The Driver Suit Blog-The Paperwork Aspects of Auto Racing Part 1
The mere word “paperwork” will make any person groan. Nobody likes paperwork. It is just awful. Yet it’s become a necessary evil. It permeates every aspect of life, even in auto racing.
NASCAR and almost all racing sanctioning bodies issue “competitor licenses.” Competitor licenses are significantly harder to obtain than a standard driver’s license, and the sanctioning bodies make the rules for obtaining them difficult on purpose, so that the average Joe can’t buy a race car on eBay, and drive it in a race. As you get higher and higher in the racing ranks, the requirements become stricter, and harder to obtain.
This is not a new phenomenon. This goes back to the 1960’s. As time has worn on, the need for such regulation has become paramount, as auto racing has grown in popularity over the last 30 years. Many fans would love to race with their favorite drivers, but the fact is that due to their lack of experience and skill, this could cause a lot of problems. Race car drivers have skills capabilities that the average joe could only dream of having, and the competitor license makes sure that those who can do, and those who can’t watch.
John “Shorty” Miller was a NASCAR and ARCA competitor in the 1960’s and 1970’s. He was one of the founders of the Dayton Auto Racing Fan Club, or DARF, and is in the DARF Hall of Fame. In 1976, he was involved with ARCA, and was issued this license. For documents as old as they are, they are in good condition.
It also comes with a copy of the 1976 ARCA Rule Book, which contains 12 pages of rules, which covers a lot of ground, but leaves so much open, it’s not funny.
Center Line was founded as the Center Line Tool Corporation in 1970 by Ray Lipper. Lipper saw the need for a good performance rim, and soon the company started focusing only on wheels. Lipper was also an avid racer, and raced in SCCA, and CART. His time in CART was not successful, with a DNS at the Phoenix race, and was one of 47 drivers not to qualify for the 1982 Indianapolis 500. He was elected to the SEMA Hall of Fame in 2002. I recently purchased some of his racing memorabilia, including some paperwork.
A small, orange Snell Sport Vinyl folder is included in the lot, and the contents of which are very interesting.
This is a paper race result from the 1980 SCCA Formula Super Vee USA Robert Bosch/Valvoline Championship. One of the Gold Cup race took place at Watkins Glen on July 5, 1980. Lipper finished 16th, driving a Super Vee. He won $250 for his efforts.
In preparation for a race at what is now Sonoma Raceway, Lipper hand drew this map of the track, and added notes as to what he should do in the car while driving in that area.
This is Lipper’s map of Watkins Glen, both the track, and the way to the track. It shows a lot of wear.
In addition to racing in the United States, Lipper also raced in New Zealand. This is Lipper’s Motorsports Association of New Zealand(MANZ) license.
The Manawatu Car Club is New Zealand’s oldest car club. Lipper was a part of it in 1982, and this is his member ticket.

There is another aspect of auto racing paperwork that I will discuss last week.
The Driver Suit Blog-Introduction to Sports Memorabilia-Tracy Duncan 2014 BK Racing Race-Worn Pit Crew Suit
The Driver Suit Blog-All Hail The Mighty Foam Block
Auto racing has a lot of different elements in it. These include the cars, the track, and all the implements in both. Drag racing has many different elements at the track. The most unique of these is the timing system. The Christmas tree is the centerpiece, and the timing blocks are one of the most critical elements.
In drag racing, sensors and lightweight orange foam blocks with reflectors are placed at 60, 330, 660, 1000, and 1320 feet.
These sensors measure speed and elapsed time. They are made of very lightweight foam, so as not to damage the cars of they impact them. This example was cut in half by a nostalgia funny car at Las Vegas. Obviously, it shows very heavy use.
I know that this was a short one, so we will do another…
TAILGATING TIME!
Nothing fancy, going to post a recipe that can give mediocre hot dogs good flavor.
Dirty Water Hot Dogs
12 Servings
Ingredients:
12 Hot Dogs
2 quarts Water
2 tablespoons Vinegar
1 teaspoon Cumin
pinch Freshly Grated Nutmeg
12 Hot Dog Buns (split; toasted if desired)
Instructions:
1-Combine the Water, Vinegar, Cumin, and Nutmeg in a large pot, and bring to a boil.
