THE FIREBALL ROBERTS FINAL CHAPTER.....A GALAXIE STORY
Fireball Roberts started the 1963 NASCAR racing season in a Pontiac. This was the Banjo Matthews ride from mid-1962, after leaving five years behind with Smokey Yunick. He started fourth and finished third in the January opener at Riverside. The following month, in Daytona, he took the pole on qualifying day with the fastest speed and in the first hundred mile qualifying race finished sixth. Tiny Lund won the Daytona 500 in Marvin Panch's place, a famous story but it was Fireball on the pole for the start, finishing twenty-first with a bad engine. Tiny Lund won that race drafting Fireball, saving his tires and fuel, an incredible feat. Leonard Wood told me that, personally. Fireball did not run again for a month, where he finished second at Atlanta behind his future team mate, Fred Lorenzen. This was the last time he drove a Pontiac ever, on March 17, 1963.
A week went by, and he got the deal with a past racing associate, co-founder of Holman Moody, as well as his former team mate from Ford's earlier beach racing days under Pete DePaolo from 1956-57. Ralph Moody was the one that put Fireball back in a Ford. Missing a week of racing, Fireball was in his new ride, later to be known as his final ride. Because Fred Lorenzen was Holman Moody's #1 car, adding Fireball to the team in a lavender car was somewhat tainted and some have said this was a point maker. The point that Fred was just that, #1 and Fireball was #2 on the team. The lavender car was really a FOMOCO color though, ironically back from 1956 when Fireball shined in the convertible races. The color was Wysteria, and used on the Lincoln Premier.
All of the ridicule was unimportant because right out of the box, the new #22 1963 Galaxie team showed up at Bristol and after starting third, beat his new teammate Lorenzen for the win, who started on the pole. The Holman Moody cars were the only two that completed the 500 laps as third place was three laps down.
Fireball blew up at Richmond finishing twenty-third and wrecked at Martinsville finishing twenty-eighth in April, after starting ninth and second respectively. He did not run again until May at Darlington where he started fifth and finished second. In 1963, the 600 mile race at Charlotte was run on June 2nd, where Fireball started fourth and finished tenth, nine laps down. Engine failure at Atlanta, in round two sent him from a third place start to a thirty-first place finish.
That luck would turn around in Daytona. As they did in February, the top five finishing cars would be Fords with Fireball leading the way. Just like in his first win in the Galaxie his team mate Fred Lorenzen was a close second in the FIRECRACKER 400 on July 4th, 1963.
This win at Daytona for Fireball is the basis of the paint scheme of my car today. The car was built by a man who was a Daytona Beach native and was there for Fireball's win that day on July 4th, 1963 as a young fan. Fireball was his hero for fifty years. Harold Reeves would build his Fireball Roberts tribute car and finish it in 2006. He showed it proudly until his passing in 2012.
Fireball would win again at Old Bridge Stadium in New Jersey later in July which was his third win in the Lavender Galaxie. It would also be his last win with the Wysteria color shade.
Back at Bristol for round #2 he was destroy the Galaxie he won his first race in with his final team. The segment photos of the Bristol roll-over are now historic of his 29th place finish from the outside pole.
The whole month of August went by as Fireball did not run in the Galaxie. A new color was about to be unwrapped for the #22 in the Charlotte shop of Holman Moody. The lavender car was gone and out of the paint room, came a metallic purple Galaxie.
History would repeat itself in his first race in a new car, new color at Darlington for the Southern 500 Labor Day weekend. Fireball took it to the limit in the turns as the Darlington stripe became more than that. The rear quarter panels of the car were so battered he would miss the first day of qualifying. On the second day, he blistered the track record and his team mate's time, who started on the pole. Because he missed day one of qualifying, a penalty nullified the speed to a ninth place start. Videos of this race are incredible as he took the patched up Galaxie to the front to win with the next seven finishers behind him in Ford products.
In his second and third September races, he would start second and finish seventh at Martinsville round #2 and started second finishing fourth at N. Wilkesboro, a race he missed in the spring. The only October race Fireball ran was at Charlotte round #2 where he started third and finished fourth. The season would end where it began, at Riverside where Fireball started on the outside pole and finished fourth.
