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HARMON’S VISION LIVES ON

The All-American 400 Evolved from a Dream into a Dandy

 

Racing season was over, the motors were silent and Bob Harmon was restless.

Harmon, one of the country’s premier racing promoters, didn’t understand why racing couldn’t continue well into the fall, as long as the weather cooperated. So he put his head together with another noted promoter, Rex Robbins, and they came with an idea for a special late-season event.

 

Harmon, founder of the All-Pro Series, and Robbins, president of the American Speed Association (ASA) decided to match the top short-track racers from the North and South in a big late-season showdown.

 

The race would be officially called the All-American 400; unofficially it would quickly earn a national reputation as “the Super Bowl of Short-Track Racing.”

 

First run in 1981, it continues build on that foundation. The Nov. 2-4 edition at the Music City Motorplex has long been circled in red on race fans’ calendars around the country.

 “Bob and Rex hit on a great concept,” says Motorplex president Joe Mattioli. “I intend to continue it and build on it.”

 

This year’s race has been christened the Adam Petty Memorial All-American 400, in tribute to the memory of the popular young driver who lost his life in a May 2000 crash at New Hampshire Speedway.

 

Mattioli intends to pay tribute to Adam and the Petty family, and also help promote the Pettys’ Victory Junction Gang Camp for youngsters with life-threatening ailments.

“It’s a great cause and I want to support it,” Mattioli says. “The Petty name is synonymous with stock car racing and good works.”

 

Harmon would be proud of the salute, and applaud the attention it draws to the race. Harmon always understood that publicity is the life-blood of racing.

“I remember the first time I saw Bob,” recalls racing great Darrell Waltrip. “I was getting ready to run a race at some little track down in Alabama and all at once this guy in a pink-and-white-stripped sports jacket jumped up on the stage and started yelling into a microphone.

 

“He said so-and-so was there to give so-and-so a driving lesson and on and on. He kept pitting driver against driver and before long he had the crowd whipped into a frenzy. Some of the drivers were starting to growl at each other up on the stage. I thought to myself, ‘Who IS this guy? He’s about to start a riot before the race even begins.’

“That was my introduction to Bob Harmon. He was part carnival barker and part showman, and man, did he know how to promote a race.”

 

Harmon and Robbins billed the All-American 400 as a battle between drivers from the North and South. They called it “the Civil War of Racing.”

 

“Every fan, North and South, likes to brag that their drivers are the best,” Harmon explained. “Well, this was their chance to find out. We’d bring in the best from both areas and see who came out on top.”

 

Southern ace Butch Lindley won the inaugural race and Harmon was quick to invite the defeated Northerners back next year to try to defend their honor.

The battle has been going strong ever since.

 

Harmon passed away a few years ago, but his spirit -- and his contributions to the sport he cherished – lives on. Waltrip said it best: Harmon sure knew how to promote a race, and his masterpiece was the All-American 400.

 

For race information or tickets call (615) 726-1818 or visit MusicCityMotorplex.com