Race City Reunion

   Five stock car racing hall of famers are listed among the competitors scheduled to attend the inaugural "Legends Helping Legends" event Saturday in Mooresville.

   The five: Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett and Rex White, each a former champion in NASCAR's top series; five-time Busch Series champion Jack Ingram; and immensely popular Harry Gant, the oldest driver ever to win a Winston Cup Series race.

   The Legends gathering, open to the public, is the creation of Alex Beam, founder and owner of the Memory Lane Motorsports and Historical Automotive Museum in Mooresville, which is nicknamed "Race City USA."

   "As the years have gone by, some of the people who helped make stock car racing the giant sport that it has become have found themselves needing help," said Beam.  "Myself and the folks assisting me plan to make this an annual event to raise money that aid."

   The first beneficiary is to be Bill Connell, a colorful announcer for almost a quarter century at Lowe's Motor Speedway and other major tracks.  Connell suffered kidney cancer in 1998 and continues to battle chronic diabetes.

   "Bill has mounting medical expenses, and we're determined to help him defray those," said Beam.

   Admission to meet legends like Bobby Allison and Jarrett, plus many other major motorsports figures, is $8 and includes a tour of Beam's expansive museum.  The hours are 11 a.m. through 4 p.m.  The museum is located at 769 River Highway, perhaps better known as N.C. 150.  The site is approximately two miles west of I-77  and Exit 36 in Mooresville.

   Others scheduled to attend the "reunion" include former drivers Donnie Allison, Neil Castles, Cecil Gordon, Ernie Irvan, Paul Lewis, Boscoe Lowe, Dave Marcis, Dick May, Jimmy Means, Little Bud Moore, Jerry Nadeau, Ed Negre, former Busch Series champion L.D. Ottinger, Tom Pistone, Don Tarr, Hank Thomas, Don Tilley, Jimmy Spencer, Jim Vandiver and dirt track great Dink Widenhouse.

   Also, crew chiefs Mike Beam, Barry Dodson, Larry McReynolds, Buddy Parrott and Waddell Wilson.

   Car owners set to attend are J.B. Day, Don Duncan, Billy Hagan, Lee Holman, Garry Hargett and Butch Mock.

   There's to be a raffle and also a silent auction of motorsports memorabilia.

   --A much older NASCAR-related charity, "Stocks For Tots," is scheduled Dec. 12, also in Mooresville.

   Its star attraction is Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Nextel Cup Series' most popular driver.

   This event,  now in its 12th year, will be held at the Citizens Center on Main Street in downtown Mooresville from 6-10 p.m.  Formerly, the wildly popular "Tots" extravaganza was spread out over several racing team shops and the N.C.  Racing Hall Of Fame in Mooresville's Lakeside Park.

   Admission is a cash donation of $10, or a new unwrapped toy worth that minimum value.

   Fans planning to attend must buy wristbands from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the hall of fame or starting at 4 p.m. at entry points to the Citizens Center. Only one wristband will be sold per person.  Essentially, this means one fan can't buy wristbands for others to prevent them from standing in line.

   Rusty Wallace, the 1989 Winston Cup champion who co-founded the "Tots" endeavor, will take part, as always.  Wallace is to be the lead analyst in 2007 on racing telecasts by ABC and ESPN.

  Other Nextel drivers listed to attend are Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, David Stremme, Kurt Busch, Travis Kvapil, Mike Wallace and Kevin LePage.

   Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Irvan, McReynolds and Wilson also will participate in the Stocks For Tots program, which through the years has raised thousands of dollars and truckloads of toys for needy children at Christmastime.

   Fans should note that not all the drivers and other motorsports personalities taking part will be able to stay for the entire four hours because of other committments.

   --One of the best-liked guys in Winston Cup racing during the late 1980s and early '90s passed away Tuesday.

   Bob Tomlinson, who was a general manager of the team formed by legendary Cale Yarborough, died after a long battle with cancer. He was 67.

   The gentlemanly Tomlinson, who held a law degree, also worked with some other teams.

   What impressed me most about Bob was his ready cooperation, even if the subject involved a controversey concerning his team.

   Phone calls to him invariably were returned within an hour.  Many others holding positions similar to his might call back in a day or so--or not at all. 

   Prayers and sympathies to the family of a fine man.

   Tomlinson's funeral service is at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Candor (N.C.) Presbyterian Church.

   --Here's a response for the reader who some weeks ago inquired about former driver David Ray Boggs:

   David is 63 now, and living in Morrisville, N.C.

   During the 1971-73 seasons he made 32 Winston Cup Series starts, and finished in the top 10 twice.

   He ran a few Busch Series races in 1983, '84 and '86.