The 1964 season for Fireball started great. It kicked off with a couple of small races he didn't run but he was in an inaugural road course race that would turn into a one time event. At Augusta, the three mile road course would be Fireball's final ride in the 1963 Galaxie and also his final win ever. His team mate Dave McDonald would finish second and he too would be lost in racing, in the month of May.
Arriving at Riverside in a new 1964 Galaxie, Fireball would start fourteenth and finish third in a five car Ford Mercury sweep.
Moving on to Daytona for Speed Weeks 1964, Fireball ran in the first hundred mile qualifying race, where he started eighth and gained one spot finishing seventh. The transmission tore up after starting fifteenth in the 1964 Daytona 500 and he would finish thirty-seventh of forty-six cars. On a mechanic note, the exhaust was ran the the frame with the body notched for the opener at Riverside. Rule changes AFTER arriving at Daytona and eliminated that as patch plated frames and quarter panels debuted there as well. The 1964 Daytona Speedweeks promotional photo would return to to Daytona in a haunting forever memory when NASCAR returned to Daytona round #2 in July.
In March, it was a reverse of the previous year at Bristol. The Holman Moody team cars had Fred Lorenzen winning and Fireball second. And AGAIN, they would run the 500 laps while third place was three laps behind. Blown tires were a huge issue in Atlanta in April as Fireball crashed with David Pearson in a Dodge, yet another famous clip of film used in many stock car movies. He would finish twentieth from a fourth place start. At this point is about where it seemed to be downhill from there. At North Wilkesboro Fireball crashed the car so badly, that he did not qualify, much less start. He got seventy-five dollars for his troubles. Fred won the race from the pole, and the next one from the pole as well, back to back at Martinsville, where Fireball started twentieth and finished fifth.
Fireball's final month of his racing career since 1947, began at Darlington on May 9, 1964 where he would for the second time in the year, finish second from a fifth place start behind his team mate who won from his third straight pole start. He skipped over a couple of half mile dirt races and a three quarter mile paved one on the schedule before his final race on May 24, 1964.
The World 600 at Charlotte was just seven laps old when Junior Johnson's engine blew up in his Banjo Matthews owned Galaxie #27 which was ironically, the same car owner Fireball last drove a Pontiac for. An oil saturated track sent the Bondy Long Galaxie #11 driven by Ned Jarrett into a shadowed spin, following Junior Johnson, and then followed by Fireball, who was behind them both. The three Ford Galaxies would wind up against the turn number two inside wall with Fireball's car in flames. Certain death would have been immediate had Jarrett not been right there to pull him out. Fireball was burned very badly and would survive six weeks. On the road to recovery, he developed pneumonia and his weakened lungs could not overcome this. There are many angles of the 7th lap moment, that have surfaced in the last fifty years, but none of which make the memory any easier after such a long time....especially for those that were there. Even more so for those who were in the turn two infield area.
The World 600 at Charlotte was just seven laps old when Junior Johnson's engine blew up in his Banjo Matthews owned Galaxie #27 which was ironically, the same car owner Fireball last drove a Pontiac for. An oil saturated track sent the Bondy Long Galaxie #11 driven by Ned Jarrett into a shadowed spin, following Junior Johnson, and then followed by Fireball, who was behind them both. The three Ford Galaxies would wind up against the turn number two inside wall with Fireball's car in flames. Certain death would have been immediate had Jarrett not been right there to pull him out. Fireball was burned very badly and would survive six weeks. On the road to recovery, he developed pneumonia and his weakened lungs could not overcome this. There are many angles of the 7th lap moment, that have surfaced in the last fifty years, but none of which make the memory any easier after such a long time....especially for those that were there. Even more so for those who were in the turn two infield area.
The Firecracker 400 weekend in Daytona was underway six weeks after Charlotte with the race scheduled at 10:00 AM as always on July 4th. The souvenir program for the event had already gone to print and was in circulation. The previous year's winner was in color on the front cover. It was Fireball in his metallic 1964 Galaxie taken earlier in the year during February's Speed Weeks. A great article on Fireball and his history was written by the program’s editor Houston Lawing and placed in the program. Had he not been injured, Fireball would have been a heavy favorite to win again this race in July. He won the 1959 inaugural Firecracker race, the 1962 Firecracker race which were both 250 mile events, as well as the 1963 Firecracker race, the first year at 400 miles. Winning three of the first five Firecracker races certainly made him the favorite before May. The article spoke of Fireball in the final paragraph wishing him a speedy recovery, as he was still living when it was published. Fireball Roberts died on July 2nd, 1964.
