Men Behind the Wrenches - Smokey Yunick

From the old Speed Channel, Jeff Hammond hosts this profile of Henry "Smokey" Yunick. Always a controversial figure, this all too short biography does little to change that perception.

Пікірлер: 298

  • @timtest5845
    @timtest58454 жыл бұрын

    One of the best stories I've heard about him was when NASCAR decided to limit the size of the gas tanks. Some of the teams were able to use truck tires and run the whole race pit stop free. Smokey noticed NASCAR hadn't limited the length of the filler tube. He put several feet of filler tube under the back seat and ran the whole race anyway. When NASCAR found out they changed the rule the next week. Chris Econamacky asked Smokey how much father he could have gone and he said I probably could have driven all the way back to the house. A legend pure and simple

  • @v12tommy

    @v12tommy

    2 жыл бұрын

    I hadn't heard the fuel filler thing. I know at one point he ran a whole bunch of 2 inch fuel lines snaked back and forth between the fuel tank and the engine. Not sure if that is what you are thinking about or not.

  • @MrGaryGG48

    @MrGaryGG48

    Жыл бұрын

    @@v12tommy The story I heard (MANY years ago!) was that Smokey felt he was getting jerked around in Tech Inspection after a race. He decided he'd been standing around watching the inspectors long enough. While they were poking around with his tank, he got back in the car, (the tank was up on a test bench) fired it up and drove back to his pit stall with no fuel tank! THAT got their attention! There was apparently no specific rule regarding the diameter or the length of the fuel line from the tank to the engine. He found that omission in the rule book and took advantage of it. That contributed to the rumors about Smokey's "cheating."

  • @bobthompson4319

    @bobthompson4319

    9 ай бұрын

    The part you mention about the fuel line is in the movie days of thunder. When harry hogg is talking to the car and says "I'm gonna give you an engine, low to the ground... extra thick oil pan that'll cut the wind from underneath ya, see. It'll give you thirty or forty more horsepower. I'm gonna give you a fuel line that'll hold an extra gallon of gas. I'm gonna shave half an inch off you and shape you like a bullet. I'll get you primed, painted and weighed, and you'll be ready to go out on that racetrack. You hear me? You're gonna be perfect." All of that stuff is obviously inspired by Smokey Yunick. They should've asked to use his name and likeness in the movie.

  • @pena.3302

    @pena.3302

    2 күн бұрын

    These Wise.MEN..r no longer.."Theyre not there"..Dirty Blvd.l.reed.

  • @genemartin6962
    @genemartin69624 жыл бұрын

    Why this man is NOT in the NASCAR Hall of Fame is beyond me. If the France family had any sense at all they would embrace and help make Smokey's legend bigger. It is a shame that the France family is not going to allow this man be included in something that he helped start and build. This guy was the real deal.

  • @fredericrike5974

    @fredericrike5974

    4 жыл бұрын

    Smokey was one of the car gods from the generation just before me. And what a genius he was- during his career the most sought after opinion, the most copied, the most envied man on Pit Row in many cases was Henry "Smokey" Yunick. You ended talking about his post retirement, but one of his most forward thinking projects came out of that era- a Pontiac Fiero four banger with lots of power and multi hundred mile per gallon efficiency. His daughter is the last person I heard having this car and some of the paraphenalia surrounding it. Go back and follow this up- there are likely a lot of eyebrows that will rise when this "gasoline in his veins" legend of motorsports is revealed for being one of the most forward and potentially environmentally concerned "mechanic, with the "Best Damn Shop In Town" has ever been thought to be. It would do a lot of people good to know that Smokey was already concerned in the early '60s. The Fiero has generated rumors about 400 mpg; if any body could do it in the mid eighties, it would be the "Best Damn Mechanic In Anywhere, USA". The France Family is, unfortunately the France Family; lots of people carp about NASCAR isn't this or that because of the France Family. Truth be known, NASCAR might not even exist or might have been a very different animal if some already regular promoter or entrepreneur had attempted it. But the France Family is still just that, and for a while other investors and stake holders they have to make happy long before the fans enter the picture- which is the other half of the NASCAR story; in the hunt for position and permanence , NASCAR traded off that "blue collar" appeal for a wider audience that wasn't blue collar at all.

  • @fredericrike5974

    @fredericrike5974

    4 жыл бұрын

    Maybe so, but how will you show of pique help, beyond not buying any tickets? Are you still watching on TV? The sponsors don't care if you hate the Frances or not, just if you watch their advertisements. And that is where the public aspects of racing can destroy the sport for the people in it. Yunick wouldn't like this system and likely would find a different venue ; since he didn't see himself a zillionaire , he would have moved elsewhere- and not very likely Indycars, where if enough money is thrown at an only willing driver, he may win.

  • @scottelkin562

    @scottelkin562

    4 жыл бұрын

    Smokey's not in the HOF because he cheated and was banned for life. He is the reason NASCAR now uses templates for the body.

