Fireball Roberts
Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr. (born January 20, 1929 in Tavares , Florida , † July 2, 1964 in Charlotte , North Carolina ) was an American racing driver and one of the pioneers of NASCAR .
Early years
Roberts was born in Tavares , Florida and grew up in Apopka , Florida. He was interested in both auto racing and baseball . Roberts was a pitcher for the "Zellwood Mud Hens", a baseball team of the American Legion . It was there that he got his nickname "Fireball" because of his throws. In 1945 Roberts enlisted in the Army Air Corps , was retired after just 90 days after a fitness test due to an asthma condition.
Career
Roberts attended the University of Florida and competed in dirt track races at the weekend, that is, races on loose surfaces. In 1947, at the age of 18, he first took part in a race on the Daytona Beach Road Course . A year later he won a 150 mile race at Daytona Beach.
Roberts continued to win as NASCAR switched from short dirt tracks to super speedways in the 1950s and 1960s . In the 206 races in the NASCAR Grand National Series , he won a total of 33 times and started from pole position in 32 races . He also won the 1962 Daytona 500 .
death
On May 24, 1964, Roberts started the World 600 on the Charlotte Motor Speedway from eleventh place on the grid and was thus involved in battles for position right from the start. On lap 7, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson collided and spun off the track. Roberts could no longer evade and collided with them. Robert's car struck backwards into the inner wall, overturned, and went up in flames. Eyewitnesses report that they heard Roberts calling for help in his wreck: “My God, Ned, help me! I'm on fire! ” (“ My God, Ned, help me! I'm on fire ! ”). Jarrett rushed to help Roberts, whose car was already trapped in the flames. Roberts suffered burns second and third degree of more than 80% of his body and was flown in a critical condition in a hospital.
Roberts survived for a few weeks, and when it appeared that he might get better, his health deteriorated dramatically on June 30, 1964. He suffered pneumonia and blood poisoning and fell into a coma the next day . A day later, on July 2, 1964, Roberts died at Charlotte Memorial Hospital in Charlotte , North Carolina .
legacy
Roberts' death, as well as the deaths of two other drivers at the Indianapolis 500 that same year, led to the development of fire-resistant suits. The Firestone RaceSafe tank was also developed to prevent large amounts of gasoline from leaking out in accidents such as that of Roberts.
Although his career ended prematurely and Roberts never won a championship in the Grand National Series, he was listed on NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers . Other honors include his induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995. In addition, a street not far from the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord , North Carolina was named after him in 2000 .
statistics
Le Mans results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 |
 North American Racing Team
|
Ferrari 250 GTO |
Bob Grossman
|
Rank 6 and class win |
Sebring results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 |
Shelby American Inc.
|
Shelby Cobra |
Dave MacDonald
|
failure | differential |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
| season | team | race car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4th | 5 | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14th | 15th | 16 | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | NART |
Ferrari 250 GT Ferrari 250 GTO |
DAY
|
SEB
|
SEB
|
 MAY
|
TAR
|
 BER
|
ONLY
|
 LEM
|
TAV
|
CCA
|
 RTT
|
ONLY
|
BRI
|
BRI
|
PAR
|
|||||||
| 12 | 6th | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963 |
NART Carroll Shelby International |
Ferrari 250 GTO Shalby Cobra |
DAY
|
SEB
|
SEB
|
TAR
|
 SPA
|
MAY
|
ONLY
|
CON
|
ROS
|
LEM
|
MON
|
WIS
|
TAV
|
FRE
|
CCE
|
RTT
|
 OVI
|
ONLY
|
MON
|
MON
|
TDF
|
BRI
|
| 15th | DNF |
Web links
- Official website about Fireball Roberts
- Glenn "Fireball" Roberts in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
- Driver statistics on racing-reference.info
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Roberts, Fireball |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Roberts, Edward Glen Jr. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American NASCAR racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 20, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tavares , Florida |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2nd July 1964 |
| Place of death | Concord , North Carolina |