Jimmy Means NASCAR Cheating Stories: UP CLOSE Adjustable Spoiler & Illegal "Slider" Intake Manifold

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  • Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
  • Back in the Golden Era of NASCAR there were a handful of "independents" owning and driving their own cars. Jimmy Means was one of these underfunded gladiators competing with the big teams. Sometimes Jimmy would have to get a little creative once Daytona 500 qualifying rolled around just to make the race. He built an adjustable spoiler mechanism into the decklid and still has it! At the same time he spent a lot of time figuring out how to optimize airflow with restrictor plate engines. Jimmy is a wealth of knowledge and even shares a few more stories he'd heard or witnessed over the years. If you like this video you'd like the full shop tour with Jimmy and his classic hauler AND FULL SHOP TOUR video too!
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 708

  • @Stapleton42
    @Stapleton42  Рік тому +101

    Went to Jimmy's to film a video about his shop (he's been in the same spot for 40 years) and he started pulling out all this stuff 😂
    Check out Jimmy's time capsule 1970s race car hauler! ua-cam.com/video/j5JzhyDKW1o/v-deo.html
    FULL SHOP TOUR VIDEO: ua-cam.com/video/KzmAejDcasA/v-deo.html
    If you like the hoodie I'm wearing you can find it at stapletonautoworks.com

  • @travisdeanministries136
    @travisdeanministries136 Рік тому +452

    What you are doing with these videos is a service to NASCAR and fans alike. Once these guys have passed, their knowledge and memories of the past goes with them. Hearing them firsthand is a treasure.

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +32

      Thanks Travis. I’m blessed to be able to do both provide a service and enjoy it first hand

    • @des782
      @des782 Рік тому +3

      Why ?
      They are cheats
      How about racing without illegal modifications

    • @johncarter1137
      @johncarter1137 Рік тому +26

      @@des782 You're dreaming. In racing, everybody does things to get an edge from the lowest classes on up. That's just a fact of life and if you think about it that stuff is a competition in its self.

    • @shanew.williams
      @shanew.williams Рік тому +6

      Absolutely true,Travis Dean Ministries. These interviews are verification of facts. Sadly,each time one of the greats passes,out comes the "revisionist history" tellers. Folks who weren't even around then but will call you a liar (online) because you actually "were there."

    • @anthonygibbo1881
      @anthonygibbo1881 Рік тому +6

      @des782 because most racers were doing it it's done and love it or hate it it's part of a rich history of NASCAR and now we can look back and laugh every driver/team was trying to win at any cost and with teams with bigger budgets they would inevitably do better than the guys on a shoestring budget so they had to try something, that's just my thoughts I'm not saying it was wrong or right but it was fkn exciting

  • @charlieromeo7663
    @charlieromeo7663 Рік тому +215

    I could listen to old NASCAR cheatin’ stories all day long.

    • @Longsnowsm
      @Longsnowsm Рік тому +3

      If NASCAR would just get out of the way and regulating everything to death there would be no reason to have to cheat. Would love to see actual stock cars racing again and not this roll cage template with stickers nonsense. I stopped watching a long time ago and won't be back. NASCAR is too far gone. Cheatin stories indeed!

    • @charlieromeo7663
      @charlieromeo7663 Рік тому +2

      @@Longsnowsm I beg to differ. There weren’t many “regulations” or rules back in the 60s and 70s, yet cheating was more rampant than today. I agree, NASCAR has lost it’s shine these days, but I think their biggest issue is getting the young folks involved. It’s a common theme across all major sports with a possible exception being American football. It’s largely an attention-span problem. Baseball is too slow for the instant gratification people of today. Soccer is constant action. It’s the way of the world and we are slowly getting on board. I’m a drag racer at heart and raced twice a month for nearly 12 years. It hurts to see the low attendance at national NHRA events. They way it’s going, I’d bet the NHRA as we know it won’t exist in 10 years.

    • @Longsnowsm
      @Longsnowsm Рік тому

      @@charlieromeo7663 If NASCAR does not get back to it's roots of stock cars and this massive over regulation and political correctness BS it is finished. You are not going to attract young people unless they identify with the cars and drivers on the track. No one identifies this roll cage, template with stickers as a car people can buy. Race fans typically are car people. The stuff running on the tracks should be something people can buy, modify, and build. That bridge is gone. Keep the regulations minimal and run stock cars. What wins on Sunday will sell on Monday. Cheating? Whatever, That is part of the game. Just do our best to keep it honest and let them race. Young people are not going to watch this stuff because it has no connection to them or anything that inspires them. It isn't that young people aren't interested in cars and racing. The are just taking it to the streets and no longer identify with the sterilized corporation called NASCAR. I don't blame them, I can't stand to watch it and I love racing. I quit watching a long time back now and glad I freed up my Sunday afternoon to get things done. This channel reminds me of when there was actual racing, but you can see the slow morphing of NASCAR into the dead lifeless thing it is today. It is sad.