  • @genemartin6962

    @genemartin6962

    4 жыл бұрын

    Scott Elkin Scott my boy Smokey to my knowledge was never “banned” from NASCAR. He quit building stock car due to his running feud with Bill France He started building Indy Cars due to the “Skinny little rule book”. He was not a cheater. He was an Innovator.

  • @fredericrike5974

    @fredericrike5974

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@scottelkin562 Both an incomplete and less than accurate; the templates you wrote of are the product of NASCARS decision to limit the (then) increasing top speeds and to "regularize and stabilize" the racing field to get cars closer to each other and make a better spectacle- good racing was the last thing on the France family's mind. Smokey had been long gone from the NASCAR world- Dale,Sr's death is a good place to put the "book mark" for the present generation of NASCAR non competitors. The templates are only the part you see- things like how the rear axle is suspended and controlled are checked even, guarantee the brackets are built to "the NASCAR specs". Those specs cover every aspect of the cars construction, dimensions and ultimate performance potential- all of that written to keep the top speed from much exceeding 200 mph, to keep the field largely circulating together (the most dangerous place to be on a NASCAR track has always been "running with the pack") and although the rules seem to frown on avoidable contact, it is to be said that a lot of unnecessary contact (that is where many of the "donuts" on car doors come from) is not only happening, but that NASCAR doesn't really intend to do much about it. BTW, unnecessary contact was part of the accident that killed Dale,Sr. Smokey Yunick unsderstood the competition really began in the shop, building the car. Yes, he took advantage of poorly constructed and in some cases unwritten rules- this is what you get when you write the damn rules to begin with- and most of his competitors may have publicly screamed about it, but most of them blindly followed where Smokey led. If you have any doubts, research the story about Smoky showing up with a Chevelle that had the headers perforated about 4 inches out side the port; nobody knew what the perforations were for, but by race time, something like half the field had "perforated headers". NASCAR is a complicated story, made more so by the egos of Bill France and his family. It cannot be denied, though, that with out France or someone very like him NASCAR might never have existed by any name and National Championship car races might still be a distant thought. Yunick's non entry in the NASCAR HoF has more to do with the above mentioned egos than about any thing else- Bill France claimed and supported NASCAR as the "only authentic form of American car racing". All of this is from old Hot Rod Magazines and Rod & Custom from the day- the archives are there- are you brave enough to go there and have your uninformed comment blown up?

  • @localcrew
    @localcrew4 жыл бұрын

    I used to read his column in “Popular Science “ magazine way back in the late sixties, early seventies. Anyone else here that old?

  • @nickpappas4133

    @nickpappas4133

    4 жыл бұрын

    Yep,I’m 68 and would read any article with Smokey.He was the best.

  • @richardpehtown2412

    @richardpehtown2412

    4 жыл бұрын

    Hell yes. I remember when he test drove cars for the magazine. In a test of a Fiat ( I think it was ) he wound up rolling the car. He got out, dusted himself off, and gave a straight opinion of what it needed to improve it. Must have been born with a steering wheel in his hands.

  • @Tommy_Mac

    @Tommy_Mac

    4 жыл бұрын

    Smokey wrote for Circle Track at the end. I thought he also wrote for Popular Mechanics, IIRC.

  • @schzx14

    @schzx14

    4 жыл бұрын

    Yep. It was called “Say, Smokey”. I met him and got his autograph back in the 90’s at a car show at Charlotte Speedway and he was very gracious.

  • @Tommy_Mac

    @Tommy_Mac

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@schzx14 yep. I have a numbered Smokey autographed Prolong poster of a Larry Shinoda rendering of the Spirit of Daytona, signed by him. Never got to meet him, though. He was awesome!

  • @v12tommy
    @v12tommy2 жыл бұрын

    My dad was building an IndyCar with Smokey at one point. They'd go to lunch and get Smokey talking about all his innovations over the years. My dad said that his cheeks would hurt after lunch, from all the grinning and laughing, hearing all the awesome stories and Smokey's ways of reading between the lines.

  • @blackwalnutmintyfukkenchew5928

    @blackwalnutmintyfukkenchew5928

    Жыл бұрын

    Seems like one of them dudes, always a good feeling to laugh like that

  • @keithstudly6071
    @keithstudly60714 жыл бұрын

    At 18:55 there is a picture of Smokey under the hood of his car. Look carefully at the air intake. It goes back to the firewall. That was to bring cool air into the carburetor but Smokey figured out a modification to the clutch and pressure plate to turn it into a blower. He would then take the air being blown out of the bellhousing and duct it into the air intake and, volia! a supercharged engine. It falls under "they didn't say you couldn't!"

  • @slabbusterrtr7690

    @slabbusterrtr7690

    3 жыл бұрын

    Genius

  • @stinkycheeseman1723

    @stinkycheeseman1723

    Жыл бұрын

    Nah. The bell housing supercharger thing was done on old Hudson hornets.

  • @vilefly

    @vilefly

    Жыл бұрын

    Welded blades to the flexplate (auto trans) to "cool the converter". Was good for 1 psi of boost @7000 rpm. Not sure what was done to tame the clutch dust on the standard transmissions.

