Episode 1 - The Problem

[@boredoms1]

I always loved when field filler cars would "lead" laps by staying on track while everyone else pitted during early cautions.

[@ChrisPoindexter98]

yup, some would call them "participation trophy" moments, but we all matter and contribute, like the lowest paid janitors at any of these races that day, same with these casual kings...or at least nobles, folks, etc. 🥴💓 I'd do a lot, as I'm sure you and many would, to say that I even finished Cup, hell, even F1 races, it's still something, albeit with very small career numbers, but being a small yet vital part of such a grand thing, Trickle in what laps completed, speed, and so on I and we can.

[@Kurzov]

Yep - that and earn some "easy" points, back when they gave out some points (5, I think?) for just leading a lap (even during a caution)

[@CarlCrisp]

Wow. That was information from a fire hose. That had to be hours upon hours of research up into a 20 min video. Great job and thank you.

[@MrMiD.Life.Crisis]

I appreciate the history lessons he gives to ppl that are young/new to the sport! Also it's not like mr. Brock is just firing info at us, he has a very easy delivery and I for one am massively appreciative of his work.

[@MrMiD.Life.Crisis]

@Shoeless Joe Jackson surely you could say that about anything that is factual/non-fiction tho? Doesn't everything have to come from a source unless you are the one making the news? Or am I super slow and messed up? Either way hope you guys are all well and good and staying safe.

[@busch77]

Never understood the dislike of field fillers. Start and Parks I get, but field fillers do the best with what they have, make an honest effort to run the race, and can provide some good stories (Shelmerdine making the Daytona 500 for one). Plus they can help make the race exciting as it gives the fast guys someone to pass, along with the occasional race shaking caution! A lot of legends got their start in field filling cars (Earnhardt, Rudd as an example) and it provides more opportunities for the everyman.

[@99somerville]

A lot of "elitists" in NASCAR as well. God forbid an average guy without an Fortune 500 sponsor get a chance.

[@needsmetal]

@@99somerville I think the issue was seeing them qualify 11th and then quit after 2 laps, while a team that was trying to run full races didn't get to race

[@99somerville]

@@needsmetal I don’t get the start and park thing but who knows what their finances really are.

[@pascalfarful952]

I really, really like the field fillers. It gave the grid and the sport that everyman feel which was *severly* missing in much of the European racing scene of the time. NASCAR as an elitist club where only the very best could be feels quite countrary to the spirt and the atmosphere of the sport, so having smaller teams who did their best to make it, even if they failed, gave the sport that underdog element which made it nearly unique.

[@zenon459]

Without the field filler teams we probably wouldn't have the hills either

[@dibslin985]

@Jeff Kopis That is the exact kind of elitist bullshit the guy was talking about. Take that shit to boring "racing" like IndyCar and F1 and let us real blue collar fans have NASCAR.

[@ChrisPoindexter98]

​@Dibslin which is also amusing (in a twisted way) and mostly fascinating because even those series have their own subculture/undercurrent of field fillers and their contributions and histories in those sports!

[@ChrisPoindexter98]

Ya, I like to think it's still there, albeit...far smaller and usually systemically weeded out. We all matter and contribute, regardless of how ""little"" it may seem, despite what media tries to put us down with, and these drivers are no different.

[@S1apShoes]

I hope you'll talk about Stanton Barrett. He was my personal favorite out of the bunch and had some very eye-catching paint schemes. He alone made me race home from school on Friday afternoons.

[@LASTCARonBROCK]

Oh, he'll definitely be in this series. :)

[@bandito775]

Delma Cowart

[@rossracing6433]

@@bandito775 Gotta make the field to be a field filler

[@NASCARRebirth]

i made a custom diecast of stantons 2000 car.

[@sulphurous2656]

Like it or not, field fillers are a necessary part of any sport of this nature. From the commoners and rookies every generation some will stand out and rise above the rest. The cycle must continue. However, the pressing need for top-tier performers all the time is simply an unrealistic goal. Doesn't help how operating costs for team have also skyrocketed ever since the last decade.

[@chada75]

Excatly.

