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Sunday, December 28, 2008
NASCAR Legend Pee Wee Jones Is Remembered
by Skip Wall
He looked out over the crowd at the historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston
Salem earlier last summer, and pondered his thoughts.
Did he wish to be out there? Pee Wee Jones, former six time Bowman Gray
Stadium Modified Champ, would give you a sheepish grin and say "no and if I were
younger, I would still say no."
Pee Wee passed away peacefully on Christmas Eve at his home in Clemmons NC
at the age of 80.
Pee Wee, born Phillip Sylvester Jones, was a legend in the world of NASCAR.
He was one of the original members of NASCAR when it was founded in 1949 by
big Bill France. He began his career running weekly races at the Stadium
running for France and the late J. Alvin Hawkins who promoted the events.
Pee Wee racked up 28 victories at the Stadium until he retired in 1972. One
record still stands today, 5 consecutive track championships which will be
hard to beat since the competition at the Stadium is so keen.
Pee Wee traveled up and down the eastern seaboard running in a bunch of
modified events including the old Langhorne Speedway against other famous
competitors such as Dutch Hoag, Richie Evans and Jerry Cook. But Pee Wee always
considered Bowman Gray his hometown track. He even ran in the old convertible
series that ran only a short time.
Pee Wee retired from Modern Chevrolet in Winston Salem as a fleet manager.
It was Pee Wee that was credited with getting Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, another
Winston Salem entity, its fleet of Chevrolet vans. Pee Wee would say that was
the highlight of his job at the Chevrolet dealership. However being a race
driver and working for Chevrolet, Pee Wee was given the task of testing a
Chevrolet Corvette for the company.
Pee Wee didn't like to talk much about racing or his accomplishments of
life. He would rather talk about his grandchildren or other parts of life.
He would say in an interview last summer that he didn't fear anybody he
raced with at the stadium but he did have a concern for two time track champion,
Max Berrier. "Max would bump you one time to let you know he was there. If he bumped you again then that meant to get out of the way. And if you got bumped again, you found yourself spinning" he said smiling.
Pee Wee would tell you that he absolutely loved running over at the stadium
but had no regrets of getting out. It was just a matter of timing when he was
competing. When he got out of racing was when NASCAR was beginning to take
off and make a name for itself when RJ Reynolds, another Winston Salem
product, took off and got into racing.
Pee Wee had thought that racing got too big for him when Reynolds got
involved. He had made his mark in racing and wanted to stay closer to home. "It was
okay for a single man if you liked being on the road a lot" he said.
Another sheepish grin came from Pee Wee when asked about his fondest
memories of the famed 1/4 mile track.
"Back then they ran a 400 lap race each year (Carolina 400) and we didn't
have all this preparing our bodies like they do now. I rested as much as I
could that week. I won the pole for that race and layed down on the grass while
the boys pushed the car out. The announcer (then Lewis Compton) was teasing
me about that and I was just a resting. Then the race starts and I lasted a
whole 4 laps and the darned transmission comes out."
Pee Wee also liked to talk about flying, which was a big deal back in the
60's. He would tell you that he was no Curtis Turner, a well known NASCAR
driver that owned a plane and liked to play with the plane and land on highways.
"We were flying down to Darlington for a race (not with Turner) and I had to
go to the bathroom. So we landed in this mans field and then took right off
again. When a man has to go, he has to go."
Pee Wee was somewhat amazed when he saw the stadiums changes last season
when they built a new field house. However he was quick to tell you that the
track itself really hadn't changed much since he was racing there.
Pee Wee was a family man and liked to talk to family, fans, and his personal
friends. When his health allowed him, he would stop by Pulliams Bar-B-Que
and talk racing to some of the other ole-timers that competed at the stadium.
Names like Harry Leake, Carl Burris, E J Brewer, Perk Brown, Toots Jenkins,
Bob Welborne, all would come up. You could tell Pee Wee liked to talk racing.
Customers coming in would always ask about Pee Wee if he wasn't there. In
fact a lot of memorabilia about Pee Wee is in that historic restaurant.
While Pee Wee was a legend, he also made an impact in a person’s life. One is
modified and former USAR ProCup driver Mike Herman Jr. "It was Pee Wee that helped make me move up to the modifieds. It was almost as if he were my other father. He had this huge impression in my mind as a driver and an off track friend", he said.
Moreover, before he made the move over to modifieds and still competing in
Pro-Cup, Herman made a visit to the stadium and competed in a legends race in
which he won. He dedicated that win to Pee Wee for teaching him how to get
around the track.
Funeral Services were held this past Sunday. At the eulogy a member of the
Old Timers Club held a checkered flag and waved it in his honor because his
life is done here. It filled tears in the whole audience. Even Mike, his son
said that was hard to swallow.
Pee Wee may have pondered his thoughts earlier this summer as he looked out
over the crowd at the stadium. He knew racing has changed and he would tell
you that he didn't miss racing. However if you looked in his basement of his
home, one might find the 36 Chevrolet coupe numbered 24 sitting under a tarp.
Maybe that's why he had that grin.
Pee Wee Jones is a legend and was a true racer that will long be remembered
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The 2009 RC Cola / MoonPie American Speed Association Southeast Asphalt Tour has announced their 2009 racing schedule. The second season for the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour continues to offer a way for all types of Late Models from different tracks, series and with different motor combinations to race under an even set of rules. The 2009 tour will consist of 17 races, which will all count for the season-ending championship.
Motor Mile Speedway Late Model driver, Mike Looney teams with Scott Rigney for second entry in the upcoming June 20th 125 lap ASA Southern Modified Race Tour event.
