Buren Skeen
Buren Skeen | |||||||
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Born |
Denton, North Carolina | September 28, 1936||||||
Died | September 13, 1965 28) | (aged||||||
Cause of death | Race-related accident | ||||||
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career | |||||||
8 races run over 1 year | |||||||
Best finish | 60th - 1965 NASCAR Grand National Series season | ||||||
First race | 1965 Gwyn Staley 400 (North Wilkesboro Speedway) | ||||||
Last race | 1965 Southern 500 (Darlington Raceway) | ||||||
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Whitson Buren Skeen (September 28, 1936 - September 13, 1965) was a NASCAR driver from Denton, North Carolina.
Career
He competed in eight Grand National Series events in his career, earning three finishes in the top ten.
All of those races came in 1965, when Skeen finished 60th in points. His debut went miserably, finishing 30th at North Wilkesboro after transmission woes. But then Skeen improved over the next two races, finishing 9th at Martinsville and then a career-best 5th at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem. Skeen would add a 7th place finish in another race later in the year at Bowman Gray. However, four DNFs in five races were capped when Skeen died from injuries sustained a week earlier after crashing on the second lap of the 1965 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. His car spun on the second lap and was hit on the driver's side. An iconic video shows the car being towed away, the drivers seat was moved completely to the other side of the car, and the steering wheel poking out of the window.
References
- Racing References
- Burren Skeen Information at Find a Grave
- Footage of fatal crash on YouTube