JOSEPH HERBERT "JOE" WEATHERLY - 05/29/1922 - 01/19/1964
was a two-time NASCAR championship driver. Weatherly was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2009 after winning NASCAR's Cup Series championships in 1962 and 1963. Weatherly enjoyed behaving outrageously. He once took practice laps wearing a Peter Pan suit. Moreover, he frequently stayed out partying until the early hours, usually with fellow driver and good time buddy Curtis Turner. This behavior earned him the nickname "The Clown Prince of Racing". He won three American Motorcycle Association (AMA) nationals between 1946 and 1950, including the prestigious Laconia Classic 100 Mile road race in 1948. Weatherly began racing cars in 1950. "Little Joe" won the first modified event that he entered. He won 49 of the 83 car races that he entered that season. In 1952 he won the NASCAR Modified National crown, and he again won 49 of 83 car races that he entered. Weatherly won 52 more races in 1953, and won the Modified National crown again. In 1956 he moved into the NASCAR Grand National series (now Cup Series.) He drove a factory-sponsored Ford car for Pete DePaolo Engineering. In 1957 and 1958 he drove for Holman-Moody. In 1959, Weatherly would score six finishes in the "top five" and ten finishes in the top ten. Weatherly won NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award in 1961. He won two consecutive championships in 1962 and 1963 for Bud Moore Engineering. Moore did
not have enough resources to run the full season, so Weatherly frequently "bummed a ride". Weatherly died on January 19, 1964 from head injuries sustained in a racing accident at the fifth race of the 1964 season at Riverside International Raceway. His head went outside the car and struck a retaining wall, killing him instantly. Weatherly was not wearing a shoulder harness, and did not have a window net installed on his vehicle, because he was afraid of being trapped in a burning car. It helped institute roll cages and bars to keep drivers hands and head inside the car. The Riverside Raceway map is on his grave as a final joke because Weatherly was a joker. By the way, Weatherly is the only reigning NASCAR Champion ever to lose his life on the track. His crash also set an ominous tone for the year as, along with Weatherly, Fireball Roberts,
NASCAR Convertible Series
Eddie Sachs, Dave MacDonald, Jimmy Pardue, and others were killed in 1964, and Weatherly's replacement, Billy Wade, was killed in a tire test at Daytona in 1965. Weatherly raced in NASCAR from 1952-1964. He had 230 starts and collected 25 wins. He also ran in 96 Convertible series, and grabbed 12 wins there. Some info from Wikipedia
Weatherly's fatal Riverside crash 1964
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