    • @LeeePowers
      @LeeePowers Рік тому +2

      Cheatin stories from any racing discipline,really.
      I love hearing how the know they cheating,and how to get around it.
      Someone could literally make a "Racing Cheaters Only" channel.

    • @charlieromeo965
      @charlieromeo965 Рік тому +1

      @@LeeePowers His record leaves a lot to be desired. Apparently his cheating ability is equal to his driving

  • @psinclairjr
    @psinclairjr Рік тому +116

    Jimmy Means is a legend of nascar. He represents what I miss about racing, built his cars, independent driver, friendly as hell. Thank you Logan and Mitchell, you keep outdoing yourselves!

  • @nascarmanHistory
    @nascarmanHistory Рік тому +137

    Stories like this are what make NASCAR so great. You do a little cheating in other sports, and people act like it's an attack on the entire sport. We LOVE cheating stories, part of the culture of competition

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +20

      So true. I guess with stick and ball stuff it's not as comparable because the building of the equipment as an aspect of the competition in itself is nonexistent. Racing has so many more facets than typical sports and that is why I love it. It is so much more intellectual than anything else and ill argue that until I'm blue in the face

    • @johnduncanjr186
      @johnduncanjr186 Рік тому +25

      Cheating is such a ugly term. I prefer to call the way we did in the 60’s and 70’s creative rule interpretation. Lol 🙄😎

    • @castelnausci7315
      @castelnausci7315 Рік тому +15

      It's not cheating if you don't get caught. Jimmy Means was a genius

    • @claudemcwhorter
      @claudemcwhorter Рік тому +9

      Somebody said, " If you ain.t cheatin, you ain't tryin !!

    • @claudemcwhorter
      @claudemcwhorter Рік тому

      @@Stapleton42 I searched your video library and couldn't find a video on Jimmy's 1982 Race Shop. Do you have a video on that ? Thanks so much for this one !!

  • @motorcoachtech7615
    @motorcoachtech7615 Рік тому +55

    I love these old ‘compromising to be competitive’ stories. Hope there is a part 2. We need to hear more from Jimmy.

    • @castelnausci7315
      @castelnausci7315 Рік тому +8

      Part 2 part 3 part 4. I want more

    • @robertfrancis6967
      @robertfrancis6967 Рік тому +6

      All the old guys talk about it Dale Jr. Talking with DW if you ain't cheating you ain't trying. Putting the led shot in the frames with wax plugs to make weight. As I was writing he was talking about it n the water tire lol

  • @mikemaccracken3112
    @mikemaccracken3112 Рік тому +41

    What a creative thinker. Dale Jr loves Jimmy and now I see why. Thanks for the video Mitchell it is great that you are documenting these events that took place over the years in Nascar.

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +4

      Thank you for being here Mike!

    • @williamwalker5904
      @williamwalker5904 Рік тому +4

      Jimmy and Dale Sr. was great friends. That's why Jr. likes him so good.

    • @claudemcwhorter
      @claudemcwhorter Рік тому

      @@williamwalker5904 You may know Jimmy's son Brad hung out with Dale Jr. when they were about 10 or 12, they became B.F.'s

  • @andrewwagner7992
    @andrewwagner7992 Рік тому +16

    I love these. Like Andy Petree told Dale Jr. and Mike, "If you built a car by the rule book, you wouldn't even know where they went."

  • @iancatt5915
    @iancatt5915 Рік тому +81

    My old shop teacher won a lawn mower race. He made a statement to the local paper and his quote was "the winner is the person who cheated the most and didn't get caught". Hilarious

    • @slimbrady6691
      @slimbrady6691 Рік тому +4

      My dad's saying has always been "it ain't cheating till you get caught." Coincidentally, my dad also raced lawnmowers back in the day.