  • @4fanintexas
    @4fanintexas4 жыл бұрын

    The NASCAR Hall of Fame will always be irrelevant until Smokey is in it. Until then, it's just a joke.

  • @dannycoker6439

    @dannycoker6439

    4 жыл бұрын

    Well said Chappy 👍

  • @JAMplusPAW

    @JAMplusPAW

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agree 100%. A master mechanic and engine wizard. He also entered cars at the Indy 500.

  • @icebluecuda1

    @icebluecuda1

    3 жыл бұрын

    The NASCAR hall of fame... is for fans. Not mechanics, in the old German sense of mechanic, not the Certified Mechanic sense.

  • @joeynelson4091

    @joeynelson4091

    3 жыл бұрын

    Dam right

  • @thomasstark5381

    @thomasstark5381

    3 жыл бұрын

    Damn right !

  • @woodey028
    @woodey0282 жыл бұрын

    "The Sun don't shine on the same dogs ass all the time" I love it. Smokey was a Man's man R.I.P Somkey.

  • @dougauzene8389
    @dougauzene83894 жыл бұрын

    "Best Damn Garage ln Town!" Miss You, Smokey...

  • @IronReece13
    @IronReece134 жыл бұрын

    could you imagine if Smokey, Junior Johnson, and Carol Shelby would have worked together on a LeMans car, they would have won by miles

  • @darrellsomers5427

    @darrellsomers5427

    2 жыл бұрын

    Talk about the unfair advantage

  • @jsofords6885

    @jsofords6885

    Жыл бұрын

    Carroll would have been the business front. Would have also needed Phil Remington from Shelby.

  • @Bob-ub4gl

    @Bob-ub4gl

    Жыл бұрын

    @@jsofords6885 And a guy named Joe Mondello, (RIP) doing the heads...

  • @bobthompson4319

    @bobthompson4319

    9 ай бұрын

    And A WHOLE BUNCH of very pissed off losing race teams. Yelling yelling they cheated. And some talking confused officials when smokey tells them to show him where in the rule book it says they can't do what they did. LMAO

  • @adamweston4152
    @adamweston41523 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for introducing me to Smokey, I'm from the UK and I have never known much about US racing history and US cars but now that I'm 50 I have started appreciating American cars and racing.this guy was a seriously dedicated man and I respect his way of doing things.

  • @philliplopez8745
    @philliplopez87454 жыл бұрын

    Two of the greatest names in racing " Smokey " and " Grumpy "

  • @richardpehtown2412

    @richardpehtown2412

    4 жыл бұрын

    And Mickey.

  • @billallen4793

    @billallen4793

    3 жыл бұрын

    @Z and slamming gears...lol

  • @fw1421
    @fw14214 жыл бұрын

    You don’t hear much about Smokey Today but he was a real innovator in his day. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

  • @connienania486

    @connienania486

    3 жыл бұрын

    Man was a genius far ahead of his time a real innovator

  • @fishhuntadventure

    @fishhuntadventure

    2 жыл бұрын

    You don’t have much for truly innovative people today. They’re all staring at computer models and pit strategy simulations

  • @sergeantmasson3669

    @sergeantmasson3669

    9 ай бұрын

    @@connienania486 Constant cheater.

  • @karltite128
    @karltite1284 жыл бұрын

    The man! Recently acquired autographed poster of the 13 car at Daytona Speedway. It was autographed to my childhood hero Jeff Hawkins, 5 time track champion at the Greenville Pickens Speedway! Rip Jeff. Mrs. Hawkins was downsizing and was fortunate enough to meet her. After some conversation she had worked where my father worked. She knew some of my kin. Bless her heart, she gave me a bunch a stuff free after the purchase of poster and one of Jeff and her's tackle boxes. The racing community are great people! Loved the video.

  • @cleaterose5914
    @cleaterose59144 жыл бұрын

    Smokey was my hero as a teenager. I'm disappointed they didn't mention his adiabatic engine which got 50+MPG in the 1980's.

  • @rustedratchetgarage6788

    @rustedratchetgarage6788

    4 жыл бұрын

    Hot air fiero lol luved it

  • @JAMplusPAW

    @JAMplusPAW

    3 жыл бұрын

    The Pontiac. GM closed the project for some reason. They got the car back, but Smoky kept the engine. No telling where it is now.

  • @sswcustomsewing4276

    @sswcustomsewing4276

    3 жыл бұрын

    Im not 100% sure I could be wrong. I think NASA has that project they had a pickup with a hot air engine that you never hear about at all. Smokey will always be one of my heroes his books and his biography box set are just amazing I encourage anybody to read about him.

  • @V8Lenny

    @V8Lenny

    3 жыл бұрын

    That car was also 100% cheating.

