I'm trying to identify as many of the cars and drivers inthis film footage - and right now I'm trying to identify Ned Jarrett's car. There are very few photos of Ned and his cars prior to his Grand National career, but the few I did find show his cars always with the number 38. Can anyone help me with photos or info on what Ned drove in the early days? Did he always drive #38?
Here is what I've come across so far, with some still shots of what I think may be Ned Jarrett in the #38 at Peace Haven Speedwayin 1954.
From Wikipedia -
Ned drove in his first race in 1952 at Hickory MotorSpeedway in North Carolina. He drove a Sportsman Ford that he co-owned with his brother-in-law, and finished tenth. This did not go over well with his father. His father told him he could work on cars but not drive them. Once, his brother-in-law was sick for a race and asked Ned to fill in for him. Ned used his brother-in-law's name and came in second in that race. That worked out so smoothly that Ned drove in a few more races under an assumed name, but was finally caught by his father after winning a race. His father told him if he was going to drive to at least use his own name.
Jarrett raced in his first national race at the 1953 Southern 500 at Darlington Speedway . He was out after 10 laps after the engine leaked oil.
Jarrett was the 1955 track champion at Hickory Motor Speedway .
Jarrett came in second driving in the Sportsman series (now Nationwide Series) in 1956, and won the 1957 and 1958 championships.
From a NASCAR Hall Of Fame documentary on the Speed Channel -
A couple of pristine show cars -
Peace Haven race results from 1954 -
Peace Haven race results from 1955 -
Still frames from 1954 Peace Haven film footage...is this Ned Jarrett?
updated by @robert-mitchell: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
