YearOne car displayed in racing hall of fame
BY BRANDON REED
A piece of Braselton racing history is now on display at the home for Georgia’s auto racing history.
On Feb. 29, YearOne of Braselton delivered their NASCAR Winston Cup racer to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville to go on long-term display in the birthplace of American stock car racing.
The car, a 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo, was last raced by Pennsylvania’s Andy Belmont in a qualifying race for the Daytona 500 in 2006.
The car is still in virtually the same condition as it was when it was loaded up on the truck on February 16, 2006. The paint on the front shows wear from traveling behind other cars in a pack. The back bumper shows where someone had attempted to “bump draft” Belmont during the event. The NASCAR inspection sticker remains on the windshield. Even the strips of tape are still at the bottom of the doors to indicate where the jack needed to be placed during pit stops.
“We’re honored to be a part of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame, and have our Daytona qualifying attempt put on display there,” said YearOne president Kevin King.
The car has an interesting history. According to King, his company’s involvement came in 2005, when 1990 Daytona 500 champion Derrike Cope contacted him. Cope had built a Chevy Monte Carlo for a try at the Daytona 500 field. He told King that if he would help him to purchase an engine from Morgan-McClure Racing, he would put YearOne’s logos on the car. King agreed, and Cope and Year One made a run at the “Great American Race.”
Cope’s attempt fell short, as he finished 14th in his qualifying race for the 500. But YearOne had gotten a lot of attention for their part in the effort, and King decided to buy the car.
The following year, Year One was contacted by Belmont to again try to make the 500. This time, the car was painted a hot rod orange with black accents, and looked to have a good shot at making the race.
But a flat tire put Belmont a lap down, and the team came home in 24th position.
Since then, the car hadn’t seen a lot of action. That is, until last month.
After being contacted by a representative of the Hall of Fame, YearOne agreed to put the car on display at the hall as part of their collection of cars, which includes Bill Elliott’s championship winning 1988 Thunderbird, and Gober Sosebee’s 1939 Ford modified, which won three times on the old beach road course at Daytona.
“Most people don’t realize how deep NASCAR’s roots are here in Georgia,” said YearOne’s Brad Ocock. “Even though a lot has changed since just about anybody with a hot-rodded Flathead could compete, we showed that ‘a little guy’ from a small Georgia town can still make an attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500.”
But the YearOne folks had an added surprise for the Hall of Fame. On the day of the delivery, they asked if they could also display one of their famous hot rods, a metallic blue 1966 Ford Mustang, known as the “Boss Hoss,” at the hall. The “Boss Hoss” was built in 2004 to coincide with the release of YearOne’s classic Mustang catalog, and is powered by a 2003 Mustang Cobra supercharged 4.6 liter V8.
For both Year One and the Hall of Fame, it was seen as a win-win situation.
“We’re really excited to have our project cars and company hot rods on display there,” King said. “It gives us a chance to show the automotive hobby is still a big part of Georgia.”
“We’re so glad to have the folks at Year One here at the hall of fame,” said Hall of Fame president Annie Dean Samples. “Our displays at the Hall of Fame are always growing and changing. We are extremely proud to have the YearOne race car and show car here as a part of that.”
