Contributed Photo - Matchbin

B
Cathy
Elliott
Talkin’
NASCAR
Hall of
famers
FRIDAY
Jan. 27, 2012
Page 1B
Editor’s note: Cathy Elliott remains
on hiatus from the holidays and this
column, by Kerry Tharp, is being
used in place of her weekly submission.
Elliott’s column will return in
February.
CHARLOTTE — “A legend
for everyone” describes the
NASCAR Hall of Fame’s third
class of inductees enshrined
Friday, Jan. 20.
Here’s the versatile list. Dale Inman
– an eight-time champion, he’s the first
to be inducted based on his primary
role as a crew chief. Darrell Waltrip and
Cale Yarborough – a pair of three-time
NASCAR premier series champions,
who won a combined 167 races. Glen
Wood – the legendary car owner whose
team has raced in seven decades, compiling
98 wins. And the late Richie
Evans – a nine-time NASCAR Modified
champion, the first to be inducted from
outside NASCAR’s premier division.
Their induction ceremony – held in
the Crown Ballroom of the Charlotte
Convention Center – increased the
NASCAR Hall of Fame’s membership
to 15.
Inman, Richard Petty’s first cousin,
is generally credited with inventing
the modern role of crew chief. He
won seven championships with Petty
Enterprises and an eighth with Billy
Hagan and driver Terry Labonte in
1984. Randleman County’s Inman, 75,
who retired from the sport in 1998,
won 193 times. The list of current
NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chiefs learning
at Inman’s side is a lengthy one.
“I’m kind of familiar with this ring,”
said Inman, referring to his NASCAR
Hall of Fame ring. “For the last two or
three years Richard has put it in my
face a bunch of times.”
As host Mike Joy said, “Tonight,
Dale Inman and Richard are together
again, as NASCAR Hall of Fame members.”
Like Ned Jarrett, a member of the
second class of the NASCAR Hall of
Fame, Waltrip is both champion driver
and distinguished television broadcaster.
Waltrip won championships in
1981-82 and 1985 driving for NASCAR
Hall of Famer Junior Johnson. The
Owensboro, Ky., native won 84 times
in 809 starts ranking fourth on the alltime
NASCAR Sprint Cup victory list
with Bobby Allison, also a member of
the Hall’s second class. Waltrip, 64, has
been the lead NASCAR on FOX analyst
since 2001.
“I was telling (wife) Stevie earlier
this week that I hoped I wouldn’t get
emotional tonight, but she reminded
me ‘Honey, you always get emotional
about the things you are passionate
about,’” Waltrip said. “This night,
these men, and the people in this room,
they’re what inspire me.”
Wood, a four-time NASCAR premier
series winner, left the driver’s seat to
own the fabled No. 21 Wood Brothers
Ford team. With his four brothers, who
include NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee
and crew chief Leonard Wood, the organization
counts 98 victories, including
its fifth Daytona 500 win in 2011 with
20-year-old Trevor Bayne. Those who
drove for the 86-year-old Wood’s Stuart,
Va.-based team included fellow inductee
Yarborough, NASCAR Hall of Famer
David Pearson, A.J. Foyt and road racer
Dan Gurney.
“This is not just about me being
inducted in the Hall of Fame,” said
Wood. “It’s also about the Wood
Brothers. And it’s about NASCAR. And
I’m proud to have been a NASCAR
driver and car owner for the past 60
years, and I’m proud of this great
honor.”
Yarborough, a native of Sardis, S.C.,
made NASCAR premier series history
in 1978 when he won his third consecutive
championship, a record that
stood until Jimmie Johnson claimed
his fourth straight title in 2009.
See Elliott | 2B
www.bladenjournal.com
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BLADEN JOURNAL
EAST BLADEN BASKETBALL
East rips South Columbus
Eagles
manhandle
the Stallions
Staff report
TABOR CITY — There was
no rust showing from an 11-day
layoff for East Bladen High, as
the Eagles manhandled a pesky
South Columbus High team on
Tuesday, 50-33.
The Waccamaw Conference
win improved the Eagles to 5-1,
14-2 overall.
The two teams battled to a
6-6 knot midway through the
first quarter before the Stallions
closed the period on a 6-2 run
and took a 12-8 lead into the
second stanza.
But the Eagles tied things up
at 12-12 early in the quarter and
then used a tenacious defense
to thwart any offensive uprising
by South Columbus before
halftime. When the half had
expired, East Bladen had outscored
the Stallions by a 15-4
margin in the period and took
a 23-16 lead into intermission.
