Billy Myers was born October 19, 1924. He began competing in the NASCAR Grand National Division in 1951. In his first event, he finished 8th at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway. He then drove at Detroit and Darlington for Hubert Westmoreland recording an 18th place finish in the Southern 500. Myers then began driving R. G. Shelton’s
#22 Hudson. At the ½-mile dirt Martinsville Speedway, Myers qualified 4th and finished 3rd. An 18th place finish at the .625-mile dirt North Wilkesboro and a 17th place finish at the ½-mile dirt Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida capped Myers rookie season.
In 1952, Myers only entered one Grand National event, the Motor City 250 at Detroit where he drove Joe Hawkin’s
#98 Plymouth to a 14th place finish after starting 33rd.
In 1955, Myers returned to NASCAR’s premier division after a two-year absence. A crash at Columbia, South Carolina resulted in a 19th place finish. Myers then drove Westmoreland’s Chevrolet to a 9th place finish at the Forsyth County Fairgrounds’ ½-mile dirt track at Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In the Southern 500, Myers finished 23rd, 24 laps down. On October 3, 1955, Myers entered the 100-lap NASCAR Sportsman event at Martinsville on the newly paved track and won the first race on the smooth pavement.
In 1956, Myers started 42 of the 56 NASCAR Grand National Division events. He finished 3rd at West Palm Beach, 2nd on the Daytona Beach course. When the series returned to West Palm Beach, Myers qualified 3rd and won his first NASCAR Grand National Division race. He finished 2nd at North Wilkesboro, 4th at Richmond Fairgrounds, and 2nd at Hickory. He qualified on the pole at Soldier’s Field in Chicago but finished 17th after losing his brakes. He bounced back recording a 3rd place finish at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds at Shelby, North Carolina, 2nd at Road America at Elkhart Lakes, Wisconsin, 3rd at Old Bridge Stadium at Old Bridge, New Jersey, and then won again at Norfolk Speedway at Norfolk, Virginia. He recorded a 2nd place finish at Coastal Speedway at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 2nd at Southern States Fairgrounds at Charlotte, North Carolina, and a 5th place finish at Columbia Speedway at Columbia, South Carolina.
For the year, he had 1 pole, 2 wins, 13 top-5s, and 22 top-10s to finish 6th in the championship title chase.
Hi, Mr. Wetzler. Arcadia Publishing is doing a book on Hickory Motor Speedway (with NASCAR's participation), and Arcadia has me finding photos for the book. I've found some wonderful HMS photos on RacersReunion, and I'd like to use some of them in the book.I also write auto-racing stories (mostly HMS) for the Hickory (NC) Daily Record, and you might have a story for the newspaper, too.I can be reached at nc3022@yahoo.com, tgilli52@gmail.com and 336-692-1063.Have a great day.Tom Gillispie
I HELPED TAYLOR STRICKLIN THRU HIS HIS FIRST 2 YRS IN A STREET STOCK (HIS 1ST EVER TIME IN A CAR) IVE GOT THE CAR IN MY SHOP THE SIDE PANEL.HE IS DONNIE ALLISONS GRANDSON,HE HAD A SCHOLARSHIP FOR BASKETBALL AND GOT HURT CAME BACK AND DECIDED TO WORK IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS AND BUILD A ST. STOCK WITH HIS DAD HUT. I SPONSORED THE CAR.TAY IS SO TALLHE COULDNT FIT IN THE ALLISON LEGACY CARS . IT WAS ONLY WEEKS BEFORE HE HAD HIS FIRST WIN AND WON THE BOBBY ISSAC MEMORIAL ALOT OF THINGS I FIND ARE ON THE NET. IF I CAN HELP FELL FREE TO ASK RONI HELPED ON A BOOK FOR LANCASTER HEREOS WHICH CAME OUT GREAT.AND WAS MENTIONED IN THE CREDITS(LANCASTER NY) WHERE THE BODINES STARTED , RICHIE, MAYNARD , ON AND ON. WHEN HE NEEDED TO WHO WAS WHO HE ASKED ME.JOHN BISCI DID THE BOOK HE WORKS AT LOST WAGES MOTOR SPEEDWAY PR MAN