Fireball Roberts

Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr. (January 20, 1929 – July 2, 1964) was an American stock car racer.

Fireball Roberts
Grave marker
Born	Edward Glenn Roberts Jr. (1929-01-20)January 20, 1929 Tavares, Florida, U.S.
Died	July 2, 1964(1964-07-02) (aged 35) Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of death	Complications due to racing crash on May 24, 1964, during the 1964 World 600
Achievements	Daytona 500 pole winner 1961, 1962, 1963 1962 Daytona 500 winner 1958, 1963 Southern 500 winner
Awards	1957 Grand National Series Most Popular Driver Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1990) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1995) Florida Sports Hall of Fame NASCAR Hall of Fame (2014) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
206 races run over 15 years
Best finish	2nd (1950)
First race	1950 (Daytona Beach)
Last race	1964 World 600 (Charlotte)
First win	1950 (Hillsboro)
Last win	1964 (Augusta)
Wins Top tens Poles 33 122 32
Statistics current as of February 23, 2013.

Background

Roberts was born in Tavares, Florida, and raised in Apopka, Florida, where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. He was a pitcher for the Zellwood Mud Hens, an American Legion baseball team, where he earned the nickname, "Fireball" because of his fastball. He enlisted with the United States Army Air Corps in 1945, but was discharged after basic training because of his asthma.

Racing career

"Fireball" Roberts' 1957 NASCAR Ford

Roberts' 1962 Daytona 500 winning car

He attended the University of Florida and raced on dirt tracks on weekends. In 1947, at the age of 18, he raced on the Daytona Beach Road Course at Daytona, for the first time. He won a 150-mile race at Daytona Beach the following year. Roberts also competed in local stock and modified races at Florida tracks such as Seminole Speedway.

"Fireball" Roberts continued to amass victories on the circuit, despite the changes in NASCAR, as it moved away from shorter dirt tracks to superspeedways in the 1950s and 1960s. In his 206 career NASCAR Grand National races, he won 33 times and had 32 poles. He finished in the top-five 45 percent of the time, and in the top-ten 59 percent of the time. He won both the Daytona 500 and Firecracker 250 events in 1962, driving a black and gold 1962 Pontiac built by car builder legend, Smokey Yunick. He also designed Augusta International Raceway, where he would last win.

Between 1962 and 1964, Roberts competed in multiple major sports car races, including a class win at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Ferrari 250 GTO entered by North American Racing Team.

Labor union

In 1961, Roberts, temporary president of the Federation of Professional Athletes, was in dispute with NASCAR president, Bill France, over the Teamsters' Union affiliate – the FPA – which he and Curtis Turner had helped organize and which France was trying to disband. Unlike the banned Curtis Turner and Tim Flock, Roberts soon returned to the NASCAR fold.

Death

On May 24, 1964, at the World 600 in Charlotte, Roberts had qualified in the eleventh position and started in the middle of the pack. On lap seven, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson collided and spun out and Roberts crashed trying to avoid them. Roberts' Ford slammed backward into the inside retaining wall, flipped over, and burst into flames. Witnesses at the track claimed they heard Roberts screaming, "Ned, help me", from inside his burning car after the wreck. Jarrett rushed to save Roberts as his car was engulfed by the flames. Roberts suffered second-and third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body and was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition. Although it was thought that Roberts had an allergic reaction to flame-retardant chemicals, he was secretly an asthmatic, and the chemicals affected his breathing.

Roberts was able to survive for several weeks, and it appeared he might pull through, but he took a turn for the worse on June 30, 1964. He contracted pneumonia and sepsis and had slipped into a coma by the next day. Roberts died from his burns on July 2, 1964.