East Bladen coach Ken Cross
must have liked what he saw
in the second quarter, and the
Eagles did more of the same in
the third quarter. A Ray Beatty
3-pointer opened the second
half and East Bladen went on to
outplay South Columbus in the
period, outscoring the Stallions
by a 15-7 verdict and extending
the lead to 38-23.
That lead grew to 21 at 46-25
in the fourth quarter, all but
sealing the outcome for the
Eagles.
“We played well defensively
after the first quarter,” Cross
said. “We took their big guy
(Pharoah McKever) out of the
game and it paid off.”
Montrel Rogers led East
Bladen with 14 points on two
3-pointers, while Jessie Johnson
had 11.
Eagles win, 63-42
In Elizabethtown on
Wednesday, the Eagles got
double-figure scoring from
four players and handed East
Columbus High a 63-42 nonconference
loss.
The win improved East
Staff report
See Eagles | 2B
WEST BLADEN BASKETBALL
Gillespie lifts the
Knights to a ‘W’
SOUTHPORT — A Justib
Gillespie shot with just 2 seconds
to spare gave West Bladen High
a Waccamaw Conference win on
Tuesday over South Brunswick
High, 42-40.
The win improves the Knights
to 7-1 atop the conference standings,
14-5 overall.
The victory was all the more
impressive by West Bladen, since
they were playing without their
leading scorer and rebounder in
D.J. Mason. His absence was for
undisclosed reasons.
The Knights and Cougars battled
back and forth through the
first half as the defenses shone.
West Bladen picked off numerous
South Brunswick passes, but
could not convert at the offensive
end and were often given
one shot only.
The Cougars were protecting
Kenny Armstrong | Bladen Journal
Jessie Johnson pops a jumper from the left wide for East Bladen.
Johnson scored 11 points for the Eagles in the Waccamaw Conference
win over South Columbus High on Tuesday.
an 8-7 lead as the first quarter
ended, but that lead became
a 17-17 knot at the end of the
first half.
The see-saw battle continued
after intermission, and when
the third quarter closed the
Knights had taken a slim 28-27
edge.
Over the course of the final
8 minutes, Devonta Smith,
Shaquan Whitfield and Gillespie
each scored five points to lead
West Bladen, but none were bigger
than Gillespie’s final bucket.
That came as the Knights
worked the clock down more
than 50 seconds looking for a
final shot, and it was Gillespie’s
to take.
He managed to find room
down inside and put the ball
up — good.
Smith led West Bladen with
14 points, while Gillespie and
Whitfield each scored eight.
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Johnson
leads the
Lady Eagles
to 41-23 win
Staff report
TABOR CITY — Zhane
Johnson and the Lady
Eagles all but put the game
away in the first half of
Tuesday’s win over South
Columbus High, and East
Bladen cruised to a 45-26
Waccamaw Conference victory.
The win improves the
Lady Eagles to 5-1 in the
conference, 11-5 overall.
The game opened in backand-forth
style until East
Bladen erased an 8-7 deficit
and never looked back. The
Lady Eagles closed the first
quarter on a 7-3 run to take
a 14-11 edge into the second
stanza, fueled by a Johnson
3-pointer.
South Columbus closed
the gap to one early in the
second quarter, but free
throws by Melissa Macon
and Abbey Norris put East
Bladen up by 20-14 and the
Lady Eagles closed the half
with a 10-5 spurt sparked by
another Johnson 3-pointer
for a 30-19 halftime lead.
The third quarter was
slowdown time for East
Bladen, as they worked
the clock against the Lady
Stallions.
Alexus Smith and Norris
scored the Lady Eagles’
only pair of baskets in the
quarter, but the home team
could manage just a single
bucket over the 8 minutes
and East Bladen upped its
lead to 34-21 with one quarter
to go.
The final 8 minutes
wasn’t much different than
the previous 8 minutes, as
East Bladen used the clock
to its advantage and held
South Columbus to just two
points. Meanwhile Macon
nailed another 3-pointer to
spark a 7-2 run through the
fourth frame and seal the
win.
Johnson led the lady
Eagles with 22 points —
See Ladies | 2B
Contributed photo
Black belt winner
On Saturday, Jan. 21, Instructor Daniel Miller from Carolina
Karate in Bladenboro competed in the 2012 War Angel
Challenge in Dillon, S.C., where he took first place in the
Black Belt Super Heavy Weight Division.