Jaws, they were a droppin'

By Primo A. Giusti

I don’t remember what year it was, exactly. It had to be the late 1970’S, though. Please excuse the memory gaps :>( Dad and I had traveled to Ascot with Mike Andreetta. As usual, Mike had about twenty “Klingons” and his regular crew so I wandered about the pits looking for someone to help.

Then I noticed Wally Bally’s (Walt Ross) hauler pulling into the pits. I realized that he and GP (Gary Patterson) were alone this night, so I wandered on over and started unloading. The first thing I noticed was that the spare right rear tire (RR) was in worse shape than the one on the car, but I didn’t say anything. When we had set up, Walt threw me the keys to the hauler, sheepishly said hi. Gary asked where dad was, and then said thanks and I moved the hauler out to the parking area.

When I returned to our pit, Gary and Walt were talking about the night to come. They agreed that if the track stayed heavy we might be okay, but if it dried out we wouldn’t have a RR that would last the night... and none of us could afford to buy a new one. Now I was willing to do a lot for a friend, but dropping $300 for a “Big Gelloni” (hope I spelled that correctly) was a bit more than a teenager like me could swing!

As qualifications ensued, we decided to put the trashed RR on. Gary qualified poorly as I recall, ‘bout the 5th or 6th row. When the time for our heat arrived, the track was going away from us - glazing over. Now, I haven’t mentioned that we didn’t run wings at Ascot in those days, so you might begin to get the picture. As I remember it, Gary won the heat, although I could be wrong... that’s not the point of this story.

During the break before the main, the announcer came down to the track to interview some of the drivers, and this is where things got interesting...

As I recall, Dean Thompson was the first to speak to the announcer, and that was the catalyst for a heated debate that would end just moments before the cars pushed off for the main. The interview was going along nicely when the announcer eluded to the number of “Northern California” drivers there on that night. Dean said something to the effect that they should stay out of his way. The announcer responded, “well the last time Gary Patterson was here he beat you, didn’t he?”. Dean replied, “Yeah, upside - down and in the air!” The crowd laughed then Dean continued, “So if you call that racing then I guess he’s a concern, but I prefer to keep my wheels on the track!”. Again the crowd went wild! The announcer thanked Dean who went about preparing for the race to come. Anyone who remembers racing during this period knows that it couldn’t end there, oh no!

The announcer tracked Gary down just as we were getting ready to push the car onto the track and what followed, well...

The announcer asked, “So Gary, how do you like racing at Ascot Raceway Park?” Gary responded with some kind words (yes this was out of character for him) and then said, “Ascot’s a fast track and you’re always crossed-up, so I like it alright.” Then the announcer filled Gary in about his interview with Dean and waited for Gary to respond. Gary said, “ Well, I like to win!” Hesitated, then continued, “And I don’t care of it’s pretty or not!” The crowd yelled hissed and booed and Gary walked away.

Not one to let dead dogs lie, the announcer ran back to Dean for a follow-up. Dean said something to the effect that they (Northern California drivers) should perhaps not waste their money traveling south - just to get beaten. The crowd went ballistic!

When the announcer got back to Gary, we had all overheard the last comments from Dean and were fired-up, to say the least! Gary, clad in that floppy suede cowboy hat that he used to wear, waited patiently - hands on his hips, for the announcer to begin. “So Gary, what do you think of this controversy we seem to have?” Gary hesitated, moved one hand to rub his chin and then, very calmly replied, “Well,” another pause which had the entire crowd in silent anticipation, “All I can say is - When the green flag drops, the Bullshit stops!”. The announcer’s jaw dropped so low he could have graded the track with it! The crowd exploded with cheers and we, well you get the picture.

Gary simply walked away to his car and started to strap in. Walt and I were still laughing when they pushed-off the cars for the main... Wow! We weren’t lucky that night - the track dried-out and the RR went away early, but Gary never gave up. It was a noble effort but, as I recall, Gary finished fourth or fifth on a bald RR. As I went to get the hauler I thought about the night that had just passed, the comment Gary had made just before the race, and realized that although we hadn’t won the race, we were winners in every sense of the word!

Gary had been right, when the green flag dropped, he drove hard and never gave up, even when he had no tires left! We beat a lot of other drivers and crews that night, teams with a lot more money and better equipment and that’s the mark of winners!

I didn’t realize it then, but Gary had started a fad that night. Within weeks there were T-shirts all over the country, bearing the phrase he had uttered to the announcer on that hot summer night in Gardena, California: When the green flag drops, the bullshit stops!

I don’t know about you, but my jaw still drops every time I remember that night!