The boat displaces 170 lb (77 kg) and can be equipped with a spinnaker and trapeze. The hull is a single hard chine scow design, with a retractable centreboard, a vertical transom, a transom-hung, kick-up rudder controlled by a tiller, with a tiller extension for hiking out. It has a fractional sloop rig with aluminum spars. Today most new Fireballs are made predominantly of fibreglass. The Fireball is a recreational racing sailboat, originally designed to be built of wood for the amateur builder. Today it is built by Weathermark Sailboats and also by Winder Boats, both in the UK. In the past the design has been built by Rondar Raceboats of the United Kingdom, Nautivela of Italy, Chippendale Boats in the UK and Duvoisin Nautique in France. As far as I know, that was never discovered by NASCAR.The Fireball is a British sailing dinghy that was designed by Peter Milne as a one-design racer and first built in 1962. Thank goodness there was a caution flag and Dad finally pitted. Joe Epton, the chief scorer, kept asking Mother, "Why hasn't Fireball pitted?" She just shrugged her shoulders and took another drink of coffee. Well at this particular race, it so happened that Dad stayed out longer than the rest of the field. Dad always told Mother things like that so that she would know and not get anxious about him not pitting. He blew it up when it went through inspection, then deflated it in the garage and added more gas. At one of the Daytona races, Smokey had devised a way to get more gas in the car by putting a basketball in the gas tank. I guess you can tell these things publicly after everyone that was involved is deceased. Did your dad ever share with you the inside story on any of Smokey Yunick's "beat the rule book" inventions used on the #22 '62 Pontiac Catalina race car? PR: It's funny you should ask about that. HPP: Fireball Roberts depended upon Smokey Yunick to get him to the finish line first. I've seen two '57 Chevy's blow in just a few laps, and they're about the most dependable things around." It's sure going to be easy to blow an engine. It's an easy track to drive-it just takes a lot of 'brave.' Being there at the end is going to mean a lot. At high speed it moves you around a lot, especially when you go up high on those banked turns. We qualified in a 15-mile-an-hour headwind and could have turned up to 143, I believe. The only tricky thing about driving this track is the wind. All things considered, I don't think they're as streamlined as a new Chevy or Pontiac. I can't buy those T-Birds as world-beaters. They were assembled on a production line basis and didn't have the time spent on them that Smokey spent on this one. That's why I don't think even the Holman and Moody Thunderbirds can compare with it. Over 2,000 man-hours and $8,500 went into getting this car ready. I don't think anyone could have done a better job preparing it than Smokey did, however. It isn't like having three or four long races in the car under your belt. HPP: What were his thoughts before that race? PR: Max Muhleman of The Charlotte Observer quoted Dad before his win: "I've got a faster car than the '57 Chevy, which won the Southern 500 for me, but the reliability of this Pontiac is an unknown factor. The next day at school I was asked questions about the race, and all I wanted to talk about was meeting and talking to the astronauts. We went into the Winner's Circle and from there into the Press Box, where I met Alan Shepard and John Glenn, who had both just been in space. She was seated with my sitter, Joan Epton she is the daughter of then-Chief Scorer, Joe Epton. I could see my mother's face and her excitement. We got there just as Daddy came across the finish line. When there were 10 laps to go, I couldn't stand it anymore, so against my grandmother's wishes, Nancy and I took off running towards the Scorer's Stand and my mom. I kept telling my grandparents we needed to go towards the Winner's Circle. When there were only 50 laps to go and Dad was still out in front, I was getting really excited. Nancy and I sat with my grandparents in the infield near the fourth turn. Doris "Fireball" Roberts participate in this winning race? PR: Mother always scored Daddy when she was at a race, so she was sitting in the scoring stand during the 1962 Daytona 500.
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