{"id":3709,"date":"2018-09-24T20:29:32","date_gmt":"2018-09-24T20:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leithcars.com\/blogs\/1421\/?p=3709"},"modified":"2018-09-24T20:29:32","modified_gmt":"2018-09-24T20:29:32","slug":"taking-nascar-back-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/?p=3709","title":{"rendered":"Taking NASCAR Back to its Roots"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0vKptIuM6qI?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Part 1 of our Zero To 60TV NASCAR special on Timmy Hill and the #66 Toyota Camry.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3718\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3718\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3718 size-large\" title=\"2017 LeithCars.com Toyota Camry Race Car &amp; 1964 Dodge Coronet NASCAR Race Car\" src=\"#BLOGPATH#\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/2017-TOYOTA-CAMRY-LEITHCARSCOM-1964-DODGE-NASCAR-1024x536.png\" alt=\"2017 TOYOTA CAMRY NASCAR XFINITY SERIES CAR &amp; 1964 DODGE CORONET GRAND NATIONAL CUP CAR\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/2017-TOYOTA-CAMRY-LEITHCARSCOM-1964-DODGE-NASCAR-1024x536.png 1024w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/2017-TOYOTA-CAMRY-LEITHCARSCOM-1964-DODGE-NASCAR-300x157.png 300w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/2017-TOYOTA-CAMRY-LEITHCARSCOM-1964-DODGE-NASCAR-768x402.png 768w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/2017-TOYOTA-CAMRY-LEITHCARSCOM-1964-DODGE-NASCAR.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3718\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The LeithCars.com NASCAR Toyota Camry and a 53-year-old dirt track Dodge have more in common than you&#8217;d think.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The question I kept hearing during our LeithCars.com NASCAR unveiling at Leith Toyota, whether it be from customers, race fans or the Leith Toyota staff was, &#8220;Is that the <em>real <\/em>race car or a demo?&#8221;\u00a0 My reply was the same every time, &#8220;This is the <em>real<\/em> race car you&#8217;ll be seeing on Charlotte Motor Speedway&#8217;s new #ROVAL race course September 29th.\u00a0 And that tall guy over there in the green shirt is the driver, Timmy Hill.&#8221;\u00a0 But let&#8217;s back up first.\u00a0 How did<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong> <a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"#WEBSITEURL#\/nascar-the-drive-for-the-cure-200.html\">LeithCars.com<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>get to be a sponsor of a NASCAR race car and who is the elderly gentleman signing autographs with Timmy? Well, the story goes like this&#8230;<!--more--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3716\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3716\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3716\" src=\"#BLOGPATH#\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TIMMY-HILL-GENE-HOBBY-BIO-CARD-LEITHCARS.COM-BLOG-1024x536.png\" alt=\"Comparing notes, old school NASCAR meets new school NASCAR\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TIMMY-HILL-GENE-HOBBY-BIO-CARD-LEITHCARS.COM-BLOG-1024x536.png 1024w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TIMMY-HILL-GENE-HOBBY-BIO-CARD-LEITHCARS.COM-BLOG-300x157.png 300w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TIMMY-HILL-GENE-HOBBY-BIO-CARD-LEITHCARS.COM-BLOG-768x402.png 768w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TIMMY-HILL-GENE-HOBBY-BIO-CARD-LEITHCARS.COM-BLOG.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3716\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Old School NASCAR driver Gene Hobby (right), meets new school driver Timmy Hill (left).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One morning in early August, our marketing boss walked into the <a href=\"#BLOGPATH#\/\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Zero To 60<\/span> <\/strong><\/a>corner of the office, (where we&#8217;re constantly working on ideas for our next cool automotive project) and asked us, &#8220;We have the opportunity to sponsor a NASCAR race car.\u00a0 What do you think?&#8221;\u00a0 Zero pause. &#8220;YES!&#8221;\u00a0 Now, I won&#8217;t go into the nitty gritty of what went down leading up to that moment, or the initial phone conversations we had with MBM Motorsports (the race team we&#8217;re sponsoring).\u00a0 Suffice it to say that we were determined to make a big impact on race day, September 29th, 2018 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first ever road course\/oval race (ROVAL) and the clock was ticking &#8211; 59 days to race day.