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This photo of Steve Bagwell's SS/EA Hemi Cuda ragtop was taken at the NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville, Florida. It was driven by Terry Earwood and later that year he won Super Stock at Indy (1973). -- Joe Juhan
May, 2002 -- WoW!! Big story behing this picture!
This was the 'debut' of the new $5000 paint job, a lot of $ for 1973.
And my first trip back to Gainesville since I had left there as track manager the previous December...so I wanted to do well...
This was qualifying only, off of the National Records...and thru Saturday morning, we were well into the field...so I began preparing for Sunday's eliminations...the wind had really come up (a huge weather front coming thru), so we built a little 'shelter' around the car (blankets) as I pulled the car up on the ramps of Bagwell's Dodge Ramp truck. This was to keep the dust out while I began checking the bearings (a new-engine ritual Tanner had instilled in me) And the Hemi oil pan was no walk-in-the-park...the tie rod ran thru a tunnel in the pan, hence had to be removed...anyway, I'm laying under the car, trying to keep the Florida sand out of my hair, and the bearings...and I can hear the PA calling out some pretty fast times...the front has dropped the temperature and humidity and the air had gotten record-run quality...and I'm in the process of getting bumped from the field!! Talk about a frantic thrash to put the car back together!!...In the mean time, and remember, this was before 'run cards', or any kind of logical qualifying order, they run a round of top fuel, and, I think it was Karamasines, has a huge crash and takes out some guard rail and the lites at the top end...huge down time for repairs, which, I'm thinking, now gives me a little 'breathing' room to finish the Hemi. Finally get in staging about 4 o'clock...and the weather has gone from Spring back to Winter, and I know we're about to get back in the program in a big way...
And that's one unique aspect about auto racing that I don't think you can find in any other sport...the highs are so high and the lows are so low, and no other sport can swing you from one to other quicker...we're sitting here in staging needing one run to 'shine' for our (fairly) new employer and in front of all our Gainesville buddies...and they close off Super Stock due to 'time constraints'...the repairs take so long they decide to run a round of Pro, no Sportsman, even tho Gainesville has lites...
Talk about a heartbreaker...plus, knowing had I made every round, instead of checking bearings, I woulda been in....a valuable lesson I never forgot, never miss a lap!!!
But I didn't give up entirely.
On Sunday morning, I went to see my old boss Jim Raulerson, who had built the track...and, since we had a convertible...offered my 'services' for the opening 'parade'.
Alex Bowers and I finally got the top down (for some reason the electrics and hydraullics weren't working) and, with the Mayor of Gainesville sitting on the back, (I was hoping Miss Gainesville) we went down the track on Sunday, albeit the slowest I've ever been, showing off our new Bagwell Hemi Cuda and her $ 5K paint job...
And, to my knowledge, this is the only picture of it with her 'top down'...
We had gotten 'out-shuffled' for class at Pomona and didn't even qualify for Gainesville... a terrible start to our new season/career...who woulda known we'd not only win class at Indy that year, but the whole Super Stock title...getting back to my 'highs and lows' statement...
Thanks so much for the pic, thanks to the Juhans. -- Terry Earwood
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