Roswell Howard, Sr. (January 1, 1922 – January 1, 2013) was an American stock car racing driver. He competed in the
NASCAR 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 ...
and the
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 ...
in the 1950s and early 1960s, in addition to racing throughout the southeast, winning the 1957
MARC Marc or MARC may refer to:
People
* Marc (given name), people with the first name
* Marc (surname), people with the family name
Acronyms
* MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging,
* MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...
Southern Late Model Championship.
Early life
Howard was born in
Macon County, Georgia
Macon County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,740. The county seat is Oglethorpe.
The Macon County Courthouse is located in Oglethorpe.
History
Macon ...
, in 1922, on a
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...
farm; crop destruction by
boll weevil
The boll weevil (''Anthonomus grandis'') is a beetle that feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central Mexico, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing ...
s and the Great Depression meant that his family moved to Macon early in his life, where he apprenticed at a local automobile dealer.
Howard served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, stationed in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
, where his skills with automotive maintenance saw him assigned to the base's motor pool; following the end of the war he returned to Macon and automotive work, purchasing a garage with his personal savings. He began racing in 1946, finishing in the top three in his first race.
After competing and winning at many tracks in north Georgia and
South Carolina
)'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = G ...
on the
Southern Racing Enterprise
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express ...
racing tour, Howard moved to
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 ...
competition, competing in his first Grand National race in 1956, as well as competing in the Convertible Division during the 1958 season. Howard also won the 1957 MARC Southern Late Model championship. His 1958 season was curtailed by a highway accident that left him in a
body cast
An orthopedic cast, or simply cast, is a shell, frequently made from plaster or fiberglass, that encases a limb (or, in some cases, large portions of the body) to stabilize and hold anatomical structures—most often a broken bone (or bones), in ...
for nearly an entire year. After a pit road accident at the
1960 Southern 500
The 1960 Southern 500, the 11th running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on September 5, 1960, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 364 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-sha ...
, where he was working as a mechanic for
Joe Lee Johnson
Joe Lee Johnson (September 11, 1929 – May 26, 2005) was an American professional NASCAR Grand National Series driver who won the inaugural World 600 in 1960. He was also the 1959 NASCAR Convertible Division champion.
Howard was inducted into the
Georgia Racing Hall of Fame
The Georgia Racing Hall of Fame is a museum located in Dawsonville, Georgia. Established in 2002, the museum serves to preserve the auto racing achievements of notable racecar drivers from Georgia.
The museum holds numerous artifacts, including a ...
in 2004. He died on January 1, 2013, his 91st birthday.