from that point onward with the exception of one or two. Interestingly, Faggart’s starting spot, fourth place, was rather far back for a Sportsman race winner. In fact, on only three occasions in the entire history of the Division was the winner of a Sportsman race confirmed to have started outside the top six, and only one winner, Teague, started outside the top dozen. It also saw another hospitalization in Ritchie Petty, who was sent to the hospital with a sore arm after yet another big smash in turn 4.

Race four, the Duron Maxwood 100, was held on May 25. The race, once again, was marred by a massive accident. Ed Gartner, Jr. of Green Brook, NJ spun his #84 Pontiac out and collected Harry Page and Sherrills Ford, NC’s Mike Carver, both in Pontiacs. After a few seconds, Tom D’Eath, in the #61 Chevrolet, slammed into Gartner’s door.

Credit to the Associated Press

Gartner broke his right leg and D’Eath, an legendary powerboat racer and Fair Haven, MI native, broke a bone in his neck. The race was red flagged briefly, but it continued on after about 15 minutes under red. Robert Huffman was mostly untouchable during the race, and he celebrated the victory heartily.

Race five brought the cavalry not to Loudon, but to Pocono, on July 20. The race, called the First Choice 150, saw an interesting speed disparity. In the Cup Series, in 1991, a lap of 56 seconds at Pocono was considered excellent, a number which has decreased to about 52 seconds over the years. In the Sportsman Division, a 65 second lap was considered quick.

Kirk Shelmerdine’s Sportsman car (top), Dale Earnhardt’s Cup car (bottom) at Pocono 1991; Credit to Sporting News

The race itself was not a cautionfest, but the caution periods were very slow, and organizers found themselves running out of time. On lap 51, a crash started in turn three when Brian Pedrick of Monroe, NC collided with Knoxville’s ironically-named R. Monroe Snyder, causing a pileup that wiped out eight cars, including Tom Hessert, Jr. of the famous Cherry Hill, NJ-based racing family. The race was called on lap 53 due to time constraints. Dennis Setzer’s 1988 Ford won the race, leading most of it.

#12 Tim Edwards; Credit to the Associated Press

There were no injuries from the pileup. However, there was one hospitalization: Rounder Saverance of Timmonsville, SC pulled into the pits on lap 40 and collapsed. Saverance, a bank vice president who raced a little bit of everything as a hobby, was taken to the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning. He was the only Sportsman Division hospitalization at a track other than Charlotte.

Two races were to be held at Charlotte that October, but a 150-mile race planned for October 2 was rained out. The only race held that weekend was the Duron Paints & Wallcoverings 100 on October 5, which was easily won by Kirk Shelmerdine.

PART 4: 1992

The Sportsman Division found sponsorship in 1992, becoming the NASCAR Igloo Sportsman Challenge. The Division also started awarding points, so a champion would be crowned at season’s end. The schedule consisted of seven races, three races during the May Charlotte festivities, a single Pocono race during the June Pocono weekend, another solo Pocono race during NASCAR’s July visit, and a pair of races during the Charlotte festivities in October. The race at Richmond had been removed. This schedule of three Charlotte races, two Pocono races, and two Charlotte races would remain unchanged throughout the rest of the division’s history.

A cavalry of 62 drivers showed up for the first race, simply called the Sportsman 100, on May 16. The drivers included Jason Keller of Greenville, SC, yet another short tracker looking to move up, Glenn Darnell of McDowell, VA, a businessman in his early 60s who had started oval racing on a whim about two or three years prior, Jerry Glanville of Roswell, GA, the Atlanta Falcons coach, and Gary Batson, 40, a restaurateur from Travelers Rest, SC. Batson’s car was the same Chevrolet Monte Carlo that Phillip Ross had crashed. It had been restored and sold to Lawrence Ledford, who prepared it for Batson.

The top 30 made the race through qualifying sessions, but everyone else had to run a short last chance qualifying race, scheduled to last 30 laps. During the race, a pileup began after the leaders collided, and Neal Connell, Jr. collided with Batson. This pinned Batson’s car up against the barrier, where it came to rest in the quadoval.