  • @fishhuntadventure

    @fishhuntadventure

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@V8Lenny cheating? nope. Exploring the margins of the most you could do with the BTUs available in a gallon of gasoline. Are there actually rules against innovation LOL

  • @Tommy_Mac
    @Tommy_Mac4 жыл бұрын

    I would strongly suggest that you get his autobiography. They only focused on mostly NASCAR racing in this video. Smokey did a lot of other things-mining in Ecuador, inventing many things, test equipment like the Smoketron,consulting work for the automakers, gas mileage runs, piloting his own aircraft, including helicopters. You name it. He was the best in the world on engines for quite a long time. He has been shunned by NASCAR'S HOF for no good reason , which really needs to change. He came up with a lot of safety equipment, such as a safety wall, long before NASCAR would allow it. Interesting guy. I miss his influence.

  • @ExternalInputs

    @ExternalInputs

    3 жыл бұрын

    It was his early life as a WW2 bomber pilot that surprised me the most. I can't recall a more straight shooting, warts and all account of the air war. It's a great read and the rest of the book is equally good. What a life he had.

  • @terranceanderson7715

    @terranceanderson7715

    3 ай бұрын

    ​@@ExternalInputs0u 6thI 8.30 8😅

  • @Gaspipenicklioni

    @Gaspipenicklioni

    11 күн бұрын

    My dad was a lot like smokey, he could build anything, fix anything, drive anything, lost him February 23, 2022, had him over 51 years.

  • @victoryfirst2878
    @victoryfirst28783 жыл бұрын

    I am just amazed to why no movie has been made about the legendary mechanic.

  • @joshbarth9469
    @joshbarth94694 жыл бұрын

    Thank you for posting this one! My favorite episode for a lot of reasons. Him and my dad are why I'm a tech today, and have a race car in my shed. Smokey is one of the coolest humans in history, the more you read his writings, hear him talk, hear the real stories, etc.

  • @AlanRoehrich9651
    @AlanRoehrich9651 Жыл бұрын

    Smoky Yunick, a brilliant man, and a great racer. I really enjoyed his seminars, and just talking to him was a blast, had a lot of fun, and learned a great deal. Sorry that I wasn't able to make it down to his place for a visit before he passed. The invitation was a great honor.

  • @shannontreadway
    @shannontreadway3 жыл бұрын

    It's the bird lady lol it's pretty cool to see his daughter on here I always remember her as the bird lady because she owned a bird shop next to Smokey shop next to the river and down by where Publix used to be and even before that Aloha Marina where my grandpa had his boat which was in the same parking lot as smokey shop so cool to see the past still being talked about these are stories that should never ever end this is part of our life this is part of NASCAR this is part of vehicles in particular it's so cool to see Smokey tell some of these stories some of these stories I've heard in person

  • @RyanGallager
    @RyanGallager4 жыл бұрын

    I just knew there was one of these on Smokey Yunick! Thanks for uploading!

  • @HODIUSDUDE

    @HODIUSDUDE

    4 жыл бұрын

    Yeah, I actually stumbled across this one. It did not fit on DVD with all the others I had recently UL'd. Apparently, I used it to fill out the space on another DVD before I finalized it.

  • @davebrown7772
    @davebrown77723 жыл бұрын

    For an ol' boy named Yunick, he sure wasn't lacking in the balls department.

  • @noviranger239
    @noviranger2393 жыл бұрын

    Smokey Yunick was motor racing's MacGyver.

  • @extramile150
    @extramile1503 жыл бұрын

    My buddy Smokey Yunick...maybe the best experience of my motorsports career was being a friend of this man. He belongs in the NASCAR Hall of Fame NOW. (We both wrote for Circle Track Magazine in the 1980s).

  • @HODIUSDUDE

    @HODIUSDUDE

    3 жыл бұрын

    I've still have a few old Circle Track zines on my bookshelf. Thanks for watching.

  • @coalbranch

    @coalbranch

    2 жыл бұрын

    How was he as co worker?

  • @extramile150

    @extramile150

    Жыл бұрын

    @@coalbranch wonderful...and funny. I did all types of features, Smokey had his Q&A column. When I needed mechanical answers and expertise, I called Smokey.

  • @SwineBrothers
    @SwineBrothers4 жыл бұрын

    i've been looking for this for as long as youtube has existed, thanks so much!

  • @HODIUSDUDE

    @HODIUSDUDE

    4 жыл бұрын

    Glad I could help! Thanks for watching.

  • @robthornton9129
    @robthornton9129 Жыл бұрын

    My father always told me that Smokey Yunick was a genius. He was one of my father’s heroes.

  • @dennisholst4322

    @dennisholst4322

    5 ай бұрын

    When he built the 302

  • @briannotafan3368
    @briannotafan33684 жыл бұрын

    BACK WHEN RACING WAS REAL NOT THE BULLSHIT OF TODAY

  • @FayeHadley

    @FayeHadley

    4 жыл бұрын

    exactly!!!

  • @BobSmith-mc7uq

    @BobSmith-mc7uq

    4 жыл бұрын

    Corporations run the show, regulations as to how you smile & what you say are another form of SOCIALISM! Nascar is the biggest "turd" of racing. Back to the old days when drivers had problems, they talked with their fist, then got a beer together & laughed.

