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Red Byron

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named Robert Byron, see Robert Byron (disambiguation).
Red Byron
Red Byron's car displayed in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
BornRobert Nold Byron
(1915-03-12)March 12, 1915
Plasterco, Virginia, U.S.
DiedNovember 11, 1960(1960-11-11) (aged 45)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Cause of deathHeart attack
Achievements1949 Strictly Stock Champion[a]
1948 NASCAR Modified Champion[b]
1949 Daytona Beach Road Course Winner (Inaugural race)
Strictly Stock in wins leader (1949)
AwardsNational Motorsports Hall of Fame (U.S.) (1966)
Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
NASCAR Hall of Fame (2018)
Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
15 races run over 3 years
Best finish1st (1949)
First race1949 Race No. 1 (Charlotte)
Last race1951 Southern 500 (Darlington)
First win1949 (Daytona Beach)
Last win1949 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles
2 9 2
Statistics current as of February 22, 2013.

Robert Nold "Red" Byron (March 12, 1915 – November 11, 1960) was an American stock car racing driver, who was successful in NASCAR competition in the sanctioning body's first years. He was NASCAR's first Modified champion (and its first champion in any division) in 1948 and its first Strictly Stock (predecessor to NASCAR Cup Series) champion in 1949. Along with Bob Flock, he is considered one of the best drivers of the era.[1] He won the first NASCAR race at Daytona Beach and Road Course and won the inaugural NASCAR Strictly Stock driver's championship.[1]

Background

[edit]

Born in Washington County, Virginia[2], he moved to Colorado at a young age, and then to Anniston, Alabama, which he considered his hometown. Byron began racing in 1932 and was successful in racing at Talladega and Anniston by the start of the 1940s[3]. Byron then made his way to Lakewood Speedway, where he raced any ride he could find. While racing at Lakewood Speedway, he was noticed by Raymond Parks, a former bootlegger and illegal gambling kingpin and current vending machine operator, as well as his mechanic, Red Vogt. Byron would race with Parks at Lakewood Speedway through the spring of 1941.

In the spring of 1941, Byron enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps at an enlistment station in Montgomery, Alabama. Byron was eventually stationed as a flight engineer on B-24 Liberator bombers during World War II[4], flying in fifty-eight missions while serving engineer duties and tail gunning duties[5]. In 1944, Byron joined his 58th mission after subbing for a fellow serviceman whose wife was going into labor.[6] The mission was targeted for Paramushir, where members of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy were stationed. The B-24’s full assortment of bombs were dropped except for the final one, which was hung on the floor of the aircraft. As the engineer, it was Byron’s job to free the hung bomb from the aircraft.[7] After freeing the bomb, Byron was hit by an explosion while he was still near the open doors of the aircraft. It is speculated that the freed bomb exploded while falling out of the aircraft but Byron strongly believed that he had been hit by anti-aircraft fire.[6] The explosion tore Byron’s left leg to pieces.[8] A large amount of shrapnel was removed from Byron’s leg at a makeshift air base hospital, before being sent to Fitzsimons Army Medical Center where he spent 27 months in rehabilitation.[6]

While in rehabilitation, Byron began sketching devices that would help him return to racing despite the limited movement of his left leg.[9] In 1946, while working on ideas with Vogt, Byron fabricated two stirrup pins on his clutch pedal to help support his left leg. When the stirrup pins were combined with his leg brace, he was able to operate the clutch pedal.[9]

Racing career

[edit]

Before World War II, Byron raced in the AAA Indy series, mainly in Sprint Cars and Midgets. He achieved his first Stock Car victory in July 1941, while on two-day liberty from training with the USAAF, and with the war intervening, did not return to racing for five years.

Following a lengthy recovery from a leg injury sustained in war, he returned to racing in 1945 and with the help of race engineer Red Vogt, was still successful.

He won the Hankinson Memorial on February 24, 1946 at Seminole Speedway, beating Roy Hall and Bill France. This was his first win since returning to racing in 1945. [10]

On July 20th, 1946, Byron finished 2nd in the inaugural race at Selinsgrove Speedway. The race was part of the AAA Big Car Championship. The race was won by Bill Holland.