Roberts' death, as well as the deaths of Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald at the Indianapolis 500, six days after Roberts' crash, led to an increase in research on fire-retardant uniforms. It also led to the development of the Firestone RaceSafe fuel cell. Modern race cars use a foam-filled fuel cell to prevent fuel spillage of the magnitude of Roberts car. Also, fully fire-retardant coveralls would be phased in, leading to mandatory Nomex racing suits. Roberts had lost his close friend, Joe Weatherly, in January 1964 at the Motor Trend 500, at Riverside, California.

Many sources reported that Roberts was planning to retire since he had taken a public relations position at the Falstaff Brewing Company and that the race in which he was killed was to be one of the final races of his career.

Legacy

Despite having his career cut short and having never won a Grand National title, Roberts was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers. Other career accolades he won include induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995. In 2000, the city of Concord, North Carolina, named a street near Charlotte Motor Speedway in his honor.

After Roberts' death, NASCAR mandated that all drivers wear flame retardant coveralls while on track. They also instituted the five-point safety harness, and the special, contoured driver's seat, as requirements for all NASCAR vehicles.

The "Fireball Run", named for Roberts, was started in 2007. This streaming TV "adventurally" series, headquartered at Universal Studios in Florida, covers 40 teams as they compete in an 8-day, 2000 mile race and life-sized trivia game to raise money for missing and exploited children organizations. The Fireball Run is credited with assisting in the recovery of 38 missing children.

