Marshall Teague

For the actor, see Marshall R. Teague.

Marshall Teague
Marshall Teague beside the Fabulous Hudson Hornet with his daughter at the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1952
Born	February 22, 1922(1922-02-22) Daytona Beach, Florida
Died	February 11, 1959(1959-02-11) (aged 36)
Cause of death	crash in Speedway car at Daytona International Speedway
Awards	inducted in the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame (1968) 1951 AAA Stock Car Driver of the Year 1952 & 1954 AAA National Stock Car Champion inducted in the National Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1988) inducted in the TRS/NASCAR Mechanics Hall of Fame (1989) inducted in the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame (1991)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
23 races run over 4 years
Best finish	62nd - 1949 (Strictly Stock)
First race	1949 Daytona Beach Road Course
Last race	1952 Columbia Speedway (Columbia, SC)
First win	1951 Daytona Beach Road Course
Last win	1952 Speedway Park (Jacksonville)
Wins Top tens Poles 7 11 3

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1953–1954, 1956–1958
Teams	Kurtis Kraft, Kuzma
Races	5 (3 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1953 Indianapolis 500
Last race	1958 Indianapolis 500

Marshall Teague (February 22, 1922 - February 11, 1959) was an American race car driver.

He was nicknamed by NASCAR fans as the "King of the Beach" for his performances at the Daytona Beach Road Course.

He walked into fellow Daytona Beach resident Smokey Yunick's "Best Damned Garage in Town", and launched Yunick's legendary NASCAR mechanic career.

Career

Teague competed in 23 NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) races from 1949 to 1952 winning seven of them. Teague approached Hudson by traveling to Michigan and visiting the plant without an appointment: by the end of the visit Hudson virtually assured Teague of corporate support and cars: the relationship was formalized shortly after the visit. During the 1951 and 1952 seasons Teague was a member of the Hudson Motors team and driving what he called the Fabulous Hudson Hornet.

Teague was also instrumental in helping Hudson tune the 308 cu in (5.0 L) straight-6 powered Hudson Hornet to its maximum stock capability. When combined with the cars light weight and low center of gravity, the Hornet allowed Teague and the other Hudson drivers to dominate stock car racing from 1951 through 1954, consistently beating out other drivers in cars powered by larger, more modern engines. Yunick and Teague won 27 of 34 events in major stock car events.^[1]

However, he left NASCAR in 1953 following a dispute with NASCAR founder William France Sr. and went to the AAA and USAC.

Teague was also the inspiration for Doc Hudson in the film Cars.^[2]

Death

Teague died while attempting a closed course speed record in a reconfigured Indy car at the newly opened Daytona International Speedway. He was conducting test sessions in preparation for the April debut of the United States Auto Club championship with Indy-style roadsters. He was driving a "Sumar Special" streamliner, a Kurtis-Kraft chassis with a Meyer-Drake Offenhauser 270 engine. On February 10, 1959, Teague set an unofficial closed course speed record of 171.821 mph (276.5 km/h).^[3]

Teague was attempting to go even faster on February 11, 1959, eleven days before the first Daytona 500. "Teague pushed the speed envelope in the high-powered Sumar Special streamliner - to an estimated 140 mph (230 km/h)."^[2] His car spun and flipped through the third turn and Teague was thrown, seat and all, from his car. He died nearly instantly.^[1][4]

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1953 22 22 135.721 25 18 169 0 Oil Leak 1954 16* - - - 15 ? ? Running 31** - - - 23 ? ? Clutch 1957 48 28 140.329 26 7 200 0 Running Totals 369 0

Starts 3 Poles 0 Front Row 0 Wins 0 Top 5 0 Top 10 1 Retired 1

* Shared drive with Duane Carter, Jimmy Jackson and Tony Bettenhausen
** Shared drive with Gene Hartley

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Marshall Teague participated in three World Championship races, but scored no World Championship points.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Marshall Teague". Legendsofnascar.com. 2008-03-12. http://www.legendsofnascar.com/marshall_teague.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-25. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Parente, Audrey (2008-02-08). "Life lost; legend lives local race car hero's death preceded 1st Daytona 500". News Journal. http://www.news-journalonline.com/temp/media/video/tribute_marshall_teague.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-25. 
3. ^ Marc. "The Jimmy Daywalt Tribute Site". http://www.angelfire.com/in4/jimmydaywalt/1955.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-25. 
4. ^ Hinton, Ed (2001). Daytona: From the Birth of Speed to the Death of the Man in Black. Warner Books. ISBN 9780446611787. 

External links

• NASCAR driving statistics at racing-reference.info
• nascar.com Biography
• Biography

Persondata
Name	Teague, Marshall
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1922-02-22
Place of birth	Daytona Beach, Florida
Date of death	1959-02-11
Place of death