    • @r.peters4314
      @r.peters4314 Рік тому +1

      @@SamMaciel❤

    • @r.peters4314
      @r.peters4314 Рік тому +1

      @@SamMaciel🎉 17:49

  • @6percentrecycled
    @6percentrecycled Рік тому +21

    It was great to meet you both at PRI on Saturday. Thank you for taking a few minutes to talk with me and it was nice to tell you both in person about my new project for my channel. I've already got some companies lined up for that project in Jan of 2023.

  • @PierreVonZeus
    @PierreVonZeus Рік тому +27

    This is amazing! Jimmy is the true embodiment of a underdog racer with grit. A lot of innovative parts to stay competitive during one of the toughest eras in NASCAR competition. Can’t wait for his shop tour video!

  • @mikejohns3104
    @mikejohns3104 Рік тому +10

    We need to know more about this. You are barely scratching the surface. This guy seems so solid.

  • @PiDsPagePrototypes
    @PiDsPagePrototypes Рік тому +3

    Put it in a museum? That would be the 'Smokey Yunick Creative Rule Interpretations Museum' :D

  • @richskater
    @richskater Рік тому +20

    My dad has a good cheating story from his days in SCCA. Cars were supposed to be 4 speed, but they had a trick shift pattern to get into a 5th gear. Completely dominated, officials were counting the shifts, could clearly hear 5. In tech they tried everything to find the 5th gear, but could only get 4 and reverse. Audio evidence wasn't enough for a DQ, and they took the W.

  • @joehoulihan5305
    @joehoulihan5305 Рік тому +27

    Guys! Jimmy Means! Ha! AWESOME!! You know Dale Jr. Is going to be watching this! Fan Boying out! I am so excited! So excited for you guys and can’t wait to see it! Thank you!

  • @bobshetlerxr400
    @bobshetlerxr400 Рік тому +36

    Simply amazing.
    He is a true gem in the NASCAR world!
    Keep the stories coming.

  • @RobJaskula
    @RobJaskula Рік тому +32

    I'm not a NASCAR guy but I absolutely love how in every one of these videos the guys are so proud of their ingenuity in cheating. Amuses me to no end to hear these stories 👍

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +4

      Thanks man we’re glad you’re here

    • @Scoots1994
      @Scoots1994 Рік тому +7

      The funny thing about it to me is that this same stuff was happening in every race series around the globe, but only NASCAR guys are proud and open about it. F1 cheats still deny all of it. (and to be clear I LOVE the innovative engineering and just consider it trying hard to win)

    • @RobJaskula
      @RobJaskula Рік тому +3

      @@Scoots1994 yep, exactly! You also hit the nail on the head as to why my interest in IndyCar is waning, what with their vintage cars and lack of engineering development

    • @jondoe4667
      @jondoe4667 Рік тому +1

      A lot of these ideas aren't technically cheating until they make a rule against the specific thing.

    • @Scoots1994
      @Scoots1994 Рік тому

      @@jondoe4667 it's more a spirit of the rule thing

  • @othrbro52
    @othrbro52 Рік тому +5

    I grew up watching Jimmy at Huntsville and Birmingham running Sportsman 65 chevelle, that was late 60’s and 70’s. Stands were packed and so was the field. Hell, I’m old. The competition was fierce. Alton Jones my favorite, Neil Bonnett, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Red Farmer, and lots more. “ Little “ Jimmy Means is what he was called

  • @coletrickle1775
    @coletrickle1775 Рік тому +11

    "If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying"
    I won two track championships thanks to my fluidless converter I devised for my 2 speed powerglide. Racing is part winning on track and part winning in your garage.

  • @bigginsyfz
    @bigginsyfz Рік тому +11

    This is a man that has forgotten more about engines and racing than most people will ever know

  • @_Outlaw769_
    @_Outlaw769_ Рік тому +10

    I watch all your videos and when these old cats start grabbing items off a shelf or out of a dusty old box and get excited because that's where all the good stuff is. I also think about that might be the last time they ever touch that again. Keep up the great work. Your hard work does not go unnoticed.

  • @RCFlyBy911
    @RCFlyBy911 Рік тому +4

    Jimmy gave me the 👍🏼’s up at pocono right after a wreck that happened at the inside wall ! I was standing alone with my can of BUDWEISER! Dude tore up the 52 and still had good spirits 💪🏼 MEANS IS A CLASS ACT ,,,ONE OF THE GOOD OL GUYS OF NASCAR ! I Miss the 52 JIMMY ‼️

  • @DewkChronic
    @DewkChronic Рік тому +4

    Dale jr and Brad Means use to 'fined' stuff for Jimmy. box of plugs or stuff like that from sponsors when they use to run around the garage area.