[@specialfriend578]

Remember the 43 car field that lasted for 20+ years? Wish that field fillers still existed they had some banger paint schemes ngl

[@tryithere]

It was an embarrassment.

[@dibslin985]

@@tryithere What's embarrassing is the lack of full fields. It's a telling sign of the economic health of the sport when you're lucky to get 36 entries rather than 50 or more as used to be the case.

[@dibslin985]

@Jeff Kopis When there are more teams it indicates the sport is in a healthy spot financially. When there are as few cars as there are now, well that's not a good sign.

[@tryithere]

@@dibslin985 It's a helluva lot more expensive to run cars now and way outside of inflation adjustments. They have too much computer analysis etc. using up tons of cash.

[@dibslin985]

@@tryithere Should have never left the Gen 4 cars

[@davidburris8230]

There have always been field fillers. They might have not been called that but underfunded teams have been around since NASCAR began.

[@lightningracing19]

I remember being at Talladega in the fall of 2011, and stood behind Joe Nemecheks pit box. He started the race with no tires in the box, a tiny tool box, no other support equipment or fuel cans,, and about 2-3 crew guys in mismatched uniforms (I guess they were his?) wandering around airmlessly.

[@19mfing91]

Joe Nemechek only ran 4 laps in that race. That pit crew was aimlessly wandering around because they knew they weren’t gonna even pit the car. As for mismatched fire suits its pretty common for start and park teams to do this

[@christopherbouchard4121]

As a guy who works on a car in ARCA, can you please do a series on the downfall of it. Use to have 30+ cars and now they barely make half of that. I think it would be a good series

[@Dratchev241]

I think a big issue is just cost. its not cheap to run. hell even my local track here would have a few divisions (late models,street stocks, fig 8, thundercar) and each would have 4 heats and 2 features. now old fig 8 is gone replaced with cheap junker front wheel drives (not saying the FWD is wrong per say, but it only exists cause its cheap). Street stocks/late mods only run select weekends, thundercar gets maybe 1or 2 heats and a feature. It ain't like it used to be, average joe just don't have the cash to play anymore.

[@christopherbouchard4121]

@@Dratchev241 no it is not cheap. It's super expensive. Bodies are at least $10k, tire bill just for a West race is about $2,500. Hell the race pays I think $4k to win or some pathetic number like that. Then you have teams like GMS and Gibbs who will out spend everyone else by 10x. Kills the series. Imo going to this body killed probably half the car count

[@Dratchev241]

@@christopherbouchard4121 and its just as bad in the weekend warrior local track series. easy to spend a few K for a car and if you win on a weekend avg pay is 100/200 500 for a "big" race. back when I was part of a group 18+ years ago we had about 1,000 in the car 100/200 bones was alright. now guys to be competitive have 5+, costs is what drive people like me out. just can't do it anymore.

[@chada75]

I wonder with the cost of the spec body would compare to how many races a small ARCA team could run. In the past, most teams used the body that already was mounted. So much for saving money nowadays.

[@christopherbouchard4121]

@@chada75 think of it like this. The bodies from FiveStar cost $10k. Bodies with roof flaps cost even more around $15k. That doesn't include the time and labor to mount it (all new body mounts) and redo all duct work and tin work.

[@321gofast7]

I love looking at these cars in Jayski, it's so weird seeing a bunch of small, independent, single car teams coming from a modern fan. The only taste I got of that was the late COT/early Gen 6 time period, where there were still a few stragglers, but once Premium Motorsports started to grow they all died out.

[@caseysmith544]

They still have field fillers, just they are now small team players that manage to qualify for every race have enough funding due in part to not needing a different body entirely for each style of track, just modify the body and engine parts at some but they finish way far back in the field almost every week. Also the sport has gotten to where if you are not at __ with racing then you are not going to make the field as the fields have gotten better to the point that qualifying you need to be rather good just to do that.

[@BlueSpiceSpace]

I am still confused about Carl Long's "ban" after all these years, hope that this series goes in depth on that situation

[@AlexB-ty7lf]

he couldnt pay the fine

[@michaelpaz8226]

tl;dr his car's engine was over specs, and NASCAR fined him 200k (also 200 driver and owner points). He didn't have enough money to pay the fine so NASCAR banned him for about nine years.

