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Paul
McDuffie
(1928-
September 5,1960 at Darlington, SC)
“The best mechanic to ever turn a wrench.”
 Paul
McDuffie, originally from Hawkinsville, Georgia, became
highly noted as the man who led Chevrolet factory racing into NASCAR
in the late 50's
providing
cars for Fireball Roberts in 1957, winning 12 of 15 starts.
McDuffie's cars won the Southern 500 at Darlington with Fireball
Roberts in 1958 and the inaugural World 600 at Charlotte with Joe
Lee Johnson in 1960.
McDuffie was killed, along with two other men, in a tragic accident
at Darlington during the 1960 Southern 500. The accident occurred
when Bobby Johns' out of control racer spun into the pits, hitting
the pit wall. Crew chief McDuffie,
Charles Sweatlund of Atlanta, GA,
and Joe Taylor of Charlotte, NC, an official inspector for Nascar
were all killed in the accident.
The cars of
Roy Tyner of Red Springs, North Carolina, and
Bobby Johns
of Miami, Florida, locked bumpers about one-fourth of the way
through the race. Johns' car rolled onto its roof and slid
upside-down into the concrete pit will. Parts of the smashed wall
flew into the occupied pit area behind the wall, killing three, and
injuring three other men.
John Blalock*, Ralph Byers, and R. M. Vermillion, Jr., all from
Atlanta, Georgia, were hospitalized in Florence, South Carolina.
Blalock was in critical condition; the other two men were in
serious condition. Neither of the two drivers were injured. Joe Lee
Johnson, the driver of the car owned by McDuffie and serviced by the
Atlanta crew members, withdrew from the race.
Bobby Johns car,
obviously after crash - Picture 1
| Fin |
St |
# |
Driver |
Sponsor / Owner |
Car |
Laps |
Money |
Status |
Led |
There is a public AP
Wirephoto newspaper article on the crash. Because of the
historic significance we will list the publicly available
article. HOWEVER, WE WARN YOU THAT
THE PICTURE IS GRAPHIC.
We
apologize to any
family member or other person that
may object to the photo.
Here is the Link.
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*7/9/08 Email: "Read your story about Paul McDuffie, my uncle was
John Blalock.My Father was Hank Blalock who drove Midgets up
until 1955 and was SE Champion and was critically injured in a crash and
passed away in 1956." Thanks, Duane Blalock
A Fireball Story
The third running of the Rebel continued
Curtis Turner's antics but since the other
car didn't belong to the Ford camp, Holman's
pleas fell on the deaf ears of a hard
charging Buck Baker. Buck led the first lap
until 'Ol Leadfoot moved him out of the way.
This went on for enough laps to turn the car
owner's hair grey and to make the cars
thirsty enough for the first round of pit
stops. Paul McDuffie, Fireball's crew
chief, got Roberts' Chevy out of the pits in
front where he stayed for most of the rest
of the day. It was Fireball's second win in
three starts in the Rebel.
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The Sixth Annual Induction Ceremony of the
Georgia Racing Hall of Fame
Paul McDuffie 2007 Inductee
Date: Friday, October 26, 2007
Place: Dawsonville City Hall -
Home of the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame
415 Hwy. 53 East, Dawsonville, Georgia
30534
Bobby Johns car,
obviously after crash - Picture 2
Paul McDuffie,
originally from Hawkinsville, Georgia, became highly
noted as the man who led Chevrolet factory racing
into NASCAR in the late 50's mechanicing
cars for Fireball Roberts in 1957, winning 12 of 15
starts.
McDuffie's cars won the Southern 500 at Darlington
with Fireball Roberts in 1958. The car owner is
Frank Strickland, pictured above.
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Paul McDuffie Grand National OWNER Statistics
Note: Page under construction.
Please send stories or pictures for inclusion.
Sources:
Book "The Tribute Project", edited by Ed Watson,
1997, page 28, contribution by Donald Knouse.
Book "The History of America's Speedways - Past &
Present", by Allan E. Brown, third edition, first
printing, November 2003, America's Speedways, PO Box
448, Comstock Park, MI, 49321-0448, United States,
ISBN 0-931105-61-7, page 649.
Newspaper The New York Times (New York City, NY,
United States), issue of 06 September 1960, page 48,
Associated Press wire service, story "Three Killed
at 500-Mile Auto Race; Baker Is Declared Victor";
United Press International Telephoto, caption "Car
driven by Bobby Johns in Southern 500 at Darlington,
S.C., spins toward the sidelines, scattering the pit
crews".
Newspaper The Post Standard (Syracuse, NY, United
States), issue of 06 September 1960, page 5,
Associated Press wire service, article "Race Crash
Kills Three".
Newspaper The Daily Courier (Connellsville, PA,
United States), issue of 06 September 1960, page 7,
United Press International wire service, article
"Three Die as Baker Wins Southern 500 Race at
Darlington".
Newspaper The Lima News (Lima, OH, United States),
issue of 06 September 1960, page 16, United Press
International wire service, article "Three Killed As
Buck Baker Wins National Stock Title".
Newspaper Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA, United
States), issue of 06 September 1960, pages C1 and
C3, Associated Press wire service, article "Three
Pit Men Killed in Stock-Car 500-Miler"; AP Wirephoto,
caption "Death's Hand - This car driven by Bobby
Johns of Miami, Fla., blew a tire yesterday during
the Southern "500" stock car race in Darlington,
S.C., and skidded through the pit area, killing
three men."
Website Racing-Reference.com, 1960 Southern 500,
page http://www.racing-reference.com/race?id=1960-35&series=W.
Website Atlas F1, bulletin boards, "The Nostalgia
Forum", thread "Speed's Ultimate Price: The Toll",
page 38, posting by "erkelly2", message
http://forums.atlasf1.com/showthread.php?postid=1631658#post1631658
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Nascar Nextel Cup Series Tickets
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