Joseph "Joe" Eubanks (August 9, 1925 – June 21, 1971) was a NASCAR Grand National driver from Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA.[1] He entered the United States Armed Forces along with fellow NASCAR veterans Bud Moore and Cotton Owens.[2] All three of these men served in World War II together.[2]

Joseph "Joe" Eubanks
Joe Eubanks, circa 1950s
Born(1925-08-09)August 9, 1925
Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States
DiedJune 21, 1971(1971-06-21) (aged 45)
NASCAR Cup Series career
159 races run over 11 years
Best finish5th – 1954 NASCAR Grand National season
First race1950 Southern 500 (Darlington Raceway)
Last race1961 World 600 (Charlotte Motor Speedway)
First win1958 untitled race (Orange Speedway)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 81 4

Career summary

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Eubanks raced from 1950 to 1961 collecting one win, thirty-seven finishes in the top five, and eighty-one finishes in the top ten along the way.[1] His total career earnings were $35,338 ($360,305.93 when adjusted for inflation) and he successfully completed 14,303.3 miles (23,018.9 km) of racing.[1]

As one of the first competitors to compete in a NASCAR road racing event, Eubanks finished second to Al Keller who was driving a 1951 Hudson Hornet automobile.[3] Joe was a competitor for the 1955 Southern 500 and was credited for having the fastest Oldsmobile 88 vehicle of that particular race.[4] Dirt tracks were Eubanks' greatest strong point as a driver; where a "top ten" finish were frequent. Superspeedway tracks turned out to be his weakness as his average finish on those tracks was 38th place.[5]

Eubanks' primary vehicle was the #88 Ford machine owned by Don Every and Domenic Petti of Daytona Florida.[6] He was also one of the extras for the 1960 stock car racing film Thunder in Carolina.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Joe Eubanks career information at Racing Reference
  2. ^ a b Joe Eubanks' army career Archived 2018-06-11 at the Wayback Machine at DropInTheHammer.Net
  3. ^ Joe Eubanks + NASCAR 1st road racing event at GeorgiaRacingHistory.com
  4. ^ Racing Reference 1955 Southern 500 information at Racing Reference
  5. ^ NASCAR statistics on Joe Eubanks Archived 2013-05-18 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
  6. ^ Primary car of Joe Eubanks Archived 2012-04-24 at the Wayback Machine at FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com
  7. ^ Racer profile about Joe Eubanks at Insider Racing News
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