5 replies to this topic

[HistoricMustang]

Can anyone provide any information on how we lost NASCAR driver Larry Thomas at the young age of 28. I can find no record of an on track accident. Perhaps testing?

http://www.racing-re...er?id=thomala01

Thanks and good racing,
Henry

[Don Capps]

According to Golenbock & Fielden, he died as the result of a highway accident near Tifton, Georgia on 25 January 1965.

[HistoricMustang]

Don thanks. As the research continues on the Augusta International Raceway road course, I continue to discover disturbing facts:

http://www.racing-re...964-02&series=W

It now appears that six of the top seven finishers in the "Augusta 510" on November 17, 1963 did not survive to race the next season.

The seventh driver was Ned Jarrett.

Henry

[buddyt]

Larry Thomas ran a speedshop in Trinity, North Carolina and finished 8th in the grand national points in 1965. He seemed to be on his way up the racing ladder when he died on the highway 1/25/65 in the fog by rearending a slow moving car on the way to Daytona near Tifton,Ga. I do not know if he was kin to the other nascar driver of that period...Frank Thomas.

It is interesting to note that in that race at Augusta, Cale Yarborough finished 15th in Herman "the turtle" Beam's Ford......I bet "the turtle" did not sleep well the night before knowing how Cale drove....

[buddyt]

Make that he finished 8th in points in 1964.....SORRY

[ensign14]

Originally posted by buddyt
It is interesting to note that in that race at Augusta, Cale Yarborough finished 15th in Herman "the turtle" Beam's Ford......I bet "the turtle" did not sleep well the night before knowing how Cale drove....

And Larry's best result (2nd) was in Herman's number 19.