There's an old spiritual.........."Beula Land".........that begins with the phrase...."I'm kind of home-sick for a country, where I've never been before"..................I'm looking for a race driver, sadly no longer with us, one I never knew, never saw race, and know very little about, but for some reason, I'm looking for him. His name is Jesse James Taylor. I'm looking, but I don't know why, maybe it's his name, maybe it's his bittersweet career, maybe I'm rooting for an underdog.............. Honestly, I'm not really sure.A few years ago, I received a copy of Greg Fielden's incredible "NASCAR Chronicle". In the chapter, 1951, there's a black and white photo depicting white T-shirt-and-dungaree wearing driver, leather-flap helmet w/goggles, right hand resting on the left front fender of a Hudson Hornet. There's a "Pure" (oil) decal on that fender, and a hood-holding bungee cord, between the Hornet's headlights. The photo must have been at twilight, the backgound sky is almost dark, I assume that it was at Darlington, but not positive about that either. The picture's caption reads:.........."Young Jesse James Taylor drove his #31 Hudson Hornet to a runner -up finish in the 1951 Darlington Southern 500 in only his fifth career NASCAR Grand National start. He seemed destined for success until he was badly injured in a spill at Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta on Nov. 11. Taylor's head injuries kept him side-lined for five years. He attempted a comeback in late '56, but only drove in five more races before hanging up his goggles for good."..................I don't have many additional facts. I've learned that Jesse James was from Macon, Georgia, and he finished 7th in the '51 point standings. I've read that he was born in 1910 and died of cancer in 1976. That would have made Jesse James 41 years old in 1951, and he does not look that old in the photo, and the caption does begin with "Young Jesse James Taylor.........". I don't think that this birth date is correct. I can't authenticate his death date either. I know that he first raced NASCAR Grand Nationals in 1950, but definitely caught the racing world's attention with his 2nd place finish in the 2nd annual Southern 500, while driving his own car, and completing a 1-2 sweep for Hudson. Equally impressive, at least for me, is (winner) Herb Thomas (by a lap) was driving for the well connected Smokey Yunick-Marshall Teague Hudson factory-supported team. The race had other stars as well, but this kid from Macon, Georgia finished second. Kinda cool!The November event at Lakewood Speedway was Bill France's first effort at the historic track. A crowd of 26,000 and the expectant wife of Jesse James Taylor were on had. Frank Mundy won the pole but was quickly passed by Bob Flock in the race's early laps. It was during these early laps the Jesse James Taylor car began a series of violent flips, ejecting its driver. The resulting head injuries were critical, but as the crash was unfolding, Mrs. Taylor collapsed from shock. According to documents, Mrs. Taylor was also hospitalized, but lost their unborn child.Jesse James Taylor returned to NASCAR in 1956. Driving for himself, he ran three times: Darlington, Charlotte, and Shelby, finishing 69, 14, and 15th respectively. Incidentally, Shelby 1956, was the infamous Karl Kiekhafer-tacked-on-to-the-schedule race, that critially and conspicously injured Herb Thomas knocking him out of a sure championship and handing it to Kiekhafer's Buck Baker. Jesse James and 1957 is a blank, but there's one Jesse James GN start at Darlington in 1958. Darlington 1958, wasn't much different from 1956, no storybook ending. Jesse James was captured in a well-known Tom Kirkland photo sequence. The #9 '56 Ford blew a tire, rode the first turn rail, almost going out of the park, flopped and crashed back onto the speedway. If Darlington 1956 was Jesse James' first entry since 1951 Lakewood, one can only wonder as to Mrs. Taylor's reaction. As far as I can determine, Jesse James made one final NASCAR Grand National start, Atlanta, September,1961. There was a car owner, in '61, Beau Morgan, but the team finished 40th. The trail goes cold.Ten years, a critical injury, and a lost child all combined to separate Jesse James Taylor from his unlikely success of Darlington '51, and a career that might have been. Jesse James Taylor's story demonstrates the incredible attraction and the fragility of NASCAR Grand National racing. Moments, mere moments of success, yet completely lost. Moments, at most, but lives changed. Decades later, I can't help but wonder, about the rest of the story, did he have other children, did he return to and race on the short tracks? If so, how, and where, and when? I guess this is a message in a bottle, of sorts, for those with more of Jesse James' story, I'd sure like to hear it.Bobby WilliamsonShallotte, NC