Here at Pure Thunder Racing, I feel we are privileged to have some of the best staff and fans who comment, of any site on the internet about racing. Call us old, call us silly and wishful, call us curmudgeons, call us set in our ways, call us anything you wish that you feel fits our descriptions. However, in doing that, don’t forget to call each of us a devoted fan of stock car racing from its inception back on the beach at Daytona.
I don’t think any of us are old enough or lived near Daytona to have witnessed any of the beach races in person. My family moved to Central Florida in 1957 and after I graduated high school and entered the work force, I was fortunate enough to meet a NASCAR racer turned race track promoter who became my mentor. The more I learned, the more I became a fan and began loving this racing sport. Although I am still learning the specifics of how each of the staff here first became interested in NASCAR, I do know of the love and devotion each of them has for this sport and I would like to offer thanks to each and every one of them.
Berra, My Dear Friend. You have provided a lot of us older and long time fans of NASCAR a place to present not only our new articles, but to offer some of our older ones a place to be read by new fans or even read again by some of us older fans. This site has been a great place to catch up with each other and to read memories and recall some of our own past experiences and memories. I thank you very much for allowing me the privilege of being a part of it and enjoying catching up on the old and the new. It is refreshing and poignant at the same time.
Frank Burhman: My wish is that you also will continue to share your stories from the past and enlighten us with some history of what you experienced during your years as a devoted NASCAR fan.
David Nance: What can I say other than I totally enjoy what you offer to this site? You write very thought provoking articles and I cannot recall ever reading one I did not enjoy enough to re-read several times.
Dave Fulton. It has been a pleasure to see you involved again. I love reading all you write and contribute as they take me back to some of the best days and times in NASCAR. They also make me more aware of some of the exploits of not only you, but of Dale.
Tim Leeming: I have read your offerings from another site and I am especially pleased when you take time to join us here and bless us with your thoughts and knowledge.
Merry Christmas, Everyone
Thank you for being a part of this site.
Vivian
What lovely thoughts, Vivian. Merry Christmas to you, your loved ones and all of our race fan community.
Dave, I thank you for you nice comment and wishes. Wish we had known each other way back and swapped stories we no longer talk about because they would be censored. Back then were fun days and most of us did and said a lot of things we would not today! Take care, My Friend!
Thanks so much, Vivian. I’m just privileged to be a part of this group, and I’m thankful to Bernth for keeping it all together. Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas season.
Vivian, I too have really enjoyed all the articles here on PRT. I’ve enjoyed them so much, because they take me back to memories that I hadn’t visited in some time now. But there is also some great, thought provoking articles, written by great writers. I’ve probably responded to more articles here, then on all the other sites I go to. I’ve probably responded to articles more than some might like too. I hope that I haven’t angered anyone. If you can’t tell by my replies, I do not have a Twitter account. If I’m passionate about something, a 160 characters isn’t going to cut it lol.
Thanks for having a great Site!!
Merry Christmas and God Bless
Thanks Ron for coming here and sharing your memories and thoughts.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
//B
Thank you for your thoughts and comments, Ron. Most of us here did meet on another site years ago and it is good to carry on. Don’t know if you ever visited Race Fans Forever when it was active, but it was a great site and some of us carry on here as we lost the Dear Owner of that site last year. That is why we have a lot of repeats for reading.
Take care and Merry Christmas to You and Yours.
Frank, I thank YOU! Stay with us and keep those good ones coming!
You and your family have a great Christmas and New Year. Make memories and keep sharing!
Vivian, thanks for the kind words and beautiful holiday wishes. I’m so thankful Berra gave us the chance to continue together. So honored and humbled to be a part of an awesome team. As I’ve said before I often feel like I’m a rookie two laps down just trying to stay in your all’s tire tracks and learn all I can, so maybe next time I can run a lap down.
Wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season.
David, Thank You! Glad we are all still together. I know how busy you are so it is always a pleasure to see a new one you wrote. I do love the way you write.
Hi Vivian, yes I was a member of Race Fans Forever & Racer’s Reunion for a short while. The first email I received after joining was from the late Patty Kay Lillie. Very sweet woman. Soon after, I got one from Tim Leeming too. I was looking at those sites, trying to find out more info on Jody Ridley. I grew up in Cincinnati, and during the mid 70s, Jody would come race there at the now defunct Tri-County Speedway. Man, I just fell in love with his blue 1965 Falcon late model. Years later, I bought a street version 1965 Falcon. I kid you not, it was the same color blue & a white top. The guy I sold it to years later, converted it to a vintage class stock car. You can’t make this stuff up!!
Hi Ron, Thank you. I always liked Jody and when we only had racing papers to read, I would often check to see how he had done the weekend before. Don, my husband, also liked him. Don’t really remember the blue Falcon though.
PattyKay and I were friends for many years. Did you get to read the article I did when she closed her site and then Berra posted again when we lost her?
https://www.purethunderracing.com/2021/08/thank-you-pattykay-lilley-aka-mama-pkl-aka-the-lady-in-black.html
Yes Vivian I read the article last year. At first the words weren’t clicking, but felt familiar. Then I saw the picture of the lady in the long black dress, and the light switch finally went on. I think that I only emailed with her 3-4 times, but she was so kind every time. I’ve been around this world on several occasions, and found what I’m about to say has been consistent. In my travels I’ve found that there are only really 3 categories of people. It has nothing to do with ethnicity, male or female, age, or religion. Good People, bad people, and those that don’t give a damn about much of anything or anyone. And whether it’s a blessing or a curse, I can usually get a feel for someone pretty quickly. With out a doubt, PattyKay fell in the Good People category. That very first email I received from her, she made me feel like she had know me for years. That email was as a thanks for joining that site. I thought her articles were great, and I loved how she liked to tie things together, and/or end them with a song. Hopefully someday I will get to meet her. Wouldn’t that be special!
thank all of you for the fun reading and sharing your past enjoyment of nascar racing
MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone
and thank you BERRA for your site and MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours
Thanks Didi and Merry Christmas to you and your!!