  • @dylanbrod429

    @dylanbrod429

    4 жыл бұрын

    However "Real racing" in the 60s and 70s was boring as hell. Only the leader finished on the lead lap. Sure they were real cars, but at least nowadays the top 20 cars are constantly racing each rhe for position.

  • @tacobreather
    @tacobreather Жыл бұрын

    I was lucky enough to meet Smokey, spend a little time with him at his shop.

  • @richb419
    @richb4193 жыл бұрын

    This man was an amazing engineer, held back by the big 3 when he tried to introduce his hot vapor engine in a magazine "Car Craft" I think. the big boys would have no part of it so it finally died. too bad he was a great self made engineer. Rich

  • @scottbrown2352
    @scottbrown2352 Жыл бұрын

    Being an English nascar fan it’s always bothered me why this man isn’t in the hof it seems to work like the rock n roll hall of fame it’s random and doesn’t make sence. This guy is a legend 💯

  • @sceneanuerebelrebel9244
    @sceneanuerebelrebel92443 жыл бұрын

    One time he built a motor in front of the tech inspection crew .They specifically checked the parts he washed them and installed them ,the questionable parts already in the wash tank slight of hand and they went into the motor and he won. Nobody could figure it out !!!

  • @sexyfacenation

    @sexyfacenation

    Жыл бұрын

    So that's cheating isn't it?

  • @brettspaulding5855
    @brettspaulding58553 жыл бұрын

    Smokey built a "turbo" engine that relied on preignition as much as spark. It was a carbureted fiero engine. The patent was bought out by an oil company. I believe it was standard oil. It made more power had next to zero emissions and made better power.

  • @robinarrington5498

    @robinarrington5498

    2 жыл бұрын

    It wasn't preignition.it was a hot vapor engine.also called axiomatic engine.the intake air and fuel were preheated until the fuel became a vapor/ perfect mixture.one of the problems they ran into was that the only oil that would stand up to the heat was a very expensive mil spec oil.i have a friend that cut some blocks in half at crane cams in s.Fl.it was for one of smokeys hot vapor projects.he did a Buick v6. A V.W. rabbit where they made it a 2 cyl if I'm not mistaken.Def a brilliant guy.

  • @jerryforeman4543
    @jerryforeman45434 жыл бұрын

    Nice job to memorize him! Thanks for sharing!

  • @Mercmad
    @Mercmad4 жыл бұрын

    A genuine example of the greatest generation, Flying a B17 at 19...... How many 19 year olds out there can pilot a bomber let alone fly 50 missions through anti aircraft and fighter attacks.?

  • @neale.kaufman5168

    @neale.kaufman5168

    4 жыл бұрын

    My Father did the same thing..👍👍👍

  • @philliplopez8745
    @philliplopez87454 жыл бұрын

    Smoky designed an " adiabatic engine " he used some very strange science with turbo chargers acting as check valves and charge heat exchangers to keep all of the heat in the engine . Amazing stuff for the late 70s

  • @krb5292

    @krb5292

    4 жыл бұрын

    I remember one of the magazines did a piece on him and this engine. They said during the interviews, he had his lawyer with him and they would occasionally have to consult before he answered a question. Some he could not or would not answer, because of "secrets".

  • @billallen4793

    @billallen4793

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@krb5292 G.M. was using ANYTHING to kill the project so he was trying to be careful....didn't work... General motors and the oil companies killed the project and tried to seize anything related to the project....

  • @austintollison808
    @austintollison8084 жыл бұрын

    Anyone else miss SPEED channel?

  • @jameslezak8179

    @jameslezak8179

    3 жыл бұрын

    Yes!!! I tried to get satellite company to give me a deal on just Speed Channel! Didn't need anything else! Mamby Pansies said it was not possible! Lol! Yea right!!!

  • @dehoedisc7247
    @dehoedisc72473 жыл бұрын

    Maybe Bill France saw Smokey Yunick as a straight out enemy, as well as a very competitive engineering genius. And he felt he needed to see Smokey and deal with him as a personal enemy.

  • @billylittleton3395
    @billylittleton33952 жыл бұрын

    The inventor Henry Smokey Yunick needs be in Hall Of Fame

  • @briannotafan3368
    @briannotafan33684 жыл бұрын

    smokeys knowledge heleped me build my first SBC in 1973 & my dad worked at tonawanda engine plant helped with some discount parts i saved for a long time to get smokeys dual intake manifold i even had a single top plate for it the day got it all together in my fresh 350 camaro my dad thought it was pretty funny when i couldn't close the frickin hood back to the drawing board he smerked

  • @feeneysmechanical6215

    @feeneysmechanical6215

    2 жыл бұрын

    That engine plant is down the street from my house

  • @gregorygolden1296
    @gregorygolden12962 жыл бұрын

    From the time Smokey showed up in NASCAR to the time he left, the rulebook got a LOT thicker. He was probably 25 years ahead of about everybody else. Junior was super smart also as well as a couple others, but Smokey was in a class by himself. He came up with "soft walls" but NASCAR didn't want to hear it. Could of saved a lot of lives.....

