ROBERT  "RED"  BYRON   -   03/12/1915 - 11/11/1960

was a NASCAR driver who was successful in the sanctioning body's first years. He was NASCAR's first Modified champion (and its first champion in any division) in 1948 and its first Strictly Stock (predecessor to the Cup Series) champion in 1949.  Along with Bob Flock, he is considered one of the best drivers of the era.  Born in Colorado he moved to Anniston, Alabama at an early age, Byron began racing in 1932 and was successful racing in Talladega by the start of the 1940s.  His racing career was interrupted when he served in the United States Army Air Forces as a flight engineer during World War II.  Byron's B-24 was shot at (not down) during the war and he suffered a serious injury to his left leg.  It took nearly two years for doctors to rebuild his leg but he managed to make a good recovery, although he was left with a limp and he needed a special set up to race.  Due to the war injuries of his left leg and foot, he used hand brakes during the races.  Before World War II,

Byron raced in the AAA Indy series, mainly in Sprint Cars and Midgets.  He achieved his first Stock Car victory in July, 1941, while on a two-day liberty from training with the USAAF, and with the war intervening, did not return to racing for five years.  When he returned  from the war, Byron, limp and all, returned to racing, and with the help of race engineer Red Vogt was still successful.  He won his first race following the war at Seminole Speedway, near Orlando, in 1946, beating Roy Hall and Bill France.  In 1948, Byron became a part of the newly formed NASCAR Modified Series racing with Raymond Parks' team.  In 1949, Byron began racing in NASCAR's newly formed Strictly Stock series, which became the Grand National series, Winston Cup, and the modern-day Monster Cup series.  With Parks in tow, Red was equally successful in the inaugural 8-race season.  Just as in 1948, he won at Daytona Beach, and also won at a dirt

track in Martinsville.  Byron, as with his previous year in a modified, ended the year as the series' first champion. After his NASCAR inaugural season championship, Byron raced sparingly in 1950 and 1951.  He competed in 15 events in his career, and had 2 wins, and eight Top 5 finishes.  Despite his brief career, he was selected to the National Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1966.  In 1998, as part of NASCAR's 50th Anniversary celebration, he was selected as one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers.  He died of a heart attack in a Chicago hotel room on November 11, 1960, at the age of 45.  Photo at left shows some of his NASCAR trophies.  Some info from WikiPedia

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