Walter Hartman from
Chattanooga, Tennessee had a successful 25-year racing career. He ran stock and
modified racecars primarily in the Tri-State area from his Chattanooga base. He
was 4 time Tennessee State Champion from 1947 through 1950. He finished 4th in
the NASCAR Championship in 1950.
Walter entered three
NASCAR Grand National events in 1951. He finished 17th/38 entries at the
Canfield Fairgrounds Speedway in Canfield, Ohio on May 30th, finished 22nd/31
entries at the Columbus Speedway, Columbus, Georgia on June 10th and finished
24th/34 entries at the Columbia Speedway, Columbia, South Carolina on June
16th. He drove a 1950 Plymouth in all three races.
Walter is pictured standing
next to the 1953 Studebaker Commander he won a feature event with at Boyd's
Speedway in Chattanooga. His win in that race was a close one over the Hudson
entries. The car was owned by H. C. Kirk owner of the Moccasin Speedway and
co-sponsored by Tennessee Food Fair stores and Dick Jones Motor Company,
Chestnut Street, Chattanooga.
The second photograph is of a photo of
Walter taking the victory lap with the checkered flag. It was a real please to
meet and talk with Walter, his wife and son Jackie at the Chattanooga Area
Racers Reunion held in January 2003. The third and fourth photographs were
taken at that event. He is retired and living in South Carolina.
Walter Hartman holding the photograph of his
1953 win in the Studebaker Commander.
Eddie
Metler of Knoxville, Tennessee raced from 1949 through 1954. He began racing at
the Broadway Speedway, Knoxville, in the midget division. In addition to midget
racecars he competed in modified sportsman, and stock cars. He was a regular at
the Oak Ridge Speedway, Greeneville Speedway, Asheville Highway
Speedway-Knoxville, Chattanooga and other area tracks. Ed Harvey, owner of
Eddie's Auto Parts built and maintained Eddie Metler's racecars. Eddie held a
"Racing Driver License" from the Contest Board of the American Automobile
Association. It was unusual for a local driver to be so licensed.
In
1953, Eddie joined the "Circuit of Champions", a touring stock car series based
in Chicago. He drove a 1953 Studebaker Commander, # 1, sponsored by the Norris
Motor Company, Central Avenue, Knoxville. The circuit included stops at the
Broadway Speedway, Knoxville, West Memphis, Arkansas, Ohio and other speedway
locations.
Eddie
won numerous speedway championships and was inducted into the Tennessee Racing
Hall of Fame in 1987. Following his driving career, he built race engines and
chassis, promoted events at the Oak Ridge Speedway and served as flagman at
Knoxville Raceway.
It was a real pleasure to meet Eddie and his son
David at the Chattanooga Area Racers Reunion in January 2003.
Photographs, copies of news accounts, and a copy of Eddie's AAA Racing
Driver License appear below.
Broadway Speedway,
Knoxville after suffering a broken rear axle
Earl
Moss from Creedmoor, North Carolina raced in 11 NASCAR events from 1951 through
1959. His first race came on April 15, 1951 at Hillsboro, North Carolina where
he came in 6th driving a 1950 Ford.
On September 3,
1951 Earl drove a V8 powered 1951 Studebaker Commander Starlight Coupe #86 to a
30th place finish in the second Southern 500 held at Darlington, South
Carolina. J. B. Watkins owned the car.
On September 28, 1952 Earl finished 11th
driving a 1951 Plymouth at Wilson, North Carolina. In 1956, Earl ran two NASCAR
races at Hillsboro and Wilson, North Carolina. He finished 14th and 24th
respectively driving a 1956 Mercury. In 1959 he also ran two NASCAR races at
Myrtlr Beach, South Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. He finished 9th and
24th respectively driving a 1957 Ford.
The photographs show Earl in his western hat and
beside one of his sportsman racing cars. The racing photograph shows Earl on
the backstretch during the 1951 Southern 500 at Darlington, South Carolina.
Following Earl is Sandy Lynch in the #97 Ford and Joe Eubanks in the #82
Oldsmobile. Photographs, courtsey of T. Taylor Warren.
Ray
Thompson from Orlando, Florida drove in three NASCAR races. In 1951 he entered
the Feburary beach race in Daytona driving a 1951 Kaiser. He finished 35th out
of 54 entries.