Credit to Randy Ayers

While Connell, Jr. was able to evacuate, the angle of Batson’s car, which was already prone to catch fire easily, made it impossible for him to immediately evacuate. Batson was extricated after about a minute, but he had suffered heavy burns.

Batson died the next morning from his burns. The last chance qualifier itself was shortened to about half distance, but was completed. Jerry Glanville was one of the drivers in the last chance qualifier, and unfortunately his engine blew during it, sending him home.

An investigation of the accident revealed that it had been a freak happening. Batson’s car came to a stop at a strange angle, and the mechanism that closed the gas cap in case the car rolled hadn’t activated, as the angle was too shallow.

As for the main event, it continued on as planned. Robbie Faggart dominated the race, which was a messy crashfest. The race was once again marred by a heavy accident, as towards race’s end, a massive pileup occurred on the backstretch. During the crash, Lee Tissot piled hard into the front end of Larry Caudill, a NASCAR Dash Series expert from North Wilkesboro, not injuring Caudill but sending Tissot to the hospital with head lacerations and other possible injuries.

The racing continued on. Race two, the Goody’s 150, on May 20, went rather quietly, though it did see a somewhat bizarre and humorous incident before the race had even started. Danny Sikes of Denver, NC, who was lined up ninth, missed the driver’s meeting and was ordered to start from the back. Sikes refused to do this, and thus was parked. Faggart dominated this race as well, and he brought home the checkered flag. This was the last 150 mile Sportsman race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. All future events would be 100 miles.

Race three, the Duron 100, was won by Tim Bender, who took the lead from Peter Gibbons with about five laps left. The race saw some interesting incidents. Danny Sikes had surprisingly been permitted to take the start despite his earlier behavior, and on lap 22, Sikes wrecked his #72 Chevrolet in a fireball after colliding with Jerry Rector of Fountain Inn, SC and Jerry Knowles of Tyrone, GA. Sikes was not badly hurt.

Credit to the Associated Press; Note the #96 for Gary Batson on the #72’s C-post

Also during the race, Steve Allison of Snellville, GA struck the frontstretch barrier, sending the cousin of Davey and Clifford Allison and the son of Bobby and Donnie’s brother Kenny to the hospital with a possible busted shoulder.

Race four, held on June 13, was the Winnebago / Cedar Ridge 150 at Pocono. This race was an absolute crashfest, with over half the race being held under caution. The race was fairly wild, and was won by Tim Bender. Interestingly enough, Bender took the lead late in the race from Peter Gibbons once again.

Race five, thankfully, went much more smoothly. It was again held at Pocono, on July 18. Eight cautions had flown during the Winnebago / Cedar Ridge 150. This race, called the Igloo Sportsman 150, only was only slowed by one. Peter Gibbons outdueled Tim Bender and was the victor.

Two more Charlotte races were held in October. They were the Winston Sportsman 100, on October 7, and the Duron Paints and Wallcoverings 100, on October 10. The former was the sixth race of the championship, the latter the seventh. Robbie Faggart won both races in dominant performances, and was crowned the inaugural Sportsman champion. Both races were chock-full of wrecks, the latter race especially. In its early laps, Mark Purcell of Watertown, NY suffered a broken sternum in a hard, head-on crash, and in the waning laps, a pileup set off by Tim Bender getting aero loose collected 12 cars and wiped out seven.

Credit to the Charlotte Observer

PART 5: 1993

1993 had the same schedule as 1992, a trio of Charlotte races, a pair of Pocono events, and a pair of Charlotte events. The Division had lost its sponsorship from Igloo, and had returned to simply being called the NASCAR Sportsman Division. The fun started on May 22 with the Winston Sportsman 100. Tim Bender led the cavalry out of the gate, but Kirk Shelmerdine began reeling in Bender and was looking to catch the New Yorker. On lap 62 of 67, Martinsville, VA’s Shari Minter spun on the frontstretch and was plowed into by Shelmerdine. The crash also collected Beauford, SC’s Fred Yelinek, Jerry Knowles, and Harry Page. No one was injured. Bender brought the field across the line under caution to win.