  • @MrGaryGG48

    @MrGaryGG48

    Жыл бұрын

    There seems to be quite a crowd who wants to accuse Smokey of being at or at least near the top of the "Cheater's List." To me, that's awfully short sighted. It has always been the responsibility of the competitor to know their rule book as well or better than the tech inspection crew. Neither Smokey nor any other racer/builder was cheating if he exploited an unaddressed opportunity and beat his competitors. The rule books are very specific but often not specific enough to cover every facet of the car. Smokey was an incredibly skilled builder/engineer and studied every rule book to find those "legal limits" and he embraced every opportunity he found open. Unfortunately, I never met him but I certainly appreciated his genius!

  • @ryanstuckey8677

    @ryanstuckey8677

    Жыл бұрын

    @@MrGaryGG48 he never did anything that the book said you could not do. france just labeled him a cheater because he did not like smokey

  • @robertdickson2319
    @robertdickson23193 жыл бұрын

    "Seat Gap." I love that. I like speed and though have never raced I can, say Mr. Yunick, you so right about that suh.

  • @bobthompson4319
    @bobthompson43193 жыл бұрын

    Seat gap is extremely true. Whenever I start doing exactly that I know I'm getting in my head and calm down sit back and relax and start again. Very important to realize when that happens and to do something about it BEFORE you crash VERY important.

  • @acemobile9806
    @acemobile98064 жыл бұрын

    Interesting that there's no mention of the hot vapor engine, arguably his crowning achievement. Almost like the conspiracy to keep it in the shadows still lives on...

  • @d.t.4523

    @d.t.4523

    3 жыл бұрын

    Other people did work on it. The "hot vapor" did not work for production, so they made "cold vapor" engines. That's why you can run propane or natural gas. The true hot vapor system would be a jet engine.

  • @andyhamilton8940

    @andyhamilton8940

    3 жыл бұрын

    Its in a Fiero in Big Daddys museum in Ocala. Ive seen it.

  • @3wolfsdown702

    @3wolfsdown702

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@d.t.4523 bulshit, that's what oil developers want you to think

  • @d.t.4523

    @d.t.4523

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@3wolfsdown702 No point in cussing at me about it. Dust off your engineering degree and prove the math. Then get back to me. Thanks in advance! I look forward to your solution to get me out from under my fuel bills! 👍

  • @jordanwiley4582
    @jordanwiley45824 жыл бұрын

    "I liked Lee. I don't have to say I liked his driving habits do I?" Legend.

  • @frederickwise5238
    @frederickwise52383 жыл бұрын

    I used a couple of Smokey's ideas to great advantage in several cars. THANKS SMOKEY!!!!!! RIP!

  • @thedolt9215
    @thedolt9215 Жыл бұрын

    Everyone watching this should read his book best damn garage in town. It is very expensive to find, but this guy’s life was amazing. Did you know he was a bomber pilot in World War II? Get the book!

  • @es7614
    @es76144 жыл бұрын

    Ah, you read my mind!! THANK YOU

  • @MrDejast
    @MrDejast4 жыл бұрын

    Still a Smokey yunick fan, Nascar not since 01.

  • @TheMrmmkkpro
    @TheMrmmkkpro2 жыл бұрын

    Cool stuff , as a mechanic and drag racer , I can appreciate this man's talent.

  • @denohall9863
    @denohall98632 жыл бұрын

    Smokey wrote ask Smokey in Hot Rod magazine in the 60s and 70s I built several Ford engines and called him to ask his thoughts I offered to pay. For his advice ,he laughed and said he liked people with gumption

  • @TSi99999
    @TSi999994 ай бұрын

    Good show. I highly recommend his autobiography book Best Damn Garage in Town. A great read! He advocated for safer walls 20 years before Safer Barrier was created. His solution used tires and plywood if l remember correctly.

  • @greggolden2242
    @greggolden22423 жыл бұрын

    SMOKEY WAS AT LEAST 30 YEARS AHEAD OF EVERYBODY ELSE. IF NASCAR WOULD OF ONLY LISTENED TO WHAT HE HAD TO SAY. NASCAR WOULD BE SO MUCH BETTER OFF....TODAY AND YESTERDAY. GOD BLESS SMOKEY.

  • @dalegroves1918
    @dalegroves19184 жыл бұрын

    What a wife he had, she was definitely by his side though the tough times and kept an eye over his shoulder with the largest Thermos of coffee you have ever seen.

  • @turbo1438
    @turbo14384 жыл бұрын

    Closed captioning had his name as 'smoking unit' I bet there was a group of ladies back in the day that would agree.

  • @Hitman-ds1ei
    @Hitman-ds1ei4 жыл бұрын

    He was and still is my idle, he held himself to his standard not some one else's and most don't measure up but I am still trying

  • @stevoschannel4127
    @stevoschannel41274 жыл бұрын

    Why the stupid music playing continuously through the piece?