[@ChrisPoindexter98]

​@@michaelpaz8226wow...I forgot most of that, but I remember now that you bring it up and I read this really fair to all these underdogs, huh, NASCAR :/ thx for enlightening me, tho, ofc

[@dibslin985]

I'd rather have these "field fillers" to have decent field sizes than end up like ARCA.

[@SwineBrothers]

arca is a bad exhample, but you'd rather have quantity than quality? go to some club race. 50 cars and 3 decent drivers.

[@dibslin985]

And you know what, those club races are in better health than all these "quality" series which only have two or three teams capable of winning now anyway. So yes, I will GLADLY take larger fields because it is a better indicator of the sport's health.

[@BANGITSME87]

NASCAR N Wrasslin LOL no

[@oscarjimenezsr.716]

ARCA Used Their Drivers as Troops To Make The Field Bigger

[@chada75]

More drivers=More teams=more people coming to the races=more family and friends coming too=more chances of rich people coming into the sport=more growth. Basic Economics.

[@jabber1990]

Bruton Smith was saying 16 years ago "we need to control costs" ...and yet nobody listened...

[@randomreviewsrebooted5156]

Heck yeah, it's also a series! I can't wait!

[@Ultimate23Dragon]

17:04 - Actually, the reason that Stacker2 left the sport was because they were starting to be sued like crazy, forcing them to terminate their deal with Kenny Wallace & Bill Davis Racing mid-season.

[@LASTCARonBROCK]

Interesting. I wonder if the Ephedra issue was part of the lawsuit. Jayski had several articles on the subject around the 2003 when the substance was banned from other sports. I recall Stacker 2 having to change their ads to say their product was now "Ephedra-Free."

[@oscarjimenezsr.716]

That's BS Why were they being Sued?

[@Troggle84]

@@oscarjimenezsr.716 The short answer is that people were dying due to Ephedra. It could cause heart issues and played a role in at least one professional athlete dying in the couple of years prior to 2003. In sports, it's considered a performance enhancer. Since then, the FDA has banned raw ephedra in supplements and medications. It's also banned by pretty much every sport (NASCAR included). Ephedra extract is apparently still legal for usage, but banned by sport anti-doping authorities.

[@jamesgentry13]

@@Troggle84 it's also an ingredient in meth

[@MatthewLewisAtlanta]

I miss ephedra. White crosses & yellow jackets. Oh well, good thing the govt outlawed selling it to save naive citizens like myself, otherwise I would have never discovered all of the joys of smoking crack, crystal meth and snorting Adderall!!! 👍🏻👍🏻 Thanks U. S. Government!!! 😀🇺🇸🇺🇲🏁☝🏻

[@chardab8824]

I’m excited they mentioned my man Timmy Hill

[@jquatt21]

This video kicked ass!!! I learned a ton! This is seriously better than anything the networks or NASCAR has produced regarding this topic!

[@chuckiefinster544]

Lotta names in there that i don't even remember. Props to those guys who threw their hat into the ring even if they lacked funding and good equipment.

[@andrewhaywood1262]

I remember you back when your channel was called nadeau1064, watching your VHS recordings of moments such as Kenny Schrader's 1995 flip at Talladega. Good times! You've come such a long way since then!

[@DennyDeliversYT]

Ah yes... back when a bunch of field fillers all tried to qualify and so many went home

[@bruceholloway1123]

DennyDelivers Boring

[@THEDonnyB]

Can't wait for part two. You always take your time to make excellent videos with top tier research, so that the video is full of awesome content. And this series is clearly par for the course. I'll be waiting for that notification for part two.

[@81casperflip]

I used to be obsessed with the obscure field filler cars. Especially in the early 2000s

[@bloqk16]

I recall years ago I spoke to an old guy involved with NASCAR from decades ago; back in the days when Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson were at their peaks as drivers, when I posed this question with him: _"What is it that keeps those also-ran drivers still racing? As if I hadn't gotten a Cup win by my 150th start, I'd quit the sport."_ (such a temperament comes from my having Attention Deficit Disorder) That guy's response: *'The money those also-ran drivers earns is considerable. They couldn't earn that kind of money in any other profession they could pursue with the skills sets they have.'* When I asked what kind of money those drivers earn, the NASCAR old-timer said it could be anywhere from $75K to over $100K a season; and that was over 20 years ago.