Credit to (and of) Fred Yelinek

Next up was the Goody’s Sportsman 100 on May 26. The destruction began before the race, when Chuck Hebing of Williamson, NY broke his shoulderblade in a practice crash. During the race itself, a massive pileup triggered on lap two by Peter Gibbons ramming the #14 of Clearwater, FL’s Michael Dokken took out the cars of Concord’s Terry Brooks, Shelby, NC’s Ronnie Sewell, and Garland Hobgood of Winnsboro, SC. Brooks had made the news the year prior when he’d been disqualified from the last chance qualifier that Gary Batson had been fatally burned in due to an illegal carburetor.

Credit to the Associated Press

The race also saw another pileup when Mint Hill, NC native Russell Phillips triggered an accident in turn two. The crash demolished the cars of Marty Ward of Marietta, GA, whose car was owned by the same Lawrence Ledford who had prepared the car for Batson, Wally Fowler of Campobello, SC, Lane Vail of Matthews, NC, and Jerry Rector. Tim Bender won the race in a fairly dominant performance, though he did have to fend off David Smith, the owner of Smith Motors and native of Williamston, SC.

By this point, the organizers of the Sportsman Division had had enough of the frequent accidents. They decided that the next race, called the Duron Paints and Wallcoverings 100 on May 29, would employ a single-file initial start. This decision proved to be a good idea. Not only did the race go caution-free, but fans got a great show. David Smith and Tim Bender traded the lead several times, and Smith was the one out front when the checkered flag fell. Humorously enough, the race did see a crash when Steve Clark of Shelby wrecked after the checkered flag.

Next race, the Winnebago / Cedar Ridge RV Sportsman 150 on June 12 at Pocono. The race once again started single file, and once again it went completely caution free. It also saw an interesting battle between Jerry Knowles, Tim Bender, and Kirk Shelmerdine where Knowles decided to bank on the race going without yellow flags. He went into fuel save mode early, and completed all 60 laps without making a fuel stop, which won him the race. The single file initial start rule became universal in the NASCAR Sportsman Division after this.

The next event, the Levitz Furniture 150 on July 17, was again a duel between Bender and Shelmerdine, though this time without Knowles, who started at the outside of the top ten and stayed there most of the race. Bender started on pole, and Shelmerdine took the lead soon after. The Philadelphian led most of the race before losing the race to Bender late in the going. Michael Lovetere of Oakdale, CT entered this race in a Chrysler. He was the only known user of a Chrysler in the Division’s history. His day ended early with a blown gasket.

The October Sportsman races, the Winston Sportsman 100 on October 6 and the Duron 100 on October 9, were both absolutely dominated by Kirk Shelmerdine, who announced in victory lane after the latter race that he was going to be moving on from the Sportsman Division and was headed to the ARCA series. Shelmerdine won the pole and led every lap of both events. Both races saw their wrecks, including one particularly violent hit in the latter race for Jerry Knowles, but all drivers were checked and released.

David Smith, who had never finished outside the top five that season, was the NASCAR Sportsman Division’s second champion in 1993, beating out Tim Bender, who suffered a massive mechanical failure in the first race and didn’t start the second. This would be the last year in which the Division awarded points. It went back to being an exhibition series for 1994. Smith sold his championship-winning 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo after 1993. In a strange coincidence, the buyer of the Chevrolet was also named David Smith – and he was looking to enter the Sportsman Division.

PART 6: 1994

The NASCAR Sportsman boys and girls started their season as they usually did: at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. They had three races lined up as per the norm, and the cavalry of short track regulars and others prepared for their qualifying sessions.

Credit to Charlie Steed

David Smith of Holt, FL had entered the race in David Smith of South Carolina’s old Chevrolet. South Carolina’s David Smith had also returned, this time in an Oldsmobile. To differentiate the two, the Floridian David Smith will be referred to hereon as he was in the broadcasts, David R. Smith.

