LYNCHBURG - Earl Brooks is not, and probably never will be, enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. That honor is all about winning, and Brooks never won a race on the top-level stock car circuit.

But he is a member of the Lynchburg Area Sports Hall of Fame, and that may have meant even more to him.

When I got the call, said Brooks in 1997, I dont mind telling you that I sat down and cried. Its the first time Ive been recognized in Virginia for the things Ive done.

Brooks died on July 21 at the age of 81. A graveside service will be held today (11 a.m.) at Spring Hill Cemetery.

Although Brooks best NASCAR finishes were a fourth-place in Nashville and a fifth at Talladega, he earned more than 200 checkered flags at smaller tracks during a career that stretched from 1949 to 1980. In the process, he provided a link between Lynchburg and the sports pages of newspapers across the country. He also bridged the gap between American auto racings early post-moonshine days and the slick, high-profile sport it has become.

Born in Lynchburg in 1929, Brooks never left it, never relocated to some racing hotbed like Charlotte or Daytona Beach, never signed on with a corporate sponsor. He returned home during the week to work on his car (and those of his customers) at his garage on Mayflower Drive, then headed out on Friday to do battle at the superspeedways.

It wasnt about Earls driving ability, said longtime friend and fellow garage owner Harlow Reynolds. No one ever questioned that. He just didnt have the money it took to compete. He had to drive according to his equipment, because he had to feed his family.

If Richard Petty or David Pearson blew an engine, their corporate teams could instantly write a check for another. Brooks couldnt afford that sort of expense, so he nursed his equipment along, finishing races and hoping for a break.

His public back in Lynchburg understood, and the Guest Book comments attached to his newspaper obituary are revealing. Almost all of them pay tribute to Brooks as a man, not just a race driver.

My husband is a huge race fan and immediately connected with Mr. Brooks. In meeting with him, we learned that our anniversary was the same day as his birthday. Every year thereafter, we exchanged Christmas cards. It was an honor to know Mr. Brooks.

I met Mr. Brooks at Lynchburg Rehab. He and my father, Curtis Inge, were roommates for a while. He always made me smile.

I worked for Earl a while at his garage. He treated me like a king. He was a good man. He was proud of his family.

Popular among his fellow competitors, Brooks befriended Danvilles Wendell Scott, the first black driver on the NASCAR circuit.

They made a movie about Wendell, said Reynolds (Greased Lightning, 1977, with Richard Pryor), and Earls character was in it. But he had gone all over the country finding old cars for the movie, and didnt get paid by Warner Brothers. At the premier, he showed up with his lawyer, but they never did pay him.

This showed another side of the affable Brooks. According to Reynolds, he never backed down from a fight, whether it was fender-banging on the racetrack or taking on a corporate giant in a courtroom.

On the other hand, he was anything but high maintenance as a driver.

Back in the 50s, I raced a couple of times for a block of cheese, he recalled in a 1996 interview. Sometimes, theyd give us crackers to go along with it.

When the summer heat set in, Brooks often drove wearing sandals.

He is survived by five children, nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren and the enduring goodwill of his hometown.

Here, the Earl of Lynchburg was always famous enough.