Erick
Erickson (as written by his son)
in the #2
Olds, Lou Figaro in the #33
Hudson Hornet. They raced each other a
lot. Lou was another of Dad's main
rivals. He was a good driver in good
equipment. Lou was inducted in to the
2002 West Coast Stock Car Racing Hall of
Fame. Until my friend Denny Hudock made
me aware of the HoF, Dad's memories and
accomplishments were largely forgotten.
Now he is finally getting the
recognition he earned. Dad was invited
as a guest of honor to the 2003 Winston
West Banquet and awards ceremony, as a
past champion.
30
Inducted in 1st Annual West Coast Stock Car
Hall of Fame Banquet
7/31/2002 by: Tim Kennedy
The first annual West Coast Stock Car Hall
of Fame banquet took place Friday, July 26,
at the Sheraton-Four Points Hotel. The
initial 30 inductees were honored in
ceremonies attended by approximately 200
persons, including NASCAR Chairman Bill
France Jr., NASCAR Executive Vice President
Brian France and NASCAR Vice President of
Broadcasting Paul Brooks.
The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame honors
drivers, car owners, mechanics, officials
and race promoters/organizers who have made
significant contributions to the success and
colorful history of stock car racing in the
West. Tim Meyer, editor/publisher of Racing
News West in Utah, was instrumental in
making the Hall of Fame a reality.
The second annual induction ceremonies and
third West Coast Stock Car Reunion are
expected to take place in 2003 on a NASCAR
Winston West Series race weekend at
Irwindale.
Honorees and guests attended the NASCAR
Winston West race and second annual West
Coast Stock Car Reunion Saturday from 4 to 7
p.m.at Irwindale Speedway. They met fans and
signed autographs again this year in the
track's chalet village area. Jack McCoy's
purple No. 7 winged Dodge Daytona, a vintage
No. 29 Hudson Hornet that still started, and
Don Basile's No. 15 1946 Ford coupe post-WW
II stock car were on display.
Following dinner Friday at 7 p.m., the Hall
of Fame ceremonies commenced at 8 p.m. Most
of the inductee and family members were able
to attend. They included Ray Elder, Bill
Amick, Danny Letner, Eddie Gray, Lloyd Dane,
Marvin Porter, Ron Hornaday, Sr, Marvin
Panch, Hershel McGriff, Scotty Cain, Bill
Schmitt, Jack McCoy, Jimmy Insolo, Jim
Robinson, Roy Smith, Parnelli Jones, Troy
Ruttman, Johnny Soares, Sr,
Lou Figaro
and Ernie Conn.
Also included were Cos Cancilla, Carl and
Jim Dane, Bill Stroppe and tire innovator
Bruce Alexander. Race organizers/officials
inducted into the hall of fame were: J. C.
Agajanian, Ken Clapp, Bob Barkhimer, Charlie
Curryer and Les Richter.
Lou
Figaro died in the Wilkes 160
North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on October
24, 1954.in a one-car crash, when his #187
Hudson Hornet flipped over onto its roof. He
started from the pole and won the first race
at Carrell Speedway in 1951. It was his only
win.
October
24, 1954 “Wilkes 160” -
The Last Race . . . .
The lead changed hands
4 times between 2 different drivers. At the
end of the day
Herschel
McGriff led 74 laps along with the
most important lap—the last one. McGriff
started from the pole with a qualifying
speed of 77.612 mph. McGriff started driving
out west. He drove his first race at
Portland, Oregon on Sept. 16, 1945. He ran a
handful of races in the NASCAR ranks each
year from 1950-53 and from 1971-93, mainly
out west. He attempted to qualify for the
Brickyard 400 in 1994, at the age of 66, but
couldn’t post a fast enough lap. He found
himself finishing his career in the Winston
West Series in 2002 at the age of 74.
McGriff was 58 when he won the NASCAR
Winston West championship. In 1976, Big Bill
France offered sponsorship to McGriff’s
racing team along with another NASCAR team
to be the first NASCAR stock cars to compete
in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
Herschel McGriff has won NASCAR races in the
last six decades and won the Mexican Road
Race in 1950. This was McGriff's only Grand
National race at NWS.
