Received this morning from Russ Thompson:
It is with a very heavy heart that I pass along the news that Herb Lewis passed away this morning. Arrangements are incomplete, but the body will be at Phillips-Robinson in East Nashville. I'll send more information as it becomes available.
Herb started racing in the 1940's as a national-level motorcycle racer. The motorcycles were running regularly at Cumberland Speedway at the end of 9th Avenue (near where the Titans training camp is now) and Herb was instrumental in getting the promoters to allow a stock car race during intermission one Sunday afternoon in 1948. As a result of that day, local stock car racing in Nashville was born.
Herb raced both motorcycles and cars until he went in the service in 1951, and when he came back home he focused on the growing sport of stock car racing. He continued as a driver until 1960, when he felt the responsibilities of a growing family and decided to get out of the driver's seat. He moved into the flagstand, becoming one of the most respected starters in the area. As he told me, after spending time in the flagstand and, "Watching some of the guys make moves that I knew I could make better," he returned to the seat midway through the 1963 season in the Bill Dyer number 42 Modified Special. He won the last race Modified race ever held on the quarter-mile, a 100-lap feature on August 31, 1963.
With Dyer building a new car, Herb made the move to the full-bodied cars for the 1964 season, winning the 4th race of the season. A strange crash in a June race saw him go over the wall, landing near the lower pits. The impact broke his pelvis. After healing he came back and ran a couple of more races, then hung up his helmet for good.
Fred Herbert Lewis
March 1, 1929 - September 4, 2013
--
Schaefer: It's not just for racing anymore.
updated by @tmc-chase: 12/05/16 04:09:31PM
