Thomas Obrey "Cotton" Priddy (August 29, 1928 – June 10, 1956) was a

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 ...

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England. First run in 1839, it ...

race car driver from

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Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

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.''Cotton Priddy'' career information
at Racing Reference He was the driver who died at the

Memphis-Arkansas Speedway The Memphis-Arkansas Speedway was a Race track#Surfaces, dirt oval track racing, oval track located just west of West Memphis, Arkansas, West Memphis, Arkansas, United States, in the community of Lehi, Arkansas, Lehi. This speedway had a total d ...

during a race on June 10, 1956. It was the first time Priddy competed in a

grand-national race. On the 39th lap of the race, his Chevy sideswiped another driver and flipped down the dirt. Priddy was thrown clear from his car, he suffered multiple fractures and died about an hour after the accident occurred in a

West Memphis, Arkansas West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 24,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ranking it as the state's 20th largest city. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area, an ...

hospital. The race was not stopped and was won by driver

Ralph Moody Ralph Moody may refer to: * Ralph Moody (racing driver) (1917–2004), American racing driver and team owner *Ralph Moody (actor) Ralph Moody (November 5, 1886 – September 6, 1971 ) was an American actor with over 50 movie and over 100 televi ...

. The qualifying of race itself was already marred by the death of another driver, Clint McHugh.

Career

Priddy was posthumously awarded $50 in winnings ($ when considering inflation) from his final race. Previously, he raced twice in the

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

season. With zero finishes in the top ten, Priddy had only seventy-three laps of experience. Earning only a grand total of $125 at the time of his death ($ when considering inflation), his earnings were paltry even back in those days. Priddy's best finishes were on road courses with an average finish of 20th place; his average finish on dirt tracks was 28th place.''Cotton Priddy'' racing information
at Driver Averages

References

External links

* 1928 births 1956 deaths NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from Louisville, Kentucky Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Arkansas {{Louisville-stub