A LOOK BACK AT THE 1974
STAFFORD MOTOR SPEEDWAY SEASON

By: Paul Arute

The year 1974 was an historic year for the Stafford Motor Speedway souvenir program. It changed names from the Lucky Number Program to the name we all know it as; the Pit Stopper.

NASCAR was growing very rapidly on the national stage, 1974 was no exception to the growth of the sport. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company signed on as a sponsor of a short track championship program. This was the beginning of the Winston Weekly Racing Series; Winston posted an estimated $60,000 to short track champions. This began an historic tradition between NASCAR and Winston, which lasted nearly 30 years.

Bugsy Stevens dominated the modified division in 1974, he won a record setting 13 times which broke his previous mark of 11 wins in a single season. He also reached an historic milestone, 50 wins at Stafford; something that no other driver had ever done. He won his first race June 23, 1967 and his 50th on August 24, 1974, a span of just 7 years. To cap off the year he handily clinched the modified points championship over Ron Bouchard and Brian Ross.

A notable winner from 1974 was two-time national modified champion Jerry Cook. He finally cracked into Stafford Motor Speedway victory lane after years of trying. He won the Permatex 150 on July 3, 1974. With Cook's victory, Richie Evans becomes the only national modified champion in the last five years not to grab checkers at Stafford.