SAM McQUAGG,  Nov. 11, 1937-Jan. 3, 2009

Sam McQuagg (standing next to car) and car owner Laverne Kendrick in 1960

 .In my early days I thought I was bullet proof,. said McQuagg. .If you were a driver that liked
to go fast like I did, you didn't think about bad wrecks. We raced a 1934 Ford flathead from
Jacksonville, Florida to Atlanta's Peach Bowl, over to Birmingham, Alabama. Out of thirty nine
races, we won thirty seven.

.We went to a half-mile dirt track over in Auburn-Opelika, Alabama, and I won the heat race
and ran second in the feature. I liked to have won the feature in the first race I ever run in my
life..

Born November 11, 1937, in Columbus, Georgia, McQuagg began racing in 1956. He bought
half interest in a 1934 Ford, quit his construction job, and began competing on the local dirt tracks.
He became almost unbeatable on the dirt at Valdosta 75 Speedway.

.In 1960, we took a modified to Daytona,. he continued. .It was a real souped-up Pontiac with
six carburetors. We had problems with it and went over to Smokey's (Yunick) Garage. He sold us
the bearings at a pretty reasonable price, but told me I was wasting my time, because they
wouldn't last. You don't know how to put them in,. he said.

.We were pretty short on everything, including tools. I asked Smokey if he could loan me a
wrench to install the bearings with. He said, .here, just take it, because you won't ever bring it
back..

.A lady from Valdosta, Georgia, who had arthritis and was confined to a wheel chair, helped me
get into NASCAR. She financed my first car. It was a burned-out, 1963 and one-half Ford
hardtop..

McQuagg entered his first NASCAR Grand National Division race driving his own No. 62 Ford
at Valdosta. He qualified ninth, but a blown motor dropped him to a twelfth- place starting
position.

In 1965, McQuagg made 15 starts in the NASCAR Grand National Division (later to be
renamed the Winston Cup Series) driving James Thomas. No. 71 Ford at Riverside, Betty Lilly's
No. 24 Ford in 10 events, Bob Cooper's No. 60 Ford at Atlanta, and Kenny Myler's No. 06 Ford
at North Wilkesboro and Dog Track Speedway, Moyock, North Carolina. He recorded a third-
place finish at Bristol, which gave him two top-fives, and ten, top-10s. That was good enough to
win NASCAR's 1965 Grand National Division Rookie of The Year title.

In 1966, McQuagg began driving Ray Nichels. No. 98 Dodge in the NASCAR Grand National
Division. He made sixteen starts and won the Firecracker 400 at Daytona, taking home $13,500.
That was the first race ever won by a car with a spoiler on it.

.We had tested spoilers at Daytona for nearly a month prior to the race,. said McQuagg. .It
wasn't like what they use today. It was only about an inch-and-a-half high, and it was contoured.
It made a lot of difference in the way the car handled. It disturbed the air just enough to keep the
car from flying..

In 1967, McQuagg drove for Bud Moore, Don Robertson, J. D. Bracken, Nord Krauskopf, and
Cotton Owens. He made fifteen starts in the 49-race season, with three top-5s and three top-10s.

McQuagg drove Krauskopf's No. 37 K&K Insurance Dodge in three Grand National events in
1968, scoring a ninth at Atlanta, and driving A. J. King's No. 1 Dodge in two races.

In 1969, he made three starts in Bill Ellis. No. 14 Plymouth.

In eight years of competing in the Winston Cup ranks, McQuagg had 62 starts, one win, nine
top-fives, and 21 top-10s.

His last start came in the World 600 in 1974 at Charlotte.

In the late 1960s, McQuagg was hustling to races at Valdosta, Georgia, Jacksonville, Florida,
and then get to Atlanta for the Sunday night feature race. He elected to get his pilot's license, so
he could fly from race-to-race, easing the strain.

After being injured in a racing crash in 1969, McQuagg decided to accept a position as a full-
time company pilot for the W. C. Bradley Company of Columbus, Georgia. He continued to race,
but only part-time at local tracks.

He retired as a corporate pilot in 1997.

.What I liked best was being an independent,. said McQuagg. .I could build my own engine
and car, and run with the best of them. That was the best part of racing for me. There at the end,
racing politics just became too much..

McQuagg was inducted into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2008.

                       Sam McQuagg (courtesy of Eddie Samples)