From A Corn On The Cob Stand To The NASCAR Garage
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Concord, N.c
Oct 18, 2007
For Larry Carter, crew chief of the No. 26 Crown Royal team, the return to Martinsville this weekend takes him back to a win in 2005, as well as memories of spending two weeks every fall at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, N.C. At the young age of 10, Carter began working at “Hill’s Corn on the Cob,” a stand at the N.C. State Fair every fall.
“I remember my first job at the stand was to sit in the corner and fill soft drinks all day,” Carter said. “I remember we’d sell drinks for five cents, 10 cents, and 15 cents. And we first started selling corn on the cob for 25 cents apiece. That was a good deal back in those days.”
In 1969, while attending the state fair, Carter’s father bought the stand from the previous owner for $300. When he got home that evening, he called his two other brothers and told them that they each owed him $100. From that point on, the Carter family owned the infamous “Hill’s Corn on the Cob” stand at the N.C. State Fair.
Carter started working at the stand in 1972 and continued to work every fall until 1995. “Even when I first started working in NASCAR, I’d save up my vacation time and take off during the week of the state fair so that I could go up there and work in the stand,” said Carter.
“Going to the state fair for me was like going to a big reunion. You’d run into all your friends, family, old teachers and coaches. It was really a place for me that I’d see a lot of old friends. There are people at the fair that I remember playing with when I was just a kid out there. We kind of grew up together. I remember spending a lot of time with my Dad and uncles. Boy, do I have some stories that I could tell you about the fair and watching it grow over the years.’
The times have changed since the day you could buy an ear of roasted corn for just 25 cents. Now, when you visit “Hill’s Corn on the Cob” stand, you can order an ear of corn for $2.50, fresh squeezed lemonade for $2.00 and a soft drink for a $1.50.
“When we first started selling lemonade we’d go through 10 bushels a day. That’s a lot of lemonade,” Carter said when asked about memories of the stand.
“One year, I told my uncle that I thought we should raise the price of our corn from 25 cents up to 50 cents. At first it didn’t go over very well with the family, but we tried it the following year. Although we sold about 10% less corn, we did increase our profits by 70%. Not bad for a little corn on the cob stand.”
This Sunday morning in Martinsville, as Carter prepares the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion for Sunday’s race, thoughts of the state fair in N.C. won’t be far from his mind.
“I wish we were just a little closer and I’d try to make it down there on Saturday afternoon,” said Carter. “Our family still runs the stand and it’s still in great condition. I’ll for sure be thinking about it this weekend. I know my wife and son are heading up there for a couple days to help out. Maybe they’ll even sell a few ears of corn while they’re up there.”