NASCAR Modified

1948

In 1948, Byron became a part of the newly-formed NASCAR Modified Series racing with Raymond Parks' team. He won the Rayson Memorial, the first NASCAR sanctioned race. The race took place at the Daytona Beach Road Course, where Byron beat Marshall Teague and Bob Flock.[11] In the second race of the season at Speedway Park, Byron finished third to Fonty Flock and Bob Flock.[12] In the third race of the season, Byron finished second to Fonty Flock at Lakewood Speedway.[13] In the fourth race of the season at Central City Speedway, Byron finished sixth while his championship rival, Fonty Flock, won the race.[14] The fifth race of the season at Hayloft Speedway saw Byron finish outside of the positions that paid points.[15] On April 18, Byron finished second to Fonty Flock at the Greensboro Fairgrounds.[16]

Following a slight drought in winning, Byron would win on April 25 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, beating Fonty Flock and Tim Flock in the sixty lap feature race.[17] Byron would win the next race he started on May 2 at Lakeview Speedway, beating Fonty Flock and Marshall Teague.[18] Byron would win again on May 9 at the Wadesboro Dirt Track, beating Fonty Flock and Roscoe Thompson.[19] At this point in the season, Byron and Fonty Flock had found themselves into a rivalry over the points lead of the series.[20] On May 16, Byron would win at the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, beating Bill Blair and Fonty Flock.[21] Flock wouldn’t find himself in a points paying position again until May 30, when he finished second at North Wilkesboro Speedway to Marshall Teague.[22] Byron would pick up the win in the June 5 race at the Greensboro Fairgrounds, passing polesitter Speedy Thompson for first place and beating Tim Flock and Fonty Flock.[23] On July 11, Byron would once again decrease Fonty Flock’s point lead when he won at Charlotte Speedway, passing polesitter Jack Smith for the lead and beating Fonty Flock and Tim Flock. The race, originally scheduled for one hundred laps was shortened to ninety-one laps due to rain.[24]

Byron would race on July 18 at North Wilkesboro Speedway but missed the points due to an issue. Fonty Flock also missed out on points so the race had little impact on the points positions. Curtis Turner would win the race.[25] On July 25, Byron would finish outside of the points yet again at Columbus Speedway after Tragedy had struck.[26] The front-right tire of Byron’s car blew, causing the car to veer off the track and into a group of spectators, injuring sixteen and killing a seven-year-old boy. Shockingly, Byron was not injured in the accident.[27] Later in the race, driver Bill “Slick” Davis was also killed after his car rolled over in a crash.[28]

On August 8, Byron finished third at the Daytona Beach Road Course. Fonty Flock won the race, extending his points lead.[29] On August 15, Byron finished sixth in a two-hundred lap race at Langhorne Speedway. Fonty Flock did not finish in the points which helped Byron shorten his lead in the points championship.[30] On September 5, Byron finished third at Columbus Speedway after the race was halted due to rain. Fonty Flock did not finish ahead of Byron which shortened his points lead even more.[31] On September 12, Byron would finish third twice at Charlotte Speedway during a double header while Fonty Flock and Tim Flock would be involved in a bad four car pile up. Due to the pile up, the second race was shortened from forty laps to twenty-four laps. These results shortened Fonty Flock’s points lead even further.[32] Unfortunately for Byron, Fonty Flock would win three in a row through the month of September between a double header sweep at Occoneechee Speedway[33] and a win at Lakeview Speedway[34], extending the points lead once again.

