| Born: | January 20, 1929 | |
| Birthplace: |  Tavares, Florida |
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| Died: | July 2, 1964 (aged 35) | |
| Cause of Death: | Complications due to car crash on May 24, 1964 during World 600 | |
| Achievements: | — | |
| Awards: | Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995 1962 Daytona 500 winner |
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| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics | ||
| 206 races run over 15 years. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Tavares is a city in central Florida in the United States. It is the County seat of Lake County. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600) and also known as the "Coke 600" is a in length Stock car race held annually at Lowe's Motor Speedway NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers is a list of NASCAR drivers In 1998, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration NASCAR gathered a panel to select "The Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to Auto racing either as a driver owner The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a Hall of Fame and museum in Novi Michigan for American motorsports legends The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach Florida. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States. | ||
| Best Cup Position: | 2nd - 1950 (Grand National) | |
| First Race: | 1950 February 5, 1950 (untitled race) (Daytona Beach) | |
| Last Race: | 1964 World 600 (Charlotte) | |
| First Win: | 1950 August 13, 1950 (untitled race) (Hillsborough) | |
| Last Win: | 1964 November 17, 1963 (Augusta 510) (Augusta International Raceway) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 33 | 122 | 32 |
Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Jr. The 1950 NASCAR Grand National Season began on Sunday February 5 and ended on Sunday October 29. The 1950 NASCAR Grand National Season began on Sunday February 5 and ended on Sunday October 29. Daytona Beach Road Course was a Race track that was instrumental in the formation of NASCAR. The Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600) and also known as the "Coke 600" is a in length Stock car race held annually at Lowe's Motor Speedway Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) is a speedway in Concord North Carolina, north of Charlotte. The 1950 NASCAR Grand National Season began on Sunday February 5 and ended on Sunday October 29. Occoneechee Speedway was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open The term " pole position " comes from the Horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole (January 20, 1929 – July 2, 1964) was one of the pioneering race car drivers of NASCAR. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Auto racing (also known as automobile racing, motor racing or car racing) is a Motorsport involving Racing Cars It The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States.
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Background
Roberts was born in Tavares, Florida, and raised in Apopka, Florida where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. Tavares is a city in central Florida in the United States. It is the County seat of Lake County. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each He was a pitcher for the Zellwood Mud Hens, an American Legion baseball team, where he earned the nickname "Fireball" because of his pitches, not his driving style, which is sometimes disputed. In Baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the Pitcher's mound toward the Catcher to begin each play with the goal of For other uses of American Legion see American Legion (disambiguation The American Legion was chartered by the U He enlisted with the Army Air Corps in 1945, but was discharged after basic training because of asthma. The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC was the predecessor of the U Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Asthma is a chronic Condition involving the Respiratory system in which the airways occasionally constrict become inflamed, and are
Racing career
He attended the University of Florida but raced on dirt tracks on weekends. The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach Florida. The University of Florida ( Florida or UF) is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major Research In 1947, at the age of 18, he raced on the Daytona Beach Road Course at Daytona for the first time. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Daytona Beach Road Course was a Race track that was instrumental in the formation of NASCAR. He won a 150-mile race at Daytona Beach the following year.
Roberts continued to amass victories on the circuit, despite the changes in NASCAR as it moved away from shorter dirt tracks to superspeedways in the 1950s and 1960s. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 In his 206 career NASCAR Grand National races, he won 33 times and had 32 poles. He finished in the top five 45 percent of the time. He won the 1962 Daytona 500. The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach Florida.
Death
On May 24, 1964, at the World 600 in Charlotte, Roberts had qualified in the eleventh position and started in the middle of the pack. Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. The Coca-Cola 600 (formerly the World 600) and also known as the "Coke 600" is a in length Stock car race held annually at Lowe's Motor Speedway On lap 7, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson collided and spun out and Roberts crashed trying to avoid them. Ned Jarrett (born October 12, 1932 in Newton North Carolina) is a retired race car driver and two-time NASCAR champion Robert Glen Johnson Jr (born June 28, 1931 in Wilkes County North Carolina) known as Junior Johnson, was a Moonshiner in the Roberts' Ford slammed backward into the inside retaining wall, flipped over and burst into flames. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Witnesses at the track claimed they heard Roberts screaming, "Ned, help me!" from inside his car after the wreck. Jarrett rushed to save Roberts as his car was engulfed by the flames. Roberts suffered second- and third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body and was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition. A burn is a type of Injury that may be caused by Heat, cold, Electricity, Chemicals, Light, Radiation, or Although it was widely believed that Roberts had an allergic reaction to flame-retardant chemicals, he was secretly an asthmatic and the chemicals made his breathing worse. [1]
Roberts was able to survive for several weeks, and it appeared he might pull through, but Roberts' health took a turn for the worse on June 30, 1964. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. He contracted pneumonia and sepsis and slipped into a coma by the next day. Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the Lung. Frequently it is described as lung Parenchyma / alveolar inflammation and abnormal Sepsis is a serious medical condition characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state (called a Systemic inflammatory response syndrome or SIRS caused In Medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep is a profound state of Unconsciousness. He died on July 2, 1964. Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar.
Roberts' death, as well as the deaths of two drivers at the Indianapolis 500 the same year, led to an increase in research for fire-retardant uniforms. Results of the 1964 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Saturday May 30 1964. It also led to the development of the Firestone RaceSafe fuel cell, and all race cars today use a foam-backed fuel cell to prevent severe fuel spillage of the massive degree that Roberts had. Also, fully fire-retardant coveralls would be phased in leading to the now mandatory Nomex racing suits. Distinguish from Overhaul. An overall is a type of Garment which is usually used as Protective clothing when working Nomex (styled NOMEX) is a registered Trademark for flame resistant meta- Aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed
Legacy
Despite having his career cut short and having never won a Grand National title, Fireball Roberts was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers. NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers is a list of NASCAR drivers In 1998, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration NASCAR gathered a panel to select "The
Other career awards he won include induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to Auto racing either as a driver owner Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a Hall of Fame and museum in Novi Michigan for American motorsports legends
In 2000 the city of Concord, North Carolina named a street near Lowe's Motor Speedway in his honor. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Concord (kän-kord is a city in the US state of North Carolina. Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) is a speedway in Concord North Carolina, north of Charlotte. In 2006 The FIREBALL RUN: Transcontinental Rally American Rally event was named in his honor.
In music, the Dave Dudley penned Country song "Fireball Rolled A Seven," has been cited as being based on Roberts and his racing career, although this is in doubt, as the song states that the title driver drove a car with a number seven on the door. Dave Dudley ( May 3 1926 – December 22 2003) was a Country music singer Throughout his career, Roberts' cars had the number 22 painted on the doors.
References
- Glenn "Fireball" Roberts at NASCAR.com
- Glenn "Fireball" Roberts at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
- "Fireball" Roberts at racing-reference.info
The second picture is of Banjo Mathews leading Bobby Johns. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to Auto racing either as a driver owner Fireball drove the #22 car and had a three speed transmission while the other Pontiacs like Mathews had four speeds. Reference Motor Trend in 1962 and http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1962-29&series=W
External links
- Official "Fireball" Roberts homepage
- "Fireball" Roberts web site
- The FIREBALL RUN web site
- "Fireball" Roberts' Gravesite
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