Real NASCAR by Daniel S. Pierce

Author:Daniel S. Pierce
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Published: 2010-03-12T16:00:00+00:00

Curtis Turner takes the green flag to start a timed speed run on Daytona Beach in one of Charlie Schwam’s purple Ford “Wild Hogs.” (Courtesy of McCaig-Welborn Research Library at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, Talladega, Alabama)

aftermath of Darlington, the effort got off to a somewhat shaky start. As historian Leo Levine observed, not only was Ford “involved with an entirely new form of sales promotion and image building, but they were also dealing with a totally unfamiliar type of person.” Ford found out how “unfamiliar” these people were when they hired Buddy Shuman full-time and their Industrial Relations Division (IRD) ran a routine background check. IRD investigators quickly called Ford chief engineer Bill Burnett to inform him of Shuman’s long police record and time spent on a chain gang—mostly for violations related to illegal liquor. Burnett “cut him off in a hurry” and responded, “As far as I know, he’s doing a good job for us, we’re getting along fine with him, and we don’t intend to throw him out.” Unfortunately, Shuman’s career heading Ford’s NASCAR effort—even as it began to bear fruit—ended tragically. The night before a race at the Hickory Speedway in November 1955, he fell asleep with a lit cigarette in his hand and died of smoke inhalation in the resulting fire.49

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