David R. Smith’s first race in the division, the Winston Sportsman 100 on May 21, didn’t go too well, as the Floridian crashed on lap 9. Ronnie Sewell won his first Sportsman Division race, taking the lead from surprise polesitter Shari Minter, one of two females in the field alongside San Antonio’s Sherry Blakley. The race was shortened from 67 to 60 laps due to time constraints.

Race two, the Goody’s 100 on May 25, was an exciting race towards the back of the field. Coming to complete lap one, Concord’s Russ Galindo dumped the Chevrolet of Chesterfield, SC’s John Stroud in turn three. The crash collected a myriad of cars, and Vic Kicera of Lancaster, PA obliterated his car against Stroud’s. Also taken out of the race in the crash were David Owens of Rock Hill, SC, Mickey Hudspeth of Ronda, NC, and Donnie Mergard of Park Hills, KY. Other drivers collected included West Melbourne, FL’s Pat Dunn and Anderson, SC’s Robert Wooten. 11 cars were involved in all.

Dunn; Credit to Bob Edwards

The caution period was further extended when, while the field was slowing down, Glenn Darnell’s car shot sideways and put a big hole in the inside wall just past the quadoval. Glenn wasn’t hurt. Wooten brought out the second and final caution a few laps after the restart when he rammed the water barrels on the inside of turn four. He was done, and neither Dunn or Galindo’s races lasted much longer, with Dunn being taken out by a broken differential in the pit area. Wooten had to be taken to the hospital with a concussion, and was the only hospitalization after the mess.

Up front, the race was no contest. While Minter once again won the pole, Marty Ward seized the lead on lap one and never looked back.

Race three, the Duron Paints and Wallcoverings 100 on May 28, was even more destructive. With a little under 15 to go, Red Everette of Fairforest, SC spun his car off of turn four down the circuit. It slid back up and was struck by the approaching cavalry.

Credit to the Associated Press

Also wiped out in the accident were Donnie Mergard, Ronnie Sewell, and Shari Minter, who once again had sat on the pole and had led a good chunk of the race. Sewell and Everette both were taken to a local hospital. Sewell was only shaken up, and Everette’s burns were thankfully minor. This accident, oddly, marked the second time a South Carolina restaurateur had been burned in a Sportsman race, the first having been the less fortunate Gary Batson. Perhaps the strangest thing of all, however, is that Red’s real first name is Gary.

Just after the race restarted, a multi-car accident broke out once again in turn four. The crash sent an axle flying into the pits, injuring crewmen Jack Kochiss and Jerry Hawks. Driver Rounder Saverance also suffered minor injuries in the accident, and all three were taken to the hospital, where Kochiss was diagnosed with a separated shoulder and Hawks with a broken leg. The race ended under caution, Marty Ward the winner.

A planned Sportsman race to be held in June at Pocono was rained out and was rescheduled for July, meaning they’d be doing a Charlotte-style doubleheader. The first race, the T.G.I. Friday’s 150 on July 14, was dominated and won by Wally Fowler. The only time he lost the lead during the race was when he had to make an early pit stop, after which he took the lead back during the scheduled cycle. The second race, the Gatorade Thirst Quencher 150 on July 16, was again dominated by Fowler, though he actually had to fight this time, as Marty Ward and Tim Bender both dueled him for the win. However, they came up short, and Fowler took the big W.

Credit to the Associated Press

…Or so he thought. NASCAR officials found modifications to his Chevrolet’s headers which were against regulations, and Fowler was stripped of both wins. Jerry Rector was given the win in the first race, and Marty Ward was handed the second trophy. The only other known highlight of either race was a heavy crash during the second event where Russ Galindo and Monroe, NC’s Doug Bennett collided, wiping out both cars but injuring neither.

A rather bizarre story came with the October Sportsman festivities. During practice for race six, Joe Gaita of Yorktown, VA’s car, owned by fellow driver Henry Benfield of Statesville, NC, broke down. Benfield stepped aside and let Gaita hop in. No one thought to inform the officials, and scorers still scored Benfield in the car, which was piloted to a solid seventh. Their response when they learned of it is unknown, however neither driver ran race seven.

