Red Byron

For other people named Robert Byron, see Robert Byron (disambiguation).

Red Byron
Red Byron's car displayed in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Born	Robert Nold Byron (1915-03-12)March 12, 1915 Plasterco, Virginia, U.S.
Died	November 11, 1960(1960-11-11) (aged 45) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Achievements	1949 Strictly Stock Champion 1948 NASCAR Modified Champion 1949 Daytona Beach Road Course Winner (Inaugural race) Strictly Stock in wins leader (1949)
Awards	National Motorsports Hall of Fame (U.S.) (1966) Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2018) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
15 races run over 3 years
Best finish	1st (1949)
First race	1949 Race No. 1 (Charlotte)
Last race	1951 Southern 500 (Darlington)
First win	1949 (Daytona Beach)
Last win	1949 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 2 9 2
Statistics current as of February 22, 2013.

Robert Nold "Red" Byron (March 12, 1915 – November 11, 1960) was an American stock car racing driver, who was successful in NASCAR competition in the sanctioning body's first years. He was NASCAR's first Modified champion (and its first champion in any division) in 1948 and its first Strictly Stock (predecessor to NASCAR Cup Series) champion in 1949. Along with Bob Flock, he is considered one of the best drivers of the era. He won the first NASCAR race at Daytona Beach and Road Course and won the inaugural NASCAR Strictly Stock driver's championship.

Background

Born in Washington County, Virginia, he moved to Colorado at a young age, and then to Anniston, Alabama, which he considered his hometown. Byron began racing in 1932 and was successful in racing at Talladega and Anniston by the start of the 1940s. Byron then made his way to Lakewood Speedway, where he raced any ride he could find. While racing at Lakewood Speedway, he was noticed by Raymond Parks, a former bootlegger and illegal gambling kingpin and current vending machine operator, as well as his mechanic, Red Vogt. Byron would race with Parks at Lakewood Speedway through the spring of 1941.

In the spring of 1941, Byron enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps at an enlistment station in Montgomery, Alabama. Byron was eventually stationed as a flight engineer on B-24 Liberator bombers during World War II, flying in fifty-eight missions while serving engineer duties and tail gunning duties. In 1944, Byron joined his 58th mission after subbing for a fellow serviceman whose wife was going into labor. The mission was targeted for Paramushir, where members of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy were stationed. The B-24’s full assortment of bombs were dropped except for the final one, which was hung on the floor of the aircraft. As the engineer, it was Byron’s job to free the hung bomb from the aircraft. After freeing the bomb, Byron was hit by an explosion while he was still near the open doors of the aircraft. It is speculated that the freed bomb exploded while falling out of the aircraft but Byron strongly believed that he had been hit by anti-aircraft fire. The explosion tore Byron’s left leg to pieces. A large amount of shrapnel was removed from Byron’s leg at a makeshift air base hospital, before being sent to Fitzsimons Army Medical Center where he spent 27 months in rehabilitation.

While in rehabilitation, Byron began sketching devices that would help him return to racing despite the limited movement of his left leg. In 1946, while working on ideas with Vogt, Byron fabricated two stirrup pins on his clutch pedal to help support his left leg. When the stirrup pins were combined with his leg brace, he was able to operate the clutch pedal.

Racing career

Before World War II, Byron raced in the AAA Indy series, mainly in Sprint Cars and Midgets. He achieved his first Stock Car victory in July 1941, while on two-day liberty from training with the USAAF, and with the war intervening, did not return to racing for five years.

Following a lengthy recovery from a leg injury sustained in war, he returned to racing in 1945 and with the help of race engineer Red Vogt, was still successful.

He won the Hankinson Memorial on February 24, 1946 at Seminole Speedway, beating Roy Hall and Bill France. This was his first win since returning to racing in 1945.

On July 20th, 1946, Byron finished 2nd in the inaugural race at Selinsgrove Speedway. The race was part of the AAA Big Car Championship. The race was won by Bill Holland.

In 1948, Byron became a part of the newly-formed NASCAR Modified Series racing with Raymond Parks' team.

In 1949, Byron began racing in NASCAR's newly formed Strictly Stock series, which became the Grand National series, Winston Cup, and the modern-day NASCAR Cup Series. With Parks in tow, Byron was equally successful in the inaugural eight-race season. Just as in 1948, he won at Daytona Beach, and also won at a dirt track in Martinsville. Byron, as with his previous year in a modified, ended the year as the series' first champion.

Byron raced sparingly after his two championships. He owned a sports car racing team for much of the 1950s.

Life after driving

Declining health forced him to hang up his goggles in 1951, but he remained active in racing. He worked with Briggs Cunningham, who was trying to develop an American sports car that could win Grand Prix races, then become manager of a Corvette team with the same goal. Neither project succeeded, but Byron enjoyed sports cars.

On January 19, 2018, Byron was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame's Class of 2018.

Death

Byron died of a heart attack in a Chicago hotel room on November 11, 1960, at the age of 45, he was in Chicago to talk with Anheuser-Busch executives about starting a sports car team. At the time of his death, Byron was managing the Scarab SCCA team which was owned by Augi Pabst and Harry Heuer. Byron was set to fly to Daytona Beach the next day to be with the team for the championship race that weekend at Daytona International Speedway. The race was set to be the team’s last race before disbanding.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	NGNC	Pts
1949	Raymond Parks	22	Olds	CLT 3	DAB 1	HBO 22	LAN 3	HAM	MAR 1	HEI	NWS 16																																		1st	842.5
1950				DAB 2	CLT 4	LAN	MAR	CAN	VER	DSP	MCF	CLT	HBO	DSP	HAM																														NA	0
			Cadillac													DAR 3	LAN	NWS 19	VER	MAR	WIN	HBO
1951	Wally Marks	1	Olds	DAB 11	CLT	NMO	GAR	HBO	ASF	NWS	MAR	CAN																																	NA	0
	B.J. Dantone	22	Ford										CLS 6
		83												CLB 30	DSP	GAR	GRS	BAI	HEI	AWS	MCF	ALS	MSF 4	FMS	MOR	ABS	DAR 25	CLB	CCS	LAN	CLT	DSP	WIL	HBO	TPN	PGS	MAR	OAK	NWS	HMS	JSP	ATL	GAR	NMO

Awards

Byron was inducted into the National Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1966.

In 1998, as part of NASCAR's 50th Anniversary celebration, he was selected as one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.

Byron was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2008

Byron was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on January 19, 2018. His induction was accepted by Winston Kelley, the executive director for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on March 17, 2020.

In 2023, as part of NASCAR’s 75th Anniversary celebration, he was included as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. Byron was automatically included because he was part of the original 50 Greatest Drivers.

External links

• Red Byron driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Biographical article on TheSpeedBlog.com