Eugene "Gene" H. Tapia (March 16, 1925 – April 12, 2005) was an American race car driver from

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. He competed in four

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 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, but he is best known for racing in the #327 supermodified. He was nicknamed the "King of the Supermodifieds."

Early life

Tapia was born on March 16, 1925, in Mobile, Alabama, to Ada and Homer Tapia. When he was nine years old, he attended a dirt track race with his father. His father began taking him regularly to motorcycle races in the mid 1930s. At the age of 17, Tapia got married. That same year, he was involved in a street fight and the county

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

suggested that he should leave town to avoid prosecution. In order to resolve the matter amicably, he left Mobile to work as a civilian on a military base in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. Tapia was wounded when the Japanese attacked

Dutch Harbor Dutch Harbor is a harbor on Amaknak Island in Unalaska, Alaska. It was the location of the Battle of Dutch Harbor in June 1942, and was one of the few sites in the United States to be subjected to aerial bombardment by a foreign power during Worl ...

in June 1942. While Tapia was away, his wife gave birth to a boy named Larry Eugene Tapia in September 1942 at Memphis, Tennessee. Before either parent was able to see the baby, he was stolen by

Georgia Tann Beulah George "Georgia" Tann (July 18, 1891 – September 15, 1950), was an American child trafficker who operated the Tennessee Children's Home Society, an adoption agency in Memphis, Tennessee. Tann used the unlicensed home as a front fo ...

's baby theft ring that worked at the hospital. In June 1943, Tapia returned to Mobile where he enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. He served with the Third Marine Division in

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

, the first-day invasion of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

, and spent over 35 days on

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

Racing career

In 1948, Tapia began racing as a way to get past battle stress which plagued him after the War. Later that year, he won his first stock car race at Chisholm Fairgrounds in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. He raced in several

races that season. During his brief time spent racing in NASCAR, he won the

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

state title and the 1953

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

state title. He left the circuit because he wanted to race five nights per week instead of one night. "Tapia was right up there with the best," said

Donnie Allison Donnie Allison (born September 7, 1939) is an American former driver on the NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup circuit, who won ten times during his racing career, which spanned from 1966 to 1988. He is part of the "Alabama Gang", and is the bro ...

. "He could have made it real good in NASCAR, if he had chosen. But I think his regard for his family and the desire to race more frequently is what kept him closer to home." Tapia won the 1968 and 1969 World 300 Supermodified race at

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 ...

. The event was billed as the "world's richest supermodified race".

Later life

In 1990, Tapia was able to meet his son. The 47-year-old, who was living in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, was told that his parents had died in an automobile accident. Tapia died in 2005 at the age of 80.

Awards

He was inducted in the Alabama Auto Racing Pioneers Hall of Fame in 1999.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

Biography

*''The Gene Tapia Story: King of the Supermodifieds''

References

External links

*
Articles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapia, Gene Sportspeople from Mobile, Alabama NASCAR drivers 2005 deaths 1925 births Racing drivers from Alabama United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II