Another interesting story was Fred Castanza of Clearwater, FL. Castanza, a police officer, raced for charity using the team name Top Cop Racing. He ran mostly towards the back during both events.

As for the races themselves, race six, the Winston 100 on October 5, was easily won by Wally Fowler. Race seven, the Duron/Accuspray 100 on October 8, was won by Marty Ward after Gary Laton of Albemarle, NC spun out of the lead. Steven Knipe of Katy, TX surprised everyone with a second place finish during the second race. David Owens finished third, also his best finish.

PART 7: 1995

The 1995 Sportsman Division saw an interesting name in Maurizio Micangeli of Rome, an experienced racer who had competed across Europe since the late 1960s. Unfortunately Micangeli, a three-time 24 Hours of Le Mans starter who had developed an interest in oval racing after watching NASCAR on ESPN, wrecked his car in practice in a collision with his teammate, David Owens, and was headed home.

The first race, the Winston Select 100, was rain-affected and was eventually shortened to 54 laps due to time constraints. The race was mostly dominated by Marty Ward, and he brought home an easy win. But perhaps the biggest winner during the race was Tim Neighbors of Bunnlevel, NC, who came very close to completely wiping out Robert Wooten during an incident early in the race.

Credit to The Greenville News

Next up, the Goody’s 100 on May 24. Marty Ward started the race from the pole, but lost the lead to Shari Minter, and Minter led much of the race. The race was highlighted by a violent accident involving Don Satterfield of Spartanburg, who spun in front of Bubba Urban of Glen Allen, VA, and then was struck by Henry Benfield and Tim Neighbors while descending the track. The crash may have involved Minter, who wrecked out around the same time. Satterfield was taken to a local hospital with a broken finger and was released. Lester Lesneski of Stanfield, NC won the race.

Credit to the Sheboygan Press

Race three, the Duron Paints and Wallcoverings 100, on May 27, saw yet another heavy accident. Mickey Hudspeth lost control of his car off of turn four on lap three and began a long skid into the quadoval, where he was struck hard by Perry Tripp of Fredericktown, MO. Both cars exploded, and the #26 of Hudspeth was demolished, but both drivers were all right. Also collected were Hardy Browne of Houston, Ricky Baxley, Doug Bennett, and Pat Dunn. Only Dunn returned to the race.

Credit to the Associated Press

Up front, Shari Minter, seemingly a habitual polesitter, led the first lap but was passed by Wally Fowler on lap two. She later was wiped out in a collision involving Scott Coutu of Newark, DE and David R. Smith. Fowler outdueled Marty Ward and Lester Lesneski for the win. Lesneski put up an especially thrilling fight with Fowler, only being beaten by Fowler by two car lengths.

Race four, the Sportsman 150 at Pocono, was held on June 9. Wally Fowler won the race, a rather messy wreckfest. He started 12th, the second furthest back a Sportsman winner ever started, charged to the front early, and led most of the event. Race five, the NASCAR Sportsman 150 on July 14, was a heated race with a record ten lead changes, though once again it was a crashfest. Lester Lesneski was victorious.

On October 4th, race six, the Winston 100, was supposed to have been held, but it was rained out and postponed to Friday, October 6th. Russell Phillips, to that point a competent midfielder who had slowly been picking up speed, was the surprise polesitter, the fastest of the 57 entries. A quarter way through the race, Phillips was running just inside the top 10 when a crash broke out and his #57 Oldsmobile collided with the car of Steven Howard of Greer, SC. The resulting roof-first impact with the catchfence killed Phillips, 26, in one of the most graphic accidents in racing history, so brutal in fact that a planned tape delay airing of the race was called off. The race continued after a red flag, and Gary Laton won his first Sportsman race after passing Lester Lesneski late in the going. Lesneski easily won the next day’s race, the Duron 100.

The crash of Russell Phillips caused Humpy Wheeler to step back. He had to consider what he wanted to do with the Sportsman Division. It still had its three Charlotte races lined up for the next May, but Humpy wasn’t sure if he wanted the Division to continue. He thought about it for about a month and a half before making his decision public.

PART 8: AFTERMATH

The NASCAR Sportsman Division served various purposes for its drivers, in a way no NASCAR series has done since.

For young rising stars like Bubba Urban, Steven Howard, Michael Dokken, and Jason Keller, the Sportsman Division was a great stepping stone, where they could prove their talents in front of large crowds and big owners.

For wheelsmen such as the SCCA’s Vic Kicera, dirt late model ace Dale McDowell, and drag bike racer Mark Cox, the Sportsman Division had been something new. They didn’t have superspeedway experience, but it was something they could add to their resume, all the while having fun.

For hobbyists such as metal worker Bobby Fox, Jr., mechanic Danny Bumbaco, contractors Lane Vail and Ronnie Sewell, and restaurateur Red Everette, the Sportsman Division had been a great way to spend a week. They raced for enjoyment, and while they varied in experience from Everette, who had raced for 30 years before Sportsman, to Fox, Jr., who had never raced even once before, they all did their best.

However, while the Sportsman Division had been a dream for some, it had been a nightmare for others, and with the horrors of Russell Phillips’ crash in the public’s eye, and the Division itself clearly outdated, organizers decided the greater nightmare would be to continue the series as it was. On November 29, 1995, the NASCAR Sportsman Division’s Charlotte dates were officially cancelled. It was confirmed that ARCA would take the division’s May Charlotte date, and there would be no replacement for the October date. No official announcement as to the cancellation of the Pocono dates was made, however the Sportsman Division was done.

The alumni of the Sportsman Division had varying futures and amounts of success.

Tim Bender picked up a varying set of Busch Series rides before settling on Robbie Reiser’s team in 1997. Bender suffered a neck injury during qualifying at Bristol that year and retired soon thereafter. He was replaced by a young short tracker named Matt Kenseth.

Wally Fowler still runs dirt tracks, mostly in the South.

Marty Ward raced across the Southeast for many more years and only recently retired. One of his old stomping grounds, the Anderson Speedway, is frequented by Lee Tissot, another former Sportsman racer.

Shari Minter retired from racing in 1996.

Robbie Faggart ran in the NASCAR Busch Series for a few years. He still competes in legend cars in the Charlotte area.

Kirk Shelmerdine raced into the mid 2000s, then retired. He was last seen playing professional poker along side former Sportsman racer Ronnie Sewell.

David Smith continues to operate Smith Motors, racing every now and again.

David R. Smith now works in the home improvement business.

Pat Dunn and Robert Wooten still operate their respective businesses.

Rounder Saverance moved on to restoring classic cars and racing powerboats after the Sportsman Division ended. Saverance passed away in 2013.

The Division itself, however, didn’t die completely. In 1996, the Hooters Pro Cup was started by USAR, using most of the same rules and regulations. The series eventually moved to a North-South format and picked up sponsorship, becoming the Hooters Pro Cup Series. The series as it was eventually fell to the wayside, but both the North Division and South Division survive today under new organization and in different formats. The North Division is now called the Stock Car Super Cup Series, and the South Division the CARS Super Late Model Tour and the CARS Late Model Stock Tour. Perhaps most importantly, the largest track the Pro Cup Series ever raced on was Milwaukee. Though several races sanctioned by NASCAR using old cars were held in 1996, the Pro Cup’s success in 1996 caused NASCAR to do away with the idea. These are variously reported by different sources as NASCAR Sportsman races.

Despite the tarnished legacy, the NASCAR Sportsman Division itself did create some names. Ward Burton, Jack Sprague, Dennis Setzer, Robert Huffman and Todd Bodine all got their start in the Sportsman Division, and some interesting moments, good and bad, occurred in the series. The Sportsman Division also led to the start of the Pro Cup Series, a classic short tracking division that launched many more careers. While the Division itself was a failure, its legacy gave birth to an important feeder series whose talents include Brian Vickers, Mario Gosselin, Shane Huffman, Regan Smith, Mark McFarland, Joey Logano, Trevor Bayne, James Buescher, Brian Scott, Drew Herring, and many more, and in that aspect, it was a success.