  • @matttownsend3069
    @matttownsend3069 Рік тому +11

    Another great video showing the secrets of how the guys made extra speed back in the day. Thanks to you and Jimmy as well for letting us in on how it was done!!

  • @benhampton9593
    @benhampton9593 Рік тому +4

    I remember the time jimmy drove a Hendrick car at charlotte. Always thought he needed 2 to 3 more races and look out. For what he had. He was the man. Lots of respect. Awesome video again.

  • @Cadzan
    @Cadzan Рік тому +6

    Like so many of his generation Jimmy will lull you to sleep meanwhile he's out thinking you and out engineering you. He has also helped so many young drivers gain a foothold in the sport and they often think that many of them forget to thank him publicly for everything that he has done.

  • @richardwilson9560
    @richardwilson9560 9 місяців тому +2

    When Jimmy raced in Huntsville Alabama in the early 70’s his race shop was next door to my dad’s shop who was a painting contractor! Every time I went to my dad’s shop with him I would hope Jimmy would be there and on a couple occasions I got to go in and look at his cars! He was so nice and friendly and would show me the cars! One of my best memories because I was a big race fan as a kid and use to race quarter midgets myself! I’m 63 now ! Jimmy was top dog at Huntsville speedway back then!

  • @JacksonD489
    @JacksonD489 Рік тому +2

    Man, I loved that baby blue Alka-Seltzer car! I rooted for Jimmy all day at Bristol just because I liked the look of his car… I think he was running white wheels on it that day. I needed a few Alka-Seltzers the next day…

  • @jamesupton143
    @jamesupton143 Рік тому +3

    Thanks for letting us have a glimpse into Jimmy's shop. He's a home town hero here in Forest City, NC.

  • @joebufford2972
    @joebufford2972 Рік тому +3

    And this just was how it was just like the moonshiners running product. They had tricks to go fast and when had getting their product out there and winning is winning no matter what. I love it!

  • @timewithoutconsequence
    @timewithoutconsequence Рік тому +2

    The 52 powder blue racing champions, was my favorite!

  • @DARRENWALKERBIGD
    @DARRENWALKERBIGD Рік тому +5

    LMMFAO 🤣 I loved the whole transition from Did you ever cheat like that......"No, But what I did do was....."

  • @randalljames1
    @randalljames1 Рік тому +3

    great stories... I met a guy by the name of BV Alvarez (was a client of mine) that told me tons of these old stories... I really regret not writing them dow n...

  • @Hemifan4266
    @Hemifan4266 Рік тому +6

    Jimmy, you were always one of my favorites. The small guys were the real racers...

  • @moonshiner0197
    @moonshiner0197 Рік тому +8

    I had the privilege of talking to a guy who did a lot of stuff like this, at one point he was building cylinders of nitrous that fit in your pant leg for qualifying in nascar. He also hid a tank of nitrous in a removable seat for a Walker Evans stadium truck. But he had a bunch of storys like that but he had such a long winded way of telling storys, he would go off on someone elses life story and then about a half hour later we'd get back to the cool thing i wanted to hear about😂 SOOO much cool history if you can wade through all the junk nobody cares about

  • @johngilbert1047
    @johngilbert1047 Рік тому +2

    I met Jimmy Means in 2004 when I first went to work in the Busch Series. In 2005, I worked for Johnny Davis (drove the hauler) and we always parked our hauler near Jimmy’s in the garage (lined up by owner points). Great memories from that time…we were all like family. Sad to see Jimmy’s gout has gotten so bad. Working hard is all he’s known.

  • @timmurray7639
    @timmurray7639 Рік тому +12

    I have always heard everyone was cheating and if your not cheating your not trying. Seeing a video like this is just awesome

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +1

      Thanks Tim. It’s all true 😂

  • @SwayzeeBeats
    @SwayzeeBeats Рік тому +2

    You start to realize these people are the last of an era and a dying breed. These videos are all perfect timing

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +1

      Were out to capture the stories while they are still here!

  • @mikecernick5575
    @mikecernick5575 Рік тому +1

    I love how he wears a Pete Bicknell racing shirt . I watch Old Pete at my local dirt track on Saturday nights and his workmanship is very well known now in drag and circle track racing manufacturing small components

  • @douglasfrompa593
    @douglasfrompa593 Рік тому +5

    Over the years we in the racing community have occasionally seen a run of the mill car come out of a pit like they had added extra cylinders or something. Much faster, sometimes obviously so. Figured it was fuel additive, I see now that it could have been Hundreds of pounds taken off.
    Thanks for the insight.

