Jack Smith (NASCAR)
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Born: | May 24, 1924 | |
Birthplace: | Metropolis, Illinois | |
Died: | October 17, 2001 (aged 77) | |
Cause of Death: | congestive heart failure | |
Achievements: | — | |
Awards: | inducted in the National Motorsports Press Hall of Fame
inducted in the Daytona Beach Hall of Fame |
|
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics | ||
264 races run over 15 years. | ||
Best Cup Position: | 4th - 1962 (Grand National) | |
First Race: | 1949 (Charlotte Speedway) (NASCAR's first race) | |
Last Race: | 1964 Sunshine 200 (Savannah) | |
First Win: | 1959 Old Dominion 400 (Martinsville) | |
Last Win: | 1962 (New Ashville) | |
Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
21 | 142 | 23 |
Jack Smith (May 24, 1924 in Metropolis, Illinois - October 17, 2001), was a NASCAR driver.
[edit] Racing career
Jack Smith moved to Georgia when he was two years old. He worked at a service station in the 1940s near Roswell. He began racing against local bootleggers on rough dirt tracks and asphalt superspeedways, and across fields.
He made his debut in NASCAR's first race in 1949 at the Charlotte Speedway and finished 13th. He is remembered for flipping his car five time and rolling into the parking lot at a 1954 race at Darlington. He won the NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award in 1959 [1]. He went to win 21 races over the next 14 years. He died from congestive heart failure in 2001.