19 Facts About Curtis Turner

Curtis Morton Turner was an American stock car racer who won 17 NASCAR Grand National Division races and 38 NASCAR Convertible Division races.

Curtis Turner fought to form a drivers union, which got him banned by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.

Curtis Turner was born in Floyd, Virginia, to Morton and Minnie Turner on April 12,1924.

From a very early age, long before he was old enough for a driver's license, Curtis Turner developed his driving talents by running moonshine through the mountains from the law.

Curtis Turner was never caught with alcohol, yet came to grief with a 500 lb bag of stolen sugar in the post-WWII ration days.

Under oath, Curtis Turner convincingly stated a lie of conspiring to produce apple butter, and the judge let him off with a 1,000 dollar fine and a 2-year suspended sentence.

Locals spoke of how Curtis Turner would drive away from the hot pursuit of revenuers and lawmen, and his legendary ability to turn a car 180 degrees in a very small space.

Curtis Turner began his racing career in 1946 when he finished 18th in a field of 18 contestants in a race at Mount Airy, North Carolina.

Curtis Turner was one of the founding members in the original group that met in Daytona Beach at the Streamline Hotel to discuss and support the formation of NASCAR.

Curtis Turner eventually acquired the nickname of Pops, allegedly because of the way he would "pop" other drivers on the track.

Curtis Turner drove a Holman Moody-prepared Studebaker Lark in the 2-hour compact car race accompanying the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Sebring, Florida, on December 12,1959.

Curtis Turner finished second overall, trailing the disc-brake-equipped Jaguar 3.4 of Walt Hansgen.

Curtis Turner frequently stayed out partying until the early hours, usually with a friend and fellow driver, Joe Weatherly.

Curtis Turner continued to race under other sanctioning bodies, including the Midwest Association for Race Cars, even promoting his 100-mile event on the dirt at Lakewood Speedway, Georgia, in October 1961.

In 1963 Curtis Turner competed in the season-opener at Trenton International Speedway and finished 12th.

Curtis Turner attempted the 1963 Indianapolis 500 but failed to qualify.

Curtis Turner died in an airplane crash near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on October 4,1970; the crash killed golfer Clarence King.

Police said the Aero Commander 500 piloted by Curtis Turner crashed shortly after taking off from the Dubois-Jefferson Airport en route to Roanoke, Virginia.

At the time of the crash, Curtis Turner was preparing to compete in that week's National 500 at Charlotte in a special one-off race.