  • @Graderman3587
    @Graderman3587 Рік тому +2

    I race dirt track super late models my deck lid has heavy springs attached,the faster you go the more it lay's down,I also strap a small NOS bottle to my leg with a quick connect line under my seat, long as there's racing there will be creativity 😎

  • @dougtaylor7724
    @dougtaylor7724 Рік тому +1

    I like the story some racer told me about putting pieces of coal in the rear springs. They go through tech and measure height. Somebody pushes down on the car before it goes on track and the coal breaks. The car and spoiler is now lower for qualifying.

  • @r1lark
    @r1lark Рік тому +8

    Wow, these NASCAR mechanics & crew chiefs were just plain innovators!! Great video, keep more of these interviews coming. This is info that needs to be recorded for sure! 👍

  • @budgina
    @budgina Рік тому +3

    I love it! What you are doing is preserving a time when computers didn't control the world and racing was about hard work, ingenuity, and dedication. Nascar has allowed foreign automakers into an American sport now. I refuse to take part. I am thankful for your work and historical documentation which reminds me of when watching Nascar was fun and exciting in the past! Not now. Thanks again.

  • @TN-Vols-Fan
    @TN-Vols-Fan Рік тому +3

    Thank you so much for these videos. NASCAR needs more Jimmy Means, JD McDuffie, Elmo Langley's. I'm afraid that the days of the independent, owner/driver are long gone.

  • @ban-0ne77
    @ban-0ne77 Рік тому

    That stuff should really be in a museum. The ingenuity, creativity and intelligence these fellas are is remarkable and should definitely be appreciated more

  • @chriscurry236
    @chriscurry236 Рік тому +4

    Jimmy Means!! Always was a fan of Jimmy's!! Did what he needed to do to race!! This man is a mechanical genius!!! A true Nascar LEGEND!!!!

  • @robertrogers9104
    @robertrogers9104 Рік тому +2

    Jimmy don't know if you remember me, however Benji and I helped you in Bristol back in '07 I believe. Had a great time Derek Cope drove the car. I really enjoyed hearing all of your race story's and memorabilia you had collected throughout the years.

  • @robertsanders7856
    @robertsanders7856 Рік тому +2

    My uncle worked on his pit crew and we went to Huntsville to visit. My brother and I cleaned wheels and helped in the shop for a day. Jimmy let us have wrecked fenders, timing chains and a practice tire of AJ Foyt. Jimmy would buy AJ's used practice tires. Nice guy and we had fun.

  • @RLRSwanson
    @RLRSwanson Рік тому +5

    I've heard about and even messed with a couple of much cruder (probably because we could get away with it, allegedly) ways of "drag reduction" with decklid spoilers and wings, but the winch is a first and a pretty cool one at that. Actually seeing examples of the ways people have come up with to mitigate air inlet restrictors is always a good time. Keep up the good work and keep doing these kinds of things. Like everyone says, once these guys are gone, all the stories will fade and things like the decklid and the intake manifold parts will be just old dusty crap in a corner to someone who doesn't know what they're looking at. I dunno, it probably wouldn't attract a huge crowd of visitors, but if someone were to gather up as much of this kind of stuff before it's gone forever to put on a display somewhere along with all the stories that go with them as a "Hall of creative rules interpretation", I'd definitely visit and I doubt I'd be the only weirdo who's interested.

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +1

      I’ll start my own museum someday

  • @Digger818
    @Digger818 Рік тому +4

    Gotta thank Jimmy for making NASCAR what I was. Without guys like him it would have been only 15 high dollar teams not filling the track. Legend.

  • @dansimpson6247
    @dansimpson6247 Рік тому +9

    More top shelf content! Thank you guys very much for having the initiative to go out and ask these legends of the sport to show us their stuff! This is truly T!Ts out of 10!

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +1

      Our pleasure! We appreciate you Dan

  • @floydfan5993
    @floydfan5993 Рік тому +4

    I think junior Johnson had Nascar officials baffled for many years, especially in the period that waltrip drove for him.

  • @claudemcwhorter
    @claudemcwhorter Рік тому +2

    " Jimmy Means" Making Nascar Great Again" ! If you look up the definition of "Fabricator" they got a picture of Jimmy Means. He just happens to be a HECK of a Driver too. Great human being

  • @shanemiller7697
    @shanemiller7697 Рік тому +8

    This guy was an auto racing genius thank you for posting

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +1

      youre welcome Shane we appreciate you!

