Gwyn Edward Staley (July 6, 1927 – March 23, 1958) was an American

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 ...

driver from

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which en ...

Career

As a Grand National driver, Staley had three wins in addition to twenty-three finishes in the "top 5" and forty-one finishes in the "top 10." Out of 10218 laps, he officially led 299 laps and accumulated a grand total of $23,284 ($ when adjusted for inflation) in his seven-year career. Notable appearances for Staley have been at

Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory Motor Speedway is a short track located in Hickory, North Carolina. It is one of stock car racing's most storied venues, and is often referred to as the "World's Most Famous Short Track" and the "Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars". The t ...

(where he won the first race ever held there) and

Langhorne Speedway Langhorne Speedway was an automobile racetrack in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. According to the book ''Langhorne! No Man's Land'' by L. Spencer Riggs: "With ...

(where he won a race in

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

using a

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

Bel Air vehicle). Staley won three races driving the Julian-Petty-prepared 1957 Chevy Bel Air. The first win was on August 26, 1957 at the Coastal Speedway in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

. It was a 200-lap race and he had lapped the field. The second win came a few weeks later on September the 5th. It was at the New York State Fairgrounds and once again he had lapped the field driving the Petty prepared 1957

Chevy Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

. His third and last win came on September the 15th in the same car at the Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania. He had the field lapped twice this time.

North Wilkesboro Speedway North Wilkesboro Speedway is a paved oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1947; primarily races sanctioned by ...

named the race after him during the early 1970s. Staley's greatest successes came at road courses where his average finishes would be in ninth place. His racing performance would be the worst on intermediate tracks where he would finish in a paltry 39th place. Eight days after scoring a second-place finish in the 150-lap Grand National race at Champion Speedway in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

Staley was killed in a

NASCAR Convertible Division The NASCAR Convertible Division was a division of convertible cars early in NASCAR's history, from 1956 until 1959, although the signature race for convertibles remained a Convertible Division race until 1962. Two remnants of the Convertible Divi ...

100-mile race held at the Atlantic Rural Fairgrounds in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

in March 1958.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Staley, Gwyn 1927 births 1958 deaths Sportspeople from Burlington, North Carolina Racing drivers from North Carolina NASCAR drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Virginia