Wilbur Rakestraw | |||||||
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Born | Dallas, Georgia | June 6, 1928||||||
Died | May 7, 2014 | (aged 85)||||||
Awards | 2008 Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame inductee | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
30 races run over 5 years | |||||||
Best finish | 41st ( 1960) | ||||||
First race | 1956 Race 31 ( Spartanburg) | ||||||
Last race | 1961 Southland 200 ( Birmingham) | ||||||
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NASCAR Convertible Division career | |||||||
11 races run over 2 years | |||||||
Best finish | 13th ( 1958, 1959) | ||||||
First race | 1958 Race 1 ( Daytona Beach) | ||||||
Last race | 1959 Rebel 300 ( Darlington) | ||||||
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Wilbur Rakestraw (June 6, 1928 – May 7, 2014) was an American racing car driver. He was born in Dallas, Georgia, into a family of racers. His career included racing in the SRE (Southeastern Racing Enterprises) organization as well as the 11 NASCAR Grand National Series and 30 Convertible races. [1] Rakestraw was known for his toughness and thoughtfulness of other drivers due to one incident at Lakewood Speedway in 1957 when he drove through a fence and into the infield lake to avoid T-boning another driver who had crashed in front of him. [2] After he retired from racing, Rakestraw went to work as a mechanic and later became a service manager for a local grading company. [1] [2] [3]
Wilbur Rakestraw began his career in 1956 racing at his hometown track, the Dallas Speed Bowl. [2] He drove a 1937 Ford Coupe with the number 999 in honor of Henry Ford's first race car, which had been driven by Barney Oldfield. [4] He continued racing in the SRE circuit at various local tracks including Fairburn, Gainesville, Lakewood, Cornelia, Canton, Macon, and the Peach Bowl. [4]
Rakestraw had 30 starts [3] at 19 different tracks including the last Beach Race in Daytona Beach, Florida in the NASCAR Grand National Division from 1956 to 1961. [4] He placed a top five finish at Columbia, South Carolina and 6 other top ten finishes at various different tracks. [4] He started in three Daytona 500 Speedway races where his best finish was 22nd at the inaugural event in 1959. [4] He raced in several NASCAR Convertible Series events in 1958 and 1959, where he picked 3 top fives and 4 top tens. [4] His best unofficial finish was a second place drive in a non-points race at Daytona behind Junior Johnson and immediately ahead of Fred Lorenzen. [1]
Rakestraw was a member of the Midwest Association of Race Cars (MARC) (now ARCA), where he collected numerous wins and top ten finishes. [2] Due to lack of funds, Rakestraw retired from racing after the 1961 season. [4] In a 2008 interview, Rakestraw said "I was considered a very good race driver. A lot of my friends hated to see me get out of it. If not for financial problems, I'd have been there until I got too old. I enjoyed it as much as anybody could." [1] In 2008, Rakestraw was inducted into the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame (GRHOF). [4] [5]
Rakestraw died on May 7, 2014, of congestive heart failure. [1]
Wilbur Rakestraw | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Dallas, Georgia | June 6, 1928||||||
Died | May 7, 2014 | (aged 85)||||||
Awards | 2008 Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame inductee | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
30 races run over 5 years | |||||||
Best finish | 41st ( 1960) | ||||||
First race | 1956 Race 31 ( Spartanburg) | ||||||
Last race | 1961 Southland 200 ( Birmingham) | ||||||
| |||||||
NASCAR Convertible Division career | |||||||
11 races run over 2 years | |||||||
Best finish | 13th ( 1958, 1959) | ||||||
First race | 1958 Race 1 ( Daytona Beach) | ||||||
Last race | 1959 Rebel 300 ( Darlington) | ||||||
|
Wilbur Rakestraw (June 6, 1928 – May 7, 2014) was an American racing car driver. He was born in Dallas, Georgia, into a family of racers. His career included racing in the SRE (Southeastern Racing Enterprises) organization as well as the 11 NASCAR Grand National Series and 30 Convertible races. [1] Rakestraw was known for his toughness and thoughtfulness of other drivers due to one incident at Lakewood Speedway in 1957 when he drove through a fence and into the infield lake to avoid T-boning another driver who had crashed in front of him. [2] After he retired from racing, Rakestraw went to work as a mechanic and later became a service manager for a local grading company. [1] [2] [3]
Wilbur Rakestraw began his career in 1956 racing at his hometown track, the Dallas Speed Bowl. [2] He drove a 1937 Ford Coupe with the number 999 in honor of Henry Ford's first race car, which had been driven by Barney Oldfield. [4] He continued racing in the SRE circuit at various local tracks including Fairburn, Gainesville, Lakewood, Cornelia, Canton, Macon, and the Peach Bowl. [4]
Rakestraw had 30 starts [3] at 19 different tracks including the last Beach Race in Daytona Beach, Florida in the NASCAR Grand National Division from 1956 to 1961. [4] He placed a top five finish at Columbia, South Carolina and 6 other top ten finishes at various different tracks. [4] He started in three Daytona 500 Speedway races where his best finish was 22nd at the inaugural event in 1959. [4] He raced in several NASCAR Convertible Series events in 1958 and 1959, where he picked 3 top fives and 4 top tens. [4] His best unofficial finish was a second place drive in a non-points race at Daytona behind Junior Johnson and immediately ahead of Fred Lorenzen. [1]
Rakestraw was a member of the Midwest Association of Race Cars (MARC) (now ARCA), where he collected numerous wins and top ten finishes. [2] Due to lack of funds, Rakestraw retired from racing after the 1961 season. [4] In a 2008 interview, Rakestraw said "I was considered a very good race driver. A lot of my friends hated to see me get out of it. If not for financial problems, I'd have been there until I got too old. I enjoyed it as much as anybody could." [1] In 2008, Rakestraw was inducted into the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame (GRHOF). [4] [5]
Rakestraw died on May 7, 2014, of congestive heart failure. [1]