Billy Wade (racing driver)

Billy Drew Wade (February 28, 1930 – January 5, 1965) was an American stock car racing driver.

Billy Wade
Born	Billy Drew Wade (1930-02-28)February 28, 1930 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Died	January 5, 1965(1965-01-05) (aged 34) Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Cause of death	Injuries from racing accident
Awards	1963 NASCAR Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
70 races run over 3 years
Best finish	4th (1964)
First race	1962 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Last race	1964 Jaycee 300 (Augusta Speedway)
First win	1964 Fireball Roberts 200 (Old Bridge Stadium)
Last win	1964 The Glen 151.8 (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles 4 41 5

Career

Billy was the 1963 NASCAR Rookie of the Year for car owner Cotton Owens. He finished the season with 14 Top 10 finishes in 31 races. He won four consecutive races the following year for Bud Moore Engineering between July 10 and July 19, 1964. The four wins give Wade the sole distinction of being the only driver to accomplish this feat with victories at Old Bridge Stadium on July 10, the road course at Bridgehampton, N.Y on the 12th, a July 15 win at Islip Speedway in New York, and his fourth (and final) win at Watkins Glen. Dick Linder also followed his first victory at Dayton with a win at Hamburg; but Wade is the only driver to string four victories in a row once he got his first. He also accumulated five poles and 25 Top 10 finishes in his 35 starts. As of 2017, he is the most recent driver in NASCAR to get his first pole and win in the same weekend.

On January 5, 1965, Wade was performing a tire test at Daytona International Speedway, when a tire blowout caused his car to crash in the west turn, killing the 34-year-old Texan.

Racing career results

NASCAR Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team/Owner	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60	61	62	NGNC	Pts	Ref
1962	Luther Costales	01	Ford					DAY 18																																																										46th	2,008
	James Turner	24	Pontiac												NWI 10			MAR 8	BOW 19
1963	Cotton Owens	5	Dodge				RIV 7	DAY 29		DAY 41	PIF 16	ASH 7		ATL 13		BRI 8		RCH 4	GRE 10	SBO 13		MAR 7	NWI 9			DAR 10			CLS 24		ATL 8	DAY 19							BRD 12	BRI 13	GRE 18	FAI 2	COL 6	ASH 5	SPR 4			DAR 28			MAR 6				CLS 33	SBO 19	OCC 21	RIV 33								16th	14,646
	Bill Church	0	Chevrolet																		BOW 15
	Mark Hurley	61	Ford																																	BOW 23
1964	Cotton Owens	6	Dodge	CON 15																																																														4th	28,474
		5			AUG 3	JAC 10
	Rex White	4	Mercury					RIV 13
	Bud Moore Engineering	1							DAY 10		DAY 6	RCH 3	BRI 10			ATL 12	ASH 3		PIF 6	COL 4	NWI 8	MAR 33		DAR 7				CLS 5			ATL 8				BIR 3		PIF 6	DAY 20		OLD 1	BRD 1	ISL 1	GLN 1		BRI 22	FAI 19		ASH 26		HUN 6	COL 10			DAR 6		RCH 14			MAR 9		NWI 4	CLS 37	HAR 16	AUG 4

External links

• Billy Wade driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Billy Wade at Find a Grave
• Webshot of newspaper article on Billy Wade