Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, 1976 to be
exact.
The scene was the NHRA Division One Awards Banquet. As part of the
annual festivities, Division Director Darwin Doll always had some
"Gag" awards to present to racers who had endured trials and
tribulations the preceding year. It was a tongue-in-cheek deal and
always was a lot of fun and livened up the evening. Yours truly was
selected to present these awards and I've appeared in a Gorilla suit, as
Chris Econo-Wacky and other characters during the years.
I figured that since Winston had just come-on-board as the sponsor of
NHRA Drag Racing I'd do something a little weird to show my
appreciation. All I told Darwin about this was to introduce me as the
new "Miss Winston" and stand back. He agreed and turned me
loose.
I went to a box shop, found one I could fit into, cut out head and
arm holes, painted it red & white like a Winston pack and took it to
a local sign shop.
During the banquet, I was sitting at the Raceway Park table like
normal, eating and drinking and everyone was asking what I was going to
do this year. Only one other person knew what was up and he was in the
men's room with the box in a plastic bag. At the right time I got up,
went to the can, ripped off my pants and shirt, slipped into the box,
and was ready to go.
Darwin then announced to the crowd that he was going to introduce for
the first time, the new "Miss Winston" and directed everyone's
attention to the men's room door.