On October 3, during a double header at Central City Speedway, Byron would finish third at in race one, ahead of Fonty Flock, shrinking the points deficit. In race two of the double header, Byron fought his way from tenth to first to win the race, giving him the series points lead.[35] On October 10, Byron would finish a close second to Fonty Flock at the Greensboro Fairgrounds.[36] On October 16, Byron would once again finish a close second to Fonty Flock at the Greensboro Fairgrounds.[37] On October 17, a day after finishing second to Flock at Greensboro, Byron would win at North Wilkesboro Speedway in a one hundred lap feature race.[38] On October 24, Byron would win another one hundred lap feature race at Charlotte Speedway, with Fonty Flock coming in second.[39] Fonty Fock would win the next race on October 31 at the Forsyth County Fairgrounds, with Byron coming in second after racing close with Flock for most of the race.[40] The season final was held on November 14 at Columbus Raceway. The race saw Byron win with Fonty Flock coming in second.[41] With the season final finished, Byron was officially crowned the 1948 NASCAR Modified Champion. Byron accumulated 11 wins and 25 top fives during the season.[42]

NASCAR Strictly Stock

In 1949, Byron began racing in NASCAR's newly formed Strictly Stock series, which became the Grand National series, Winston Cup, and the modern-day NASCAR Cup Series. With Parks in tow, Byron was equally successful in the inaugural eight-race season. Just as in 1948, he won at Daytona Beach, and also won at a dirt track in Martinsville. Byron, as with his previous year in a modified, ended the year as the series' first champion. [10]

Byron raced sparingly after his two championships. He owned a sports car racing team for much of the 1950s. [10]

Life after driving

[edit]

Declining health forced him to hang up his goggles in 1951, but he remained active in racing. He worked with Briggs Cunningham, who was trying to develop an American sports car that could win Grand Prix races, then become manager of a Corvette team with the same goal. Neither project succeeded, but Byron enjoyed sports cars.

On January 19, 2018, Byron was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame's Class of 2018.[43]

Death

[edit]

Byron died of a heart attack in a Chicago hotel room on November 11, 1960, at the age of 45, he was in Chicago to talk with Anheuser-Busch executives about starting a sports car team.[6] At the time of his death, Byron was managing the Scarab SCCA team which was owned by Augi Pabst and Harry Heuer. Byron was set to fly to Daytona Beach the next day to be with the team for the championship race that weekend at Daytona International Speedway. The race was set to be the team’s last race before disbanding.[44]

Motorsports career results

[edit]

NASCAR

[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

[edit]
NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 NGNC Pts
1949 Raymond Parks 22 Olds CLT
3 		DAB
1 		HBO
22 		LAN
3 		HAM MAR
1 		HEI NWS
16 		1st 842.5
1950 DAB
2 		CLT
4 		LAN MAR CAN VER DSP MCF CLT HBO DSP HAM NA 0
Cadillac DAR
3 		LAN NWS
19 		VER MAR WIN HBO
1951 Wally Marks 1 Olds DAB
11 		CLT NMO GAR HBO ASF NWS MAR CAN NA 0
B.J. Dantone 22 Ford CLS
6
83 CLB
30 		DSP GAR GRS BAI HEI AWS MCF ALS MSF
4 		FMS MOR ABS DAR
25 		CLB CCS LAN CLT DSP WIL HBO TPN PGS MAR OAK NWS HMS JSP ATL GAR NMO

Awards

[edit]

Byron was inducted into the National Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1966.[3]

In 1998, as part of NASCAR's 50th Anniversary celebration, he was selected as one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.[45]

Byron was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2008[3]

Byron was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 19, 2018. His induction was accepted by Winston Kelley, the executive director for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.[46]

He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on March 17, 2020.[47]

