I was told to get all the cars painted and ready to race by Charlotte. Around Labor Day Robert and Jimmy Gee were looking out the door. Earnhardt showed up with a new Browning pump and a case of shells, RG was gone dove hunting. We had two cars in primer that belonged to Robert Harrington. By mid-September all the Gee’s left the plantation, I finished the cars for the last few races, as we headed to Charlotte. After the apology meeting, I was called in was given $1,500. Buddy told me great job, said he was informed I was going to Curb, good luck thanks for everything. I was ready for something different but didn’t know what. I shot by Mike Beam’s place, he said that once the King left for home, Curb was going to let him hire me, but that was a few weeks out. Hutcherson Pagan was in the building season, the Buick and Olds teams were getting new bodies that needed new chassis, I stopped in, Ron Hutcherson put me to work. I was hired to do bodywork, but their part time Bondo boy had a fit. There were 15 cars in the loop, I was put thru the strongest race car manufacturing school available according to Dick Hutcherson. I learned a ton, coming from my dad’s shop where we were experts in major structural repair, I understood the game. Dick’s manufacturing process was the second generation of Holman Moody. His chassis builders were great fabricators, but everyone had personal challenges, I found myself working, and learning in a shop full of hand grenades. The start time was 7a.m., with Shayla I told Ron the situation he gave me until 8 am this pulled the pin on a few of the chemical dependent employees. I was building dashes, firewalls, firewall ends, tunnels, rear sheet metal, battery boxes, wheel tubs, 20 at a time. Everything in Hutch’s shop was 20 years old, bought used in 1975 when him and Eddie started. You learned to perfect the bead rolling process hand powered and driving too. Fitting roll bars was a crazy learning curve seeing guys fitting tubes with a band saw and compound snips. I was told that 1 out of 10 could do it, John Anderson told me I had the gift. I studied the process, the jigs, the fixtures, placing the floors, tunnels, firewalls, rear wheel tubs, battery boxes, the overall process was eye opening. Hutch’s product was consistent, 1 out of 10 cars was challenged, those went to folks that Dick felt were not worthy of his best product. As we creeped around to Thanksgiving Dave Roberts was dialing in Buddy’s Daytona Car, Reid Padget was finishing A.J.’s Olds. I had spent a few weekends doing crush panels and ductwork for David. The two cars were night and day different. Foyt’s ride had 20 gallons of Bondo, metalwork was ruff at best. Randy Stewart was finishing the trim work struggling with the windshield, I showed him how we fitted Buddy’s so the bed wouldn’t crack the cut glass windshield. My autobody history kicked in. I didn’t realize that the privileged position I found myself in was a deal breaker in NASCAR. As I perfected my skills, Ron Hutcherson explained the overall plan to expand into the parts business, again I had a little history in the parts business, their biggest issue was the buy in that everybody required, Dick managed the parts at Holman Moody, but 90% of the components were manufactured in house and funded by Ford. In 1985 Dick couldn’t pull off a machining and casting operation compared to Ford. Dick told me Eddie and himself were told by Holman that he was buying Moody out, Ford was going to auction off the leftovers, if they needed it to get what they wanted. They basically took 20 cars worth of parts as severance for their intellectual investment in HM. Buying parts at jobber in 1985 was challenging their profit margin. In a quick review of inventory, Dick challenged Ron on the parts, with Olds in their pocket, they had a taste of the profit from selling parts, I speculated a play I had seen in construction, I told Ron he needed to leverage one of the big teams building all new cars giving them a better than average price cut to buy product up front, Stavola Bros was their Huckleberry. A couple more weeks went by, Ron Puyear was looking for fabricators at Stavola Brothers Bobby Allison Team, Mike Beam told Wayne Bumgarner he wanted to hire me. Ron called me for an interview, we talked for a minute. Dick got wind and told Puryear if he hired one of his crew, he wouldn’t get one chassis before Daytona. The offer was pulled before I could interview. Randy Stewart told Dick and Ron I was working for Baker on the weekends. This set Dick off, he didn’t want Baker’s crowd snaking his aero prowess. He called me in the office, he started off that he was disappointed I was looking for a team job. He asked if I wasn’t happy making $15 per hour. I told him I appreciated him giving me a place to perfect my craft, that mass production of racing cars was something I needed to be a better fabricator. I told him I also learned a lot about racing employees, how to surround yourself with great players and how to real in eccentric artists and contain their imagination. I also added to my knowledge of the racing parts jobber to master warehouse profit structures. I also confirmed in my mind the level of profitability of owning good equipment and wasted time using outdated equipment. After my little speech he asked if I saw the conflict of interest working on Baker’s car then Foyt’s, I told him that his ride was totally different than Buddy’s the whole train of thought between the two couldn’t be compared, that my involvement in both had nothing to do with anything trick, Baker’s was all crush panels and Foyt’s was building a windshield. Minimal tasks at best. He told me that my observation of the whole facility was troubling to him with me looking for a job. That he felt that $600 per week was sufficient to demand loyalty for his intellectual property. I told him that that the skills and knowledge I learned associated with operation made me worth $800 per week in the marketplace because that’s what I was offered. I assured him that his intellectual property was safe because as cutting edge as his process was in the 70’s it was 1985 and the industry was moving away from the exact process model he and even Banjo Matthews embraced as written in stone. I added the parts deal would extend his income margin greatly because of the efficiency of selling a part vs building that part in a dated facility that has dated equipment. He said, “you know I am firing you”. I told Dick I figured as much, but the lesson learn was worth the time spent, I walked into a spot that was a center of NASCAR history, met and saw the dudes that to me only existed in pictures in racing mags till then. I got to work with talent that made me a better fabricator and experienced another challenged way to do business. I told him Thank You, my exposure to your facility increased my value greatly. As I left his office he said, “I feel like I was the one fired!” As I walked out that chapter closed but it was critical in all my decisions going forward. On the way back to Kannapolis, I stopped by Mike Beam’s told him I had an interview with Wayne Bumgarner, he said oh hell no you’re working for me, you start Monday after Thanksgiving, December 2nd. Contract labor $600 per week. I walked over to Nancy Clark’s to pick up Shayla, Nancy said “Boobie has a deal and wants to talk to you about a job.” I got home and a dude from Stavola Bros wanted to hire me for Bobby Hillen’s Team, not Bobby Allison’s that I already had an interview with. I spoke with David, he said Buddy realized that I was painting the cars and wanted to talk, my choice was by far Curb Motorsports, the next adventure starts when the Riverside bunch gets home and Richard heads back to Level Cross.
