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DAYTONA BEACH — Ray Fox, 98, one of NASCAR’s premier engine builders and mechanics in the 1950s and ’60s, died at Halifax Health Medical Center Sunday afternoon with members of his family at his side.
A family spokeswoman said Fox, who had battled COPD for years, was hospitalized a few days ago and succumbed to pneumonia. Two of Fox’ daughters, Gerri and Sandra, were at his side when he died.
Fox, who moved here in 1946 from New Hampshire, captured every major NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) race of his day.
His driving roster reads like a Who’s Who in stock-car racing with NASCAR Hall of Famers Junior Johnson, David Pearson and Buck Baker taking his equipment to Victory Lane in showcase events.
Fox is credited with 14 wins as a car owner, but his victory count was much higher in his many roles in sport.
He stayed active in racing into his 80s as an engine inspector for NASCAR, then as president of the Living Legends of Auto Racing.
He celebrated his 98th birthday at the Living Legends Museum in South Daytona on May 24.
For the last two years, Fox has been nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame honors but came up short of votes on the final ballot.
His grandson, Ray Fox III, remains in the sport as a mechanic at Roush Fenway Racing.
Fox most famously won the 1960 Daytona 500 with driver Junior Johnson wheeling the No. 27 Chevrolet. The entry was funded by Daytona Beach Kennel Club owner John Masoni.
Fox said no to Masoni’s first offer of $7,000. The second offer was too tempting to resist, even though the grueling 200-lap race over Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile tri-oval was less than two weeks away.
“I was building race cars in those days, but not those kind of cars,” Fox said in his biography. “They said, ‘Whatever you usually charge, we’ll double it.’ And they did. And I took the offer.”
Later he admits, “We really didn’t have time to build it.”
All the top-shelf drivers had committed to other car owners, so Fox called Johnson, who had been successful on NASCAR’s short tracks. Together they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history. Johnson led 67 laps in the car Fox built in haste just a few miles from the Speedway.
As an encore, Fox won the 1961 World 600 (now Coca-Cola 600) at Charlotte Motor Speedway with an unknown driver from Spartanburg, S.C.
David Pearson, who had been installing a roof when Fox called him to Charlotte, won the race on three tires when one of his rear tires literally exploded.
“The right rear tire blew with about two laps to go and I wasn’t about to stop,” Pearson says in the Fox book. Pearson nursed the No. 3 Pontiac home and won, not knowing he had built a 7-lap lead on the field.
Fox and Johnson combined forces again in 1963 running an independent Chevrolet against the mighty forces of Ford. Johnson won seven races, including a Daytona 500 qualifying race, and events at Atlanta and Charlotte.
Fox stayed in the game through the 1960s. His last race as a car owner came in 1974. Wally Dallenbach Sr. drove the No. 3 Fox Racing Dodge in the fall race at Charlotte. He finished 29th.
A family spokeswoman said Fox, who had battled COPD for years, was hospitalized a few days ago and succumbed to pneumonia. Two of Fox’ daughters, Gerri and Sandra, were at his side when he died.
Fox, who moved here in 1946 from New Hampshire, captured every major NASCAR Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) race of his day.
His driving roster reads like a Who’s Who in stock-car racing with NASCAR Hall of Famers Junior Johnson, David Pearson and Buck Baker taking his equipment to Victory Lane in showcase events.
Fox is credited with 14 wins as a car owner, but his victory count was much higher in his many roles in sport.
He stayed active in racing into his 80s as an engine inspector for NASCAR, then as president of the Living Legends of Auto Racing.
He celebrated his 98th birthday at the Living Legends Museum in South Daytona on May 24.
For the last two years, Fox has been nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame honors but came up short of votes on the final ballot.
His grandson, Ray Fox III, remains in the sport as a mechanic at Roush Fenway Racing.
Fox most famously won the 1960 Daytona 500 with driver Junior Johnson wheeling the No. 27 Chevrolet. The entry was funded by Daytona Beach Kennel Club owner John Masoni.
Fox said no to Masoni’s first offer of $7,000. The second offer was too tempting to resist, even though the grueling 200-lap race over Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5-mile tri-oval was less than two weeks away.
“I was building race cars in those days, but not those kind of cars,” Fox said in his biography. “They said, ‘Whatever you usually charge, we’ll double it.’ And they did. And I took the offer.”
Later he admits, “We really didn’t have time to build it.”
All the top-shelf drivers had committed to other car owners, so Fox called Johnson, who had been successful on NASCAR’s short tracks. Together they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history. Johnson led 67 laps in the car Fox built in haste just a few miles from the Speedway.
As an encore, Fox won the 1961 World 600 (now Coca-Cola 600) at Charlotte Motor Speedway with an unknown driver from Spartanburg, S.C.
David Pearson, who had been installing a roof when Fox called him to Charlotte, won the race on three tires when one of his rear tires literally exploded.
“The right rear tire blew with about two laps to go and I wasn’t about to stop,” Pearson says in the Fox book. Pearson nursed the No. 3 Pontiac home and won, not knowing he had built a 7-lap lead on the field.
Fox and Johnson combined forces again in 1963 running an independent Chevrolet against the mighty forces of Ford. Johnson won seven races, including a Daytona 500 qualifying race, and events at Atlanta and Charlotte.
Fox stayed in the game through the 1960s. His last race as a car owner came in 1974. Wally Dallenbach Sr. drove the No. 3 Fox Racing Dodge in the fall race at Charlotte. He finished 29th.
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