As you folks know Spence (SN-III) won the Christmas Auction for the book of NASCAR Driver autographs. I got the autographs at the NASCAR North 250 at Cayuga Speedway on August 28, 1983. It was one of those days that what you saw was simply incredible, a man with great talent came to race that day. Dale Earnhardt.
The NASCAR tour had been in Bristol, Tennessee on the Saturday night before the Cayuga race. That race was won by Darrell Waltrip in his DiGuard Chevrolet followed by Earnhardt in the Bud Moore Ford #15 with Bobby Allision in the #22 Buick in third. The following morning they flew into Cayuga for the NASCAR North race. Cayuga had its own landing strip and I remember seeing Allison's plane coming in for a landing.
On the Saturday the cars of Earnhardt, Allison and Baker had been qualified but since a driver change had to be made the starting positions were juggled. Earnhardt #15 Olds Omega (listed as a Le Mans) owned by racer/builder Sam Ard had qualified on the pole but with Earnhardt sliding behind the wheel they moved that car back to 21st for the start. Earnhardt had taken the #15 out for some quick shake down runs and apparently was satisfied with the car.
It was a hot day that eventually took its toll on a number of drivers but once the race started everyone knew they were in for something special. This was a star studded field of 33 drivers, both Americans and Canadians. On this day nothing would be given. By lap 47 Earnhardt had worked his way into the lead. As I recall there was not a lot of bumping and banging going on, just very hard racing.
By lap 141 Earnhardt had lapped the entire field. Absolute dominance. When the checkers flew he was still in the lead by a full lap despite a late pit stop that he felt was unnecessary. When the race was over everyone knew they had witnessed something very special. Talent indeed.
Bobby Allison went out on lap 86 black flagged with a badly smoking car. Allison then relieved driver Barney McRae who had burned his foot on the transmission tunnel and needed relief. Allison ran that car until it quit on lap 147. Buddy Baker was out on lap 120 with an overheated motor. It was so hot that only 14 of the 33 starters finished.
As we know Earnhardt went on to be one of the most dominate racers in NASCAR history. That day at Cayuga Speedway he showcased the talent that would take him to the top of the NASCAR world.
1983 Motion 250
August 28, 1983 at Cayuga International Speedway, Hamilton, Ontario
250 laps on a .625 mile paved track (156.2 miles)
Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led Points
1 21 115 Dale Earnhardt Wrangler Brand LeMans 250 running 204 70
2 6 07 Randy LaJoie Snellman Construction LeMans 249 running 0 48
3 7 11 Claude Leclerc Modick Performance LeMans 249 running 0 56
4 8 0 Dick McCabe R.C. Moore Regal 249 running 0 54
5 18 41 Jamie Aube Coca-Cola (Allen Avery) LeMans 248 running 0 52
6 3 75 Beaver Dragon Rossi Buick-Olds Regal 248 running 0 50
7 11 36 Tom Glaser Bosch / Burlington Cars Malibu 246 running 0 48
8 26 1X Gardiner Leavitt McConnell Enterprises (Gardiner Leavitt) Malibu 244 running 0 46
9 24 22 Mike Shaughnessy Technequip Welding Nova 240 running 0 44
10 14 00 Roger Laperle Mont Bruno Moving LeMans 239 running 0 32
11 1 28 Wes Rosner Severance Furs Grand Am 214 crash 0 40
12 10 5A Jean-Paul Cabana Club 5A Cutlass 212 running 0 28
13 4 7 Chuck Bown Skoal Bandit Grand Prix 206 bearing 0 36
14 29 16 Stub Fadden Patten's Gas LeMans 203 valve 0 34
15 15 70 Jean-Paul Larose Autobus St. Eustache LeMans 192 rear end 0 32
16 19 03 Milt Wright Gates Salvage Nova 186 running 0 30
17 20 01 Paul Mauceri Paramount Macaroni (Paul Mauceri) LeMans 157 running 0 28
18 33 4 Barney McRae Custom Corner Ventura 147 overheating 0 26
19 12 33 Jeff Stevens Norseman Motor Inn (Sandy MacKinnon) Cutlass 140 engine 0 24
20 9 15 Mike Rowe Homestead Farms Cutlass 129 overheating 0 22
21 28 21 Kevin Lepage Nordic Ford T-Bird 128 oil leak 0 10
22 5 24 Mike Barry Borderline Racing LeMans 125 engine 0 18
23 2 71 Bobby Dragon Moe Brown Racing LeMans 122 crash 0 16
24 25 38 Buddy Baker Valvoline Grand Prix 120 overheating 0 14
25 22 100 Junior Hanley Mont Bruno Moving Cutlass 104 rocker arm 0 12
26 32 22A Bobby Allison Miller High Life Omega 86 rear end 0 12
27 13 42 Jerry Makara Makara Racing Regal 72 engine 0 12
28 17 44 Keith Cavanagh Cavanagh Racing Nova 62 overheating 0 12
29 27 17 Bob Brunell Bakelite Canada LeMans 56 valve 0 12
30 30 31 Andre Beaudoin UAP Nova 17 transmission 0 12
31 16 84 Steve Poulin Poulin Enterprises Grand Am 16 ignition 0 12
32 23 48 Robbie Crouch Tower Restaurant (Ron Lamberti / Glenn Wright) Regal 14 engine 0 12
33 31 95 Blair Bessett Club New England Apollo 0 engine 0 12
The NASCAR tour had been in Bristol, Tennessee on the Saturday night before the Cayuga race. That race was won by Darrell Waltrip in his DiGuard Chevrolet followed by Earnhardt in the Bud Moore Ford #15 with Bobby Allision in the #22 Buick in third. The following morning they flew into Cayuga for the NASCAR North race. Cayuga had its own landing strip and I remember seeing Allison's plane coming in for a landing.
