Then & Now: Smokey's Best Damn Garage in Town (April 2020)

does your mother sign you should know where we're at or at least this the only thing that's left designated where this is before I take you there let me give you a back story of smoking unit he was a designer and he'll other jobs religious sport and was best known for the a mechanic builder and crew chief as a NASCAR mechanic smokey game 57 NASCAR Cup Series wins and two championships 51 and 53 were driver herb Thomas Jarvan the fabulous Hudson Hornet the fabulous doesn't work as dr. Hudson movie cars which actually smoking his character was portrayed in cars three as kind of like this crew chief mechanic of do one know more details about smokey just freeze autobiography the best damn garage in town the world as smokey sees it also his audio book six slides of super speedways which is absolutely - by John DeLorean of all people I had to say that's probably the best time I've ever heard for a book ever but more details check that stuff out 9:57 North Beach Street Holly Hill Florida was the home of horsepower and Daytona Beach this is actually where the best damn garage in town was smoky unix shop legendary smoking a shop kind of give you a little lay of the land right here this would have been right in this area where the Sun was is that best damn garage in town and he would have like billboards out-powering mechanics just to probably like this high into this area where it was the legendary garage now you could still see the pavement of where the front parking lot was back in the day smokey was a licensed international truck dealer so used to like international Scouts and stuff all around this area of where he was for sale now as you can see I'm not the only one though this spot was I did not put this here this is already our guy but it's pretty cool fans still love this man and know they make the pilgrimage out to this spot well there was a building over here that was a storage area that smokey used and that caught fire in 2011 which was the last building and this spot but in the front part here you can still see the driveway and stuff and some of the parking lot it still remains this would've been like the main entrance in the shop storage area over here at the main garage for working on trucks over here in this area parking lot over here on this side of the was a restaurant over here that nothing do a smoky unique but I'm sure as employees ate there but this was would have been the side of the main truck shop and I could went further back there was another entrance right over here behind the story building that helped the fab shop the dyno shop the engine dyno shop his daughter had a bird shop that was back further back in the corner between the truck of the store shop there was an overhang there was an open garage here but there was overhang covering the drive-in area Cohiba covered because you know Florida has like various sporadic rains he gets kind of hot so the more shade is possible more the better this is a legendary property of where that garage was that it's a damn shame we don't his will he wanted he didn't want to be a shrine he didn't wanted to be in museum so this would kind of what happened to the area if you want to see like a live is the legendary stuff Don Garlits museum has a lot of he has injured I know a few of his engines that he built especially for Hudson and Chevrolet chronic fear a vapor car that he built Danglars has that it's just very historical stuff mechanical genius he was here's some brick that's right here where the girl I'm assuming that's with a garage it's very crazy stuff just to think like what came out of this property what was on this property it's just mind-blowing just think like the 78 Chevelle was built or the 7/8 Chapelle show say was built on this property the car that they took out the gas tank and drove from Daytona Beach from the racetrack here I was probably about five six miles from the infield base hump International Speedway to here it's just it makes you laugh especially as a mechanic how crazy his stories can be like tall tales and mechanical engineering that actually happened it's just crazy to be out here and it's unfortunate like a lot of these people driving by welcome to the property don't even know what was here and what what great man he was [Music] you still even I was like at blank field it's just an awe of what was here may I get you on the back part of this show you wearing exactly stuff was [Music] backside of the property there's the front that's would have in the front this probably would've been almost a side entrance okay the fab shop in the diner shop or right in this area where the injured Donald shop was here the fab shot was coming back towards the back here a little bit but this is where those race cars were built and tested late at night it was not strange a Waring small-block Chevy or Hudson motor just going crazy back here back in the day in 1946 smoking unit move dates on a beach get married his wife after he out of World War two and while he was in the war for training b-17 bombers he backs they fly over Daytona Beach loved the place so much open the garage here later I started making business just working on cars and trucks mostly heavy trucks but he still had a passion for racing so he did that as well late at night take the fall at the hook and just go up town this engine now tinkering doing whatever his expectations and take it to the next track to make the best thing at that shop lasted here until 1987 claiming there's no good mechanics in town which is a reason white clothes that lasted until the shop was vacant with no service from 87 until that auction 98 2003 - of course when they started dismantling all the buildings except for the storage building I caught fire in 2011 they just leveled everything out this is what we have today but there's a lot of history here also smoking ain't won the 1961 Daytona 500 with Marvin Panch driving a year old Pontiac Bonneville 20 a load the filled with 61 Catalina's which is teammate fireball Roberts was dummy endurance early and blue a motor but prior to the start of the race through his team quarters between Marvin Panch and fireball Roberts given by smokey I won't bug cars being too close together in case there was a big wreck fireball Roberts leave the race have more attention the back of the field to keep him separate but once the fireball fell out of the race Marvin was drafting up other cars and vicious it works whips the front of won the race but plenty wasn't too heavy but a year old car beat all the new Catalina's just now officially victory for Pontiac probably the coolest thing that people really don't talk about was 1962 speed words the hometown team a smokey eunuch fireball Roberts and Stephens Pontiac swept speed weeks meaning that fireball Roberts participated in a Savannah race early February of 1962 came back with smoking which is now a Gatorade duel race one that won the pole for qualifying position 500 won Daytona 500 then came back and July and won the Firecracker 400 all in that same car that same Pontiac Catalina won all those races all in the same year besides Daytona history he had Indianapolis issue from 1958 to 1973 slug DNA participated in the Indianapolis 500 as a mechanic his most famous car is like the reverse torque special which was they race in 1960 where the engine was in the center and was reversed there the engine ran first compared to what is normally like the engine was in the center of the car the driver was in a pod on the left side the furthest left front you can get to get that balance right and that it just looked freaky but it made the Indianapolis 500 1960 1962 smokey a changeover will racing forever when you buy the wing at Jim Rassman Simon's business is special Watson roaster the wind is on the increase of downforce al of bratzman to reach for en-suite 0:14 indianapolis but creates so much dragon a so it caused the part to report slower lap times you sag immediately banned the use of wings by 72 you say once again loud wings to be used on their grace corners smokey also bought a 1968 Camaro for Trans Am racing just what the units that several spirit nerves with both 302 small walk the 396 people I never won a race while smokey owned it and was later sold the Dinoco and we won several races with some of the modifications on the car it had acid dip vinyl center window glass to reduce the weight front end the body tilted downwards and the windshield laid back for aerodynamic advantages 1993 Vic Edelbrock jr. purchased and restored the car who owns it presently today smokey he panicked but his legacy lives on he still has his induct the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990 which is now moved from Detroit Michigan to Daytona Beach couple years ago has not yet been diagnosed a NASCAR Hall of Fame which is well deserving he definitely deserves reading that even though he had controversy with the France family and NASCAR pretty much up until his death really smokey UNIX best damn garage in town Lots history here lots of drivers been here lots of patrons the dates on the beach that serves the cars here because they trust this man I'll be in draw the video thank you [Music] you [Music]

Channel: K Train Productions

Views: 18,529

Keywords: Smokey Yunick, Smokey's Best Damn Garage in Town, Fireball Roberts, Jim Rathman, NASCAR, Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida

Id: htdoJLza4n0

Length: 11min 59sec (719 seconds)

Published: Tue May 26 2020