Ten years later, on the 1974 Firecracker 400 souvenir program cover, Fireball was featured again, in the winner's circle with his winning 1963 Galaxie.
This year marks the 50th anniversary to the day of Fireball's passing. Although it has been fifty years, he has NEVER been forgotten. This story is only about the last eighteen months of his racing career. His biggest records came before that and many will never be broken. In ten years of personally doing historical research for his daughter Pamela, as well as his son-in- law Rick, it is impossible to describe what he accomplished, especially the NASCAR Modified years of his career. Two generations of NASCAR fans that are aware of its history have been born since 1964 and even of all those drivers that circle the NASCAR tracks of today, most have heard of him. Fireball Roberts was a legend in his own time, he is a legend of today, and will always be a legend in one of the greatest chapters in NASCAR history.
SCENIC GALAXIELAND NEWS
Hello everyone,
It has been a brutal winter here in northeastern NC..NOT the average cold weather season. Hoping the end of the season is soon, for sure. Those with the winterized Gals that live further north, you can have it.
"A promise kept" that started almost 8 years ago and written about for the Gazette a few issues back, is winding down. This July in Daytona shall be the finale'. But recently, it was off to Charlotte for the Class of 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame ceremonies. Two days in January had us there. The actual ceremonies were broadcasted live on FOX sports 1 and can be retrieved by the "on demand" feature if purchased. But the evening before was a night to remember It was a by invitation only and my better half and I were invited by NASCAR'S HoF historian himself, Buz McKim, to a cocktail social at the Hall in downtown..or shall I say UPtown Charlotte on a Tuesday evening, with former Hall of Fame inductees and their families. At this event, was when the true moment to remember occurred.
I was standing with Fireball's grandson Matt, granddaughter Angela, and son-in-law Rick at a high top table. We were accompanied by one of the classes FIRST inductees, a living legend himself, Junior Johnson. There have been many stories as to just exactly what happened on that 7th lap of the 1964 World 500 NASCAR race at Charlotte. The lap that was the end of Fireball's racing career, and led to 6 weeks later, his passing. Small talk about how great a driver Fireball was, and his character was the topic. And I might add, Angela and Matt ere not even born. Their mother Pam was 13 in 1964. So their knowledge of Fireball's racing is limited. But, if anybody that knows me personally, knows I would the one to ask the question. To ask the man standing in front of us who was involved in that 7th lap crash that day.....what happened.
In the race on the 7th lap there was was a three car crash in turn #2. Junior Johnson was one of those in the crash, along with another living legend, Ned Jarrett, and Fireball Roberts. I figured now was the time to say something. They (the family) may never know, if no one did ask. I looked at Junior and I said......" Sir, we know it has been a long time ago, but when the wreck happened, was their some fender banging, pushing and shoving, or...?". It got real quite for about 5 seconds, and he spoke.
" Noooo........well, the motor blowed up....." Junior has a long accent drawing voice. "when it blowed up, I spun in my on oil, and Ned was back behind me..or maybe next to me...I..I don't remember. And Fireball was behind us.....he spun too, and down.... and hit the guardrail ... or the pit wall end really..really hard. There was a fuel bladder in the car, and it exploded... All I saw was smoke..black smoke. I ran towards the other two cars and I saw inside Fireball's car. He was on fire. Ned had already got out, and he was there too. The car had turned over and was upside down. Gas had run from that bladder tank and was pooled in the roof of the car. When Fireball unbuckled the belts, he fell in the gas, and it caught fire. By the time Ned and I got him out it had burned off all his clothes. Somebody grabbed a blanket or something behind the pit wall and covered him up."
We stood there in silence....then I said "what do you mean "bladder.".it didn't have the stock tank in the car.?". WE have never heard this. He said...".No, it was an aluminum..like an experimental tank. It busted wiiiiide open when he hit that wall." That was something that I was totally stunned over. All these years of thinking that a stock Galaxie gas tank was the culprit, but it wasn't.
