Joseph Herbert Weatherly (May 29, 1922 – January 19, 1964) was an American
stock car racing
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 ...
driver. Weatherly was inducted into the
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...
in 2009 after winning
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 ...
's
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 ...
championships in 1962 and 1963, three
AMA Grand National Championship
American Flat Track is an American motorcycle racing series. The racing series, founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1954, originally encompassed five distinct forms of competitions including mile dirt track r ...
s, and two NASCAR Modified championships.
Personality
Weatherly enjoyed behaving outrageously. He once took practice laps wearing a Peter Pan suit. Moreover, he frequently stayed out partying until the early hours, usually with fellow driver and friend
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 ...
. This behavior earned him the nickname the "Clown Prince of Racing". In 1956 at
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
, while racing in the convertible series, Weatherly's engine blew. With the help of
Ralph Liguori
Ralph Liguori (October 10, 1926 – July 21, 2020) was an American racing driver from New York City.
Indycar career
He competed in the USAC Championship Car series from 1957 to 1971 making 61 starts. His best finish was 2nd place at the Indi ...
pushing from behind, he displayed showmanship to the fullest extent by crossing the finish line while standing in a "chariot of fire".
Motorcycle career
He won three
American Motorcycle Association
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is an American nonprofit organization of more than 200,000 motorcyclists that organizes numerous motorcycling activities and campaigns for motorcyclists' legal rights. Its mission statement is "to promo ...
(AMA) nationals between 1946 and 1950, including the prestigious
Laconia Classic 100 Mile
road race in 1948. In 1998 he was inducted into the AMA
Motorcycle Hall of Fame
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycles ...
.
NASCAR career
Weatherly began racing cars in 1950. "Little Joe" won the first
modified event that he entered. He won 49 of the 83 car races that he entered that season. In 1952 he won 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 ...
Modified National crown, and he again won 49 of 83 car races that he entered. Weatherly won 52 more races in 1953 and won the Modified National crown again.
Weatherly had a partial interest in what would later be called
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
from 1955 to 1956.
In 1956 he moved into the NASCAR
Grand National
The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...
series. He drove a factory-sponsored Ford car
for
Pete DePaolo
Pete DePaolo (April 6, 1898 – November 26, 1980) was an American race car driver who won the 1925 Indianapolis 500.
Biography
Peter DePaolo was born on April 6, 1898, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pete saw his first race in 1919, where he w ...
Engineering. For the next two seasons, Weatherly drove for
Holman Moody
Holman-Moody is an American racecar manufacturer, marine engine manufacturer and former auto racing team. The company currently operates out of Charlotte, North Carolina, but is no longer a race team. Holman-Moody continues to manufacture racing ...
.
In 1959, Weatherly recorded six top-5 finishes and ten top-10s. He narrowly lost the
1959 Hickory 250 to
Junior Johnson
Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was an American NASCAR driver of the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966. In the 1970s and 1980s, he became ...
; being out lapped twice before the race was concluded.
Weatherly won
NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award
NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award is awarded to the most popular NASCAR driver in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series every year since 1956. It started as a poll of the drivers and then all NASCAR Cup Series comp ...
in 1961.
He won two consecutive championships, in 1962 and
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
, for
Bud Moore Engineering
Bud Moore Engineering, later Fenley-Moore Racing, was a championship-winning NASCAR team. It was owned and operated by mechanic Bud Moore and ran out of Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat, seat of Spart ...
. Moore did not have enough resources to run the full season, so Weatherly frequently "bummed a ride".
Death
Weatherly died on January 19, 1964, from head injuries sustained in a racing accident at the fifth race of the 1964 season, at
Riverside International Raceway
Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Rivers ...
. His head went outside the car and struck a retaining wall, killing him instantly. Weatherly was not wearing a shoulder harness and did not have a window net installed on his vehicle, because he was afraid of being trapped in a burning car.
Weatherly was the first driver to die during the season after winning the Cup Series championship; since his death, this has occurred just one other time, as 1992 series champion
Alan Kulwicki
Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and the "Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional ...
lost his life early in the 1993 season. Unlike Weatherly, who died in a racing accident, Kulwicki was killed in a plane crash.
Weatherly's fatal crash, combined with
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...
's crash at
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
in 1970, eventually led NASCAR to mandate the window net seven years later, in 1971.
Weatherly's grave marker is a sculpture of Riverside Raceway, with a checkered flag marking the spot of his fatal crash.
Awards
He was named one of
NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers
NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers is an alphabetical list of NASCAR drivers.
In 1998, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, NASCAR gathered a panel to select the "50 Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time." It was inspired in part by the NBA's dec ...
in 1998.
He was inducted into the
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...
[Joe Weatherly]
at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...
in 2009.
Weatherly was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 30, 2015.
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. ** – All laps led.)
Grand National Series
=Daytona 500
=
References
External links
Profile joeweatherly.com
*
Motorcycle Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weatherly, Joe
1922 births
1964 deaths
American motorcycle racers
AMA Grand National Championship riders
Burials in Virginia
Filmed deaths in motorsport
International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
NASCAR Cup Series champions
NASCAR drivers
Sportspeople from Norfolk, Virginia
Racing drivers from Virginia
Racing drivers who died while racing
Sports deaths in California
NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees