Bobby Myers (racing driver)

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Bobby Myers
Born(1927-06-27)June 27, 1927
Weaverville)
Last race1957 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0
NASCAR Convertible Division career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish90th (1955)
First race1955 Race #9 (Fayetteville)
Last race1957 Rebel 300 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 6 0

Bobby Harris Myers (June 27, 1927 – September 2, 1957) was an American

Grand National Series races from 1950 until his death in a crash during the 1957 Southern 500
.

Career

Myers began competing in the

Asheville-Weaverville Speedway
in Weaverville, North Carolina, Myers finished 16th driving a 1949 Ford. Myers then drove the No. 2 Hudson in the Motor City 250 on the one-mile dirt track at Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit where he started 34th and finished 25th. Myers returned to the NASCAR Grand National Division competition in 1952 driving George Hutchens's No. 6 Ford in the Southern 500 at Darlington. The Ford's engine came apart on lap 145 and relegated him to a 52nd finishing position in a field of 66 cars. Myers won the 1952 Bowman Gray Stadium Modified Championship.[1][2][3]

In 1953, Myers drove the No. 18 Oldsmobile in two NASCAR Grand National events. In the

Southern 500, he started 50th and worked his way to a 20th finishing position. At the one-mile circular Langhorne Speedway in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Myers finished 10th.[1][3]

Myers did not compete in the Grand National Division again until 1956. He drove Ansel Rakestraw's No. 1 Chevrolet at the half-mile asphalt

Hickory Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina after qualifying sixth, but a radiator problem on lap 105 put him out of the event and left him finishing in 19th position.[1][3]

In 1957, Myers started sixth at the half-mile dirt Southern States Fairgrounds track in Charlotte, North Carolina driving Whitey Norman's No. 1A Ford, but a blown engine on lap 26 dropped him to a 19th finishing spot.

Death

At the Southern 500 on September 2, 1957, Myers qualified the No. 4 Petty Enterprises Oldsmobile in the second spot. Myers led his first lap in the NASCAR Grand National Division competition during the race. Myers was involved in a violent crash on lap 27; Fonty Flock was driving Herb Thomas's No. 92 Pontiac and spun on the backstretch (the current start-finish line), stopping perpendicular to the track, in turn three (near the current Turn One following 1997 changes). Paul Goldsmith and Myers both struck the stopped car at full speed.[1][3]

Flock and Goldsmith both received serious injuries in the crash. Fonty Flock spun and slid to a stop on the backstretch. Bobby Myers slammed into him, immediately followed by Paul Goldsmith. The crash seriously injured Goldsmith, ended Flock's career, and killed Myers. He then flipped side over side and barrel-rolled. Myers died from his injuries.

Legacy

Myers's son,

Whelen Southern Modified Tour
until the tour folded in 2016.

In seven years of the NASCAR Grand National competition, Myers made 15 starts and recorded three top-10 finishes.

Myers and his brother Billy are immortalized by the National Motorsports Press Association Myers Brothers award during NASCAR's season-ending prizegiving banquet.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e John Clayton (2003). "Family Tradition (Myers Clan Still Racing Strong After Nearly 60 Years". Legends of Nascar. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  2. ^ Paul Schaefer (February 16, 2013). "Myers Brothers Take Aim At Daytona Battle". Nascar. Archived from the original on February 20, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e Don Hamilton (January 1, 2008). "The Myers Family - The First Family of Southern Modified Racing". Stock Car Racing. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.

External links

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