Bobby Harris Myers (June 27, 1927September 2, 1957) was an American
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 ...
driver. He ran 15
Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series:
*National-level stock car series:
**NASCAR Cup Series (known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 to 1970, then the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand Nation ...
races from 1950 until his death in a crash during the
1957 Southern 500
The 1957 Southern 500, the eighth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 2, 1957, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.
Herb Thomas, already a three-time Southern 500 winner, arr ...
.
Career
Myers began competing in the
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 ...
Grand National Division in 1951 at the age of 24. He made two starts in 1951, in his first outing in the 200-lap event at the half-mile dirt
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.
In 1953, Myers drove the No. 18 Oldsmobile in two NASCAR Grand National events. In the
Southern 500
The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is and consists of 367 laps. Fro ...
, he started 50th and worked his way to a 20th finishing position. At the one-mile circular
Langhorne Speedway
Langhorne Speedway was an automobile racetrack in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia.
According to the book ''Langhorne! No Man's Land'' by L. Spencer Riggs: "With a ...
in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Myers finished 10th.
[
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 ]Palm Beach Speedway
Palm Beach Speedway was a motor sports racing venue located in West Palm Beach Florida. The speedway hosted a total of 7 NASCAR races between January 20, 1952 and December 11, 1956. Dick Rathman had the most poles at 3, and Herb Thomas captured t ...
in West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...
. He started the event in 10th and finished in 10th. At the Daytona Beach and Road Course, Myers started 63rd of 76 cars and finished 46th failing to collect any of the purse money
A purse is a small bag that may refer to:
* Coin purse, small pouch made for carrying coins
* Handbag, in American English
* Money bag
* Wallet
Purse may also refer to:
* Purse (horse racing), the total amount of money paid out to the owners o ...
. At the half-mile dirt Wilson Speedway in Wilson, North Carolina, Myers started 24th and finished 7th. At Langhorne, Myers drove the No. 15W Ford owned by Bill Stroppe. Myers started the race in 8th position, but an engine failure dropped him to 38th. Myers started 12th in the No. 1 Chevrolet in the Virginia 500
The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 is an annual 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It had no name from 1950 to 1955, before taking the name Virginia 500 in 1956. It is the first ...
at Martinsville but a right front hub failure left him in 15th position after completing 436 of the 500 laps. Myers was back behind the wheel of Bill Stroppe's No. 4 Mercury at Road America in what would be the only Sprint Cup race held at the Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Elkhart Lake is a village in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, located within the northwestern part of the county within the Town of Rhine. The population was 967 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropoli ...
circuit. He started the race in 14th but a crash took him out on lap 39 and he finished 21st. The Stroppe Mercury carried the No. 76 for the Southern 500 and Myers put it in the 34th starting position. Problems with the gas tank on lap 91 put him out of the event and left him with a 61st finishing spot. Myers was optimistic for the Buddy Shuman 250 at the 4/10-mile dirt Hickory Speedway
Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars".
The tr ...
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.[
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
Truman Fontell "Fonty" Flock (March 21, 1920 – July 15, 1972) was an American stock car racer.
Flock family
He was the brother of NASCAR pioneers Tim Flock and Bob Flock, and the second female NASCAR driver Ethel Mobley. The four rac ...
was driving Herb Thomas
Herbert Watson Thomas (April 6, 1923 – August 9, 2000) was a stock car racer who was one of NASCAR's most successful drivers in the 1950s. Thomas was NASCAR's first multi-time Cup Champion.
Background
Born in the small town of Olivia ...
'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
Paul Goldsmith (born October 2, 1925) is a former USAC and NASCAR driver. He is an inductee of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, and the USAC Hall of Fame. Later in life Goldsmith became a pilot and, flying ...
and Myers both struck the stopped car at full speed.[
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, Danny "Chocolate" Myers
Danny "Chocolate" Myers (born October 17, 1948) is an American stock car racing personality. A long-time staffer for Richard Childress Racing, he was the fueler on six of the team's NASCAR championships (Dale Earnhardt Sr., 1986–87, 1990–91, 1 ...
later became involved in NASCAR, serving as the gasman on the famous "Flying Aces" pit crew of Richard Childress Racing and seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Dale Earnhardt.[ Myers' great-nephews, ]Burt
Burt is a given name and also a shortened form of other names, such as Burton and Herbert, or a place name.
Burt may refer to:
People
*Burt Alvord (1866–after 1910), American Old West lawman and outlaw
*Burt Bacharach (born 1928), American com ...
and Jason, were regular competitors on the Whelen Southern Modified Tour
The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour (WSMT) was a stock car racing series owned by NASCAR and operated in the Southeastern United States as part of its Modified Division. The series began in 1989 as the Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams (S. ...
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.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Bobby
1927 births
1957 deaths
Filmed deaths in motorsport
NASCAR drivers
Sportspeople from Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Racing drivers from North Carolina
Racing drivers who died while racing
Sports deaths in South Carolina