In 2013 Roberts was nominated for induction in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina, and he was included in the 2014 induction ceremony.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	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
1950	Jim Davis	11	Hudson	DAB 33	CLT																																																													2nd	1848.5
		51	Ford			LAN 15	MAR	CAN	VER	DSP	MCF	CLT
	Sam Rice	71	Olds										HBO 1	DSP
		11													HAM 2					MAR 6	WIN	HBO 21
		82														DAR 2	LAN 3	NWS 16	VER
1951		85	Plymouth	DAB 45																																																														12th	930
	Sam Rice	11	Olds		CLT 8	NMO 19	GAR	HBO 14	ASF	NWS 38	MAR 32	CAN	CLS 24	CLB	DSP	GAR	GRS	BAI	HEI	AWS	MCF	ALS	MSF	FMS	MOR	ABS
	Saverance Motors		Ford																								DAR 5	CLB 2	CCS	LAN	CLT	DSP	WIL	HBO	TPN	PGS	MAR	OAK	NWS	HMS	JSP	ATL	GAR	NMO
1952				PBS	DAB 52	JSP 24	NWS	MAR	CLB 21	ATL	CCS	LAN	DAR 8	DSP	CAN	HAY	FMS	HBO	CLT	MSF	NIF	OSW	MON	MOR	PPS	MCF	AWS	DAR 49	CCS	LAN	DSP	WIL 16	HBO	MAR	NWS																															59th	-
	Bill Snowden	16	Hudson																																	ATL 18	PBS
1953	Saverance Motors	11	Ford	PBS	DAB	HAR	NWS	CLT	RCH	CCS	LAN	CLB	HCY	MAR	PMS	RSP 39	LOU	FFS	LAN	TCS	WIL	MCF	PIF	MOR	ATL	RVS	LCF	DAV	HBO	AWS	PAS	HCY																																		132nd	84
	Leland Colvin		Olds																														DAR 45	CCS	LAN	BLF	WIL	NWS	MAR	ATL
1954		25		PBS	DAB 8	JSP	ATL 22	OSP	OAK	NWS	HBO	CCS	LAN	WIL	MAR	SHA	RSP 20	CLT	GAR	CLB 13	LND	HCY	MCF	WGS	PIF	AWS	SFS	GRS	MOR	OAK	CLT	SAN	COR	DAR 7	CCS	CLT	LAN	MAS	MAR	NWS																										22nd	1648
1955	Bob Fish	M-1	Buick	TCS	PBS	JSP	DAB 48	OSP	CLB	HBO	NWS	MGY	LAN	CLT	HCY	ASF	TUS	MAR	RCH	NCF	FOR	LIN	MCF	FON	AIR	CLT	PIF	CLB	AWS	MOR	ALS	NYF	SAN	CLT	FOR	MAS	RSP	DAR 66	MGY	LAN	RSP	GPS	MAS	CLB	MAR	LVP	NWS	HBO																		201st	-
1956	DePaolo Engineering	22	Ford	HCY	CLT	WSS	PBS	ASF	DAB 59	PBS 5	WIL	ATL	NWS 25	LAN 31	RCH 18	CLB	CON	GPS	HCY	HBO 4	MAR 16	LIN	CLT	POR	EUR	NYF	MER	MAS 21	CLT 4	MCF	POR	AWS 18	RSP 1*	PIF 2	CSF	CHI 1	CCF 4	MGY 10	OKL 3	ROA 3	OBS 4		NOR 8	PIF 8	MYB 1	POR	DAR 51	CSH 4	CLT 19	LAN 17	POR	CLB 4	HBO 1	NWP 1	CLT 10	CCF 12	MAR 5	HCY	WIL 4							7th	5794
		12																																								SAN 8
1957		22		WSS 2	CON	TIC 1*	DAB 37	CON 4	WIL 9	HBO 17	AWS 13	NWS 1**	LAN 1*	CLT 1	PIF 2	GBF 5	POR	CCF 1	RCH 2*	MAR 9	POR	EUR	LIN 2	LCS 14	ASP																																									6th	8268
	Roberts Racing																									NWP 1	CLB 16	CPS	PIF 9	JAC 12					HCY 5	NOR 21	LCS 7	GLN 2	KPC	LIN 31	OBS 6	MYB 3*	DAR 33	NYF 5	AWS 10	CSF	SCF	LAN 17*	CLB 15	CCF 14	CLT 2		NBR 1*	CON 1*	NWS 21*	GBF
		11																													RSP 13		MAS 3	POR
	Dick Beaty	34	Ford																													CLT 5
	Buck Baker Racing	7	Chevy																																																	MAR 12
1958	Bob Fish	M-1	Buick	FAY	DAB 9	CON	FAY	WIL	HBO	FAY	CLB	PIF																																																						11th	4420
	Beau Morgan	494	Ford										ATL 3	CLT	MAR	ODS	OBS	GPS	GBF	STR	NWS	BGS
	Frank Strickland	22	Chevy																				TRN 1*	RSD	CLB	NBS	REF	LIN	HCY	AWS	RSP 1*	MCC	SLS	TOR	BUF	MCF	BEL	BRR	CLB	NSV 30	AWS 1	BGS	MBS	DAR 1*	CLT	BIR 1	CSF	GAF	RCH	HBO	SAS	MAR 1*	NWS	ATL 2
