Fans Reconnect With Legendary Drivers

Eventual winner Sterling Marlin leads the Legends race at Bristol Motor Speedway

By: | TriCities.com
Published: March 22, 2009

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Robert Stillwell started waiting in line at 6 a.m. Saturday. His wife, Johnnie Sue Stillwell, waited with him. They stood in line together near the main entrance to the infield at
Bristol Motor Speedway, surrounded by autograph-ready racing memorabilia.

The Stillwells saw a lot of action throughout the day. They watched drivers and cars come and go. They tried to obtain signatures. And they attempted to capture the attention of always-busy racing celebrities.

But it was the sight of NASCAR’s legends that really got the Stillwells excited.

“Go, Harry!” shouted Johnnie Sue Stillwell, 55, a resident of Oxford, Ala.

Former NASCAR driver Harry Gant roared his car’s engine and rolled by.

“There’s Beamer!” Johnnie Sue Stillwell said.

Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer sped away.

Gant and Beamer were among a collection of former big-name NASCAR drivers and modern celebrities who participated in the first-ever Scotts Saturday Night Special legends race at BMS before an estimated crowd of 75,000.

Robert Stillwell said he thought the race – and the idea behind it – was long overdue.

“I love it,” he said.

Robert Stillwell, 68, said he grew up watching drivers such as Gant, Cale Yarborough and Terry Labonte speed across NASCAR tracks, win races and transform the sport. He was excited to watch them get behind the wheel again.

Robert Stillwell said a conversation with Bristol Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith led him to believe that Saturday’s inaugural legends race won’t be the last. According to Robert Stillwell, Smith said
that things have to change in the world of NASCAR, mainly because the current generation of young drivers has failed to connect with the sport’s devoted – and often critical – fans.

“The fans are the lifeline of NASCAR,” Robert Stillwell said.

The Scotts Saturday Night Special was an attempt to merge the past with the present.

The Stillwells said they were impressed.

btsmith@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2569