William Ivey Blair (July 14, 1911 – November 2, 1995) was an American

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver in the 1940s and the 1950s, and he was one of the pioneers of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Racing career

Blair started his racing career as a bootlegger in the 1930s. In 1939, he began racing at the newly-constructed High Point Speedway, and he opened his own track Tri-City Speedway after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Blair won three NASCAR Strictly Stock/Grand National races: * June 18, 1950 – Blair piloted a 1950 Mercury owned by Sam Rice to victory in a race at Vernon Fairgrounds in

Vernon, NY Vernon is a town in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 5,408 at the 2010 census. The Town of Vernon is on the western border of the county. The town contains a village, also named Vernon. History The first European s ...

. * April 20, 1952 – Blair drove a 1952

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

owned by George Hutchens to his second win at Lakewood Speedway in

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, At ...

. * February 15, 1953 – In his final series victory, Blair drove his 1953 Oldsmobile to victory lane at the Beach & Road Course in Daytona Beach, FL.

Memorial

Blair, Jimmie Lewallen, and Fred Harb are the subject of the independent movie ''" Red Dirt Rising"'' which is based on the book ''Red Dirt Tracks: The Forgotten Heroes of Early Stockcar Racing'' by Gail Cauble Gurley.Movie tells stories of race drivers and the community they live in
Jamie Kennedy Jones, July 15, 2007, ''

Greensboro News & Record The ''News & Record'' is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and produces local sections for Greensbo ...

''; Retrieved December 24, 2007

References

External links

* 1911 births 1995 deaths NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from High Point, North Carolina {{NASCAR-bio-stub