Glotzbach's speed record at Bristol still standing

To celebrate Bristol Motor Speedway's 100th Cup Series race, NASCAR.COM is taking a look back at significant moments and drivers that have made events at BMS the most sought-after ticket in NASCAR.

Charlie Glotzbach hasn't raced competitively in almost two decades but his victory in the 1971 Volunteer 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway remains one of NASCAR's oldest records, and perhaps one of its hardest to break.

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Inside the Numbers

Most Cup Series races

Rank	Track	No.
1	Daytona	127 *
2	Martinsville	123
3	Richmond	108
4	Darlington	107
5	Charlotte	103
6	Atlanta	102
7	Bristol	99
8	Michigan	82
	Talladega	82
10	Dover	81
11	Pocono	65
12	Loudon	31
13	Phoenix	28
14	Watkins Glen	27
15	Sonoma	22
16	Fontana	20
17	Texas	19
18	Indianapolis	17
19	Las Vegas	13
20	Homestead	11
21	Chicago	10
22	Kansas	9

* -- Includes 23 Daytona 500 qualifying races that were points events.
Race totals as of July 26, 2010.

It may be hard to imagine today, but there were no cautions during the 500-lap race on the high-banked half-mile that hot July afternoon, allowing "Chargin' Charlie" to set a new average speed record of 101.074 mph. And even though the cars have gotten significantly faster since then, only Cale Yarborough's 1977 victory comes close.

How amazing was Glotzbach's accomplishment? Consider one year ago, Kyle Busch won in an average speed of 92.139 mph, and that's the fastest race run at Bristol this decade.

"I never expected it to last that long, but the way they're going, it might last another 40 years," Glotzbach said during a recent phone conversation from his Indiana home. "It's just ridiculous. The cars they got now, actually, they handle bad. I think that's the reason why they spin out so much and everything.

"I can remember maybe five caution flags in a race, but that was a lot of caution flags back then, if we had five at any race track. And now they have five before the halfway mark."

Glotzbach shakes his head when he looks at how drivers have to deal with driving current equipment.

"I tell you what it all amounts to, it's that bump-stop stuff they're running," Glotzbach said. "That's like back when we was racing, if a shock bottomed out, the car would take off, no matter which end it was. If it was the rear, more than likely you were going to spin out. If it was the front, the front end would take off.

"And when they bump stop them like that, that's all they're doing, is bottoming those chassis out. What they're doing is making them like go-karts, that don't have no springs. That's what they're doing. The cars actually don't handle. It's not the drivers' fault. It's somebody else's fault that lets them do that."

The native of Edwardsville, Ind., only started four times at Bristol, but he was somewhat familiar with the track layout, since it reminded him of a nearby track in his home state.

"I ran up here at Salem, Ind., a lot and it's basically exactly the same track, at least it was back then," Glotzbach said. "It's changed now. I had quite a bit of experience on the high banks there and I think that's the reason why I ran pretty good at Bristol. Plus, I usually had a good car, too."

It was somewhat of a surprise that Glotzbach even showed up at Bristol. Two months earlier, he injured his neck in a grinding crash while leading the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and had only driven in one other race up to that point. But with some help from his crew chief, Glotzbach wound up wearing what might be considered today's equivalent of a head-and-neck restraint.

"I remember Charlotte, a few weeks before that, I wrecked," Glotzbach said. "Speedy Thompson came up in front of me while I was lapping him and I got up in the loose stuff in the tri-oval and I wrecked. I hurt my neck and [crew chief] Herb Nab took a dog leash and made me a strap to hook on my helmet and around my arm, just to hold my head."

Glotzbach came to Bristol knowing the car would be good, since it was from Junior Johnson's stable, with backing from owner Richard Howard. But perhaps he didn't know how good until he put the car on the front row, next to Richard Petty.

"It was Junior's car, but [owner Richard Howard] was the instigator of that, put it that way," Glotzbach said. "I started on the pole. The car was handling good and I didn't have no problems all day, lapped traffic, no problem. No cautions. The car held up. It was fast."

Petty led the first 43 laps before giving way to Glotzbach. From that point on, it was Charlie's day. With the exception of giving up the lead during the constant green-flag pit stops, Glotzbach had few problems.

However, the constant turning at high speeds began to take its toll on Glotzbach late in the race, and he came in for a relief driver, Friday Hassler, who drove the car the rest of the way.

"My neck did get hurting," Glotzbach said. "I got out and Friday Hassler got in to relieve me. He was standing by on account of my neck. Of course, Bristol is really hard on your neck.

"They wanted me to [get back in the car for the checkered flag] and I said, 'Just let him take it,' because I still got the credit. And if I had done that and we had lost the race, it would have been my fault, so I said to leave him in there because there wasn't that much left anyway."

Glotzbach took home the trophy and a $5,675 paycheck. And eventually, his neck healed.

"It took most of the summer, really," Glotzbach said. "Some of the tracks weren't nearly as hard on you as Bristol was. I was OK with it. It would get hurting."

The win was Glotzbach's fourth and final Cup victory, although he would continue to campaign on a part-time basis up until 1992. But his Bristol story doesn't end there. Invited to a charity race last spring, Glotzbach was involved in a horrifying crash when he T-boned Larry Pearson. Both drivers were hospitalized, and Glotzbach is still recovering from back injuries.

"I'm back pretty good now," Glotzbach said. "My back, every week it's better. I would go back and do it again, you know."

That's not surprising, since Bristol is still one of Chargin' Charlie's favorites.

"Any race track where you win means a lot to you," Glotzbach said. "Me winning there and keeping the record this long is good memories. Bristol was always a favorite track of mine, even though I didn't race there a lot."

Related:
• Consistency -- not speed -- pays off for Johns
• History-laden Bristol on cusp of 100th Cup race