Freddy Fryar (February 15, 1935 – April 29, 2020) was an American

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

racing driver. He competed 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 hi ...

Grand National and Winston Cup Series between

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

and

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Career summary

Born in

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, Fryar made his first start in NASCAR Grand National (now

Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

) competition in 1956. Known as "The Beaumont Flyer", Fryar participated in 772 laps of racing; equivalent to of racing. His average start position was 27th, while his average finish position was 21st. Fryar's total career earnings were $5,310 ($ when adjusted for inflation). He was also a regular participant of the

Snowball Derby The Snowball Derby presented by Bayou Fox Hooters is a 300-lap super late model stock car race held annually at the Five Flags Speedway, a half-mile paved oval track in Pensacola, Florida, United States. The race has been contested every year s ...

, winning the event in 1979 and 1981. During the 1980s, Fryar was seen frequently racing at various races taking place at the

Mobile International Speedway Mobile International Speedway is a 1/2-mile paved oval track along U.S. Highway 90 in Irvington, Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It was built by Walter "Skip" Wetjen, and opened in 1965. History During the golden age of stock car racin ...

in Irvington,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. Fryar's sponsor was Buster Davis throughout his career. Most of Fryar's races were during the 1970s (three races) as opposed to the 1960s (one race) and the 1950s (two races). Freddy also raced cars owned and sponsored by A. J. Fasulo, who owned a body shop in Beaumont, Texas, from the early 1970s for almost 15 years. He raced at Houston's Meyer Speedway, 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, and other places all over the United States. He was named NASCAR's Most Popular Driver in 1968. A winner of 826 races, Fryar worked as a driving instructor at the

Richard Petty Driving Experience Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, ...

following his retirement; he was inducted in to the Alabama Auto Racing Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Ozarks Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2013. Fryar died Wednesday, April 29, 2020, due to complications from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fryar, Freddy 1936 births Living people NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from Louisiana Sportspeople from Baton Rouge, Louisiana