In the end, perhaps the best description of the Sportsman Division is as a “baptism by fire”. It put drivers who weren’t experienced in big tracks and high speeds in dangerous situations and expected them to react like NASCAR’s finest. Some did, and others did not. It was a series of its day, a byproduct of the days where the onus to stay safe was on the driver, and yet it was destructive, entertaining, and interesting, and birthed one of the most influential stepping stones of the early 2000s. Even then, the Sportsman drivers were something else, risking life and limb for a little TV coverage, the attention of 100,000 fans, and a check for $3,000, in a way resembling NASCAR drivers of 30 years before. Perhaps they were fitting of the nickname the Sportsman drivers collectively wore according to Shari Minter.

The Wild Bunch.

Sources:

Ultimateracinghistory.com

“Auto racing”, Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), January 21, 1989

“New division starting”, Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Kentucky), January 26, 1989

“Big time sportsman”, The Greenville News, May 25, 1989

“Sportsman winner disqualified at Charlotte”, The Greenville News, May 26, 1989

“Tallahassee driver falls short in Wiscassett race”, Tallahassee Democrat, October 6, 1989

“Crew chief defends ill-fated driver”, Florida Today, May 19, 1990

“Sportsman Division not ready for Daytona”, Greensboro News & Record, May 19, 1990

“Area drivers assess death of Gaines as freak accident”, Asheville Citizen-Times, May 25, 1990

“Greer driver injured in qualifying session”, The Greenville News, May 19, 1991

“Crash update”, The Atlanta Constitution, May 20, 1991

“Faggart claims flag at Goody’s”, The Gastonia Gazette, May 23, 1991

“More drivers injured in Sportsman race”, The Tennesseean, May 26, 1991

“Darnell races after his dream”, The News Leader (Staunton, Virginia), June 2, 1991

“Setzer wins”, The Greenville News, July 21, 1991

“Rain forces qualifying delay”, The Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), October 3, 1991

“Racing accident claims life of county restaurant owner”, The Greenville News, May 17, 1992

“Sportsman cheater”, Gastonia Gaston Gazette, May 17, 1992

“Faggart Sportsman’s winner”, The Anniston Star, May 17, 1992

“Bender wins Duron 100”, The Index-Journal (Greenwood, South Carolina), May 24, 1992

“NASCAR Sportsman Division offers Winston Cup thrills”, Lassen County Times (Susanville, California), August 18, 1992

“Faggart wins race”, The Greenville News, October 11, 1992

“Crash helps Bender win Sportsman race”, The Atlanta Constitution, May 23, 1993

“Bender wins Sportsman”, The Greenville News, May 27, 1993

“Smith wins caution-free race”, The Index Journal (Greenwood, South Carolina), May 30, 1993

“Shelmerdine wins”, The Greenville News, October 10, 1993

“Duron Paints & Wallcoverings 100”, Tampa Bay Times, May 29, 1994

“Ward, Rector win after Fowler’s disqualification”, The Greenville News, July 17, 1994

“Speedway to drop Sportsman class”, Tampa Bay Times, September 13, 1994

“Dunn dreams about NASCAR”, Florida Today (Cocoa, Florida), October 1, 1994

“Holt racing driver has two types of fun on track”, Pensacola News Journal, October 5, 1994

“Gaita’s debut”, The Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia), October 7, 1994

“Ward dominates Sportsman race”, The Greenville News, October 9, 1994

“As the Romans do…”, The Greenville News, May 21, 1995

“Fowler holds off Lesneski at finish”, GoUpstate, May 27, 1995

“Sportsman race”, The Star Press (Muncie, Indiana), May 28, 1995

“Fowler gets revenge in Sportsman race”, The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), June 10, 1995

“Charlotte drops Sportsman class”, The Greenville News, November 29, 1995

“Marietta’s Ward wins in Florida”, The Greenville News, November 4, 1996

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