Fonty flock

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Truman Fontell "Fonty" Flock (born March 21, 1920 in Fort Payne , Alabama , † July 15, 1972 ) was an American NASCAR racing driver. Fonty Flock was the brother of NASCAR pioneers Tim Flock and Bob Flock and the second woman to compete in a NASCAR race, Ethel Mobley . The four siblings drove on July 10, 1949 a race on the Daytona Beach Road Course . It was the first race in which a brother and sister competed at the same time and the only NASCAR race in which four siblings competed at the same time.

Career

Illicit distillery

Like many other early NASCAR drivers, Fonty's career began smuggling illegally distilled liquor . After initially distributing alcohol by bicycle, he used his car as he got older. Later he said during his time as a smuggler: “I used to deliberately seek out the sheriff and get him to chase me. […] It was fun, and besides we could send to California to get special parts to modify our cars, and the sheriff couldn't afford to do that. ” - in German: “ I went to the sheriff on purpose to have him haunted me. […] It was fun and we were able to get the special parts from California that we used to modify our cars, and the sheriff couldn't afford it. " 

Early years

In 1940 he won a 100 mile race at Lakewood Park in Atlanta , Georgia, and raced on dirt tracks called dirt tracks.

On July 27, 1941, he qualified on pole position for the race on the Daytona Beach Road Course next to Roy Hall . Flock first took the lead before he and Hall collided on the south bend. Flock rolled over and landed upside down in the bushes. Since the seat belt broke in this accident, Flock was thrown around in his car and then taken to a hospital by ambulance. In the accident, he suffered a broken chest, a broken pelvis, injuries to his head and back and a severe shock.

After serving four years in the United States Army during World War II, he suspended the 1945 and 1946 seasons to recover from his injuries. His brother convinced car owner Ed Schenck Flock to drive his car at the first race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 5, 1947. Flock took pole position and won his heat. He then won the main race over 30 laps after having not driven for four and a half years. Later in the season he took over the car from his brother Bob after he broke his back. That season, he won 47 races and beat Ed Samples and Red Byron in the battle for the National Championship Stock Car Circuit championship.

NASCAR

In 1949 he competed in the NASCAR National Modified Championship, won eleven races and also the title. Flock also competed in six of the eight Strictly Stock races and finished fifth in the overall standings. In 1951 he drove the full season in the Strictly Stock series, renamed Grand National. With eight wins, 22 top 10 and 13 pole positions, he finished second in the championship. In the following season, Flock won twice, achieved 17 top 10 results and seven pole positions. He was fourth in the championship.

In the 1953 race on the Daytona Beach Road Course, he led by more than a minute when he ran out of gas after crossing the white flag. His teammate pushed the car into the pits to refuel, and Bill Blair passed him in his Oldsmobile . Flock finished second with 26 seconds. With four wins, 17 top 10 results and three pole positions, he was again fourth in the championship.

In 1954, Flock opened an insurance agency and then initially only competed in races. The following year he drove 31 of the 45 races of the season. With three wins, 14 top 10 results and six pole positions, he finished eleventh in the overall standings. In the 1956 season he scored his last win at Charlotte Speedway .

In 1957, it started only on the Daytona Beach Road Course. After Herb Thomas injured himself while training for the Southern 500 , Flock stepped in as a replacement. The car itself was in poor condition and a tire blew on lap six. Flock got away unharmed and decided to retire from racing.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography ( Memento from January 3, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
personal data
SURNAME Flock, Fonty
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flock, Truman Fontell
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American NASCAR racing driver
DATE OF BIRTH March 21, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Fort Payne , Alabama
DATE OF DEATH July 15, 1972