Marion Cox
| Marion Cox | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
October 2, 1920 South Carolina |
| Died |
October 13, 1996 (aged 76) Hemingway, South Carolina |
| Cause of death | Alzheimer's disease |
| Residence | South Carolina |
| Nationality |
 United States |
| Occupation | NASCAR car owner |
| Known for | Being a strict and religious NASCAR owner |
| Spouse(s) | Nina |
Marion "Preacher" Cox (October 2, 1920 – October 13, 1996)[1] was a NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) car owner. Cox has a widow named Mrs. Nina Cox whose birthday is January 25, 1930.[1] He would serve more than two years in the Second World War.[2]
Career
Cox provided a vehicle for now-retired NASCAR Grand National series driver Roy Bentley in four races that would take place in the 1955 and 1956 seasons.[3] Darrell Waltrip,[2] Richard Childress,[2] and Cale Yarborough[2] have raced for Marion Cox (in the lesser known series of NASCAR) and have become three of the biggest names in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. As of 2010, Childress is the owner of Richard Childress Racing while Waltrip is an announcer for FOX Sports during their NASCAR Sprint Cup Series coverage. Even though Yarborough had his championship wins record broken by Jimmie Johnson (in 2009) after defending it since 1978, he is still notable for being employed under Mr. Marion Cox. Cox fielded Chevrolet vehicles in the 1955 season but switched to Ford vehicles in the 1956 season.
His career earnings as a NASCAR owner would be a paltry $260 ($2,262.99 when adjusted for inflation) along with zero wins, zero finishes in the top five, and zero finishes in the top ten.[3] Cox would experience only 646 laps as a race car owner.[3] Notable races for this owner were the 1955 Southern 500 and the 1956 Southern 500. All of his vehicles were created right out of his garage (with the formal business name being Marion Cox Garage) which was located in Hemingway, South Carolina. Due to his religious beliefs, Cox never allowed his vehicles to race on a Sunday (keeping him out of most of the Grand National Series races).[1]
During the 1970s, he pulled out one of his cars out of the race before it ended because the numerous delays made the race continue into midnight Sunday.[1] Midnight is the traditional start to the next day; the race started on Saturday evening and eventually ended after midnight on a "Sunday morning."
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Background information". Morgan Shepherd.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- 1 2 3 4 "World War II service information/Notable drivers under Cox's employment". Real Racin' USA. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- 1 2 3 "Racing information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2010-05-05.