Neil Castles
Neil Castles | |||||||
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Born | Henry Neil Castles October 1, 1934 Dover)[1] | ||||||
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Maryville)[1] | |||||||
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Henry Neil Castles (October 1, 1934 – August 4, 2022) was an American
Early life
Castles was born in Marion, North Carolina,[2] on October 1, 1934.[3][4] He was raised in nearby Charlotte.[3] When he was nine, he was gifted a car to drive at a soapbox derby racer by Buddy Shuman, who also gave Castles the nickname "Soapy". As a teenager, Castles worked on Shuman's cars and cleaned his tools at the latter's shop.[5]
Career
Castles made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in June 1957 at
There was a short story about Castles from American Zoom, a book authored by Peter Golenbock.[8] Castles was an also-ran of the old days who once found himself having an uncharacteristically good day. He had lapped Curtis Turner, but the flagman apparently did not believe it, for he kept giving Castles the move-over flag to let Turner around him. As Castles told the story: "The starter kept doing this, and I was getting real mad, so I just picked up my gun and when I come by the stand the next time I took aim and shot that flag out of his hand."[3]
By the end of his racing career, Castles managed to earn $276,854 in total winnings ($1,482,383.17 when adjusted for inflation).[4] At the time of his death, his 498 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series were the third-most by a driver who did not have a victory, behind J. D. McDuffie (653) and Buddy Arrington (560).[3]
Castles also worked in the film industry as a
In 2019, Castles published a memoir of his life in NASCAR and in the film industry.[10]
Personal life
Castles was married to Iris Jean Gallion for 63 years until her death in December 2019.[11] Together, they had three children.[2]
Castles died on August 4, 2022, at the age of 87.[2][3][5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Neil Castles Statistics and Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Obituary for Henry Neil Castles Sr". McMahan's Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Taranto, Steven (August 5, 2022). "Neil Castles, former NASCAR Cup Series driver and movie stuntman, dies at 87". CBS News. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9780313387104.
- ^ a b c d e f g Albert, Zack (August 5, 2022). "Neil 'Soapy' Castles, longtime NASCAR racer and movie stuntman, dies at 87". NASCAR. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ "Neil Castles". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ "Neil Castles Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ISBN 9780020327820.
- ^ Haring, Bruce (August 4, 2022). "Neil Castles Dies: Stuntman In Elvis Presley's 'Speedway', Actor, NASCAR Driver Was 88". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-3504-0.
- ^ "Iris Castles Obituary". The Charlotte Observer. December 20, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2022 – via Legacy.com.
External links
- Neil Castles driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Legends of NASCAR
- NASCAR.com's 1969 season recap
Books
- Golenbock, Peter (1994). American Zoom: Stock Car Racing—from the Dirt Tracks to Daytona. Macmillan USA. ISBN 978-0-02-032782-0.
- Castles, Henry Neil "Soapy" (January 31, 2019). Neil "Soapy" Castles: Memoir of a Life in NASCAR and the Movies. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-3504-0.