(Note: Many images below are Getty Property, however, I am in possession of every one of them. These images displayed because my scanner is broke!)
Wife Mitzi, Daughter Patty and Marshall Teague
Marshal with Wife Mitzi Teague 1951
Teague’s wife dies only days before pioneer racer goes into Hall of Fame
Mitzi Teague dies days before her late husband Marshall Teague goes into the Hall of Fame.
Patty Teeters is heading to Detroit on Tuesday with a heavy heart for her mother and a lot of pride for her father. Teeters is the daughter of Daytona Beach mechanic and race driver Marshall Teague, who will be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on Wednesday night.
Teeters’ mother, Mitzi Teague, died Saturday at the age of 90.
“She was a widow at the age of 35,” Teeters said in a telephone interview Monday. “She was very happy with the honors my father received. After he passed away, she spent the rest of her life keeping his memory alive.“
Marshall Teague died while making a speed run in an Indy-style race car at Daytona International Speedway, before the track hosted its first Daytona 500 in 1959. He was 37.
Teague, who was born in Daytona Beach, was an accomplished racer and historic figure in the sport. For instance, he led the first lap of the first NASCAR race and was the sanctioning body’s first treasurer.
Teague loved all forms of racing and competed in Europe, the Mexican Road Race, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and Indianapolis 500, back when drivers scored Formula One points at “the Brickyard.”
“My father was on that show, ‘What’s My Line?’ in the 1950s,” Teeters said. “The contestants had to guess his occupation, as a race car driver.“
Teague owned a gas station and service center off of Main Street, where he worked on cars and got others hooked on the sport of racing.
He mentored a very young Fireball Roberts, who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Teague got much of fame by beating V8-powered stock cars made by General Motors, Chrysler and Ford with his six-cylinder Hudson Hornets. He made the tagline “Fabulous Hudson Hornet” famous with his racing antics.
During the 1951 and ’52 NASCAR Grand National Series, now known as the Sprint Cup Series, Teague entered his Hudson Hornet in 19 races and earned seven victories, including back to back triumphs on the Daytona Beach & Road Course.
Teague died before stock-car racing reached its first era of popularity, but in a striking testament to his contributions to the sport, the 2006 animated “Cars” movie featured a character named Doc Hudson, who was voiced by Paul Newman.
The movie “Cars” had no affiliation with NASCAR, but it was obvious that the producers had patterned Doc Hudson, the voice of reason, after Teague. Doc Hudson explained to hotshot character Lightning McQueen, voiced by Owen Wilson, that there was more to life than winning races and being famous.
Teeters was 15 when her father passed away.“I think it’s very special, so many years after he died, he is still remembered,” said Teeters, who lives in Ormond Beach. “He was the most wonderful father, full of kindness. He was my father No. 1.“I just remember his attitude, which was, ‘Do the best you can.’ He was a humble man; he would have been very honored by this Hall of Fame induction.“
Teeters said her father raced for the love of the sport, since there was not a lot of money or glory for participants involved back in those early days of motorsports. “He did nothing for recognition,” she said. “He just loved it. People would always come talk to him. He always made time for people, which put him behind in the shop.“I’m just very proud when he gets recognition. I know there are photos of him and other memorabilia at area restaurants and shops. It always makes me happy when I see his No. 6.“
Patty and husband, Bruce Teeters, bought a replica of Teague’s No. 6 “Fabulous Hudson Hornet,” which is on display in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. “When the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America moves to Daytona Beach (2016), we will put that car on display here,” Patty Teeters said.
“She told me to go, go accept the award for my father,” Teeters said. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”
Marshall as Team Owner for Herb
Thomas with Hudson
Marshall & Herb Thomas (r)
On Daytona Beach after a Win
1952 Victory Lane Daytona Beach
Streamline Hotel, Daytona, during
formation of NASCAR 1948
Marshall Teague 4th from L standing back row
Streamline Hotel, Daytona, during
formation of NASCAR 1948
Marshall Teague standing to R of trophy, hand on hip
Have Car - Will Race. At the Carrera Panamerican
Two attempts at Carrera Panamericana
Outside stock car racing, Teague recorded two participations at famous Carrera Panamericana road race, driving Hudson Hornet on both occasions. In November 1951, he finished in the sixth place in the #44 Hudson. The winners were Piero Taruffi and Luigi Chinetti in a Ferrari 212 Inter, ahead of Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi in a similar car.
A year later, in November 1952, driving the #154 Hudson Hornet, Teague finished 13th at Carrera Panamericana. It was a famous race in which Karl Kling and Hans Klenk took a victory in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL after a bizarre accident with a vulture.
With Hudson's N. K. Vanderzee
Marshall
Teague Autograph (below the green flag)
Marshall
Teague's # 6 '55 Chevy at Milwaukee in 1955
Walt Faulkner (Former Indy pole winner)
Anyone with details of this race??
EMAIL
Front and Back
of Teague Press Photo 1951
Marshall Teague, right, winner of the 200-mile stock
car race over the beach course is congratulated by
second place driver Herb Thomas of Olivia, N.C., in
Daytona Beach, Fla., Feb. 10, 1952.
Both men drove 1952 Hudsons owned by Teague.
At Daytona Beach
Marshall Teague and his wife celebrate a win in a
1952 AAA Stock Car race at The Milwaukee Mile
At Daytona Beach
Marshall and his daughter Patty
Read more about the Hudsons here.
Rare Press Photo
T-Shirt Design
Decals for Models ('56 Chevy)
1/32 Slot Cat Reproduction of Daytona Beach car below
In the
Sumar Special ... his last ride ......
First fatal victim of Daytona International Speedway
Marshall Teague's life came
to a premature end on February 11, 1959, when he was trying to break the
closed course speed record at
Daytona International Speedway. The record of 177 mph was
set by Tony
Bettenhausen in 1957 at Monza.
Driving a reconfigured
open-wheel race car from the USAC Championship, the Sumar Special
streamliner, Teague reached 171.821 mph on February 9.
Two days later, in a new attempt, he crashed on Turn 3 and died
instantly.
He was the first fatal victim of newly-built Daytona
International Speedway, eleven days
before the first official race, NASCAR's Daytona
500.
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