Mark went out in 1. James dumped his ride in three and four. To this day it was the hardest ride I ever saw anyone walk away from.
As for the seat belts, he was running a Y type shoulder harness, where the shoulder harnesses become one behind the driver. After that wreck, I believe USAC banned them.
Well, I found an answer to one question. I was going through a database of Q&A'a for a trivia program I used to run in a chat room a few years ago. It looks Like James won the USAC Midget Rookie of the Year award in 1976. I didn't even realize he had that much time in midgets...
To Melvins nephew. I knew Luke very well. I'm one of the few that called him Melvin. I live in Texas and we used to talk on the phone quite often. I was part of the McElreath Bettenhausen clan and scored for both. Just showed Jimmy McElreath this post and he said Melvin would have been eating this up. I'm sure Jimmy has man Melvin stories. Feel free to contact me with questions and I will discuss with Jimmy and get back with you. Annerace16@aol.com
Originally Posted by Tripcrwn:
Dana Carter is Pancho's brother? Also, Pancho's eldest son Dane was named for his uncle? Another question - what is Dane Carter doing these days? Thanks.
Dane is a spotter for Andretti's rally cross team. Dana and Pancho were brothers.
Back in the day a car owner had the option of using the number of where he finished in the point standings the previous year....James finished 8th in the 1976 point standings hence the #8 he ran during the 1977 season.
"Luke" was very close to Jim McElreath and with that supported James. James ran the Western World the night before for Bill Boat who was Billy Boat's dad.
Bobby Marshall was also close to the family. There was also a family relationship. Anyway, Bobby has posted and/or commented on many pics in this FB newsgroup: VINTAGE SPRINT CARS,From the Beginning To The 80's..........
