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Glenn Dunaway

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Glenn Dunaway
BornHenry Glenn Dunaway
(1914-07-06)July 6, 1914
Kings Mountain, North Carolina
DiedMarch 8, 1964(1964-03-08) (aged 49)
Camden, South Carolina
Cause of deathGrade crossing accident
NASCAR Cup Series career
18 races run over 3 years
Best finish9th (1949)
First race1949 Race No. 1 (Charlotte)
Last race1951 Atlanta 100 (Lakewood)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 8 1

Henry Glenn Dunaway[1] (July 6, 1914 – March 8, 1964) was an American auto racer noted for initially winning, and then being disqualified from, what is today recognized as NASCAR's first-ever race.

NASCAR career

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1949

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Dunaway competed in NASCAR first Strictly Stock (now NASCAR Cup Series) race on June 19, 1949. He won the race by three laps over Jim Roper after all 33 cars in the race were overheating. Chief NASCAR inspector Al Crisler disqualified Dunaway's car because car owner Hubert Westmoreland had shored up the chassis by spreading the rear springs, a favorite bootlegger trick to improve traction and handling.[2]

When asked about the illegal modifications, Dunaway responded: "Just one of them deals."[3] The night after the race ended, Dunaway went to Bill France's hotel room at the Alamo Plaza, told France that he knew he had won the race and for France to promptly gave Dunaway his winnings.[4] Westmoreland sued NASCAR for US$10,000,[5] but Greensboro, North Carolina Judge John J. Hayes threw the case out of court, [when?] thus setting a legal precedent that recognized NASCAR's power to oversee its races. Dunaway received no money and was credited with finishing last in the 33 car field. Roper was credited with the win in NASCAR's first Strictly Stock race.[6] In 1998, fellow driver Buck Baker recalled various drivers in that race pooled money together for Dunaway so he would not leave penniless; Baker remarked: "he ended up getting more from that than he would have if he'd won the damn race."[7]

Dunaway used his car to compete in five more events in 1949. He finished last at the next event at the Daytona Beach Road Course. He rebounded and finished third at Occoneechee Speedway, ninth at Hamburg Speedway, and seventh at Martinsville Speedway (then a half-mile dirt track). He finished ninth in the final 1949 points standings.[8]

1950–1951

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He competed in seven events in 1950 and had his career-high second-place finish at Canfield Speedway. He had 3 Top-10 finishes. He competed in five events in 1951, with 2 Top-10 finishes. He finished 89th in the final points.[8]

Death

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Dunaway died at a train crossing near Camden, South Carolina on Sunday morning, March 8, 1964.[9] He and his passenger Margaret Fox were struck by a Seaboard Air Line Railroad train, throwing Dunaway from his car. He was 49 years old.[10]

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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

Grand National Series

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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 Ref
1949 Hubert Westmoreland 33 Ford CLT
33 		9th 384 [11]
Glenn Dunaway 35 Lincoln DAB
28
55 Olds OCC
3 		LAN HAM
9 		MAR
7
Cadillac HEI
18 		NWS
1950 49 Plymouth DAB CLT
6 		LAN MAR
4 		CAN
2 		VER
21 		DSP MON CLT
12 		141st 0 [12]
Olds OCC
24 		DSP HAM
Lincoln DAR
39 		LAN NWS VER MAR WIN OCC
1951 55 Plymouth DAB CLT NMO CAR OCC
10 		ARI 89th 0 [13]
155 NWS
8 		MAR
15 		CAN CLS CLB DSP CAR GRS BAI HEI ASW MCF ALS MSF FOM MOR GRP DAR CLB MGR LAN CLT DSP WIL OCC THO PIG MAR OAK
Nash NWS
17 		MAB JAC
Plymouth LKW
14 		CAR NMO

References

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  1. ^ Dutton, Monte (September 8, 2012). "NOTEBOOK: The wire keeps right on crackling". Gaston Gazette. Gastonia, NC. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  2. ^ Profile on motorracing Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine, dailypress.com; accessed December 8, 2014.
  3. ^ "Augusta Georgia: sports@ugusta: NASCAR's 50 years recall facts, spur some fiction 02/15/98". Archived from the original on 2007-05-16.
  4. ^ Bill France incident Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, gastongazette.com; accessed December 8, 2014.
  5. ^ Westmoreland sues NASCAR Archived 2006-06-12 at the Wayback Machine, tricklefan.com; accessed December 8, 2014.
  6. ^ Reference to Judge Hayes' legal ruling Archived 2013-02-19 at the Wayback Machine, jcs-group.com; accessed December 8, 2014.
  7. ^ McGee, Ryan (June 18, 2019). "Stock car racing turns 70: Richard Petty recalls wild first race in 1949". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Profile Archived 2011-11-24 at the Wayback Machine, racing-reference.info; accessed December 8, 2014.
  9. ^ "Two Gastonians Killed In Train-Car Collision". The Gastonia Gazette. Gastonia, NC. March 9, 1964. p. B1. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  10. ^ "First NASCAR race winner killed". Johnson City Press. AP. March 9, 1964. Retrieved January 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Glenn Dunaway − 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  12. ^ "Glenn Dunaway − 1950 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  13. ^ "Glenn Dunaway − 1951 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
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