This May marks the 50th anniversary of that famous race and that famous crash. Most likely we will be there as plans are in the makes for a "get together" of some sort. I am checking on maybe a Galaxie meet there. All three cars involved in Fireball's crash were '64 Galaxies. Junior Johnson was in the yellow "Holly Farms Poultry" #27. Ned Jarrett was driving the dark blue Bondy Long Ford #11, and Fireball was in the grape purple H/M Young Ford #22. All three cars were prepared by Holman Moody. Two were sold to their owners and Fireball drove for H/M. After the crash, the #22 and #27 were housed in the old airport building at their old location in Charlotte...the #22 for years. #27, WAS BORN AS #00, a red/white car with blue numbers driven by A.J. Foyt and debuted in the 1964 Daytona 500 earlier in the year. Afterwards, it wound up back in NC, and was used during the 1964 race season and during the filming of a stock car movie released in 1965 called "Redline 7000".. It became Junior Johnson's ride in the 1964 race season until the crash at Charlotte. After the crash, the car at some point later, was re-bodied as a '63 1/2. It was painted and lettered as a Fireball Roberts #22 car, but the color was off..way off. When the Darlington museum opened at Darlington Raceway in SC, it wound up there, for almost thirty years. Lee Holman, son of Holman/Moody co-founder John Holman, retrieved the car in 2008 and redid it. The paint was corrected to the proper color grape that ran the second half of the 1963 season. This car would be like the one that Fireball destroyed the track record with at Darlington for the 1963 Labor Day Southern 500..which he won.
After the 50th anniversary at Charlotte this coming May, our eyes are upon Daytona Beach and the July 4th race. Fireball's LAST Daytona win..at a track he dominated.... was the 1963 Firecracker 400. Ironically, the following year, he would pass away that very 4th of July week..on the 2nd. This July marks 50 years ago, when the chapter of Fireball Roberts in NASCAR racing history was closed. But the records and memories remained ..even through today. A well deserving inductee into NASCAR'S Hall of Fame.
Well, that will do it for this lap and as always........
Galaxies are...XL'lent......... Wayne Haynes, Scenic Galaxieland Director.
It has been a brutal winter here in northeastern NC..NOT the average cold weather season. Hoping the end of the season is soon, for sure. Those with the winterized Gals that live further north, you can have it.
"A promise kept" that started almost 8 years ago and written about for the Gazette a few issues back, is winding down. This July in Daytona shall be the finale'. But recently, it was off to Charlotte for the Class of 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame ceremonies. Two days in January had us there. The actual ceremonies were broadcasted live on FOX sports 1 and can be retrieved by the "on demand" feature if purchased. But the evening before was a night to remember It was a by invitation only and my better half and I were invited by NASCAR'S HoF historian himself, Buz McKim, to a cocktail social at the Hall in downtown..or shall I say UPtown Charlotte on a Tuesday evening, with former Hall of Fame inductees and their families. At this event, was when the true moment to remember occurred.
I was standing with Fireball's grandson Matt, granddaughter Angela, and son-in-law Rick at a high top table. We were accompanied by one of the classes FIRST inductees, a living legend himself, Junior Johnson. There have been many stories as to just exactly what happened on that 7th lap of the 1964 World 500 NASCAR race at Charlotte. The lap that was the end of Fireball's racing career, and led to 6 weeks later, his passing. Small talk about how great a driver Fireball was, and his character was the topic. And I might add, Angela and Matt ere not even born. Their mother Pam was 13 in 1964. So their knowledge of Fireball's racing is limited. But, if anybody that knows me personally, knows I would the one to ask the question. To ask the man standing in front of us who was involved in that 7th lap crash that day.....what happened.
In the race on the 7th lap there was was a three car crash in turn #2. Junior Johnson was one of those in the crash, along with another living legend, Ned Jarrett, and Fireball Roberts. I figured now was the time to say something. They (the family) may never know, if no one did ask. I looked at Junior and I said......" Sir, we know it has been a long time ago, but when the wreck happened, was their some fender banging, pushing and shoving, or...?". It got real quite for about 5 seconds, and he spoke.
" Noooo........well, the motor blowed up....." Junior has a long accent drawing voice. "when it blowed up, I spun in my on oil, and Ned was back behind me..or maybe next to me...I..I don't remember. And Fireball was behind us.....he spun too, and down.... and hit the guardrail ... or the pit wall end really..really hard. There was a fuel bladder in the car, and it exploded... All I saw was smoke..black smoke. I ran towards the other two cars and I saw inside Fireball's car. He was on fire. Ned had already got out, and he was there too. The car had turned over and was upside down. Gas had run from that bladder tank and was pooled in the roof of the car. When Fireball unbuckled the belts, he fell in the gas, and it caught fire. By the time Ned and I got him out it had burned off all his clothes. Somebody grabbed a blanket or something behind the pit wall and covered him up."
