|| *Comments on the 1996 General Tire Hoosier 500k:* View the most recent comment <#37> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. RaceFanX posted: 05.15.2010 - 11:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race was an absolute bloodbath. There are some folks who watch racing for the crashes and even they wouldn't like this one. It seemed like it was just hard wreck after hard wreck and four seperate drivers were injured over the course of the race. The worst of the day was the first as Mickey Hudspeth, driving an ex-Brett Bodine Ford, lost control while running in the top-10 and hit the outside wall with enough force to send his car into a wild side-over-side flip. Hudspeth's left hand had to be amputated because of his injuries. Hudspeth's flip triggered a minor big one. Polesitter John Gill and Dill Whittymore also taking hard hits in the melee, Gill taking a head-on into the outside wall before coming back down the track and hitting the barrel-rolling car of Hudspeth and then getting t-boned by Whittymore. Later a single car spin on the old backstretch by Ron Burchette turned into a disaster when his Pontiac hit the split in the wall and went into a wild roll almost identical to the one Steve Grissom would take in a Cup race the next year. While scraping down the track on its driver's side Burchette's car was then broadsided by the spinning car of Delma Cowart. Burchette was airlifted but thankfully had no injuries beyond a concussion. Another spin on the backstretch turned ugly when Perry Tripp looped it and bounced off the outside wall then got plowed by an at-speed Doug Reid. Thankfully Reid hit the back of Tripp's Chevy, spinning it like a top. Jeff Jones spun harmlessly while missing the accident. Mike Ciochetti, Art Cross and Jerry Hill produced the last bad wreck of the day when Ciochetti spun and backed the blue #17 into the turn 2 wall hard with Hill and Cross crashing behind him. Ciochetti's car had fuel cell damage and a small fire in the wreck's aftermath. Hill also knocked a few feet off the back of his car in the melee. Needless to say this one ran over on its alloted time by ESPN. 2. Darrell posted: 05.15.2010 - 2:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Owners: 0 Cowart - H.L. Waters 1 Hutter - James Finch 9 Bessey - Joe Bessey 11 Bickle - Darrell Waltrip 16 Steele - Howard Steele 21 Bowsher - Jack Bowsher 25 Venturini - Bill Venturini 32 Stahl - Mark Stahl 46 Hill - Larry Clement 59 Gibson - Mark Gibson 78 Standridge - Jim Wilson 84 Benning - Norm Benning 94 Barfield - Bill Elliott 3. Anonymous posted: 05.16.2010 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rich Bickle and John Gill's Starting spots are backwards. Bickle won the pole and Gill Started 11th. 4. Frogger49 posted: 05.16.2010 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unlisted car numbers: Billy Thomas- 22 Kevin Ray- 43 Mike Swaim Jr.- 90 Roger Blackstock- 48 Tobey Butler-52 (Schrader's AC-Delco Chevrolet) Ed Dixon- 51 Art Cross- 75? 5. RaceFanX posted: 05.16.2010 - 11:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joe Bessey actually won this race in a #7 Chevrolet. He ran the number as an Alan Kulwicki tribute and took a Polish victory lap after he won. Art Cross also actually had car #06 and Jerry Hill had #75 Other numbers Spradlin was #07 Sheppard was #02 Curtis was #73 Ward was #92 ESPN's final rundown at the end of the race lists the 22nd place finish as #9 but lists a "Hurbert" as the driver instead of Curt Piercy. Piercy's usual number in 1996 appears to have been #10 but with Brewer and a seperate team using that they have just done an alternate. The "Hurbert" could be a relief driver although I can't find a likely match. Barfield's sponosr was Super 8 Motels 6. James W. Mclaughlin posted: 05.17.2010 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You're right, RaceFanX. If that wasn't the most brutal race in ARCA history, I don't know what is. 7. RaceFanX posted: 05.19.2010 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This was Joe Bessey's only ARCA victory, coming in his final start in the series and his only one of 1996. This was the last ARCA race for former two-time ARCA champion Bill Venturini, NASCAR Truck racer Tobey Butler (who had won in ARCA earlier in the year), Cup racer Billy Standridge, fan favorites Delma Cowart and Rich Bickle, Marty Ward, Frankie Spradlin, Jeff Jones and the original Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Art Cross not to mention Mickey Hudspeth and Ron Burchette. It was the only start of 1996 for Venturini, Bickle, Jeff Jones and Ed Curtis. 8. Sunoco posted: 07.10.2010 - 10:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Margin of victory was much more than 3 feet. It was closer to a carlength. 9. Chives posted: 01.01.2011 - 7:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After Hudspeth's amputation, he was able to run several races in the USAR Hooter's Pro Cup Series in the late 90s. 10. RaceFanX posted: 03.12.2011 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the first-ever professional race for Jeff Jones. It may also have been his last, he didn't run again in ARCA 11. