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24 | Success at Any Cost A month after the crushing events of Daytona, Johnny Beauchamp still smoldered. He contemplated what he might do to reverse Bill France’s decision. In Atlanta he sought the advice of veteran driver Frank Mundy. Mundy listened as Beauchamp told him, “I was cheated out of the win. What should I do? Maybe I should see a lawyer?”1 A former NASCAR driver who had left the circuit to become the 1955 AAA champion, Mundy knew France well, and he knew where the bodies were buried.Years before, they had promoted a Charlotte race, and another time, during a visit to Red Vogt’s Atlanta garage (Vogt serviced engines for racers, moonshiners, and the police, the latter so they had vehicles fast enough to catch the moonshiners), France and Mundy had dived under a car after moonshiners pulled out guns and started shooting. Mundy was present at meetings at the Streamline Hotel in 1947 when NASCAR was formed. He held the flash for the group photograph. But the two men eventually had a major disagreement in 1952 at Daytona . In the beach time trials, Mundy had finished first and Tom McCahill second, but France disqualified Mundy for not keeping a spare tire in his trunk. He told Mundy the car was not stock because it was sold out of the showroom with a spare tire, and not having the tire lightened the car, giving it an advantage. Mundy replied that he thought if he wrecked the car, the tire could come flying out and hurt someone. France sternly replied, “You are disqualified. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to run.”2 Mundy replied, “That’s right, and before I kiss your ass, I quit.”3 Because the infractions of many other entrants were ignored, Mundy believed France was playing stock car politics with him—that France had deliberately disqualified him so that McCahill would win. His suspicion was that France thought McCahill, who wrote articles about automobiles as well as competing, could help NASCAR gain assistance from automobile factories.4 But Mundyoffered Beauchamp no plan of recourse, just predictable ad- 130 | Chapter 24 vice: France ran NASCAR, and therewas noopposing him. Mundy said: “I had no success influencing Bill France; the only thing to do is simply not to race NASCAR.”5 And Mundy’s experience with France was not an isolated example. The NASCAR owner’s ruthless, arbitrary, and self-­ serving actions are well documented. Knowing how he operated is important to understanding how he handled the 1959 Daytona 500 controversy. For example, on one occasion Bruton Smith, a race promoter in the Charlotte area, had selected an open date for a race. An open date meant there was no conflict with a NASCAR race, and so Smith could expect to attract some NASCAR drivers, who were barred from racing in other contests when a NASCAR event was scheduled. France, desiring to stomp out competition, then scheduled an event for the same day as Smith’s race. Many drivers had already signed up for the Smith contest before France caused the conflict, and they were forced either to break their commitment to Smith or to be punished by France. Mundy explained, “France [was] trying to knock Smith out of business” and would “step on anyone to get ahead.”6 Then there’s Tim Flock, the 1952 NASCAR champion who had several setbacks under the rule of France. In one case, Flock, driving a 1954 Oldsmobile at the Beach race in the same year, had led the entire event. Afterward, the top finishers had their cars torn down to verify that they were within the rules. Forty-­ eight hours passed before Flock learned his car had been disqualified because the butterfly shaft on his carburetor had been soldered, preventing it from shaking loose. Flock could not believe he would be disqualified for such a trivial matter, one that would not boost the car’s performance. He went to France’s house and asked him, “Bill, did you really disqualify my car?” France confirmed that Flock was disqualified .The driver stormed out of France’s house, slamming the door so hard the glass broke, and yelled: “I’m through. I’ll never run for you again.”7 Flock believed France had deliberately disqualified him because France wanted a Chrysler to win the race to encourage Chrysler to become more involved in NASCAR contests. Flock then said: “I’ll go to my grave...

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