Early NASCAR history - uncovered and revealed!
I know when you mention NASCAR you can get some real mixed reactions. From "I love it, the competition is the best" to "Are you kidding, I just don't see the appeal". I don't plan on settling that argument here, but I do think what I'm going to discuss might appeal to anyone interested in any form of racing. But first a little background on my families history. My dad Ed and his brothers Zeke and Gus, were there for the formation of NASCAR. . .
. . .and in fact sold 'Big' Bill France their oil products when he ran an Amoco Service Station in Daytona Beach, Florida long before NASCAR was formed. Bill's Service Station became the unofficial race headquarters in Daytona Beach. I've often called my dad and my uncles the "Forrest Gumps" of auto racing. What do I mean by this? Well you might remember in the movie FORREST GUMP that Forrest ends up in the middle of multiple historic occurrences.
For the Justice Brothers, the number of times they intersected significant history in auto racing is unbelievable and impressive. As I just mentioned they were there for the very formation of NASCAR and in fact were the first contingency sponsor in the history of NASCAR. They were heavily involved in NASCAR's first super speedway race at Darlington, South Carolina in 1950. Known then as the Southern 500, they supplied each and every team with race shirts that had the product logo of the products that the Justice Brothers were selling on the back, and they embroidered the team name, etc. above the logo. They also supplied pith helmets to each member of the team, the track officials and the NASCAR officials. You don't have to take my word for it; photographers like Tom Kirkland and others recorded the evidence of this extensively.
The very founders 'in spirit' of NASCAR are people like Raymond Parks, Red Vogt (pronounced like vote), Red Byron, Lloyd Seay, and Roy Hall. These are the people that I listened to numerous stories from my dad and uncles as I grew up. Stories that included the early politics of NASCAR, the fixed races, the partying and the antics of the star drivers of the time. The fact that my uncle Zeke met 'Red' Vogt at the Indianapolis 500 as a fellow mechanic years before our family moved to Jacksonville, Florida and ended up selling 'Red' products in his 24 hour garage in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the very garage that the top moonshiners had their engines built and at the same time the government revenue agents had their engines 'souped' up.
If any of this type of racing history interests you, your going to love a book I just finished called, Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR
OK why if your one of those that hates NASCAR would you be interested in reading this book? Well for starters it reports an incredible history of Ford's importance in auto racing. You might think you know it, but I think this book will surprise most if not all, other than the most ardent Ford fan. This book is also light years away from the NASCAR we know today. It is a great book on racing the way it was, a great book on history other than racing, which includes a healthy dose of World War II history and a great book about American history from the south, namely moonshiners and the southern lifestyle of the time. My friend Brock Yates placed it in the #1 position on his list of the 'Five Best Books on Auto Racing'. I agree with Brock and I highly recommend it!
One word of advice, you might want to buy the hardbound book if want a long term 'keeper'. When this book goes out of print, it wouldn't surprise me if the value went up over time. The hardbound is about $6.00 more than the paperback, when you click on the link above for Amazon.
Copyright MMVIII Ed Justice, Jr.