Auto racing
b. 1916, Anniston, AL
d. Nov. 7, 1960
Byron was a pioneer of stock car racing, an Atlanta garage owner who prepared his own cars during the undocumented 1930s and won more than his share of races. An Air Force tail gunner during World War II, he was a founder of NASCAR after the war and he won its first championship, which was run in modified cars, in 1947. The following year, the Grand National division was established, and Byron won that, too.
Poor health forced him out of driving but not out of racing. He worked for a time with Briggs Cunningham, who was trying to develop an American sports car that could win Grand Prix races, and then became manager of a Corvette team that had the same goal. Neither project succeeded, but Byron enjoyed sports cars. When he died of a heart attack at the age of forty-four, he was managing a team in Sports Car Club of America competition.
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