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3712\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3712\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3712\" src=\"#BLOGPATH#\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Gene-Hobby-Racing-History-1-1024x536.png\" alt=\"Legends of NASCAR at Occoneechee Speedway\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Gene-Hobby-Racing-History-1-1024x536.png 1024w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Gene-Hobby-Racing-History-1-300x157.png 300w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Gene-Hobby-Racing-History-1-768x402.png 768w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Gene-Hobby-Racing-History-1.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3712\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Racing against NASCAR legends at Occoneechee Speedway in 1964 and surviving a terrible crash in 1965.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Timmy Hill, an up and coming NASCAR racer in his mid-twenties would be our driver.\u00a0 Timmy was the 2011 Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, so the man knows what he&#8217;s doing.\u00a0 &#8220;He&#8217;ll be driving a Toyota in the Xfinity Series race,&#8221; we were told by his race team, &#8220;and his car number is 66.&#8221;\u00a0 At that moment, a bright light filled the room.\u00a0 It was the light bulb beaming over the head of our boss.\u00a0 This happens often so we weren&#8217;t startled.\u00a0 He said, &#8220;We just did that great video story with <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Bt8C8oM1PIs&amp;index=3&amp;list=PLE7Hk3R9rCbciDq_lHfgMxWV1eHQJVsfu\"><strong>Our State Magazine<\/strong><\/a> <\/span>about historic Occoneechee Speedway and one of the local drivers from the 1960s. I wonder if we could make Timmy&#8217;s car into sort of a tribute to the driver we featured, Gene Hobby.&#8221; And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why he&#8217;s the boss.\u00a0 What an awesome idea.\u00a0 There are so many tie-ins, and he&#8217;s got a great story.\u00a0 And what is NASCAR without a few great stories, right?<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3736\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3736\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3736\" src=\"#BLOGPATH#\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LEITHCARS.COM-TRIBUTE-TO-GENE-HOBBY-1024x536.png\" alt=\"Paying tribute to a local stock car legend and friend, Gene Hobby, on the #66 LeithCars.com Toyota Camry.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LEITHCARS.COM-TRIBUTE-TO-GENE-HOBBY-1024x536.png 1024w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LEITHCARS.COM-TRIBUTE-TO-GENE-HOBBY-300x157.png 300w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LEITHCARS.COM-TRIBUTE-TO-GENE-HOBBY-768x402.png 768w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/LEITHCARS.COM-TRIBUTE-TO-GENE-HOBBY.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3736\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paying tribute to a local stock car legend and friend, Gene Hobby, on the #66 LeithCars.com Toyota Camry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now let&#8217;s break down how LeithCars.com is taking NASCAR back to its roots with our first ever race car sponsorship.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Historic Race Track:<\/strong>\u00a0Occoneechee\/Orange Speedway came to life as the brainchild of Bill France Sr., founder of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) while he was looking for race track sites to launch his new racing league. He bought a horse track from a landowner in Orange County in 1947, expanded its length to accommodate race cars and Occoneechee Speedway opened as one of the original NASCAR speedways during the inaugural season of 1949.\u00a0 The track remained a .9 mile dirt track for its lifespan, which ended in 1968 with the opening of NASCAR&#8217;s superspeedway at Talladega, Alabama a year later. Today, the remains of the race track are on the National Register of Historic Places. The property also serves as a nature walking trail.<\/p>\n<p><strong>An<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Old School NASCAR\u00a0Driver:<\/strong>\u00a0In the mid-1960s, Gene Hobby, a former United States Marine with a passion for automobile racing, decided he would give stock car racing a go by building a car to race in the NASCAR Grand National Cup Series (known today as the Monster Energy Cup Series).\u00a0 All it took to race back in those rough and tumble days was a car (which he bought at a local Dodge dealer), a couple of mechanics, a sponsor &#8211; M.E. Whitmore, Inc. of Henderson, and a heaping dose of courage.