In 1956
Ray again entered the Feburary beach race at Daytona. This time he drove a 1956
Studebaker Golden Hawk owned by Johnny McCoy. Ray started in last position
76th, but advanced to 26th by the end of the event. One month later he entered
the 100-lap race at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia. He suffered an axle
failure on the 12th lap and finished 27th out of 28
starters.
The photographs show the Golden Hawk on
Beach Street in Daytona Beach, Florida prior to running of the beach race on
Feburary 26, 1956.
George
Parrish a native of Louisburg, North Carolina grew up with a strong interest in
automobiles and automobile racing. At age 25 in 1953, he founded the
Parrish-Phelps Motor Company, a Studebaker dealership, located on Chestnut
Street in Henderson, North Carolina.
In 1954, George had a 1953 Studebaker
Commander Coupe #11 built to race in the NASCAR Grand National (now Winston
Cup) Series. He towed the completed racecar to Charlotte, North Carolina where
Bill France, Sr., inspected it and approved it to race. George was issued his
NASCAR competition license at this time.
His first
race was run on August 13, 1954 at the Southern States Fairgrounds track, a one
half-mile dirt circuit in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Studebaker performed
well allowing George to speed through the corners with the race leader and
winner Lee Petty in a Chrysler. George lacked as much speed down the
straight-aways and finished 19th of 22 entries.
Three
weeks later, George entered his 2nd race, the 500 mile Southern 500 at
Darlington, South Carolina run on Labor Day 1954. He pitted next to NASCAR star
Buck Baker who had qualified for the pole position driving the #87 1954
Oldsmobile. Buck told George that he probably did not have the speed to out run
the front cars but might out last them! George qualified for the 12th starting
position and finished 22nd in a field of 50
entries.
George raced the 1953 Studebaker Coupe through the rest of the 1954 and 1955
NASCAR seasons. His best race was at the Richmond, Virginia "Fairgrounds
Speedway" where on May 22, 1955 he started 9th and finished 10th in a field of
28 entries. One week later at the "Forsyth County Fairgrounds Speedway" in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, George started 11th and finished 13th out of 23
entries.
At the end of the 1955 NASCAR season George
sold his 1953 Studebaker Coupe to NASCAR racer Blackie Pitt of Rocky Mount,
North Carolina.
George was out of racing for the next
two years. He attended a race in 1957 and decided to return to competition. He
built a 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk to race.
His first race with the Golden Hawk was the 1957
Southern 500 at Darlington, South Carolina. George qualified to start 42nd in
the 50 car field. He advanced to finish 25th and was running at the end of the
race. A very sobering event to George took place on the 27th lap. The fatal
crash of Bobby Myers with Paul Goldsmith happened very near George. With two
small children at home, he had to consider whether racing was the proper place
for him. George ran five more NASCAR races during the 1957 and 1958 seasons
before retiring for good.
His best finish with the
Golden Hawk was a 15th at the "Ashville-Weaverville Speedway" in Weaverville,
North Carolina on September 8, 1957. In that event he raced closely with
Fireball Roberts who was in a 1957 Ford. The last race came on November 3, 1957
at Fayetteville, North Carolina. That race was the first race of the 1958
NASCAR season.
Through his connections as a dealer,
George attempted to obtain support from the Studebaker Corporation for his
racing effort. Unfortunately there was no interest on the part of the
corporation supporting him. His racing effort was entirely self financed. He
ran a total of 21 NASCAR races in Studebakers, which places him next to Frank
Mundy's 24 races in 1951 in a Studebaker. George's team consisted of Odell
Tart-Mechanic, Bill Poythress-Body Man, and Joe
Frazier-Friend.
The photographs show George behind the
wheel of his 1956 Studebaker Golden Hawk # 71, his 1953 Studebaker Commander
Coupe # 11 on the front stretch during the 1955 Southern 500, qualifying for
the 1957 Southern 500, spinning around during the 1957 Southern 500 on the way
to a 25th place finish, and photographs of George and George and Bob Coolidge
in March, 2001. Racing photographs courtesy of Tom Kirkland and T. Taylor
Warren.