  • @bennyhelgeson401
    @bennyhelgeson401 Рік тому +2

    I did not want this video to end. Can't get any better than your videos of old NASCAR. Please keep up great work. You consistently ask best questions coupled with own racing knowledge.Thanks

  • @dancing_on_glass46
    @dancing_on_glass46 Рік тому +2

    Earnhardt jr's interview didn't even get this story. Good job and it's such a treasure to have these type of videos that will live on forever. With the new cookie cutter cars and parts these tricks are gone. Keep up the good work for the next generation.

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому

      Thats why I was pretty shocked when he pulled this stuff out. I don know why he didn't say it back then. Maybe since he still was regular in Xfinity? He seemed iffy on the status of 2023 for his team.

    • @scottchapell31
      @scottchapell31 Рік тому

      That's because NASCAR eavesdrops on jr

  • @themotorsportstory
    @themotorsportstory Рік тому +2

    What a coincidence, I just made a video about the Gant spoiler, and this shows up in my recommended videos today haha! Great interview, I really enjoyed it. Keep it up!

  • @larryburwell8550
    @larryburwell8550 Рік тому +2

    Jimmy means is a really nice guy. He was crew chief for bud Moore in the mid 90s and knew him well then being Greg Moores best friend. Great guy Jimmy is

  • @30AndHatingIt
    @30AndHatingIt 8 місяців тому +2

    There’s something that can actually be taken from all these cheating stories… these guys all found ways to improve their vehicles in ways that people who want to mod their street cars at home today can take some ideas from. Weight reduction, aerodynamic mods, squeezing extra HP out of seemingly nowhere. Some of this stuff is brilliant.

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  8 місяців тому

      Absolutely! Everyone did it

  • @georgemaccrone6147
    @georgemaccrone6147 Рік тому +2

    I used to see Jimmy Means at Huntsville Speedway and at Talladega Superspeedway back when NASCAR was still cool.

  • @BokeyJake
    @BokeyJake Рік тому +1

    It's funny that you're putting this out there. There was a lot of fun stuff that we used to work out and try back years ago. Of course our theory was, "if it ain't in the rule book, then it's legal". It's a little awkward feeling for me thinking back to the early and mid 80's and thinking of those as being "back in the day". 😄😄😄 Sonny was my hero. Now that cat, if you could've gotten an interview with him, that wouldda been something. He was pure genius.

  • @BCanterbury42
    @BCanterbury42 Рік тому +3

    Towards the twilight of his career, when Jimmy was struggling the most, I remember him qualifying on first day of qualifying in 17th position at Talladega. I now wonder if the spoiler was a reason why

  • @ricknorris6943corvair
    @ricknorris6943corvair Рік тому +4

    All those cheater parts need to be in a museum somewhere! The good old boys were smarter than the average bear! Love it!

  • @morelanmn
    @morelanmn Рік тому +3

    Jimmy is cut from the same cloth as "Smokey" Yunick. Super nice and honest... in current times.

  • @glennfoster7288
    @glennfoster7288 Рік тому +2

    Thanks for sharing. I like how upfront he was. The winch I never heard. We had two helmets one with lead in 1980. Never got caught. Nascar late models.

  • @jdhaase1417
    @jdhaase1417 Рік тому +6

    Y’all are still killin it! If there are no more videos coming out in the next week or two I wish you both a Merry Christmas!

  • @Longsnowsm
    @Longsnowsm Рік тому +1

    LOVE these old stories. NASCAR is too far gone and has been for a long time to be saved. Stopped watching so long ago I can't recall. Seeing these guys and the stories brings back some great memories. If NASCAR ever got back to it's roots of stock car racing and would get out of the way and let racing happen I would be back. They would attract young people. People that want to play with and modify their cars would watch actual stock cars racing. What wins on Sunday would sell on Monday once again. But not the way it is today it won't. Automobile racing will vanish at this rate. Thanks for sharing this.

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому

      thanks man we are glad you're here!

  • @landonthompson5604
    @landonthompson5604 Рік тому +8

    No matter what you do for the next subject matter it always turns into GOLD!!!

  • @fredkatkowski1598
    @fredkatkowski1598 Рік тому +2

    Cooler than nascar racing theses days!
    I wanna learn the old history of when it was good!

