Jimmy Florian (September 25, 1923 – February 14, 1999) was an American stock car racing driver. Nicknamed "Shirtless",[1] he attained the moniker after winning his first and only NASCAR Grand National Series race in 1950 at Dayton Speedway; upon entering Victory Lane, he exited the car without wearing a shirt. The victory was also the first for Ford Motor Company in NASCAR's top series.
| Jimmy Florian | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | September 25, 1923 Cleveland, Ohio | ||||||
| Died | February 14, 1999 (aged 75) | ||||||
| Cause of death | Cancer | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 26 races run over 4 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 9th (1950) | ||||||
| First race | 1950 Race 3 (Langhorne) | ||||||
| Last race | 1954 Race 2 (Daytona Beach) | ||||||
| First win | 1950 Race 7 (Dayton) | ||||||
| |||||||
Racing career
editFlorian started racing quarter midgets and sprint cars around his hometown of Cleveland. At one track, Florian won 71 of 75 feature races.[2]
In 1950, he started competing in the NASCAR Grand National Series, driving a 1950 Ford that was formerly owned by the Detroit chief of police.[2] His friend, truck driver Bill Whitley, co-owned the car and drove some races in the Ford, a Hudson Hornet and an Oldsmobile. In addition to driving, Florian served as a mechanic.[2] He made his debut at Langhorne Speedway and finished third.[3] Two races later, he won the pole position at Canfield Speedway (he finished sixth).[4] At Dayton Speedway, Florian passed the dominant car of Curtis Turner (who led 115 of 200 laps)[5] with 35 laps remaining to win the first NASCAR Grand National Series race for Ford Motor Company.[1] Incredulous with the result (especially as Florian's flathead engine Ford was able to defeat the overhead valve engines of the successful Oldsmobiles),[2] drivers like Turner, Joe Weatherly and Lee Petty protested the finish.[1] During a post-race inspection, NASCAR went as far as to contact the Ford Motor Company to ensure Florian's engine was not oversized, though the company responded that the car was legal.[2] In Victory Lane, Florian exited the car shirtless; Whitley stated the heat that day, the discomfort of the car's seat, the lack of a seatbelt (which were not required by NASCAR at the time) and the amount of protection a stock car offered contributed to Florian's decision to take off his shirt. NASCAR eventually created a rule prohibiting drivers from removing their shirts.[1]
He ended the 1950 season with a ninth-place finish in the championship.[6] Florian continued to race in NASCAR in 1951 (including three races for Don Rogala), 1952 and 1954; though he did not win another race, he recorded seven top-ten finishes and two top-fives.[3]
After his NASCAR career ended, Florian continued short track racing, competing in vintage cars until he was 72.[7] He died in February 1999 at the age of 75 after a battle with cancer.[1]
Motorsports career results
editNASCAR
edit(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Grand National Series
edit| NASCAR Grand National Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | NGNC | Pts | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1950 | Jimmy Florian | 27 | Ford | DAB | CLT | LAN 3 |
MAR | CAN 6 |
VER 8 |
DAY 1 |
MCF 4 |
CLT | HBO 19 |
DAY 22 |
HAM 26 |
DAR 41 |
LAN | NWS | VER | MAR | WIN 7 |
HBO | 9th | 801 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1951 | Don Rogala | Olds | DAB | CLT | NMO | GAR | HBO | ASF | NWS | MAR | CAN 30 |
CLS | CLB | DAY 7 |
WIL | HBO | TPN | PGS 4 |
MAR | OAK | NWS | HMS | 27th | 462.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jimmy Florian | 27 | Ford | DAY 20 |
GAR | GRS 8 |
BAI 4 |
HEI | AWS | MCF | ALS | MSF | FMS 9 |
MOR | ABS | DAR | CLB | CCS | LAN | CLT | JSP 22 |
ATL 17 |
GAR | NMO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1952 | 18 | Olds | PBS 21 |
DAB 42 |
48th | 551 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ford | JSP 12 |
NWS | MAR | CLB 10 |
ATL 10 |
CCS 13 |
LAN | DAR | DAY | CAN | HAY | FMS | HBO | CLT | MSF | NIF | OSW | MON | MOR | PPS | MCF | AWS | DAR | CCS | LAN | DAY | WIL | HBO | MAR | NWS | ATL | PBS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1954 | Jimmy Florian | 15 | Hudson | PBS | DAB 37 |
JSP | ATL | OSP | OAK | NWS | HBO | CCS | LAN | WIL | MAR | SHA | RSP | CLT | GAR | CLB | LIN | HCY | MCF | WGS | PIF | AWS | SFS | GRS | MOR | OAK | CLT | SAN | COR | DAR | CCS | CLT | LAN | MAS | MAR | NWS | NA | – | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "FLORIAN SCORED FORD'S 1ST NASCAR WIN 63 YEARS AGO". Ford Performance. June 24, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "Ford Racing's First Win". Motorsport.com. September 29, 1999. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Results (races)". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ "1950 Poor Man's 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ "1950-07". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ "NASCAR Grand National standings for 1950". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
- ^ Minter, Rick (January 13, 2011). "Repaved track prepares for 'Great American Race'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
External links
edit- Jimmy Florian driver statistics at Racing-Reference