1981 PONTIAC AERO COUPE NASCAR #50 VALVOLINE

Details

The #50 Valvoline car was built in 1981 as a Buick in Rod Osterlund's shop under Dale Endmann's direction. It was one of the first 'road race' cars to be built for Winston Cup Racing. On June 26, 1981, Osterlund sold his entire team and racing staff to J.D. Stacey Enterprises. Dale Earnhardt was Osterlund's driver but quit the Stacey team on Aug 3, 1981, to join Richard Childress. The Buick's first outing was a 2nd place on Nov 22, 1981, with J.D. Stacey. The car and Tim Richmond won their first

race together at Riverside on June 13, 1982. In Tim Richmond's last drive for the J.D. Stacey team, he again won Riverside with the car. Richmond dominated the race by leading 92 of 119 laps and winning by 7 seconds. He termed it, 'a very strong car'. In 1983 with Morgan Shepherd driving the car, it finished 8th at Riverside in June. In November, he finished 33rd. In 1984, Curb Racing purchased the car from J.D. Stacey for Richard Petty. At Riverside on June 3rd, Petty finished 3rd after experiencing rear end problems. He led twice in this race for over 15 laps. The November race at Riverside showed improvement for the car with a 14th place finish, two laps down. Petty again drove the car in 1985 with a strong 7th after leading at the June Riverside race. His last drive in this car resulted in an 8th place finish on the lead lap in the November Riverside finale. Mike Curb sold the car to Dingman Bros. in early 1986. Road Race specialist, Tommy Riggins, finished 15th at the Watkins Glen in August. The final Winston Cup race for this car was at Riverside in November. Al Unser Sr. finished 20th when the engine stopped with only 9 laps remaining. The car is raced in the Historic Stock Car Racing Group (IISCRG). In 2002, the car was purchased at Barrett-Jackson and has successfully campaigned in 'HSR' histories with numerous podium finishes at Road Atlanta. The car is autographed by Richard Petty. **SOLD ON A BILL OF SALE**