Robert Graham 'Bob' Latford (July 29, 1935 – July 23, 2003) was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

historian best known for developing the point system used in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1975 to 2010 (slightly modified in later years), NASCAR Xfinity Series and

NASCAR Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

Career

Latford began his 55-year career in motorsports media and public relations by selling programs for the Daytona Beach races in 1946 for NASCAR founder Bill France, the father of Bill France, Jr. who was one of Latford's classmates at

Seabreeze High School Seabreeze High School is a public high school located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. The school was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 1989. Notable alumni * Duane and Gregg Allman, of The Allman Brothers Band, class of 196 ...

. Following a stint in the

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, Latford was attending the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

when he was offered a public relations job at the new

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...

by France, Sr. and Houston Lawing. The first Daytona 500 took place in 1959. Later on, Latford served as a public relations official and press box director at several tracks, including

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

. He devised NASCAR's most popular points system, which was adopted in 1975, which NASCAR used two different versions for their series from 1975 until 2010. In the system, the winner received 175 points, second 170 points, and other positions exactly the same as the current points system. From 1979–2000, Latford was the statistician for all NASCAR broadcasts on

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. Latford was also a color commentator for the 1988 Miller High Life 500 at Pocono Raceway. Latford also published a weekly newsletter for motorsports journalists, The Inside Line, along with four books (see below). Latford worked his final race in the press box at North Carolina Motor Speedway, the Pop Secret 400 on October 22, 2000. On July 23, 2003 Latford died at the age of 67.

Legacy

At the annual North Carolina Auto Racing Hall Of Fame ceremony in October 2003,

NASCAR Scene ''NASCAR Scene'' (originally ''Grand National Scene'' and later ''Winston Cup Scene'') was a weekly magazine about NASCAR stock car racing. It was established in North Carolina in 1976 and lasted until January 2010, making it one of the oldest NA ...

editor and hall of fame board member Deb Williams paid tribute to Latford. In 2004, Latford was posthumously awarded the

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/Pocono Spirit Award which "recognizes character and achievement in the face of adversity as well as sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports."

Books

* ''Built For Speed'' (1999 HC, 2002 PB) Courage Books. PB * ''50 Years Of NASCAR'' (2002) Carlton Books. * ''NASCAR: A Celebration'' (2002) Carlton Books. * ''ARCA 50th Anniversary Book'' (2002) Written for ARCA

References

External links

Bob Latford – A Friend To Racing by John Davison (fastmachines.com
NASCAR people 1935 births 2003 deaths {{NASCAR-bio-stub