Russ Truelove almost 90 years old is seen here diving his 1956 Mercury in the "2013 Beach Parade" on the original Beach-Road course at Ponce Inlet. Truelove is best remembered for flipping his
#226 1956 Mercury in the 1956 Daytona Grand Na...tional race on the beach. Riding with Truelove in the Beach Parade was Vicki Wood who holds the woman’s record for the measured mile (150.375). She also held the woman’s speed record at Atlanta International Raceway, and Daytona International Speedway at one time. (2/16/2013)
Three years after you shared this pic Jack, I got to meet Russ Truelove on February 19, 2016. I met him after he'd completed an afternoon of autograph signing and photos with fans at The North Turn restaurant. As he described some of his racing experiences, I countered with questions about a name or two, the conditions of the course, etc. He paused and said "Hey Chase, you seem to know a bit about racing history." That may well be the highest compliment he could have paid me. I told him I was like a sponge - always soaking up trivia nuggets here and there. He said "Come with me" and we headed for his Mercury parked outside. He talked about Carl Kiekhaefer, Fish Carburetors, DRIVING the race car from up north to Daytona - sleeping in it along the way, qualifying in the measured mile, how he ended up with car number 226, etc. Just a truly neat opportunity & he seemed genuinely happy that he could share the stories vs. just getting a selfie with someone. He pointed out he flipped his #226 Mercury on February 26, 1956. That's right - 226 flipped on 2/26. That's some bad mojo. But it was also 60 years ago today as I post this.
Hi Chase - Here is an updated photo from Feb 13,2016 at the Historic Vintage Beach/Road Course Parade. Jack