\u00a0 Gene&#8217;s sky blue #99 Dodge Coronet had a fabricated roll cage installed and lap belt across the driver&#8217;s seat. Gene also wore a metallic blue motorcycle helmet with goggles as his safety gear.\u00a0 That was it.\u00a0 Oh, and I should note that Occoneechee Speedway in those days had no guardrails, just some chicken wire fencing. If you and your car went up and over the dirt banking, you ended up in the woods.\u00a0 During a race in 1965, a year before he would retire from Cup racing, Gene Hobby&#8217;s Dodge went end over end during a terrible\u00a0race day crash.\u00a0 Luckily for Gene, he had the addition of a shoulder harness in his car that year and his blue motorcycle helmet.\u00a0 They saved his life.<\/p>\n<p><strong>An Underdog Driver: <\/strong>Timmy Hill has been racing since he was twelve, thanks to a go-kart given to him by his race car driving Dad.\u00a0 He racked up an amazing 80 wins in KART including\u00a0two World Karting Association championships beginning in 2005.\u00a0 After mastering each challenging level of motorsports by progressing to a larger race car as he moved up the ladder, Hill made it to the NASCAR Nationwide Series.\u00a0 He ran a full schedule in 2011 and became the youngest NASCAR Rookie of the Year at age 18.\u00a0 Timmy made his first Cup start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2012 and joined MBM Motorsports last year.\u00a0 He regularly competes in NASCAR&#8217;s Xfinity Series, Monster Energy Cup Series, and Camping World Truck Series.\u00a0 He&#8217;s also a super friendly guy who, as I was told by the team&#8217;s promoter, is &#8220;one of the most followed underdog drivers in NASCAR.&#8221;\u00a0 \u00a0Timmy was great with the fans who came to see him and the LeithCars.com #66 Toyota Camry at our unveiling event September 18th at Leith Toyota in Raleigh.\u00a0 Timmy also hit it off with Gene Hobby, our honorary guest at the event.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3715\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3715\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3715\" src=\"#BLOGPATH#\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TEAM-LEITH-1024x536.png\" alt=\"LeithCars.com Toyota Camry unveiling\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TEAM-LEITH-1024x536.png 1024w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TEAM-LEITH-300x157.png 300w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TEAM-LEITH-768x402.png 768w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TEAM-LEITH-1536x804.png 1536w, http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/TEAM-LEITH.png 1696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3715\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Unveiling the #66 LeithCars.com Toyota Camry, September 18th at Leith Toyota in Raleigh, N.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now, are you ready to make NASCAR racing history with us?\u00a0 Just follow the LeithCars.com team on social media September 29th (<strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LeithCars\/\">@leithcars<\/a><\/span><\/strong>) for the first-ever #ROVAL NASCAR race.\u00a0 We&#8217;ll have videos and more posted before, during and after the event.\u00a0 If you&#8217;d like to learn more about the all-new 2018 Toyota Camry, (our race car is based on the 2017 design), go to\u00a0<b><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leithtoyota.com\/2018-toyota-camry-raleigh-nc.html\">LeithToyota.com<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/b>or just visit them at 8005 Capital Blvd. Raleigh. N.C.\u00a0\u00a0Their Camrys aren&#8217;t quite NASCAR-ready, but in their defense, at least they&#8217;re street legal.<\/p>\n<p>Written by Mark Arsen for\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"#WEBSITEURL#\/\">LeithCars.com<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Part 1 of our Zero To 60TV NASCAR special on Timmy Hill and the #66 Toyota Camry. &nbsp; &nbsp; The question I kept hearing during our LeithCars.com NASCAR unveiling at Leith Toyota, whether it be from customers, race fans or the Leith Toyota staff was, &#8220;Is that the real race car or a demo?&#8221;\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,4,12,14,20,23,1,31,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-automotive","category-cars","category-classics","category-events","category-lifestyle","category-news","category-uncategorized","category-videos","category-zero-to-60"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.leithcars.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}