Jimmy Florian (September 25, 1923February 14, 1999) was an American stock car racing driver. Nicknamed "Shirtless", he attained the moniker after winning his first and only

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. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 to 1970, then the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand Nation ...

race in 1950 at

Dayton Speedway Dayton Speedway was a race track in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It has been called the "Fastest 1/2 mile (plus 210 feet) in the world". The track held events for NASCAR, AAA, MARC, ARCA, ASA, and USAC. History The track was opened in J ...

; upon entering Victory Lane, he exited the car without wearing a shirt. The victory was also the first for

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles ...

in NASCAR's top series.

Racing career

Florian started racing quarter midgets and sprint cars around his hometown of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

. At one track, Florian won 71 of 75 feature races. In 1950, he started competing in the

, driving a 1950 Ford that was formerly owned by the Detroit chief of police. His friend, truck driver Bill Whitley, co-owned the car and drove some races in the Ford, a

Hudson Hornet The Hudson Hornet is a full-sized automobile that was manufactured by Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan from 1951 until 1954, when Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson merged to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). Hudson automobiles c ...

and an

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or 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 pro ...

. In addition to driving, Florian served as a mechanic. He made his debut at

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 a ...

and finished third. Two races later, he won the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

at Canfield Speedway (he finished sixth). At

, Florian passed the dominant car of

Curtis Turner Curtis Morton Turner (April 12, 1924 – October 4, 1970) was an American stock car racer. Throughout his life, he developed a reputation for drinking and partying. In 1999, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. History He was ...

(who led 115 of 200 laps) with 35 laps remaining to win the first NASCAR Grand National Series race for

. Incredulous with the result (especially as Florian's

flathead engine A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...

Ford was able to defeat the

overhead valve engine An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...

s of the successful Oldsmobiles), drivers like Turner, Joe Weatherly and

Lee Petty Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup c ...

protested the finish. During a post-race inspection, NASCAR went as far as to contact the Ford Motor Company to ensure Florian's engine was not oversized, though the company responded that the car was legal. In Victory Lane, Florian exited the car shirtless; Whitley stated the heat that day, the discomfort of the car's seat, the lack of a seatbelt (which were not required by NASCAR at the time) and the amount of protection a stock car offered contributed to Florian's decision to take off his shirt. NASCAR eventually created a rule prohibiting drivers from removing their shirts. He ended the 1950 season with a ninth-place finish in the championship. Florian continued to race in NASCAR in 1951 (including three races for Don Rogala), 1952 and 1954; though he did not win another race, he recorded seven top-ten finishes and two top-fives. After his NASCAR career ended, Florian continued short track racing, competing in

vintage car A vintage car is, in the most general sense, an old automobile, and in the narrower senses of car enthusiasts and collectors, it is a car from the period of 1919 to 1930. Such enthusiasts have categorization schemes for ages of cars that en ...

s until he was 72. He died in February 1999 at the age of 75 after a battle with cancer.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Florian, Jimmy 1923 births 1999 deaths Sportspeople from Cleveland Racing drivers from Ohio NASCAR drivers