  • @acemobile9806

    @acemobile9806

    4 жыл бұрын

    Extremely distracting, found myself backing it up several times for Smokey to repeat himself

  • @rposton919
    @rposton9193 жыл бұрын

    Music is way too loud. Why is there music in the first place....

  • @HODIUSDUDE

    @HODIUSDUDE

    3 жыл бұрын

    Agreed...The only thing necessary is the song of the engines. Thanks for watching.

  • @robinrouter2059
    @robinrouter20593 жыл бұрын

    Rip:Smokey Yunick~Jack of all HiPo Automotive Trades!!

  • @toddnash7194
    @toddnash71944 жыл бұрын

    A young man who himself is a sbc guru. Named quince hitt. In athens TX. He is part owner / driver of hitt-nash racing front engine dragster called. " the big show"

  • @erwinrommel7008
    @erwinrommel70084 жыл бұрын

    Can't we just bring back the old school way with controlled happiness. Come on man. Good old beach race.

  • @bobyoung1698
    @bobyoung16983 жыл бұрын

    I may have missed it but I don't recall any mention of one of Smokey's greatest contributions to driver safety - the energy absorbing tire wall.

  • @NotSteveCook

    @NotSteveCook

    3 жыл бұрын

    That's because we're supposed to believe that NASCAR invented it. But in 1958, John Hugenholtz first built such a barrier at Zandvoort, using several layers of chain-link fencing. Fair to say that Smokey took this concept a grand step further.

  • @OneAceracer
    @OneAceracer4 жыл бұрын

    I got to meet him when he gave a talk at a PRI show. MAN that guy could tell some stories !!!!!!

  • @williamlesh109

    @williamlesh109

    2 жыл бұрын

    I was there too. Met him too.

  • @kerrymcdonagh1327

    @kerrymcdonagh1327

    Жыл бұрын

    I was there too and again a year or so later when he got up and saved Fred Lorenzon (who had early memory loss). Fred remembered the old times but usually forgot the question, I loved the way Smokey got up and prompted Fred so he could remember. The sign of a great man.

  • @k.kristianjonsson4814
    @k.kristianjonsson48144 жыл бұрын

    Not always easy to hear what people are saying because of the irritating and unnecessary background music. To Bad.

  • @toyman81

    @toyman81

    4 жыл бұрын

    The music is just to damn loud.

  • @martinleavitt6094

    @martinleavitt6094

    4 жыл бұрын

    Agreed,dump the music...

  • @joeynelson4091

    @joeynelson4091

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@toyman81 🤣too dam old

  • @zippyt.libertine3787
    @zippyt.libertine37876 ай бұрын

    I grew up in Daytona and Smokey was a legend, all you had to do was ask him.

  • @ferdterguson124
    @ferdterguson1243 жыл бұрын

    Rules say what you can't do.. dont say what you can do

  • @fastone3207
    @fastone32074 жыл бұрын

    My Hero!

  • @machdaddy6451
    @machdaddy645111 ай бұрын

    a VERY FINE TRIBUTE!

  • @jimideez9829
    @jimideez98292 жыл бұрын

    Miss the SPEED channel...

  • @tphvictims5101
    @tphvictims51014 жыл бұрын

    Smokey was a GENIUS. NUFF SAID 👍🏻🇺🇸

  • @RATTL3R186
    @RATTL3R1863 жыл бұрын

    The Man.

  • @barath4545
    @barath45452 жыл бұрын

    Yunick was for Nascar what WJ was for Pro Stock.

  • @kurtiswa-k-8346
    @kurtiswa-k-83464 жыл бұрын

    True...Bad Ass, Legend... Godspeed

  • @kl0wnkiller912
    @kl0wnkiller9123 жыл бұрын

    There was a time in racing when the guy who could figure out things like Smokey did were able to get an edge that let them win. All that is gone today where every car is cookie cutter and the rules are so strict that creative thought is not allowed. That is why I quit watching racing. Might as well just race slot cars...

  • @ExternalInputs

    @ExternalInputs

    3 жыл бұрын

    It had to change though. Smokey was an inovator in so many things in an era where so much wasn't understood. Inevitably though, everyone had a flow bench and dyno, not just Smokey. Those "stock" V8s cost a lot of money and were considered junk after a 500 mile race. Production cars doing 200 mph plus with rudimentary safety equipment resulted in many terrible accidents and calls to slow them down, so the "innovation" that got them to that point had to be blunted. Production cars have been unsuitable for NASCAR for many years now, so the racing is solely driver focused. There just isn't any production car racing of any type apart from rallying. The era that was the 50s and 60s is gone forever, for so many things

  • @MrDippy-nm7xp
    @MrDippy-nm7xp3 жыл бұрын

    Like it or not Smokey, Earnhardt, and Petty made the sport and I’m sure more contributed also

  • @jimsomers7182
    @jimsomers71823 жыл бұрын

    Great legend, and great video. The background music doesn't fit, and is too loud.