2-Reduce to a simmer, and add the Hot dogs, cooking until the Hot dogs have heated through, about 5 minutes.
3-Serve on buns with desired condiments.
Next week, auto racing paperwork.
The Driver Suit Blog-Introduction to Sports Memorabilia-Robby McGehee 1999 Energizer Race-Worn Pit Crew Suit
The Driver Suit Blog-Paint Scheme Grades-May 2, 2020
By David G. Firestone
Editor’s Note, due to the cancellation of the NASCAR season through May, I will do the Paint Scheme Tracker every week, and the Paint Scheme Grades every other week. This will last until the racing season resumes, or until I run out of new schemes. DGF
Austin Dillon #3 American Ethanol Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.
John Hunter Nemechek #38 YANMAR Ford Mustang-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.
Kyle Larson #42 Clover Chevy Camaro-Same scheme as last year, same A grade.
Daniel Suarez #96 Toyota Toyota Camry-It’s a mediocre color scheme, I don’t like the shade of red and blue here. I also don’t like the design scheme. All things considered, this gets an F.
The Driver Suit Blog-Celebrating the Tracks That Host The Races!
I collect all kinds of memorabilia, not just from auto racing, but from many kinds of sports. One thing that I collect that most people don’t really realize is an aspect of the sports memorabilia market is what is referred to as “stadium memorabilia.” Stadium memorabilia is memorabilia that comes from stadiums as opposed to players or drivers. It has gained new heights since the demolition of Yankee Stadium, Texas Stadium, and Steiner Sports selling memorabilia from the stadium.
This phenomena has spread to NASCAR. With the reconfiguration of Daytona, a slew of memorabilia from the track is now up for sale on eBay and NASCAR.com. Stadium memorabilia comes in several forms. These include seats, signs, scoreboard parts, and playing surfaces, amongst other things. I like to focus on playing surfaces. I have a number of different samples of artificial turf, some baseball infield dirt, and track pieces. This example came from Daytona after the repave in 2011.
The entire 2.5 mile surface was removed and the track repaved. The old track was cut into pieces and sold to fans. This is an example of one of those pieces. It is 3 inches by 2 inches, about a third of an inch thick, and has a small plaque on it commemorating that it came from the track.
No track is as well-known as Indianapolis. Affectionately known as “The Brickyard” because of the yard of original bricks that make up the start/finish line.
The line has had several different paint jobs over the years. This plaque has a piece of an original brick, and part of the start/finish line. The pieces of brick, and start/finish line are 1 ½ inch square, and the whole plaque is six inches by 1 foot.
This is a small piece of the racing surface from Talladega.
Moving away from racing surface pieces, we move to this piece, which is a banner from the 2004 MBNA America 400 “A Salute To Heroes.”
The race took place on June 6, 2004, exactly 60 years after the D-Day invasion. Racing, especially NASCAR holds our military personnel and veterans in the high esteem they richly deserve, and the theme of this race was honoring our veterans. The race had an even more somber note. Ronald Reagan has passed away the previous day. This backdrop, which measures 8 feet tall by 26 feet long was used during the pre-race ceremonies, which included commemoration ceremonies, driver introductions, the invocation, and national anthem. I was able to video match it to the telecast. I normally add a white background to these photos, but I didn’t do that. I wanted to show the size of the banner, and so I had to lay it out on the front lawn, and photograph it from my office window.
This last item isn’t stadium used per se, but it falls in line with the banner above. AJ Foyt Enterprises fielded cars in IndyCar, NASCAR, CART, and USAC. While their IndyCar programs were successful, their NASCAR program wasn’t. From 2000 to 2002, Foyt’s #14 was sponsored by Conseco. For that sponsorship, this backdrop was created.
It’s about a 1/3 the length of the Dover banner, but the same height. It has a series of NASCAR and Conseco logos.
That’s the Friday Feature this week, but next week, I’ve got an interesting little quirk in auto racing memorabilia…stay tuned.