In 2023, as part of NASCAR’s 75th Anniversary celebration, he was included as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. Byron was automatically included because he was part of the original 50 Greatest Drivers.[48]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Francis, Jim (15 January 2008). The History of NASCAR. Crabtree Publishing Company. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0-7787-3186-3. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  2. ^ "Virginia Is For Racers | NASCAR Hall of Fame | Curators' Corner". Nascar Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  3. ^ a b c admin (2008-03-06). "Robert Red Bryon 2008 International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee". International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  4. ^ "How Red Byron went from WWII hero to NASCAR's first champion". Yardbarker. 2024-11-11. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  5. ^ Bowen, hr and Chris. "Information about Red Byron from historicracing.com". www.historicracing.com. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  6. ^ a b c d "McGee: Byron was real deal". ESPN.com. 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  7. ^ Mandal, Anirban Aly (2024-11-12). "NASCAR History: How Red Byron Went From Fighting in WWII to Winning the First Ever Cup Series Title". The SportsRush. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  8. ^ "Two-time champion Red Byron laid the foundation for future NASCAR titlists". ESPN.com. 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  9. ^ a b "Robert "Red" Byron". www.mshf.com. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  10. ^ a b c "Hall of Famer Byron was second in first Selinsgrove race | | dailyitem.com". www.dailyitem.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  11. ^ White, Brandon (2023-02-08). "Where it all began: Modifieds continue to thrive in NASCAR after 75 years". Official Site Of NASCAR. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  12. ^ "NASCAR Modified:1948-02 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  13. ^ "Georgia Racing History.com - Remembering Lakewood Speedway". Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  14. ^ "NASCAR Modified:1948-04 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  15. ^ "NASCAR Modified:1948-05 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  16. ^ "Apr 18, 1948, page 19 - Winston-Salem Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  17. ^ "Apr 26, 1948, page 10 - News and Record at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  18. ^ "May 03, 1948, page 10 - The Salisbury Post at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  19. ^ "May 10, 1948, page 9 - News and Record at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  20. ^ "May 07, 1948, page 13 - Winston-Salem Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  21. ^ "May 17, 1948, page 19 - The Richmond News Leader at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  22. ^ "May 31, 1948, page 9 - The State at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  23. ^ "Jun 06, 1948, page 3 - Winston-Salem Journal at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  24. ^ "Jul 15, 1948, page 15 - News and Record at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  25. ^ "Jul 19, 1948, page 8 - The Columbia Record at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  26. ^ "Jul 26, 1948, page 9 - The State at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  27. ^ "Motorsport Memorial -". www.motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  28. ^ "Jul 28, 1948, page 9 - The Salisbury Post at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  29. ^ "Aug 09, 1948, page 8 - The Atlanta Constitution at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  30. ^ "Aug 16, 1948, page 7 - Ledger-Enquirer at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  31. ^ "Sep 06, 1948, page 5 - Ledger-Enquirer at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  32. ^ "Sep 13, 1948, page 4 - The Atlanta Journal at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  33. ^ "Sep 21, 1948, page 11 - The News and Observer at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  34. ^ "Sep 26, 1948, page 46 - News and Record at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  35. ^ "Oct 04, 1948, page 8 - The Macon News at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  36. ^ "Oct 11, 1948, page 8 - The Atlanta Constitution at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  37. ^ "Oct 17, 1948, page 17 - The Palm Beach Post at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  38. ^ "Oct 18, 1948, page 13 - Winston-Salem Journal at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  39. ^ "Oct 26, 1948, page 13 - The Tampa Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  40. ^ "Nov 01, 1948, page 10 - The Atlanta Constitution at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  41. ^ "Nov 15, 1948, page 8 - News-Press at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  42. ^ "Nov 15, 1948, page 9 - The Columbus Ledger at Newspapers.com - Newspapers.com". www.newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-12-03.
  43. ^ Jensen, Tom (May 24, 2017). "Five inductees for NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018 announced". Foxsports.com. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  44. ^ "Red Byron Obituary". The Anniston Star. 1960-11-20. p. 14. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  45. ^ Solodev (2024-12-02). "NASCAR 50 greatest drivers of the first 50 years". www.volusia.org. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  46. ^ "2018 NASCAR HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY HONORS FIVE NASCAR LEGENDS". Nascar Hall of Fame. 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  47. ^ 2020 Inductees at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  48. ^ "NASCAR 75 Greatest Drivers". Official Site Of NASCAR. Retrieved 2024-12-02.
  1. ^ 1949 was the inaugural season of professional stock car racing in NASCAR, which was known as Strictly Stock Division for that year only
  2. ^ 1948 was the inaugural season of the Modified Division, the oldest division of NASCAR
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by NASCAR Modified Division Champion
1948 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Inaugural
 NASCAR Strictly Stock Series Champion
1949 		Succeeded by
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