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MG TD TF 1500 - MG in NASCAR?

Yesterday during the Daytona qualifying races on the Speed channel, they talked about the last foreign car to race in a major NASCAR race before the new Toyotas (complete with fuel additives!) was an MG. They asked if anyone had any pictures of it they would like to have them. Anyone ever heard of this? This is the second time I have heard this mentioned. George
George Butz

From the MG T-ABC list E mail



Hi Steve!

This is the Mike Joy who really digs into auto memorabilia. Can't help him with the "Smoky" MG.
But let Mike know that I have a great vignette on the first "closed track" race ever held in the U.S. in 1897 in CT.

BTW Mike and I go back aways in SCCA here in New England.

_Peter TC0604

----- Original Message -----
From: Steve S
To: mg-tabc@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 9:08 PM
Subject: [mg-tabc] MG at Daytona - Photo Needed


Sorry for the non-TABC content but this is MG-related. Mike Joy, the
well known automotive TV personality, is trying to locate an old photo
in order to get some MG content in his Daytona coverage this Sunday.
He is indeed an MG fan and owner, and has been mentioning MGs all week
on his program due to an interesting historical tidbit he uncovered.
Here is a message from Mike himself. Surely someone must be able to
help him out!

- Steve S, TC8975, LA, CA

---------------------------

I had Greg Fielden, our FOX NASCAR historian do the research, and yes,
the last foreign nameplate to race in what is now Nextel Cup
was......... an MG !!!!
.
August 1963 in Winston-Salem NC, Smoky Cook the driver, the car
overheated after 12 laps and finished 17th.
.
The official record of the race is the payoff sheet, and it only lists
the driver's name, the car is just "MG" (no model listed), and the
payoff ($75).
.
My guess is they had a short field of cars that night, and added some
locals or SCCA racers to fill the grid... those cars ran a few laps
and pulled in once lapped, taking the starting money. Overheating may
have been the reason, or more likely, a convenient excuse for pulling
off the track. It was a race he had little chance of winning against
the big V8 cars that were optomized for left hand turns.
.
I put this on the air today on our Speed coverage of Nextel Cup
practice, and will bring it up again several times this week as Toyota
makes their entry into Cup racing.
.
TV being a visual medium, I'd REALLY like to find a photo of Wood's MG
race car from 1963. Any help is greatly appreciated... I'd love to use
a photo on our Daytona 500 telecast on Sunday.
Can anyone help?
.
Thanks in advance,
Mike Joy
FOX Sports





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




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Len Fanelli

I know only the MGs that ever entered the Indy 500, were the two MG "Hydroelastic Specials" sponsored in part, by Kjell Qvale in 1965. The only thing MG about them was the hydroelastic levelling system, modified from an Austin 1100.

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A. Clark

I may have found A picture of the MG that raced in nascar race in 1963 will investigate more and get bake in touch
Clayton Hill
Clayton Hill

Please share if you have found it!
Steve Simmons

I posted this in another thread, here's a corrected version of events as I remember them:

Mike Joy asked if anyone knew about the MG that ran in a (it was Grand National then, I think) stock car race in Winston-Salem.
This may be the incident in question: My father's car, an MG-A ran in a Grand National race event in Winston-Salem in 1958 or 1959. (I think it was 1600 overhead cam). He was a principal in the Winston-Salem AutoSports Club which and he owned a sports car shop (I think it was called The Sports Car Shop).
He owned one of the very few hardtop MG As and taped 122 FP or 25 FP on the side, plus he painted 'Aluminum-Do Not Bump!' on the trunk. The car had rollbars and seatbelts (aircraft type--he used to install them for all the sports car racers).
His name was Joe Scarborough, we lived at 848 Lockland Avenue in Winston-Salem, in case anyone else remembers us.
Until I heard Mr. Joy say Smokey Woods drove it, I didn't know who drove it and wondered why my Dad didn't--but we did follow it around the track in my mother's Pontiac prior to the race.
I think Mr. Joy is correct about the event being something of a stunt, because on the way to the track my Dad worried about getting the MG crushed.
I'm not sure about this, but as I remember, the MG ran in a preliminary race (seems like they were called heats--I associated it with the car steaming later) and did not run in the main event. I think it overheated, thus the reason it didn't make the main event.
I also believe it was either 1958 or 9 for two reasons: I think my mom either owned her 1959 Bonneville then, or we bought it right after that,
and I think the MG was a 1956 or 7 year unit.
(my Dad would have to go to the docks and uncrate the cars when he or someone else bought one).
Someone said 1952, but in 52 the cars were Morgan Garage (MG-TD) not MGs.
My Dad was killed coming home from Chimney Rock in 1960 so it couldn't have been later than that.
I have several pictures of the car, one is on a dirt track with guard rails, and you can't tell if it was the Winston-Salem track or not, but I believe it was.
Another is on a paved track with guard rails. We only raced road courses in all the other events I remember (VIR, Columbia, Chimney Rock etc.), most of which did not have guard rails--you just ran off into the fields--the only dirt track or oval I ever remember being at was the Winston-Salem track, so it might have been paved or not.
The photos show several SCCA racers on the track, but I don't have any showing stock cars and SCCA.
If anyone would like to contact me, my email is les@scar.net
--Les Scarborough
Les Scarborough

I too would love to see that picture.
VWP Pina

This thread was discussed between 16/02/2007 and 21/02/2007

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