Roper's obit published in the New York Times.
Jim Roper, the winner of Nascar's first strictly stock car race in 1949, died on June 23 in Newton, Kan. He was 83.
Roper drove his Lincoln off the showroom floor in Great Bend, Kan., to North Carolina and on to victory in the June 19, 1949, race at Charlotte Speedway. The race, for cars that were showroom versions available to the general public, later became the Winston Cup series.
Glenn Dunnaway of Gastonia, N.C., took the checkered flag after completing 200 laps on the three-quarter-mile track, three laps ahead of Roper's Lincoln Cosmopolitan. First place paid $2,000.
However, an inspection of Dunnaway's car found it illegal because the rear springs were not factory installed. The modifications disqualified Dunnaway, giving Roper the victory.
Roper's trophy is now on display at the Kansas Auto Racing Museum. Roper raced in only one other Nascar event, finishing 15th at Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsboro, N.C., two months later.
Roper raced midgets, stock cars and track roadsters, also known as hot rods, throughout the Midwest. He also competed in the International Motor Contest Association in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Iowa.
Roper quit racing in 1955 after breaking a vertebra in a sprint car accident.
Nascar honored Roper in 1998 at the Texas Motor Speedway, and again in 1999 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway for being the first winner in the Grand National Division, what is today the Winston Cup series. In addition, the 1999 NAPA 500 trophy was named in his honor.
