Larry Grayson Smith (June 2, 1942 – August 12, 1973), born in

Lenoir Lenoir may refer to: Locations: * Lenoir, North Carolina, United States * Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States * Lenoir City, Tennessee In Universities: * Lenoir-Rhyne University * Lenoir Dining Hall, a dining hall at the University of N ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, United States, 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 hi ...

driver. He made his debut in the 1971

World 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...

in the #92

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, finishing 22nd. He would go on to run three more races that year, acquiring one top-ten finish. In 1972, he was named the first

NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year. History of the Award The Rookie of the Y ...

, running 23 races and posting seven top-ten finishes. The next year, he finally acquired major sponsorship, from

Carling Black Label Carling Black Label is a lager distributed by Carling Brewing Company. History Although its original focus was on ale, Carling has brewed lager-style beers since the 1870s. In 1927, as part of a corporate re-branding under new president ...

. Later that year, while running the

Talladega 500 The GEICO 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of ...

, Smith spun his 1971

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

on lap 14 and slapped the Turn 1

retaining wall Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can be retained at different levels on the two sides. Retaining walls are structures designed to restrain soil to a slope that it would not naturally keep to ...

.''Larry Smith Killed In Race Crash'', Atlanta Daily World, August 16, 1973, pg. 9. His car suffered minor damage, which the crew was preparing to repair. However, during the ensuing

caution flag Racing flags are traditionally used in auto racing and similar motorsports to indicate track condition and to communicate important messages to drivers. Typically, the starter, sometimes the grand marshal of a race, waves the flags atop a flag s ...

, members of Smith's

pit crew In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lan ...

surprisingly discovered that the driver did not survive the impact of the crash; track doctors confirmed that he had died of massive head injuries. An August 23, 1973 news report indicated that Smith's helmet had been sent to an independent testing laboratory for examination, to determine what role his helmet had in the injuries he sustained. It further reported that a study was underway to determine if safer helmets for drivers could be found. A 1975 report stated that doctors determined that Smith's skull was "abnormally soft", and that it had been fractured several times before his fatal wreck. It is rumored, but not confirmed, that the head injuries that killed Smith came because he tore the inner-lining out of his helmet, which had been bothering him for some time. He was pronounced

dead on arrival Dead on Scene ('' 'DOS' '') Found dead before first responders get on scene and no medical treatment was given. Dead on arrival (DOA), also dead in the field and brought in dead (BID), are terms which indicate that a patient was found to be ...

at the

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

infield hospital. No other drivers were involved in the crash. Smith is one of several drivers featured in the 1975 book ''

The World's Number One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book ''The World's Number One, Flat-Out, All-Time Great Stock Car Racing Book'' is a non-fiction book on early stock car racing published in 1975 by Doubleday. The book revolves around the 1972 Southern 500 weekend at Darlington Raceway in Darlingt ...

'' by

Jerry Bledsoe Jerry Bledsoe (born 1941) is an American author and journalist known for several true crime titles based on murders in his native state of North Carolina. His journalism career, which spanned over 20 years, included newspaper work in the North ...

. Bledsoe describes the struggles Smith went through in his run for Rookie Of The Year in 1972.

References

External links

* 1942 births 1973 deaths NASCAR drivers People from Lenoir, North Carolina Racing drivers from North Carolina Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Alabama {{NASCAR-bio-stub