We stood there in silence....then I said "what do you mean "bladder.".it didn't have the stock tank in the car.?". WE have never heard this. He said...".No, it was an aluminum..like an experimental tank. It busted wiiiiide open when he hit that wall." That was something that I was totally stunned over. All these years of thinking that a stock Galaxie gas tank was the culprit, but it wasn't.
This May marks the 50th anniversary of that famous race and that famous crash. Most likely we will be there as plans are in the makes for a "get together" of some sort. I am checking on maybe a Galaxie meet there. All three cars involved in Fireball's crash were '64 Galaxies. Junior Johnson was in the yellow "Holly Farms Poultry" #27. Ned Jarrett was driving the dark blue Bondy Long Ford #11, and Fireball was in the grape purple H/M Young Ford #22. All three cars were prepared by Holman Moody. Two were sold to their owners and Fireball drove for H/M. After the crash, the #22 and #27 were housed in the old airport building at their old location in Charlotte...the #22 for years. #27, WAS BORN AS #00, a red/white car with blue numbers driven by A.J. Foyt and debuted in the 1964 Daytona 500 earlier in the year. Afterwards, it wound up back in NC, and was used during the 1964 race season and during the filming of a stock car movie released in 1965 called "Redline 7000".. It became Junior Johnson's ride in the 1964 race season until the crash at Charlotte. After the crash, the car at some point later, was re-bodied as a '63 1/2. It was painted and lettered as a Fireball Roberts #22 car, but the color was off..way off. When the Darlington museum opened at Darlington Raceway in SC, it wound up there, for almost thirty years. Lee Holman, son of Holman/Moody co-founder John Holman, retrieved the car in 2008 and redid it. The paint was corrected to the proper color grape that ran the second half of the 1963 season. This car would be like the one that Fireball destroyed the track record with at Darlington for the 1963 Labor Day Southern 500..which he won.
After the 50th anniversary at Charlotte this coming May, our eyes are upon Daytona Beach and the July 4th race. Fireball's LAST Daytona win..at a track he dominated.... was the 1963 Firecracker 400. Ironically, the following year, he would pass away that very 4th of July week..on the 2nd. This July marks 50 years ago, when the chapter of Fireball Roberts in NASCAR racing history was closed. But the records and memories remained ..even through today. A well deserving inductee into NASCAR'S Hall of Fame.
Well, that will do it for this lap and as always........
Galaxies are...XL'lent......... Wayne Haynes, Scenic Galaxieland Director.
COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUE:...........FIREBALL'S GALAXIE STORY. The last 18 months of Fireball's NASCAR career was in a Galaxie.
FIREBALL-ROBERTS.COM NOW UNDERWAY
Construction is now underway for the new, and FAMILY supported Fireball Roberts website. It is more that a book written from someone's opinion or a fantasy website with statistics and memories. It includes photos and items brought and shared by those that remembered and want to share their thoughts, as well as the family heirlooms and the tributes of all kinds from those abroad. This is a live website that is always open for criticism and corrections from facts, thus creating a never ending change. Please check out the ongoing work in progress as we have barely scratched the surface and lingering now in 1952 and the beach era.
Check Out THE STARLINER CONNECTION On Facebook.
ZACK STRAITS of Staunton, Va. has a COOL website on face book called the STARLINER CONNECTION. A must see for the 1960-61 Starliner folks..
NASCAR HALL OF FAME VOTING DAY
Richard Trivette (L) & Leonard Wood (C) at the 2013 HoF Voting day. In the left back ground, with his back turned is late model Sporstman/ Bush champion Jack Ingram.
The photo on the back of the Fireball Roberts Tower in Daytona Beach. A reminder that after four years, not to give up.
GALAXIELAND is EXPANDING. No longer covering the Florida area only, "Scenic" Galaxieland is now based out of north eastern NC. To increase GALAXIE member contacts and events further north in the southeast, Galaxieland is forming a group in the NORTHERN NC area, including WV, and VA. This is a SCENIC GALAXIELAND. For those interested in this chapter of the FORD GALAXIE CLUB of AMERICA, please contact us on this site.