  • @jesselayton4164
    @jesselayton4164 Рік тому +3

    Bro I love Jimmy he's one of my favorites from the good old days. Lol his interview on Jr's podcast is my favorite and I've told myself before I wish you would get him on here and you did it.. you're the man. I wish the algorithm would work more in your favor with this type of content. By getting this kind of stuff out you will get more kids into racing than people doing content on current racers.

  • @richardtruesdell8289
    @richardtruesdell8289 Рік тому +1

    Nascar should have one week of teams cheating their guts out and see the ingenious tricks that they could pull off. These guys were fantastic innovators and mechanical geniuses. Smokey Unick ? pulled the gas tank out of his car for inspection and got into an argument with tech and jumped in his car and drove off, having 2 inch gas lines with fuel in them.

  • @gcrauwels941
    @gcrauwels941 Рік тому +2

    The work Jimmy and many others did to get the signal to the carb just right.. to get that recip assembly to make strong horsepower. These guys were innovators before computers did a lot of the work.
    Killin' these vids. Merry Christmas you two!🙏👊

    • @hotrodray6802
      @hotrodray6802 Рік тому +2

      Never forget.... SOMEBODY told the computers what to think.

  • @joshuapaulsen7414
    @joshuapaulsen7414 Рік тому +7

    Another great one, Mitchell and Logan. We love you guys for what you're doing. Making people smile on a regular basis.

  • @papasmodelcarroom8450
    @papasmodelcarroom8450 Рік тому +2

    Love these old stories I could listen to them all day, thanks for sharing.
    Man there's alot of cool stuff in that garage

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +1

      Thanks man we are glad you're here!

  • @benjaminwitte5184
    @benjaminwitte5184 Рік тому +4

    YES! Not only would I love to just have a few beers with this man, I'd love to work for him! Thank you so much for doing what you do!

  • @jdhaase1417
    @jdhaase1417 Рік тому +2

    I had a well meaning crew member on my low budget late model team that bought an ultra downforce body which had been outlawed after the first year and running one was an additional 200 pound penalty. But I wanted to race so bad that we took the car to the snowball derby with the additional 200 pounds and it was pulling a trailer with that extra weight. Qualified near the back and got caught up in an early race wreck. Wasn’t worth it but still has SOME fun.

  • @christopher5723
    @christopher5723 Рік тому +3

    The stories about cheating back in the day are my favorite NASCAR story videos.

  • @brianwertman5848
    @brianwertman5848 Рік тому +3

    Jimmy got a photo of his son Brad and Dale Jr. in his office from the 1980's. Brad and Dale Jr were buds at the track when Jimmy and Dale races on the weekend's. Jimmy shop got a lot of history. The back building of his shop is where Front Row Motorsports started in. When I worked there in 2016 Morgan Shepherd 2013 New Hampshire cup car that Brad Keselowski was owning a cup team at the time was stored at Jimmy shop.

  • @shanew.williams
    @shanew.williams Рік тому +2

    Awww....I can't believe one of the greatest driving talents of my home track,Huntsville Speedway, Jimmy "Smut" Means ever cheated at anything,lol. Seriously,the driving style he had to use to survive in Cup is NO indication of what a wheelman Means was. A short track car got the wheels driven off it when Jimmy was driving.Can't wait for the next installment to see if Smut shows any pics of his Cup Laguna i owned after he retired it.

  • @countryracer69
    @countryracer69 Рік тому +1

    Local guys won a race here. Car owner rides up to right side of the car on a golf cart. Switched out the cooler in the car during front stretch interviews and celebration. A fan in the stands caught it on video. When he lifts that little cooler the handle bends bad! Full of lead to pass tech after.

  • @traviscunningham2560
    @traviscunningham2560 Рік тому +2

    Jimmy rocking the Bicknell Racing Products sweatshirt!!

  • @NSBlack_Stallion
    @NSBlack_Stallion Рік тому +1

    Smut, you represent Huntsville well. Always loved watching you and Johnny Brewer at the south’s fastest quarter mile.

  • @JC-gw3yo
    @JC-gw3yo Рік тому +2

    If there is a way... There is a Means... What a clever guy

  • @brianmoore6724
    @brianmoore6724 Рік тому +1

    Jimmy Means nearly killed me and my father in a crash at turn 6 at Riverside raceway when I was 7 years old. 1980 I think. I've read about the race and that crash but have never found video. He got forced inside on turn 6, into the dirt which had been worn away during the race causing a lip at the start of the short shoot down to turn 7. It launched his car airborne directly towards the bleachers of which I believe I was in the second row. I remember looking up at his car as people then began to scramble before the car crashed nose first into the wall. It's why at that young age I ALWAYS remembered Jimmy Means in car 52. I just would love to see video to see how tame that crash probably was compared to how harrowing I remember it to be :)

  • @hotrodray6802
    @hotrodray6802 Рік тому +1

    I raced in the early 60s in open class. By 63-4 it became a money race. Whoever spent the most each week could win.
    All the little tiny insignificant things added together made a winner.
    69 was my last year.
    Was great fun while it lasted. 👍👍

  • @dennislamers986
    @dennislamers986 Рік тому +1

    That was a great time in the sport. Being "creative" was part of the game. It's like tuning up the cars and hiding shine to outwit the cops.

  • @TheCrewChief374
    @TheCrewChief374 Рік тому +7

    This is definitely going to be a good video, since I have listened to interviews with Jimmy Means before.

  • @Syd-un1xr
    @Syd-un1xr Рік тому +2

    Thank you for doing these videos and the hard work you put into them. The stories and mechanical examples the men that are from the Winston Cup era can tell and show are fascinating to me as this era was by far my favorite time in NASCAR history. They weren’t the dumb hillbillies a lot of people like to say they are and were. They were visionaries and mechanical geniuses in some cases. It’s just great to hear them tell their stories of the good ol’ days that I and many people miss very much. Thanks again and keep up the good work man.

  • @arrowkart4j
    @arrowkart4j Рік тому +1

    I could sit all day and listen to these old generation guys talk about how much cheating went on. I can remember my father and grandfather telling me when I was a kid with the crap they did. Love the history. Thanks. Jimmy Means has been around for a long time.. funny how the guys with the least always were the backbone of NASCAR and worked hard to be there every week.

  • @UpdogGolf
    @UpdogGolf Рік тому +3

    This video is so damn cool, and best served by a cool old guy who was there for it all. Outstanding video sir.

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому

      Thanks man. That’s what we do here 💪🏻

  • @acidreign8551
    @acidreign8551 Рік тому +4

    Another awesome video! Some of the cheats seen here i had never heard about before. I had heard about springs in spoilers, but not the actual, Let's just call it " dial a spoiler" lol Never heard about the water tricks with the inner liner's either, nor the winch-a-matic in the back. Awesome stuff!!
    Great video! :)

    • @Stapleton42
      @Stapleton42  Рік тому +1

      Thanks man!! These were new stories for me too lol. The winch blew me away

  • @chucks6879
    @chucks6879 Рік тому +1

    Raced with him and his family 97 in the Hooters ProCop division learned a lot by just watching
    .

  • @dopeytripod
    @dopeytripod Рік тому +2

    some of them pieces should be in a museum

  • @corporalclegg914
    @corporalclegg914 Рік тому +3

    anyone who has a problem with covertly, temporarily and/or intermittently bending the rules in NASCAR/Stock Car Racing should have a problem with Every Driver & Every Team, Ever. they all do/did it to gain an edge. getting away with it meant that it wasn’t flagrant or maybe even subtle…who knows? the sport was founded on backyard modifications & breaking local, state & federal statutes alike…why would it ever cease to be that way?

  • @woodyholland9865
    @woodyholland9865 Рік тому +1

    Your videos of the old stuff are so interesting and helps us understand how much the old guys knew! The didn't have computers and flow benches and still made more HP!!!

  • @9rjharper
    @9rjharper Рік тому +1

    Great stuff as usual. I love all the tech stuff, and especially the cheat stories. I worked for a successful cup team a few years ago, and I can tell you that as of then there was lots of it still going on and you wouldn't be competitive otherwise. I'm sure that's still the case.

  • @jamest.5001
    @jamest.5001 Рік тому +2

    It's like James bond went racing! 😆

  • @speedwaystevecronk6680
    @speedwaystevecronk6680 Рік тому +1

    Outstanding ! More History / Tech of NASCAR past, I do remember Jimmy and the 52 car back in the day. Fact is I can look at a old poster with a bunch of driver on and name most or all of them, today I am doing good to recognize a few of the kids now days. I am soo Ready to watch the Full shop tour! Thanks for all your hard work doing video's keeping the way cool history.

  • @dave3156
    @dave3156 Місяць тому

    I really enjoy these about NASCAR back in the day. The hydraulic spoiler and winch guess you could say was cheating, but the modifications to the intake and gasket are ingenuity--that's that part I wished they still allowed. Great video--Thx!!!!