On the Saturday the cars of Earnhardt, Allison and Baker had been qualified but since a driver change had to be made the starting positions were juggled. Earnhardt #15 Olds Omega (listed as a Le Mans) owned by racer/builder Sam Ard had qualified on the pole but with Earnhardt sliding behind the wheel they moved that car back to 21st for the start. Earnhardt had taken the #15 out for some quick shake down runs and apparently was satisfied with the car.
It was a hot day that eventually took its toll on a number of drivers but once the race started everyone knew they were in for something special. This was a star studded field of 33 drivers, both Americans and Canadians. On this day nothing would be given. By lap 47 Earnhardt had worked his way into the lead. As I recall there was not a lot of bumping and banging going on, just very hard racing.
By lap 141 Earnhardt had lapped the entire field. Absolute dominance. When the checkers flew he was still in the lead by a full lap despite a late pit stop that he felt was unnecessary. When the race was over everyone knew they had witnessed something very special. Talent indeed.
Bobby Allison went out on lap 86 black flagged with a badly smoking car. Allison then relieved driver Barney McRae who had burned his foot on the transmission tunnel and needed relief. Allison ran that car until it quit on lap 147. Buddy Baker was out on lap 120 with an overheated motor. It was so hot that only 14 of the 33 starters finished.
As we know Earnhardt went on to be one of the most dominate racers in NASCAR history. That day at Cayuga Speedway he showcased the talent that would take him to the top of the NASCAR world.
1983 Motion 250
August 28, 1983 at Cayuga International Speedway, Hamilton, Ontario
250 laps on a .625 mile paved track (156.2 miles)
Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led Points
1 21 115 Dale Earnhardt Wrangler Brand LeMans 250 running 204 70
2 6 07 Randy LaJoie Snellman Construction LeMans 249 running 0 48
3 7 11 Claude Leclerc Modick Performance LeMans 249 running 0 56
4 8 0 Dick McCabe R.C. Moore Regal 249 running 0 54
5 18 41 Jamie Aube Coca-Cola (Allen Avery) LeMans 248 running 0 52
6 3 75 Beaver Dragon Rossi Buick-Olds Regal 248 running 0 50
7 11 36 Tom Glaser Bosch / Burlington Cars Malibu 246 running 0 48
8 26 1X Gardiner Leavitt McConnell Enterprises (Gardiner Leavitt) Malibu 244 running 0 46
9 24 22 Mike Shaughnessy Technequip Welding Nova 240 running 0 44
10 14 00 Roger Laperle Mont Bruno Moving LeMans 239 running 0 32
11 1 28 Wes Rosner Severance Furs Grand Am 214 crash 0 40
12 10 5A Jean-Paul Cabana Club 5A Cutlass 212 running 0 28
13 4 7 Chuck Bown Skoal Bandit Grand Prix 206 bearing 0 36
14 29 16 Stub Fadden Patten's Gas LeMans 203 valve 0 34
15 15 70 Jean-Paul Larose Autobus St. Eustache LeMans 192 rear end 0 32
16 19 03 Milt Wright Gates Salvage Nova 186 running 0 30
17 20 01 Paul Mauceri Paramount Macaroni (Paul Mauceri) LeMans 157 running 0 28
18 33 4 Barney McRae Custom Corner Ventura 147 overheating 0 26
19 12 33 Jeff Stevens Norseman Motor Inn (Sandy MacKinnon) Cutlass 140 engine 0 24
20 9 15 Mike Rowe Homestead Farms Cutlass 129 overheating 0 22
21 28 21 Kevin Lepage Nordic Ford T-Bird 128 oil leak 0 10
22 5 24 Mike Barry Borderline Racing LeMans 125 engine 0 18
23 2 71 Bobby Dragon Moe Brown Racing LeMans 122 crash 0 16
24 25 38 Buddy Baker Valvoline Grand Prix 120 overheating 0 14
25 22 100 Junior Hanley Mont Bruno Moving Cutlass 104 rocker arm 0 12
26 32 22A Bobby Allison Miller High Life Omega 86 rear end 0 12
27 13 42 Jerry Makara Makara Racing Regal 72 engine 0 12
28 17 44 Keith Cavanagh Cavanagh Racing Nova 62 overheating 0 12
29 27 17 Bob Brunell Bakelite Canada LeMans 56 valve 0 12
30 30 31 Andre Beaudoin UAP Nova 17 transmission 0 12
31 16 84 Steve Poulin Poulin Enterprises Grand Am 16 ignition 0 12
32 23 48 Robbie Crouch Tower Restaurant (Ron Lamberti / Glenn Wright) Regal 14 engine 0 12
33 31 95 Blair Bessett Club New England Apollo 0 engine 0 12
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