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 04.09.2011 - 11:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This possibly ties with the 2005 ARCA 200 at Daytona in viciousness of the crashes. On lap 8, Mickey Hudspeth got onto the apron coming out of 4, lost control of the car, and he went up the track, hitting the outside wall hard with the passengers side. The impact sent him tumbling two times before getting slammed by John Gill which sent it flipping backwards 4 more times. He was hit again, and the flipping drier needed his arm amputated. Blaise Alexander, ARCA Rookie of the Year for 1996 was also involved in the crash, trying to do some weaving but still knocking the inside pit barrier and another machine in that order, doing heavy damage to his car. 8 cars involved total ON lap 35, Ron Burchette SLAMMED the split inside wall on the backstretch, gong for an insane series of tumbles made even worse when he was slammed by Delma Cowret and giving him a concussion. This would be *In my opinion* the worst crash of the day, and the last rollover of the 1996 ARCA season. After that, the race slightly cooled down, but multiple hard hits were still recorded as it continued. On the last restart, only 12 cars restarted, if memory serves correct. 12. 00andJoe posted: 09.03.2011 - 6:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #59 team owner: Billy Ballew 13. Spen posted: 11.06.2011 - 3:26 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) To date, the last ARCA race without Frank Kimmel in the field. And I'm pretty sure he's just as glad to have missed it. 14. pimmy posted: 02.27.2012 - 11:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The scheduled distance for this race was 204 laps. 15. RaceFanX posted: 05.05.2013 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor: #30 Ron Burchette- High Point Bedding (had another on the hood but couldn't make it out) 16. RaceFanX posted: 05.05.2013 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor: #24 Mickey Hudspeth- More Than Trees This was Hudspeth's only ARCA start of his career. He bought his car from Bodine only three weeks before this race. 17. Dan posted: 07.23.2013 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I find it almost impossible to believe that the Art Cross that ran in this race was the same Art Cross that ran the Indy 500 in the 1950's. He would've been damn near 80 years old at the time. 18. RaceFanX posted: 12.02.2013 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Driver change: #9 was driven by Jim Hurlbert instead of Curt Piercy 19. RaceFanX posted: 12.02.2013 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #59 Mark Gibson- Longhorn Steakhouse / L.C. Smith Sales & Leasing #1 Matt Hutter- Phoenix Construction #33 Harris DeVane- Carlton Company / Auto Air Cool #17 Mike Ciochetti- Hughes Supply #75 Jerry Hill- Bell Motor Co. #25 Bill Venturini- Eckerd Pharmacy / Dentax #05 Doug Reid III- MedPartners #94 Ron Barfield, Jr.- Super 8 Motels / McDonald's #78 Billy Standridge- Diamond Rio / Hanes #80 John Gill- Hover Motorsports (owned by Stan Hover) #43 Kevin Ray- Richard Petty Driving Experience #92 Marty Ward- Hooters #46 Bob Hill- Advance Auto Parts (And yeah, it has since come out the Art Cross in this race was not the Indy racer. He ran a few more ARCA races too so this wasn't Floridian racer Cross' last race) Bill Venturini came out of retirement to run in this race. Joe Bessey's race-winning car was a surplus Terry Labonte machine. Labonte went on to win the Cup race the next day. Tim Steele's team swapped to a tinted windshield before this race began. Those were still legal in ARCA at the time but not in Winston Cup, his bid for a third win in a row at Atlanta still came up short. 20. RaceFanX posted: 12.02.2013 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Terry Labonte won the Cup title the next day. His brother Bobby won the race. 21. Unser1 posted: 12.14.2013 - 9:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor: #25 Bill Venturini- Eckerd Pharmacy / Dentax 22. 23andJoe posted: 06.14.2014 - 12:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Margin of victory: 2 car lengths #1 sponsor: Phoenix Construction/David Lee Murphy #12 sponsor: Bull Frog Sun Block #59 sponsor: Longhorn Steakhouse/Bill Holt Ford #78 sponsor: Diamond Rio/Hanes #65 was an Oldsmobile #07 owner: Frankie Spradlin #8 owner: H.L. Waters #24 owner: Mickey Hudspeth #30 owner: Ron Burchette #43 owner: Johnny Ray #51 owner: Ken Schrader #65 owner: Sammy Potashnick #92 owner: Marty Ward #05 crew chief: Red Farmer #1 crew chief: Marc Reno #7 crew chief: John Monsam #11 crew chief: Jeff Hammond #52 crew chief: Tim Kohuth #26 status: Handling Cautions: Lap 8-17: #24, #80, #56, #22, #90, #43, #48, #26 accident turn 4 Lap 35-44: #33, #30, #0 accident backstretch Lap 59-63: #78 accident turn 1 Lap 95-99: #52 flat tire Lap 111-117: #9 flat tire Lap 120-124: #32, #6, #05, #8 accident backstretch Lap 131-135: #52 accident turn 2 Lap 175-178: #59 accident frontstretch Lap 182-186: #17, #75, #07 accident turn 2 23. 