Check back for more updates as the days wind down to events at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February/March 2015. During Race Weekend, look for schedule, practice, and qualifying reports posted here.
The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 weekend at Atlanta kicks off on Thursday, Feb. 26 for four days of nonstop NASCAR action, capped off with the March 1 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Joe Weatherly, winner of the 1960 and 1963 Rebel 300s. Photo – Getty Images Archive
February 1956: Joe Weatherly of Norfolk, VA, ran this 1956 Ford factory entry in the NASCAR Convertible Division race on the Daytona Beach-Road Course. He started from the pole and led several laps before a broken water pump ended his day. Photo – Getty Images Archive
February 1963: Four superstars of NASCAR find a great place to relax, leaning against the Mercury of driver Parnelli Jones in the garage area of Daytona International Speedway before the running of the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup race. (L-R) Fred Lorenzen, Glen “Fireball” Roberts, Joe Weatherly and Darel Dieringer. Photo – Getty Images Archive
1956: NASCAR superstars Joe Weatherly (L) and Curtis Turner (R) at Orange Speedway. Photo – Getty Images Archive
Driver Joe Weatherly smiles before the race at the Southern 500 race on September 2, 1963 at the Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Photo – Dozier Mobley/Getty Imagaes
963: Joe Weatherly began the 1963 season campaigning Pontiacs, until GM cut back their participation in racing. Car owner Bud Moore switched to Mercury products by mid-season. Photo – Getty Images Archive
Brief Yet Prolific Career Lands ‘Clown Prince of Racing’ In Hall
Note: This release is part of a series in advance of the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Jan. 30, broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Wendell Scott, Joe Weatherly and Rex White are the five 2015 inductees.
Joe Weatherly’s time in NASCAR’s premier series was short, just two full-time seasons.
But what an impact the Norfolk, Virginia, native had on NASCAR racing in those brief, 24 months.
Weatherly, previously a winner of American Motorcyclist Association and NASCAR modified titles, claimed back-to-back premier series championships in 1962-63. He posted 25 victories in 229 starts before his untimely death in January 1964 at Riverside (California) International Raceway. Continue reading →
Check back for more updates as the days wind down to events at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February/March 2015. During Race Weekend, look for schedule, practice, and qualifying reports posted here. 