1959	Jim Stephens	3	Pontiac	FAY	DAY 33	DAY 34	HBO	CON																					DAY 1*	HEI	CLT	MBS	CLT	NSV	AWS	BGS	GPS	CLB	DAR 7	HCY	RCH	CSF	HBO																							16th	3676
		22	Chevy						ATL 8	WIL	BGS	CLB	NWS	REF	HCY
	E. C. Wilson	48	Chevy													MAR 25	TRN	CLT	NSV	ASP	PIF	GPS
	Buck Baker Racing	88	Chevy																				ATL 6	CLB	WIL	RCH	BGS	AWS
	Lynton Tyson																																											MAR 30	AWS	NWS	CON
1960	John Hines	22	Pontiac	CLT	CLB	DAY 1**	DAY	DAY 57	CLT	NWS	PHO	CLB	MAR	HCY	WIL	BGS	GPS	AWS	DAR 20	PIF	HBO	RCH	HMS	CLT 35	BGS	DAY 31	HEI	MAB	MBS	ATL 1	BIR	NSV	AWS	PIF	CLB	SBO	BGS	DAR 9	HCY	CSF	GSP	HBO	MAR	NWS	CLT 23*	RCH	ATL 34																			29th	4700
1961	Smokey Yunick			CLT	JSP	DAY 1*	DAY	DAY 20*	PIF	AWS		ATL 42	GPS	HBO	BGS	MAR	NWS 4	CLB	HCY	RCH		DAR 5*					CLT 2	PIF	BIR	GPS	BGS	NOR	HAS	STR	DAY 5*	ATL 12	CLB		BRI 2	NSV	BGS				DAR 2*	HCY	RCH	CSF	ATL 3			CLT 29*														5th	17600
		75									HMS 1**										MAR 3		CLT 6	CLT	RSD	ASP
	Rex Lovette	127	Pontiac																																			MBS 21
	B. G. Holloway	59	Pontiac																																							AWS 31	RCH	SBO
	Cotton Owens	6	Pontiac																																															MAR 4
	Bud Moore Engineering	18	Pontiac																																																NWS 2
	Rex Lovette	22	Pontiac																																																		BRI 26	GPS 16	HBO 5
1962	Jim Stephens			CON	AWS	DAY 1*	DAY	DAY 1*	CON	AWS	SVH	HBO	RCH 5	CLB	NWS 4	GPS	MBS	MAR 18*	BGS	BRI 2	RCH	HCY	CON	DAR 32	PIF	CLT 9	ATL 4	BGS	AUG	RCH	SBO	DAY 1	CLB	ASH	GPS	AUG	SVH	MBS	BRI 36	CHT 2	NSV 19	HUN	AWS	STR	BGS	PIF	VAL	DAR 36	HCY	RCH 17	DTS	AUG	MAR 7	NWS 29	CLT 2	ATL 10*										8th	16380
1963	Banjo Matthews			BIR	GGS 20	THS	RSD 4	DAY 6	DAY	DAY 21	PIF	AWS	HBO	ATL 2	HCY																																																			5th	22642
	Holman-Moody		Ford													BRI 1*	AUG	RCH 23	GPS	SBO	BGS	MAR 28	NWS	CLB	THS	DAR 2	ODS	RCH	CLT 10	BIR	ATL 31	DAY 1*	MBS	SVH	DTS	BGS	ASH	OBS 1	BRR 5	BRI 29	GPS	NSV	CLB	AWS	PIF	BGS	ONA	DAR 1	HCY	RCH	MAR 7	DTS	NWS 4*	THS	CLT 4	SBO	HBO	RSD 4
1964				CON	AUG 1	JSP	SVH	RSD 3	DAY 7	DAY	DAY 37	RCH	BRI 2	GPS	BGS	ATL 20	AWS	HBO	PIF	CLB	NWS 31	MAR 5	SVH	DAR 2	LGY	HCY	SBO	CLT 35	GPS	ASH	ATL	CON	NSV	CHT	BIR	VAL	PIF	DAY	ODS	OBS	BRR	ISP	GLN	LIN	BRI	NSV	MBS	AWS	DTS	ONA	CLB	BGS	STR	DAR	HCY	RCH	ODS	HBO	MAR	SVH	NWS	CLT	HAR	AUG	JAC	27th	9900

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1959	Jim Stephens	Pontiac	46	45
1960	John Hines	Pontiac	3	57
1961	Smokey Yunick	Pontiac	1	20*
1962	Jim Stephens	Pontiac	1	1*
1963	Banjo Matthews	Pontiac	1	21
1964	Holman-Moody	Ford	15	37

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Driver	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1962	North American Racing Team	Bob Grossman	Ferrari 250 GTO	E 3.0	297	6th	1st

External links

• "Fireball" Roberts web site Archived 2012-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
• Glenn "Fireball" Roberts at NASCAR.com
• [1]Glenn "Fireball" Roberts at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
• Glenn "Fireball" Roberts website and career stats by son-in-law
• Fireball Roberts driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Fireball Roberts owner statistics at Racing-Reference