NASCAR And BMS Pioneer Hal Hamrick Left A Rich Legacy

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Hal Hamrick was an original.

From the formative days of NASCAR to the current glory run, the North Carolina native injected a unique blend of color and perspective onto the stock car canvas.

Hamrick, 79, died Sunday in Gastonia, N.C. A number of NASCAR media types and speedway officials attended Wednesday’s memorial service.

“The word I would use to describe Hal would be dynamic,” longtime Bristol community leader and Bristol Motor Speedway co-founder Carl Moore said.
“When Larry Carrier and I built the speedway in 1961, we hired Hal to do our marketing and public relations.”

The marketing of NASCAR was much more complicated before the blanket-coverage days of ESPN. Even at the most popular facilities, promoters had to be creative and persistent to attract fan and driver interest.

“I made a lot of trips with Hal to tracks like Daytona in hopes of convincing drivers to sign contracts with us,” Moore said.
“Back then, there were two to three races per week. You had to work to get the top drivers like [Richard] Petty to come to your event.”

While Moore managed the finances of fledgling BMS, Hamrick and Carrier worked the rounds of area radio stations and newspapers.

“Hal and Larry would give out free tickets, nail signs to telephone poles and do whatever it took to promote the speedway,” Moore said. “The sport was a lot different back in those days.”

Moore said Hamrick embraced each challenge with gusto.
When Carrier and Moore opened Bristol Dragway in 1965 , Hamrick served as the public-address announcer.

“I worked with Hal for around 10 years, and he always had that ability to take over a room when he walked in,” Moore said.
“Hal was just very upbeat and positive. I had a great deal of respect for him.”

Veteran motorsports writer Monte Dutton worked and traveled with Hamrick in a variety of capacities. Dutton said he believes Hamrick deserves far more acclaim than he’s received.

“Hal is a guy who absolutely should be in every racing Hall of Fame, yet he’s not in any,” Dutton said. “I think one of the reasons for that is that Hal never was one to self-promote or draw attention to himself.”
In addition to his lengthy career as announcer, Hamrick created FasTrack Magazine. FasTrack has long been one of the industry’s most poplar and comprehensive publications.

Dutton compared Hamrick to NASCAR driving great David Pearson in terms of humility and commitment.

“Hal grew up in a rural part of North Carolina and hitch-hiked to school in Asheville so he could get ahead and eventually attend the University of North Carolina,” said Dutton, editor of FasTrack from 1994-96.
“He was a man who had the [Great] Depression work ethic all his life. In fact, Hal still selling subscriptions to his magazine well into his late seventies.”

Much like Hamrick, Dutton feels that vital parts of the NASCAR story have been neglected in favor of television-driven icons.

“Hal knew so much about the history of racing,” said Dutton, voted the 2008 Writer of the Year by the National Motorsports Press Association. “When an issue comes along in the sport now, most people compare it to five years ago. Hal could compare it to 1952.
“Hal actually announced NASCAR’s second race at Martinsville in 1952 from a Pepsi crate atop the concession stand. When I interviewed Hal in 1979, I was struck by just how little attention Hal received.”

Dutton was joined by contingent of officials from Bristol Motor Speedway for Wednesday’s memorial service for Hamrick in Gastonia, N.C.

“I was pleased to see all the folks from BMS and guys like [two-time NASCAR champion] Ned Jarrett there for the service,” Dutton said. “Considering how important Hal was to the history of NASCAR, I was surprised that no one from NASCAR attended.”

NASCAR Vice President of Communications Jim Hunter released a prepared statement Wednesday.

“Hal Hamrick did, indeed, do a lot for the sport, especially in its formative days,” said Hunter, a longtime friend of Hamrick.
“He built a lot of excitement into the sport as an announcer and was a contributing member of the National Motorsports Press Association. His publication in his twilight years has certainly been a huge boost for stock car racing’s grassroots local tracks.”

Up until the most recent NASCAR event in August, Hamrick was a familiar face in the Bristol Motor Speedway press box.

BMS director of media and public relations Lori Worley welcomed the visits and insight from Hamrick.

“More than anything, what I loved about Hal was that every time I saw him he would tell me stories about the beginning of BMS,” Worley said.
“Hal would talk about how he and Larry [Carrier] worked so hard to bring racing to Bristol, and about how he used to take posters and go up and down the roads nailing them to telephone poles to promote events here. I loved hearing Hal’s stories.”

Worley said she missed the storytelling session from her friend before the 2008 Sharpie 500 weekend.

“Hal had never missed a race here — since the track opened in 1961 — and in early August I got an e-mail from him telling me that he wasn’t going to be able to make it and how much it bothered him to miss his first race ever at Bristol,” Worley said.
“True to form, Hal told me to give his seat in the press box away and to make sure somebody else got his parking pass. Trust me, very few people would ever think to call and tell you that. But that was Hal. He was a true professional always.”

From the hills of Bristol to the sands of Daytona, Worley said that Hamrick made an indelible impact on the NASCAR scene.

“It’s difficult to realize that we won’t see Hal’s smiling face walking into the media center carrying in his [FasTrack] papers ever again,” Worley said.
“Truly, Hal was a legend, a great promoter, public relations representative, radio personality, writer. And, gosh, how Hal loved racing. I feel very fortunate to have known him.”

agregory@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2544