[@Raptorking18]

I mean if I could easily make $50,000-100,000 a year and finish last every race, but got to at least race, I fucking would say yes

[@pugzilla330]

All hail our lord and savior KIRK SHELMERDINE!

[@yoberry5451]

The problem for me is I miss you so much B Rock! I love you and don't ever forget that.😙😙😙

[@LASTCARonBROCK]

Thanks for watching, YoYo!

[@garymack9734]

The change brought about change alright, they killed it!

[@AlonsoRules]

NASCAR definitely called the field fillers because they needed 43 cars for TV money to come in

[@chrislb2308]

You and Slapshoes make the most unique NASCAR and racing history videos.

[@michaelscott1862]

Great video, Brock. I love seeing nostalgic material like this. I lived this whole period from 88 to 2013 or so being a die-hard NASCRAP fan. Seeing how the sport rose and how everyone loved it.... It had innocence. Then it changed... And quickly evolved into the toxic shit it is now. How far it's fallen.

[@jeffktown]

2 races at Darlington returns 2021!

[@michaelkobke8277]

That video proofed to me how much of a nerd I am as I knew every part timer mentioned for the early/mid 2000s era. Good content!

[@NotSteveCook]

The intro and outro makes it seem like a TV series😄 Good work as usual!

[@theNewTomSawyer]

It may be a good idea to add some details about why these start and parks can exist. What they get out of it, how they can stay afloat.

[@KDill29]

Started watching S1apSh0es videos. He plugged your BeGinning Of The End video, watched that, and now I'm hooked. Awesome videos, entertaining, and I love the history of racing and all of the hidden workings of it, that we dont usually get to know or see. Keep up the good work my friend.

[@LASTCARonBROCK]

Thank you very much!

[@racinjasonscreations2858]

You do excellent work, my friend. I would love to see this sport restored to its former glory, and go above and beyond. In the waiting period, thank you for taking us back down memory lane. It's good to feel the nostalgia.

[@JasonNation72]

Fantastic job on this video, Brock! I'm an avid NASCAR fan, but I didn't know most of the information given in this well-produced and well-narrated video. I feel like I need to take a written exam after watching this.

[@JohnZoni]

I never fail to come away informed and entertained after watching your videos. Great work, Brock! 🏁

[@fredericoribeiro7325]

Superb video! Thank you so much for producing this! Can’t wait for part 2.

[@iamultimate3043]

Jimmy Hensley is really good family friend and it’s always cool to see him in any form of video.

[@ethantracy337]

This is an awesome series 👏

[@SkippyThorson]

Like all of your videos, this was absolutely tremendous and I enjoyed every second. I could have watched an hour and a half movie about this. Very cool info from my favorite era in Nascar.

[@NascarNick2488]

Brock, I REALLY hate to be that person but being a resident of Long Island, you mispronounced Islip at 7:42 😂😂😂but like always, another great video man 🏁🏁🏁

[@LASTCARonBROCK]

D'oh!

[@badbooking3221]

It's technically a compound word, I-Slip! Sounds like a doctor from a Three Stooges short. Alas I'm excited to see where this series goes.

[@josephreilly6328]

Way to go two mentions of tracks on long island, Riverhead great for modifieds is still going strong. East Islip Joe misses Islip Speedway

[@Ultimate23Dragon]

When PPI Motorsports' 2nd team shut down in 2001, it was because of how McDonalds felt their team & driver (Andy Houston) was treated in comparison to the team car (Ricky Craven).

[@SwineBrothers]

i knew you'd say it...the guy was just bad in cup.

[@dibslin985]

@@SwineBrothers He crashed a lot

[@dibslin985]

@@SwineBrothers GoodTruck Series driver, very adequate in Busch Series as well. It just didn't translate to Cup.

[@ninjamushroom8367]

I zoned out and heard “... Shaq won the Arca race” and almost popped off 😂

[@jonnymayne4321]

Wow amazing video I have always been interested in the stories of the little teams in NASCAR so I loved it. Loads of info you could have made it 3 hours long with all that info! Keep up the great work bud

[@knowprosports]

Brock. I absolutely love your channel. So well written and I truly enjoy the info that you provide. Keep up the good work Sir.