  • @Wrazor100
    @Wrazor1003 жыл бұрын

    Who edited this? They need some training!

  • @allmopar1771
    @allmopar17714 жыл бұрын

    It would be nice to be able to hear what they are saying without that damn racket. What's wrong with every body now.

  • @thestinkycheeseman2208
    @thestinkycheeseman2208 Жыл бұрын

    My daddy built and drove race cars. He was this same kinda cat. I will miss these type of guys going forward, and can only pray that those of us who know some of it, are able to carry it forward. God help us.

  • @tonyburelle6633
    @tonyburelle66334 жыл бұрын

    A great man

  • @madcratebuilder
    @madcratebuilder4 жыл бұрын

    The GOAT.

  • @peterwilson7340
    @peterwilson7340 Жыл бұрын

    Another Great American Hero. We salute you.

  • @ronbros
    @ronbros3 жыл бұрын

    we dont hear much about Smokeys man Friday,, RALPH JOHNSON, he worked with smokey and did a lot of making his ideas to a reality!

  • @robertwoodward4525

    @robertwoodward4525

    Жыл бұрын

    Ralph was a inavator as well. They were quite the team. I don't think ralph received enough credit for the thing he did.

  • @edwardbocan4298
    @edwardbocan42983 жыл бұрын

    He was a Chevy man like myself ✌

  • @robertwoodliff2536
    @robertwoodliff25363 жыл бұрын

    Shame the commentary is downed in rubbish music.

  • @soyouknowme9582
    @soyouknowme95824 жыл бұрын

    The MAN!!!!

  • @mikeskidmore6754
    @mikeskidmore67543 жыл бұрын

    Smokey was a True Ledgend and still is.. Yup the Big Three Automakers sure did benefit from his Inventions . They paid him a little to make them then they made Millions on the Patents.. I always wondered why the Hot Vapor Engine never went into use in a Big Scale.. His Engine almost went into the DeLorean .. c ar..

  • @peteharrison9816
    @peteharrison98162 жыл бұрын

    I KNOW HIM WHEN I WAS A KID GOOD MAN

  • @jimharden4823
    @jimharden4823 Жыл бұрын

    I miss the speed Chanel smokey was the best! !

  • @danwoodliff7287
    @danwoodliff72873 жыл бұрын

    Great interviews and content Music selection and blend is lacking . Leave background out til you get somebody to mix it

  • @joepierce1672
    @joepierce16722 жыл бұрын

    I get really pissed when I hear people calling this innovator a cheat. That is the same as calling Don Garlets a cheat for devolping the rear engine dragster. It is no wonder that so many of the old time drag racers call the NHRA "No Hot Rods Allowed"!

  • @joqu6971
    @joqu69714 жыл бұрын

    I read everything I could that he wrote.

  • @ZChevyZ
    @ZChevyZ4 жыл бұрын

    The MAN

  • @billkleinschmidt3908
    @billkleinschmidt39084 жыл бұрын

    The Best that ever was.

  • @robroyce6845
    @robroyce68452 жыл бұрын

    Smokey Yunick : Automotive Genius

  • @mikebrown5648
    @mikebrown56483 жыл бұрын

    Smoking should be in the Hall of Fame of NASCAR what he's done this is this is b******* that he's not

  • @denisiwaszczuk1176
    @denisiwaszczuk11763 жыл бұрын

    I blew a VW head of my baja bug running nitro when was 14 . Beacause one book and one man . Smokey said Standard fuel for standard engines . And the Best words ..... A Engine dont know what is is written on its rocker cover ................ NASCAR YOU OWE HIM........

  • @paulmallery6719
    @paulmallery67194 жыл бұрын

    Had to quit at 15 min cause of noise. Music. Bs is in everything. Why don't they listen to feedback

  • @sceneanuerebelrebel9244
    @sceneanuerebelrebel92443 жыл бұрын

    You didn't get the whole story of the tech inspection besides the tank not in the car neither was the battery it was on the floor too and he said 13 and 14 started the car and left the garage ..

  • @keithstudly6071
    @keithstudly60714 жыл бұрын

    Smokey ran the pits for Jim Rathmann in 1960 but Takeo “Chickie” Hirashima built the engine and was the Chief Mechanic of the winner. He also built the engine in second place Rodger Ward's car. Smokey did not build the engine, assemble the car or get it ready for qualifying. He was in the pits calling the stops and during the race and may have done some prep on the car. Why Smokey wanted to argue about this for so long is a true mystery. Maybe he just wanted to be sure people remembered he was a part of an Indy 500 victory.

  • @neilpuckett359
    @neilpuckett3594 жыл бұрын

    I lasted till 1:33 the music is ridiculous.

  • @JuckFoeBurden
    @JuckFoeBurden2 жыл бұрын

    Just reading and applying the things in his book Power Secrets we got 500 hp out of a 350 Chevy motor. No power adders.