Linda emailed me and wanted me to post a little bit about her, one of the Pure Oil Race Stoppers of the late 60s

Here's what she said:

I think I was one of the first Pure Oil RaceStoppers, because I was before some of the people in your pictures. https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/10/what-hell.html

 In 1969, I wanted to move to California and asked if I could represent them out West. Union Oil was merging with Pure Oil and they said they would love to have me move west and get the program going.

We were regulars at the Indy 500, the Mint 400 in Las Vegas with Flip Wilson and James Garner,

Ontario Speedway activities, Truck Stop events, etc. I also flew back for the Talladega Speedway construction, among other things.

The Talladega 500 was on September 14, 1969 and was attended by 62,000 fans. I remember that that track was known for its very steep backs. Hence the photo. We were also at the Grand Old Opry a few times, but I can’t exactly say why or what we were promoting….haha

Linda not only was a Pure Oil Show Stopper, she also was the Chevrolet spokesperson for the Killy Camaro!

I traveled the Auto Show circuit with OJ Simpson and Jean Claude Killy and was the spokesperson for the car. My black girlfriend, Toy Russell Van Lierop, was my counter part for OJ. I got Toy hired at Union Oil as a RaceStopper. She went on to be a head make up artist on many TV shows and movies. Neat gal.

While Linda was on stage with the Special Edition Killy Camaro on stage; O.J. Simpson, John DeLorean sit at a nearby table, while Hunter S. Thompson takes notes from the side of the stage. Such was the scene at the 1969 Chicago Auto Show

Simpson, fresh off his Heisman Trophy-winning campaign at the University of Southern California, was known for his charm and affability, making him an ideal pitchman. DeLorean, widely regarded as a brilliant engineer, had a non-conformist, counter-cultural public persona that positioned him as the future of Chevrolet. Killy was a 25-year-old from the French Alps hawking a special edition “Killy Z-28 Camaro” at the sport’s saturation of popular culture, from the rise of televised skiing celebrities like Jean-Claude Killy to depictions of James Bond on skis outwitting villainous pursuers (Bond first skied in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, just as Jean-Claude Killy was at the height of his global stardom).

https://www.rolexmagazine.com/2010/12/rolex-coolness-jean-claude-killy.html
https://themarquisblogger.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/jean-claude-killy-and-camaro/