[@SwineBrothers]

brock, something you fail to mention is the combination races. the 94 brickyard 400 was also a nascar west race, and so had the full west field attempting to make the race. mike chase was the only one that did. that would explain the huge carcounts at some races.

[@LASTCARonBROCK]

Very true - combination races were designed to fill fields at Riverside and Ontario when most teams didn't travel that far. In most cases, I'd consider that more of a consequence of geography than economics. West Coast races were almost a series of their own for a long time, much like the old Northern Tour in NASCAR's early history (including the Bridgehampton and Islip races mentioned in the video). I'll admit the 1994 Brickyard fits more with the "field filler" label - it seems absurd that NASCAR thought they needed to bring in more teams thinking they couldn't fill the field for a race that anticipated, but they did exactly that. An already massive entry list became impossibly larger.

[@SwineBrothers]

@@LASTCARonBROCK yep, and up until 97, sonoma was run as both a nascar west and cup race. i can remember when the west cars were old cup cars. i believe the irwindale speedway lap record set by butch gilliland in 99 still stands.

[@pucksaq]

Man. Make me wish they still had the West series. NASCAR's version of the pro-am goalies (talented in their own right but special stories when they make the big time)

[@00andJoe]

@@LASTCARonBROCK "The Other 43" might make for a good video some day...

[@chada75]

@@LASTCARonBROCK To be fair, being the first stock car race at Indy, Many teams entered just for that one reason.

[@matthewmauran9453]

Amazing the Homework you do! Great video.

[@carrsllccarrillo6507]

It's content like this I dont need tv. I got all the stock car education I need right here! Great job once again, mind blown!

[@pepsibottleq]

Awesome work on quite a compelling subject in NASCAR history

[@spencerbrayall8678]

Great work as always Brock, and I love how you give the under dogs and unknown guys some recognition. Keep up the good work!

[@stevemoore12]

Fantastic video! I can really tell how much effort and knowledge you dumped into this video.

[@PescaraProductions]

John Mickel in Nascar could have really been something. Especially as that team was understanding a lot from British ASCAR

[@budlybeerburgler8083]

If park didn't have that accident maybe he would of done something, but unfortunately it turned out to be like Ervin and nadeau. Unrecoverable.

[@tsmitty777]

Please turn this into a condemnation of the charter system. Pleeeeeeaaaseeeee.

[@BSNFabricating]

Prior to 1971, the qualifying races at Daytona each counted as a points race, and since you could only race in one of those races, it was impossible to run every single race in a season. I guess the exception was 1968 when the qualifiers were rained out.

[@LASTCARonBROCK]

A very good point, but it's still interesting how few teams only missed that one qualifier.

[@BSNFabricating]

@@LASTCARonBROCK True...of course back then there was no TV coverage to speak of, little or no sponsorship, and not enough money to make it worthwhile to run all the little races they ran at long-forgotten tracks. In the 62-race season (1964), only Richard Petty and David Pearson ran the 61 possible races. Only five others made 50 or more starts. Billy Wade, who finished fourth in points, won four races but only made 35 starts. and Fred Lorenzen, who was 13th in points, made just 16 starts, but won half of them.

[@edd17sp74]

Awesome first episode! Looking forward to the next one!

[@JohnnyBoombatz1119]

Man do I love your videos...you have so much knowledge on the history of the sport! Love it!

[@gabewood983]

Finally, somewhere Hillenburg will get some love 😂

[@Flamingbro69]

Man, I'm Loving this series already.

[@greyflora1490]

Nascar lost me a long time ago. I watch a lot of racing, just not nascar.

[@samzavinful]

Maybe if there wasn't so many "official" sponsors in NASCAR. Some of that money could go to teams that need sponsor money to run more. Throw some money into a "wrap" that you could put on a car so the backend of the field is all black and white car bodies...

[@Jeyrod]

I’ve been waiting for this one! Thank you!

[@DemonHippo266]

How these videos have not gone viral is borderline criminal.

