Larry Flynn (April 10, 1930 – September 14, 2007), of Holly Hill,

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, 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 that competed in eight races from

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

Career

Prior to 1955, Flynn would compete exclusively at the

Daytona Beach Road Course The Ormond Beach and Road Course was a motorsport race track that was instrumental in the formation of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It originally became famous as the location where 15 world land speed records were set. ...

for the "Modified" and "Sportsman" divisions of NASCAR. He would drive

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

vehicles from the late 1930s during his formative years in professional stock car racing. As a competitor in the

1955 Southern 500 The 1955 Southern 500, the sixth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event. The event was held on September 5, 1955, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. This race spanned 500 miles on a paved oval track. ...

, he had the fastest finishing

in the race with a fifth-place finish.1955 Southern 500
race information at Racing Reference Flynn's impressive accomplishment gave credibility to the Ford racing teams that were racing in NASCAR during that era. During the

1956 Southern 500 The 1956 Southern 500, the seventh running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 3, 1956, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. This race was considered to be the "Labor Day Classic" f ...

, he would crash into fellow NASCAR driver Bill Brown in an incident that would cause the fence to be temporarily broken. His total career earnings in the NASCAR Grand National Series were considered to be $1,700 ($ when adjusted for inflation) and he finished 1162 laps (1439.6 miles) of racing. Flynn also racked up a single top-five finish in addition to his only top-ten finish. After suffering from complications due to his

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, Flynn would die in 2007 at the age of 77. Most of the races in Larry's NASCAR Cup Series career were done as a driver/owner. However, he would race in the 1955 Southern 500 under the employment of Mr. W.R. Waldon. In 1970, Flynn won the Bobby McKim Memorial Race at the DeLand Drive-In Raceway, having set the fastest qualifying time for the event. His ultimate retirement from motorsports came from a 68th-place finish at an

International Supermodified Association The International Super Modified Association (ISMA) is a sanctioning body of Short track motor racing, short track auto racing in the United States. It is the largest sanctioning body of supermodified racing, super modified racing, an Open-wheel ...

(ISMA) race at

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on February 1, 1976. In 1955 Larry finished 2nd at Langhorne which was a major Modified-Sportsman race.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flynn, Larry 1930 births 2007 deaths Diabetes-related deaths NASCAR drivers NASCAR team owners People from Holly Hill, Florida Sportspeople from Volusia County, Florida Racing drivers from Florida