Marshall Teague

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

For the actor, see Marshall R. Teague.
Marshall Teague
File:Marshall Teague Fabulous Hudson Hornet 1952.jpg
Marshall Teague beside the Fabulous Hudson Hornet with his daughter at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1952
Born (1921-02-22)February 22, 1921
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Cause of death Injuries from racing accident
Achievements
  • 1951 & 1952 Daytona Beach Road Course Strictly Stock Car winner
  • 1952 & 1954 AAA National Stock Car champion
Awards
  • Inducted in the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame (1968)
  • 1951 AAA Stock Car Driver of the Year
  • Inducted in the National Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1988)
  • Inducted in the TRS/NASCAR Mechanics Hall of Fame (1989)
  • Inducted in the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame (1991)
NASCAR Cup Series career
23 races run over 4 years
Best finish 62nd - 1949 (Strictly Stock)
First race 1949 Daytona Beach Road Course
Last race 1952 Columbia Speedway (Columbia, SC)
First win 1951 Daytona Beach Road Course
Last win 1952 Speedway Park (Jacksonville)
Wins Top tens Poles
7 11 3
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality United States American
Active years 1953–1954, 1956–1958
Teams Kurtis Kraft, Kuzma
Entries 5 (3 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Career points 0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1953 Indianapolis 500
Last entry 1958 Indianapolis 500
Marshall Teague restored Hudson Hornet

Marshall Teague (February 22, 1921 – February 11, 1959) was an American race car driver.

He was nicknamed by NASCAR fans as the "King of the Beach" for his performances at the Daytona Beach Road Course.

He walked into fellow Daytona Beach resident Smokey Yunick's "Best Damned Garage in Town", and launched Yunick's NASCAR mechanic career.

Career

Teague competed in 23 NASCAR Grand National races (now Sprint Cup Series) from 1949 to 1952, winning seven of them.

Teague approached the Hudson Motor Car Company by traveling to Michigan and visiting the automaker's factory without an appointment. By the end of his visit, Hudson virtually assured Teague of corporate support and cars, with the relationship formalized shortly after his visit. This "is generally regarded as the first stock car racing team backed by a Detroit auto manufacturer."[1]

During the 1951 and 1952 racing seasons, Teague was a member of the Hudson Motors team and driving what were called the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet" stock cars.[2]

Teague was also instrumental in helping Hudson tune the 308 cu in (5.0 L) straight-6 powered Hudson Hornet to its maximum stock capability. When combined with the cars light weight and low center of gravity, the Hornet allowed Teague and the other Hudson drivers to dominate stock car racing from 1951 through 1954, consistently beating out other drivers in cars powered by larger, more modern engines. Smokey Yunick and Teague won 27 of 34 events in major stock car events.[3]

In 1953, Teague dropped out of NASCAR following a dispute with NASCAR founder William France Sr. and went to the AAA and USAC racing circuits.

Teague was also the inspiration for Doc Hudson in the film Cars.[4]

Death

Teague died while attempting a closed course speed record in a reconfigured Indy car at the newly opened Daytona International Speedway. He was conducting test sessions in preparation for the April debut of the United States Auto Club championship with Indy-style roadsters. He was piloting a "Sumar Special" streamliner, a Kurtis-Kraft chassis with a Meyer-Drake Offenhauser 270 engine, streamlined fenders, and a canopy enclosing the driver, thus being classified as Formula Libre. On February 9, 1959, Teague set an unofficial closed course speed record of 171.821 mph (276.5 km/h).[5][6]

On February 10, the left rear tire was cut as a result of running over a foreign object, which forced Teague to pit.[7]

Teague was attempting to go even faster on February 11, 1959, eleven days before the first Daytona 500. "Teague pushed the speed envelope in the high-powered Sumar Special streamliner - to an estimated 140 mph (230 km/h)."[4] His car spun and flipped through the third turn and Teague was thrown, seat and all, from his car. He died nearly instantly.[3][8][9]

Indy 500 results

* Shared drive with Duane Carter, Jimmy Jackson and Tony Bettenhausen
** Shared drive with Gene Hartley

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Marshall Teague participated in three World Championship races, but scored no World Championship points.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Marshall_Teague&oldid=3102344"