Fireball Roberts
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| Birthplace: | Tavares, Florida | |
| Born: | January 20, 1929 | |
| Died: | July 2, 1964 | |
| Cause of Death: | Complications due to car crash on May 24, 1964 during World 600 | |
| Awards: | Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995 |
|
| NASCAR Cup statistics | ||
| 206 races run over 15 years. | ||
| Best Cup Position: | 2nd - 1950 (Grand National) | |
| First Race: | 1950 February 5, 1950 (untitled race) (Daytona Beach) | |
| Last Race: | 1964 World 600 (Charlotte) | |
| First Win: | 1950 August 13, 1950 (untitled race) (Hillsborough) | |
| Last Win: | 1964 November 17, 1963 (untitled race) Augusta) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 33 | 122 | 32 |
Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Jr. (January 20, 1929 – July 2, 1964) was one of the pioneering race car drivers of NASCAR.
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[edit] Background
Roberts was born in Tavares, Florida, and raised in Apopka where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. He was a pitcher for the Zellwood Mud Hens, an American Legion baseball team, where he earned the nickname "Fireball" because of his pitches. He enlisted with the Army Air Corps in 1945, but was discharged after basic training because of asthma.
[edit] Racing career
He spent some time at the University of Florida, but would race on dirt tracks on weekends. In 1947, at the age of 18, he raced on the beach course at Daytona for the first time. He would win a 150-mile race at Daytona Beach the following year.
Roberts continued to amass victories on the circuit, despite the changes in NASCAR as it moved away from shorter dirt tracks to superspeedways in the 1950s and 60s. In his 206 career NASCAR Grand National races, he won 33 times and had 32 poles. He finished in the top five 45% of the time.
[edit] Death
On May 24, 1964 at the World 600 in Charlotte, Roberts had qualified in the 11th position and started in the middle of the pack. On lap seven, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson collided and spun out and Roberts crashed trying to avoid them. Roberts's Ford slammed backwards into the inside retaining wall, flipped over and burst into flames. Witnesses who were at the track claimed that they heard Roberts screaming, "Ned, help me!," from inside his car after the wreck. Jarrett rushed to save Roberts as his car was engulfed by the flames. Roberts suffered second- and third-degree burns over 80% of his body and was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition. Roberts was known to have an allergic reaction to flame-retardant chemicals, and could not dip his clothing in chemicals then used for drivers to wear.
Roberts was able to survive for several weeks and it appeared that he might pull through, but on June 30, Roberts began to take a turn for the worse. He contracted pneumonia and sepsis and he slipped into a coma by the next day. He died on July 2.
Roberts' death, and also the deaths of two drivers at the Indianapolis 500 the same year, led to an increase in research for fire-retardant uniforms, and led to the development of the Firestone RaceSafe fuel cell, and all race cars today use a foam-backed fuel cell to prevent severe fuel spillage of the massiveness that Roberts had. Also, fully fire-retardant coveralls would be phased in, Which led to the now mandatory Nomex racing suits.
[edit] Legacy
Despite having his career cut short and having never won a Grand National title, Fireball Roberts is still considered one of the best and most well-respected drivers in the history of NASCAR.
- He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.
- He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.
- In 2000 the city of Concord, North Carolina named a street near Lowe's Motor Speedway in his honor.
- He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995.
- An American Rally event was named in his honor The FIREBALL RUN: Transcontinental Rally in 2006.