Coming in second was
Buck Baker,
the Grand National Champion in 1956 and ‘57.
Baker was the driver originally credited
with the win at Jacksonville in December of
1963, but after the race, scorers discovered
that Wendell Scott had completed 202 laps,
two more than the scheduled distance. Scott
would later be declared the winner—that’s
the politically correct story.
Herb Thomas
finished 3rd in the race. Thomas started the
race from the 5th position.
Slick Smith
finished 4th. It’s good to have a teammate.
In the 1953 Daytona Beach race, Fonty Flock
led the first 38 laps, but at the start of
lap 39, the final lap, Flock’s car ran out
of fuel. Teammate Slick Smith realized what
was going on and pushed Flock’s car to the
pits where he could get fuel. His efforts
paid off. Flock lost the win, but manage to
still pick up a second place finish.
Rounding out the top 5 was
Dick
Rathmann in his 1954 Hudson Hornet.
Rathmann was the only other driver to lead
laps in the race. His 83 laps led were the
most that day.
The race was scheduled to go
160 laps, but tragedy struck and the race
was called after 157 laps due to a crash
which took the life Lou Figaro.
Figaro’s car rolled and the roof of the car
collapsed on him.
During the early years of late model stock
car racing on the west coast, no name was
better known than that of the California
driver Lou Figaro. Figaro started his
racing career in the early 1930’s and drove
just about anything. Stock cars were his
first choice. He was always a Hudson man. In
his 16 race Grand National career, Figaro
had one victory, two 4th place finishes and
had a total of six top 10 finishes. He ran
the Mexican Road Race with a Hudson and
nearly lost his life in that effort. In 1954
in North Wilkesboro, NC he had dinner with
friend and fellow west coast driver, Hershel
McGriff. The next day McGriff won, and
Lou Figaro met his untimely demise.
Figaro was 34.
Lou
Figaro (10/12/17 - 10/25/54):
California driver Lou
Figaro was one of the drivers who fielded
"The Fabulous" Hudson Hornets back in the
early '50s. He became the first driver to
start from the pole and win a race at
Carrell Speedway in 1951. It was his only
win. Lou died when his car rolled over at
North Wilkesboro Speedway in 1954.
1950
Carrera Panamericana (Mexican Road Race)
Lou Figaro
on the left, Dempsey Wilson, right
9 legs for a total of 1907.537 miles/3069.800 kms. Weather: dry
| Pos | Car # | Drivers | Year of Car | Car | Legs | Time |
| 1 | 52 | Hershel McGriff/Ray Elliott (USA) | 1950 | Oldsmobile 88 | 9 | 27:34:25 [1] |
| 2 | 113 | Thomas A. Deal/Sam Cresap (USA) | 1950 | Cadillac 62 | 9 | 27:35:41 |
| DSQ | 49 | Roy Pat Connor/Robert Owen/Curtis Turner (USA) | 1950 | Nash Ambassador | 9 | 27:50.35 [2] |
| DNF | 14 | Dempsey Wilson/Lou Figaro (USA) | 1950 | Hudson | 7/9 | Crashed - 18 miles |
In
1953 there were seven AAA races held in
the land of the left coast.
Seven races were run in a place called
Gardena California. Below are listed the
dates that they were
run. It is interesting to note that all these
race were won by Hudson's.
February 1, 1953 100 miles winner Dick Meyers
February 22, 1953 100 miles winner Frank Mundy
March 22, 1953 100 miles winner Dick Meyers
April 26, 1953 100 miles winner Frank Mundy
May 30, 1953 250 miles winner
June 27, 1953 200 laps winner
October 11, 1953 100 miles
(From back-left: Archie
Tipton, (unknown), Slim Mathis, Jack McGrath,
LOU FIGARO,
Dick Vinyard, Ed Barnett, ? Wayne Taylor?
Curious Steel Beam down
lower body panel (early nerf bar?)
Racing in one of his
favorite places (where he won) - Carrell
Speedway - Gardena
Lou Figaro's car
flipping in a race in 1952. He walked away
unscathed and actually finished the race!
Got a Lou Figaro Story, Comment or Picture? Email it here.