[@hardcorehamburger8427]

Man, I miss Rockingham.

[@gamerageandhobbyrcdu]

Dang, I knew the k-mart/Sears fall was a long and complex thing, but dang, they went on for a long time after declaring bankruptcy

[@JoeBobTarheel]

Read your book Brick about JD McDuffie amd loved it! Very great stories!

[@bubbakushingtonIII]

Got a great voice for this

[@chada75]

More Economic studies of racing, please! Best video I seen in a ling time! Thank you!

[@jabber1990]

i'd love to see that, but so much of that is classified information

[@jeankepler8081]

Really looking forward to the next video!

[@nc2827]

Love your videos, cant wait for part 2!

[@NotSteveCook]

17:42 Morgan-McClure Motorsports did not make the trip to Sonoma in June; the first race they skipped altogether since 1987.

[@edsong97]

New find on youtube, instant suscriber and like after five minutes into the video.

[@LASTCARonBROCK]

Thank you - welcome aboard!

[@terskatti4994]

I loved seeing a lot of start & parkers with weird sponsors

[@mackenziek8383]

great video, Brock. no one does it like you

[@crouchb15]

14:30 CHOCOLATE RAINES

[@MrPort]

S1apSh0es sends his regards. Awesome video btw.

[@dennisbrowne9471]

What a great intro! Keep it up!

[@terskatti4994]

Also your videos are best "documentary" nascar videos on youtube. Much better than anything like iceberg, dannyb, ericestepp or blackflagsmatter can put out ever.

[@GraySpeedProductions]

This is awesome! Looking forward to more!

[@existinginaspace8347]

I'm gonna start calling Gase's car a grocery getter now. Love em to death but my gods being an RWR fan is painful

[@jabber1990]

...there are RWR fans?

[@thetechfromheaven]

At least us MBM fans have TIMMY HILL TOP 5 STAGE POINTS and 15th at Dega going on for us ;-; Also fun fact, It has been the Best finish for the Trumpmobile (Corey Lajoie always crashed that thing lmao)

[@JimboBurrito]

It was Timmy's destiny to become a field filler like his father before him. He must keep the generation going.

[@thormcewen4750]

You always do great videos, I will subscribe for more. Thank you

[@dalejr183]

I miss Dale Sr and Winston cup everything has been going trash ever since. I'm 40 now but spent my youth in 80's and 90's enjoying Nascar and then in the 21st century it went to trash. To hell with change and politics. Last race I attended was 2008 havn't been back since. It was more laid back a family sport where u could go talk to the drivers without BS corperate america rules and excessive charges and the drivers had more talent and u could relate to them bluecollar who earned there way up.

[@b.w.22]

Hey brother - since you cover a lot of fun, old racing, thus may come up again. You may have corrected on this by now, but “Islip” is pronounced like ice-lip, as opposed to is-lip. Love your work - I always get a kick out of mentions of racing in what is now collectively “the Hamptons.” My grandfather was from there and the Congressman for the area through most of the 50’s.

[@jeffreyrussell6909]

Your content is 🔥

[@wilsonb1121]

You deserve a million followers

[@cba_2442]

I can't wait for part 2.

[@joshuacoombs1955]

rokkie of the year........at 46 !!!???

[@DinsdalePiranha67]

Dick Trickle became Rookie of the Year at the age of 47.

[@SDCBMS]

Awesome video

[@JasonRatcliff7896]

Awesome...best nascar independent streamer on u boob

[@kirknagy6253]

How about that 57 CLR Ford?

[@VitalxKill]

You have a great voice, awesome vid

[@Larry_Harvilla]

7:40 Minor nitpick ... the correct pronunciation is ICE-lip.

[@scottwyatt5173]

Dig the racing footage.

[@seen48]

Good stuff!

[@germanequihua3358]

I like Rise of the Field Fillers Stories

[@dibslin985]

I'm all for the "field fillers" because they examplify the everyman, blue collar nature of stock car racing that makes it so relatable. The elitist snobbery that exists in IndyCar and F1 turns me off.

[@thrashmetaljay666]

Oh no...somehow, whilst trying to process all of this, I appear to have gone cross eyed.