[MB-BOB]

jimmy stewarts p-51c race #90 "thunderbird" was flown by joe de bona in the '48 and '49 cleveland races.

http://www.airrace.com/1948%20NAR.htm

http://www.airrace.com/1949%20NAR%20.htm

Yes, I saw this show too. It got my attention when Cronkite referred to the plane as a P-51 "Thunderbird," which is, of course, incorrect. The "Thunderbird" reference is interesting as a possible link to the Jimmy Stewart a/c, but the plane in the show looked nothing like any of the photos at the Cleveland races. Bigarv65's description is as good as mine. It did appear to be bare metal, which I thought odd for an obvious B/C model. Actually, I though it odd that any B/C models survived to that date.