Bill Rexford
William J. "Bill" Rexford (March 14, 1927 – April 18, 1994) was a stock car driver in the early 1950s. He is best remembered for winning the 1950 NASCAR Grand National Series championship at only 23 years old. Rexford currently holds the distinction as NASCAR's youngest Cup Champion. Biography Born in Conewango Valley, New York to Kermit and Edith Rexford, Rexford made his name driving stock cars in Western New York. He got his introduction at a young age as his father owned a Chevrolet dealership in the village. At age 16, he made his racing debut at a nearby track in Leon, New York. After he turned 18, he stopped his racing career to join the United States Navy during World War II, during that time, he was stationed in Newport, Rhode Island. After his discharge, he went back home to New York and started racing at bullrings in Buffalo, Rochester, and everywhere in between. When NASCAR introduced its "Strictly Stock" series in 1949, Rexford made three starts, with his best fini ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Canfield Speedway
Canfield Speedway is a half mile dirt oval racetrack that hosted (major) sanctioned auto racing from 1950 to 1964, but other associations ran until the late 1970s. There was also a 1/4 mile dirt racing surface that shared the front stretch with the 1/2 mile track. It was used until the track was closed to auto racing in 1973. Attendance varied from 30,000 people for larger events to 10,000 people for ones of less significance. The track is located at the Canfield Fairgrounds in Canfield, Ohio, and is still in use today, primarily during the Canfield Fair. History The original promoter of auto racing in Canfield was Charlie Findlay and then his nephew George C. Findlay in the early 1960s. It was Charlie that had close ties with Johnny Marcum, (MARC) Midwest Association of Racing Cars and Canfield Speedway was the priority track. In 1964 ARCA took over MARC as the desire for dirt tracks died out. Races It was on the NASCAR Grand National Schedule for three years from 1950 to 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Conewango Valley, New York
Ellington is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 1,493 at the 2020 census. History The first settler arrived ''circa'' 1814. The town of Ellington was formed on April 1, 1824 from the town of Gerry, and Cherry Creek was taken off on May 4, 1829. On September 8, 1865, a 4 hour rainstorm produced a flood that damaged much of the town. It carried away nearly all the bridges, and threatened destruction of the village. The hotel and Baptist Church were reportedly swept into the street. The first religious services were held at the house of James Bates in 1817 by Rev. Daniel Hadley. Geography Ellington is located on the eastern edge of Chautauqua County, bordered by Cattaraugus County to the east. It is northeast of Jamestown, the largest city in Chautauqua County. According to the United States Census Bureau, Ellington has a total area of , of which , or 0.04%, is water. U.S. Route 62 passes east-to-south through the town, and New York S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage (4,635,628 tonnes as of 2019) and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft . The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, and Yonkers, New York, Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in Western New York, the city of Rochester forms the core of a larger Rochester metropolitan area, New York, metropolitan area with a population of 1 million people, across six counties. The city was one of the United States' first boomtowns, initially due to the fertile Genesee River Valley, which gave rise to numerous flour mills, and then as a manufacturing center, which spurred further rapid population growth. Rochester rose to prominence as the birthplace and home of some of America's most iconic companies, in particular Eastman Kodak, Xerox, and Bausch & Lomb (along with Wegmans, Gannett, Paychex, Western Union, French's, Cons ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Occoneechee Speedway
Occoneechee Speedway was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open. It closed in 1968 and is the only dirt track remaining from the inaugural 1949 season. It is located just outside the town of Hillsborough, North Carolina. Site history Occoneechee Speedway / Orange Speedway The Occoneechee Farm occupied the land in the late 19th century. The farm was named after the Occaneechi Indians that lived in the area in the late 17th century and late 18th century. The landowner, Julian S. Carr, raced horses, and built a half mile horse racing track on the site. Bill France noticed the horse racing track and expanse of open land while piloting his airplane. On the site of the earlier horse track, he built a 0.9-mile dirt track in September 1947, two months before NASCAR was organized. In its earliest days, Fonty Flock and his brothers Bob and Tim dominated the track. Louise Smith became NASCAR's first female driver at the track in the fall of 1949. The Occoneechee Speedway hosted ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lee Petty
Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup champion. He is also the father of Richard Petty, who went on to become one of the most successful stock car racing drivers of all time. Career Petty was born near Randleman, North Carolina, the son of Jessie Maude (née Bell) and Judson Ellsworth Petty. He was thirty-five years old when he began racing. He participated in NASCAR's inaugural race, held at the three-quarter mile long dirt track, Charlotte Speedway; he raced in a 1948 Buick Roadmaster he borrowed from his neighbor under the assurance that the prize money earned from the race could pay off any damages to the car. With son Richard watching, Petty lost control of the car and rolled it in turn three. Basing on his earlier experience as an occasional moonshine runner, Petty woul ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fireball Roberts
Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr. (January 20, 1929July 2, 1964) was an American stock car racer. Background Roberts was born in Tavares, Florida, and raised in Apopka, Florida, where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. He was a pitcher for the Zellwood Mud Hens, an American Legion baseball team, where he earned the nickname, "Fireball" because of his fastball. He enlisted with the United States Army Air Corps in 1945, but was discharged after basic training because of his asthma. Racing career He attended the University of Florida and raced on dirt tracks on weekends. In 1947, at the age of eighteen, he raced on the Daytona Beach Road Course at Daytona, for the first time. He won a 150-mile race at Daytona Beach the following year. Roberts also competed in local stock and modified races at Florida tracks such as Seminole Speedway. "Fireball" Roberts continued to amass victories on the circuit, despite the changes in NASCAR, as it moved away from short ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Curtis Turner
Curtis Morton Turner (April 12, 1924 – October 4, 1970) was an American stock car racer. Throughout his life, he developed a reputation for drinking and partying. In 1999, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. History He was born in Floyd, Virginia to Morton and Minnie Turner on April 12, 1924. Curtis grew up with a brother and two sisters. His father, Morton Turner, was into the moonshine business and had a productive still. Curtis was responsible for delivering his father's moonshine to the customers. From a very early age, long before he was old enough for a driver’s license, Curtis developed his driving talents by running moonshine through the mountains from the law. He was never caught by anyone. Locals spoke of how Curtis would drive away from the hot pursuit of revenuers and lawmen and his legendary ability to turn a car 180 degrees in a very small space. He began his racing career in 1946 when he finished 18th in a field of 18 contestants in a race ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Julian Buesink
Julian E. Buesink (September 24, 1921 – September 23, 1998) was the car owner and crew chief during Bill Rexford's 1950 NASCAR Grand National Series championship run and his teammate Lloyd Moore. Buesink's cars competed in 156 NASCAR races with two wins, both coming in 1950 with drivers Bill Rexford and Lloyd Moore respectively. His team scored 64 Top 10 finishes. He had nine different drivers from 1951 to 1953, before Bob Duell came on board from 1956 and 1960. He ended his career as an owner with future three time champion Cale Yarborough. Yarborough made 7 starts in Buesink equipment from 1961 to 1963. He drove in his own car once in 1951, starting seventeenth and finishing twenty seventh at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. He was a resident of Findley Lake, New York, where he owned and operated an automobile dealership. Motorsports career results NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by po ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest population center in the county. Nearby Chautauqua Lake is a freshwater resource used by fishermen, boaters, and naturalists. Notable people from Jamestown include legendary comedienne Lucille Ball, U.S. Supreme Court justice and Nuremberg chief prosecutor Robert H. Jackson, musician Natalie Merchant, musician Dennis Drew, musician John Lombardo, naturalist Roger Tory Peterson, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In the 20th century, Jamestown was a thriving industrial area, noted for producing several well-known products. They include the crescent wrench, produced by Karl Peterson's the Crescent Tool Company in Jamestown beginning in 1907. and the automatic lever voting machine, manufactured by the Automatic Voting Machine Company, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mercury (automobile)
Mercury is a defunct division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company. Created in 1938 by Edsel Ford, Mercury served as the medium-price brand of Ford for nearly its entire existence, bridging the price gap between the Ford and Lincoln Motor Company, Lincoln model lines. Competing against Buick and Oldsmobile from General Motors for decades, the brand also competed against Chrysler, Chrysler's namesake brand (following the closure of DeSoto (automobile), DeSoto). From 1945 until its closure, Mercury formed half of the Lincoln-Mercury Division of Ford, which served as a combined sales network (distinct from Ford) for its two premium automotive brands. Lincoln-Mercury also served as the sales network for Continental (1956–1960), Edsel (1958–1960) and Merkur (1985–1989). Through the use of platform sharing and manufacturing commonality, Mercury vehicles shared components and engineering with Ford or Lincoln (or both concurrently) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln luxury brand. Ford also owns Brazilian SUV manufacturer Troller, an 8% stake in Aston Martin of the United Kingdom and a 32% stake in China's Jiangling Motors. It also has joint ventures in China (Changan Ford), Taiwan (Ford Lio Ho), Thailand ( AutoAlliance Thailand), and Turkey ( Ford Otosan). The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family; they have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power. Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines; by ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |