Larry Grayson Smith (June 2, 1942 – August 12, 1973), born in Lenoir, North Carolina, United States, was a NASCAR driver. He made his debut in the 1971 World 600 in the #92 Ford, finishing 22nd. He would go on to run three more races that year, acquiring one top-ten finish. In 1972, he was named the first NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, running 23 races and posting seven top-ten finishes. The next year, Morris H. Keen Pitt crew member ( Gas man)and former gas man for Donnie Allison. Went to Carling Black label in Atlanta and talked to President of Atlanta office and alone acquired a sponsor for Larry Smith from Carling Black Label.
Later that year, while running the Talladega 500, Smith spun his 1971 Mercury on lap 14 and slapped the Turn 1 retaining wall.[1] His car suffered minor damage, which the crew was preparing to repair. However, during the ensuing caution flag, members of Smith's pit crew surprisingly discovered that the driver did not survive the impact of the crash; track doctors confirmed that he had died of massive head injuries.
An August 23, 1973 news report indicated that Smith's helmet had been sent to an independent testing laboratory for examination, to determine what role his helmet had in the injuries he sustained. It further reported that a study was underway to determine if safer helmets for drivers could be found.[2]
A 1975 report stated that doctors determined that Smith's skull was "abnormally soft", and that it had been fractured several times before his fatal wreck.[3]
It is rumored, but not confirmed, that the head injuries that killed Smith came because he tore the inner-lining out of his helmet, which had been bothering him for some time. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Talladega Superspeedway infield hospital. No other drivers were involved in the crash.[1]
larry, smith, racing, driver, larry, grayson, smith, june, 1942, august, 1973, born, lenoir, north, carolina, united, states, nascar, driver, made, debut, 1971, world, ford, finishing, 22nd, would, three, more, races, that, year, acquiring, finish, 1972, named. Larry Grayson Smith June 2 1942 August 12 1973 born in Lenoir North Carolina United States was a NASCAR driver He made his debut in the 1971 World 600 in the 92 Ford finishing 22nd He would go on to run three more races that year acquiring one top ten finish In 1972 he was named the first NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year running 23 races and posting seven top ten finishes The next year Morris H Keen Pitt crew member Gas man and former gas man for Donnie Allison Went to Carling Black label in Atlanta and talked to President of Atlanta office and alone acquired a sponsor for Larry Smith from Carling Black Label Larry Grayson SmithBorn 1942 06 16 June 16 1942Lenoir North Carolina United StatesDiedAugust 12 1973 1973 08 12 aged 31 Lincoln Alabama United StatesCause of deathRacing AccidentAwards1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the YearNASCAR Cup Series career38 races run over 3 yearsBest finish23rd 1972 Winston Cup Series seasonFirst race1971 World 600 Charlotte Last race1973 Talladega 500 Alabama Wins Top tens Poles0 9 0 Later that year while running the Talladega 500 Smith spun his 1971 Mercury on lap 14 and slapped the Turn 1 retaining wall 1 His car suffered minor damage which the crew was preparing to repair However during the ensuing caution flag members of Smith s pit crew surprisingly discovered that the driver did not survive the impact of the crash track doctors confirmed that he had died of massive head injuries An August 23 1973 news report indicated that Smith s helmet had been sent to an independent testing laboratory for examination to determine what role his helmet had in the injuries he sustained It further reported that a study was underway to determine if safer helmets for drivers could be found 2 A 1975 report stated that doctors determined that Smith s skull was abnormally soft and that it had been fractured several times before his fatal wreck 3 It is rumored but not confirmed that the head injuries that killed Smith came because he tore the inner lining out of his helmet which had been bothering him for some time He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Talladega Superspeedway infield hospital No other drivers were involved in the crash 1 Smith is one of several drivers featured in the 1975 book The World s Number One Flat Out All Time Great Stock Car Racing Book by Jerry Bledsoe Bledsoe describes the struggles Smith went through in his run for Rookie Of The Year in 1972 References edit a b Larry Smith Killed In Race Crash Atlanta Daily World August 16 1973 pg 9 Florida Today Page 3C at Newspapers com Newspapers com Retrieved 2016 03 20 The Bakersfield Californian Page 20 at Newspapers com Newspapers com 1975 05 11 Retrieved 2016 03 20 External links editLarry Smith driver statistics at Racing Reference Preceded byFriday Hassler NASCAR Cup Series fatal accidents1973 Succeeded byTiny Lund nbsp This biographical article related to NASCAR is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Larry Smith racing driver amp oldid 1189697851, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