23andJoe posted: 06.14.2014 - 12:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Winnings: Bessey, $14,800 M.Thompson, $9,300 M.Gibson, $6,150 Bickle, $4,250 Hutter, $4,250 Steele, $4,850 Stahl, $3,000 DeVane, $3,200 B.Bowsher, $2,900 Dixon, $2,750 G.Brewer, $2,600 J.Jones, $2,400 Ciochetti, $2,350 Cross, $2,300 J.Hill, $2,250 Spradlin, $2,200 Bill Venturini, $2,150 T.Butler, $2,250 Potashnick, $2,050 Tripp, $2,400 Reid III, $1,900 Piercy, $1,800 Sheppard, $1,700 Barfield Jr, $1,600 Standridge, $1,500 Curtis, $1,475 Bobby Gerhart, $1,450 Bening, $1,490 Doles, $1,400 Burchette, $1,375 D.Cowart, $1,350 Hall, $1,325 B.Alexander, $1,500 Blackstock, $1,275 Thomas, $1,250 Swaim Jr, $1,225 Hudspeth, $1,200 J.Gill, $1,000 Whittymore, $1,000 K.Ray, $1,000 M.Ward, $1,000 B.Hill, $1,000 24. Fred posted: 08.15.2014 - 9:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The race was shortened by eight laps, due to time constraints according to the EPSN telecast. The race was originally scheduled to broadcast on a tape delayed basis. In the satellite feed, you can hear the commentators joking about going live because the race was taking so long and running into the scheduled time slot. 25. Azapro911 posted: 10.19.2014 - 7:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Semi-professionals at the old Atlanta. Bad, BAD idea. 26. Braindead Zombie posted: 04.22.2016 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Its amazing that nobody died in this race. 27. Josh posted: 06.23.2016 - 11:28 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Went to this race. Sat out of turn two and vividly remember the Burchette/Cowart crash. As I recall Cowart spun either from running over debris or being tapped by another car as he slowed for the #30 coming back onto the racing groove. Wouldn't have been as bad if Delma had been able to avoid him. Agree with the first comment. The first crash with Hudspeth who had his hand amputated because it went out the driver's side window, and the #80 of John Gill, who's car looked like a dumpster after this crash, was terrifying live. There was a very long delay after that one to clean up the track and tend to the injured/shaken drivers. 28. Tide1732 posted: 01.03.2017 - 2:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scariest ARCA race ever. 29. ol hank posted: 03.08.2018 - 12:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #9 was started by Curt Piercy, Hurlbert was a relief driver. 30. Mr.Victory posted: 05.11.2018 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Race shortened by Time Constraints because Winston Cup Qualifying was moments away after this race ended. 31. RaceFanX posted: 03.15.2019 - 1:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Bowsher finishes ninth in his last ARCA race as a regular. The two-time champion finished second in points in his final full time season. He would not run another ARCA race for just under six years after this one. 32. SweetRich posted: 02.20.2020 - 1:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Commentators For The Race Were Jerry Punch, Benny Parsons And Ray Dunlap. The Pit Road Reporters Were Bill Weber And Kyle Petty. 33. rm posted: 02.22.2020 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Among the unusual occurrences in this brutal race, something that hasn't been noted yet: under the caution for Jim Hurlbert cutting a tire (& subsequently blowing an engine trying to limp back to the pits) while relief driving for Curt Piercy, a cleanup/safety truck got stuck in the muddy infield grass and needed to be pushed out. The safety team promptly drove the truck right back into the grass and unsurprisingly got stuck again. Out of all the drivers that didn't crash out in the race - a small list! - I'm shocked Jeff Jones was not among them. In his first ever race he was slow and all over the place and smacked the wall hard while he was about to be lapped at one point. Somehow he finished the race and only 11 laps down. And in the end, it's probably very fitting that the winner, Joe Bessey, was one of the drivers that was hardly mentioned more than in passing most of the day until he got to the lead. Bessey wasn't one of the fastest guys all race long, nor was he in the back or middle of the pack that was constantly crashing - he was just "there" and waiting to strike. 34. RaceFanX posted: 07.23.2020 - 9:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ron Burchette actually slowed down and managed to drive through the Big One at the start of the race. Unfortunately that's where his luck ran out as his older model Pontiac Grand Prix got wiped out in its infamous flip not long afterward. He retired from racing after that wild ride. 35. Danish_Pie posted: 02.13.2021 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No longer Rich Bickle's final ARCA start, as he came back to run at Daytona in 2021. 36. RaceFanX posted: 03.18.2021 - 2:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This win at Atlanta had to be a bit of redemption for Bessey. He ran the NASCAR Busch race here earlier in the season and finished last in that one after a brutal crash in the opening laps where he plowed into the infamous split in the backstretch infield wall head on at speed. His first race back at Atlanta since then ends in victory lane. I don't there there was anyone in this race who wasn't happy to see them tear up Atlanta and rebuilt it after the following spring. 37. rm posted: 03.19.2021 - 8:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 02 sponsor - Sheppard Motor Sales 06 sponsor - Nealco 07 sponsor - Frankie's Auto Parts 9 sponsor - Now Express 22 sponsor - JW Miller Land & Timber 48 sponsor - Reeves Head Service 65 sponsor - PTI Transport 73 sponsor - Thompson Drag Raceway 84 sponsor - 84 Lumber 90 sponsor - Spring Air Mattress Roger Blackstock may have owned his own ride in this one, he had previously run an Olds at the superspeedways a couple years prior to this. Not certain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: