"Fireball" Roberts One of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers
Born Jan. 20, 1929. Often considered the greatest driver never to win a NASCAR Winston Cup title, Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, Jr accumulated 32 wins in a career that spanned 15 seasons before his untimely death in 1964 from injuries incurred in an accident at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
"Fireball" Roberts
Old NASCAR footage from YouTube
Some racing footage of "Fireball", or from the same period. You can add videos if you find them too.
Fireball
"Legends Don't Fall From The Sky"
Fireball:
Legends Don't Fall From the Sky
During the summer of 2004, while researching Fireball Roberts for several newspaper stories on the 40th anniversary of his death, I realized no one had ever done a biography on this man. That's when I got excited. This was like tripping over a rock in the desert, stumbling into a catacomb and finding a lost treasure. Fireball Roberts was an amazing man who lived an extraordinary life. Four decades after the placement of his tombstone, Fireball's friends, associates and co-workers still show their raw emotions for this man, who was anything but a typical stock car driver of his day. Mischievous, spirited and fun loving, yet educated, quiet and detached, Fireball was a man living two lives at the same time. I felt compelled, almost duty bound, to fill in the missing blanks about the man and the myth he left behind.
Edward Glenn Roberts, Jr
"Fireball" - NASCAR's First Superstar
Born January 20, 1929 in Tavares, Florida, Fireball Roberts was one of stock car racing's pioneering drivers and widely recognized as NASCAR's first superstar. His first race was when he was 18 years old and ended with a blown engine. His first Grand National win came in 1950 at Hillsboro, SC. At 21 years old, he finished the season second in points.Initially preferring the Modified division, which had speedier cars with virtually no engine restrictions, he eventually became one of the top drivers for the emerging super speedways in the late 50's and early 60's.
Fireball drove Fords in '56 & '57, and Chevy's for a year in '58 before joining Smokey Yunik and Pontiac in 1959 to become the most feared builder/driver team in the sport. Joining the Ford team again in 1963, he won four races in 20 starts.
Contemplating retirement in 1964, Roberts sought one more chance at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the only superspeedway in the South where he had failed to score a win. On the eighth lap while trying to avoid an accident between Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson, Roberts' car spun and hit the wall backwards splitting the gas tank open. The car flipped and burst into flames. Severely burned, Fireball died as a result of his injuries 39 days later.
See the Plexo list below for the best websites to find out more about Fireball Roberts.
"Fireball" on the Internet
Here's a few web sites where you can find out more about "Fireball" Roberts, other lengendary drivers and this classic era of NASCAR racing. If you have a favorite site that fits in here, click on the add button below this list and share it with everybody.
Fireball Roberts
Fireball Roberts Home Page. Complete website of th more...1 point
The "Fireball" Myth?
How Fireball got his nickname.1 point
Fireball Roberts - Wikipedia
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Fireball Roberts 1955 Buick M-1
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Howstuffworks "Fireball Roberts"
Fireball Roberts' star burned brightly during NASC more...0 points
Fireball Roberts - Racing-Reference.info
Fireball Roberts Career Statistics0 points
The Fireball Roberts Legend and Legacy
From High Performance Pontiac.0 points
Fireball Roberts News Journal
Special From the Daytona Beach News-Journal July 3 more...0 points
Career Statistics
- Years: 1950-1964
- Races Started: 206
- Races Won: 33
- Top 5 Finishes: 93 (45%)
22 seconds
9 thirds
16 fourths
13 fifths - Top 10 Finishes: 122
- Poles: 35
- Career Earnings: $325,643
- Daytona 500 Stat - Most laps lead and not winning: 170 (1961)
- Daytona 500 Stat - Most laps lead in consecutive races: 314 ('61-'63)
- Led 5790 out of 37,230 laps run (16%)
- 1958 Voted Florida's Athlete Of The Year
- 1965 Inducted into Stock Car Racing Hall Of Fame
- 1990 - Inducted into International Motorsports Hall Of Fame
Vintage NASCAR Diecasts
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Legendary Drivers From Fireball's Era
Cast a vote for your favorite legendary NASCAR driver or add a link if they are not included here.
Junior Johnson
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Ned Jarrett
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Richard Petty
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Joe Weatherly
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Curtis Turner
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Fred Lorenzen
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Smokey Yunick
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Nextel Cup Headlines
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Are you a "Fireball" fan. A racing fanatic? Whatever your thoughts, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.
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Tolovus
Nice lens about a NASCAR legend. The sport owes a lot to drivers like Fireball Roberts. Posted October 19, 2007 |
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SemperFidelis
Niiiiice! We've got a couple classic car lenses and I like showing off the pictures. Great photos here! A 5ver to ya! Posted October 16, 2007 |
"Fireball" Roberts Photos
From Fuel-Efficient-Vehicles.org
"Fireball" Roberts and his Holman Moody prepared Galaxie. From the Holman Moody Website.
Dave MacDonald in the Cobra that he shared with stock-car legend Glenn "Fireball" Roberts at Sebring in March 1963. From Fuel-Efficient-Vehicles.org
#22 Ford from 1963 Southern 500 victory. From AutoSpeak.com.
With a Smokey Yunik "62 Pontiac. From Hot Rod.
Fireball Run Transcontinental Race
Orlando to LA
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1998 Nascar 50th Anniversary Custom Champion Hallmark Kiddie Car Classics QHG7110
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Nascar Dreams
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