Downtown Mount Airy was filled with racing fans, drivers, and plenty of cars from virtually every era of the sport on Saturday.
The occasion was the fourth Moonshine and Racers’ Reunion, and the event attracted a large crowd, with people from all across North Carolina, Virginia, and from as far away as Ohio.
Those attending were not disappointed, with vintage race cars from the earliest days of race on display, along with some cars driven during the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s by legends such as three-time Winston Cup champion Bobby Allison, one-time champ Benny Parsons, and others.
James McMillan, from Lenoir, was one of those in attendance, having driven to Mount Airy early on Saturday to check out the show.
“I got up at 4:30 this morning to get here,” he said, explaining he learned of the event nearly a year ago — about a week after the 2022 version had occurred.
“I decided then I wanted to come see it.”
McMillan said perusing the cars took him back to his own racing days, when he ran dirt tracks throughout Ohio. “I love it,” he said of Saturday’s event. He was especially taken with the thunderous sound some of the engines made when started up. “Racing is in my blood…I just can’t wheel a car any more. My brain wants to, but my body can’t.”
Tom Costner, of Pilot Mountain, was onhand with his car — but it was not a vehicle built to run ovals. His 1936 Chevy Coupe was the real deal — an auto that had been used on moonshine runs back in the day.
“My dad bought this from the original owner,” he said of the vehicle he had on display, adding that it is all original — even the paint is what was on the car when it rolled off the assembly line nearly nine decades ago. The trunk was filled with moonshine bottles and mason jars — all empty, of course — and Costner even pulled out a Tommy gun like the ones which might have been used by moonshiners in the days of prohibition.
Rodney and Linda Moyer had come down from Tiffin, Ohio, to see the reunion as well as tour the Mayberry sites — and it didn’t take them long to have their own run-in with the law. Or at least, the law Mayberry style, when Deputy Barney Fife tribute artist Brett Harris, an Ohio native who moved to Mount Airy two-and-a-half years ago, stopped them for a chat.
He and the Moyer’s had a bit of fun together, before Rodney Moyer pulled out one of the main reasons he was in town — a Winston-Cup flag with more than 300 race driver signatures he has collected over the years, including most of the big names listed among NASCAR’s 75 top drivers. Among those names are Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Daryl Waltrip. Now, after Saturday’s event, he has Bobby Allison’s name as well, who was among the drivers in town to sign autographs.
Teddy Burris, of Danville, Virginia, was in town collecting autographs as well, though he had a more personal connection to the drivers onhand to meet with the public.
Burris had the helmet his late grandfather, Earl Burris, wore when he won the Bowman Gray 1966 season championship. Earl Burris raced up and down the East Coast for more than 25 years, according to his son, Eddie Burris, who was in attendance on Saturday with his sons, Teddy and Donnie Burris, signing autographs of Earl Burris memorabilia.
Among the races the late Earl Burris ran was the Daytona 250, a 1960 race which featured both Grand National and Modified Sportsmen cars on the track at the same time.
“Sixty-six cars started that race,” Eddie Burris said.
“It was the race with the biggest wreck ever,” Donnie Burris chimed in. “40-plus cars wrecked at one time.”
His grandfather managed to avoid the crash by running up front — he won the pole, and went on to win his division and finish second overall in the race.
Like many others at the reunion on Saturday, the Burris’ were there to reminisce with other drivers, tell stories to fans young and old, and pay homage to those early drivers — and moonshiners — who paved the way for NASCAR growing into one of the largest motor sports in the world.
For more information regarding Saturday’s event, see the Tuesday, Sept. 12 edition of The Mount Airy News or check back at mtairynews.com for addition information and photos.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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