5 Awesome, but lesser-known racing stories (Part 5)

 5 Awesome, but lesser-known Racing stories (Part 5)

By: Brian Cotnoir

Here we are again:  I’ve somehow managed to find 5 MORE awesome, but lesser-known racing stories.  If you’re a hardcore racing fan, like I am you may have already known some of these, but to the casual racing fan these may be more surprising.

1.) Charlie Glotzbach shot by a disgruntled employee

Wow, 1969 was a terrible year for NASCAR Journeyman Charlie Glotzbach.   It started with him losing that years Daytona 500 by 0.1 seconds to LeeRoy Yarbrough on a last lap pass.  Later that year while working at his race shop back in Indiana, Glotzbach was shot twice by a disgruntled employee he had fired the day before.  Miraculously, Glotzbach survived his injuries suffering only broken ribs.  Interestingly enough, doctors left one of the bullets in Glotzbach’s shoulder, so he raced for the rest of his career with a bullet in his shoulder.   In the first televised NASCAR Race to be shown live in its entirety (the 1971 Greenville 200) the commentators actually make light of the incident.

2.) Tiny Lund saves Marvin Panch’s life; goes on to win the Daytona 500

Now for a more optimistic story:  DeWayne “Tiny” Lund truly was larger than life.  He was 6’5” and 270 pounds and a Korean War Veteran.  He began his racing career in 1955.   In 1963, he decided to head down to Daytona International Speedway in hopes of landing a ride for that year’s Daytona 500.   During a practice for the Daytona sportscar race, driver Marvin Panch wrecked his Ford-powered Maserati, and the car burst into flames.  Without hesitation, Lund rushed to Panch’s aid and pulled him out of the burning wreckage.

The remains of Panch's Maserati

For his bravery, Lund received the Carnegie Hero’s Medal.    Due to his injuries, Marvin Panch would be unable to compete in that years Daytona 500 and told his teams owners’ that he wanted Lund to take his seat in the Daytona 500.  The team Lund ended up driving for; the Famous Wood Brothers #21 Ford.   Lund only led 10 laps the entire day, and ran out of fuel on the last lap…but he was still able to coast to victory in the 1963 Daytona 500; his first victory in NASCAR.   Despite winning the biggest race in NASCAR, Lund was unable to find a full-time ride in the sport, but the larger than life Journeymen went to win 4 more races in NASCAR.  Tragically, Lund would lose his life in 1975 form injuries he suffered in a wreck during a race at Talladega Superspeedway.

A Hero Rewarded

3.) Jay Sommers uses lottery winnings to launch a racing career

I feel like a lot of racing fans would start their own team if they won the lottery.   That’s exactly what 20-year-old Jay Sommers did when he won 5.8 million dollar jackpot in the Michigan Lottery.   Sommers used some of his winnings to buy racing equipment from Hoss Ellington and entered the ARCA race at Daytona.  Sommers finished a surprising 4^th place in the race.  For his efforts, Sommers only won a paltry $3,100 in prize money.  Sommers qualified for the next ARCA race in Atlanta and later that year entered his first NASCAR race at Dover Downs, where he retired with engine failure.

Sommers in car #78

Unfortunately, like many lottery winners Sommers was misled by someone close to him and lost his fortune.    He won some of his money back in a lawsuit, but had to use to pay off debts.   In 2003, Sommers would return to NASCAR in a one-off race for Johnny Davis Motorsports; he finished in the 28^th place.  Since then he’s raced late models at short tracks around the Midwest and has had some moderate successes, and works as a self-employed marine mechanic.  

4.)  The Racing Dentist

Dr. Jack Miller is a dentist from Indianapolis, Indiana, who had the most awesome hobby.   Dr. Miller ran the first two seasons of the—then newly formed—Indy Racing League from 1996-1998.    Dr. Miller entered a total of 22 oval races in the Indy Racing League over a 5 year period, including 3 starts in the famed Indy 500.   Dr. Miller’s career came to an end in 2001 after a wreck at Atlanta Motorspeedway.   Dr. Miller would recover from his injuries and is still a practicing dentist in Indianapolis to this day.

5.)  The unlikeliest winner in racing history

If I was to ask you who won their first NASCAR Cup Series race in the fewest starts you might automatically assume it was Jamie MacMurray or Trevor Bayne who won their first Cup Series Races in only their 2^nd career starts.  However, there is another NASCAR driver who won a race even sooner than that, and no, I’m not talking about Jim Roper the winner of the first NASCAR sanctioned race ever.  The driver I’m referring to is Marvin Burke; a driver from Pittsburg, California who won his first—and only—start in the NASCAR Cup Series. 

In 1951, Marvin Burke entered a race at the Oakland Coliseum, a 0.625 mile dirt track in Oakland, California and he led a race high 156-of-250 laps.  He won the race by a margin of 3 laps in his 1950 Mercury.  Now it should be mentioned that this was in the early days of NASCAR when most didn’t even attempt to run the full-schedule.  The only other notable drivers I recognize who were in this race were Dick Rathman, Fonty Flock, Marvin Panch, and Hershel McGriff.  For his win Burke received $1,875 in prize money ($18,664 today when adjusted for inflation).  You would think that winning your first ever race would have motivated Burke to head East and run more NASCAR races, but the only other race Burke ever attempted was the 1950 Indy 500, which he failed to qualify).   It should go without saying, that Marvin Burke is the most surprising and unlikely race winner in NASCAR Cup Series History.