I've been fascinated by the photos Dennis Garrett has posted of sports cars racing at Martinsville. While trying to find some info about that event, I stumbled into something else.
In a 1964 story about Martinsville Speedway it was revealed that the first driver to turn a hot lap on the new track had a son who would go on to race stock cars. It wasn't Lee Petty and it wasn't Buck Baker. The race car wasn't even a stock car.
According to a story (partially excerpted) on the history of Martinsville in a 1964 issue of the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star, the first driver to turn hot laps at Martinsville in a race car was Socrates "Shorty" Johns of Miami, Florida, a champion midget racer who was accompanied by his young son, Bobby Johns . The car was a midget and Shorty was enroute to a midget race in Roanoke, Virginia.
Socrates "Shorty" Johns (left) and son, Bobby Johns (right) at Daytona - uncredited
Bobby Johns ran a Lotus at Indy in 1965 as a teammate to winner, Jim Clark. uncredited
Bobby Johns at Daytona with his '66 Chevelle - Marty Little Collection
Tragically, Shorty Johns would be murdered in Maimi in 1970 during a holdup at the Johns' race shop.
For many years, people seemed to forget that the France family held a half interest in the Martinsville track from day 1, often accounting for favorable dates and decisions relating to the beautiful venue. That was also mentioned in the 1964 Fredericksburg story. It was no secret back then.
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
