racecar at the
Daytona Beach Road Course in 1952, courtesy Florida Photographic Collection]]
(
February 17 ,
1922 -
February 11 ,
1959 ) was an
American Race Car Driver . He raced first in the early days of
NASCAR and then later competed as a
Formula One driver (
Indy 500 only).
Teague competed in 23 NASCAR Grand National (now
Nextel Cup ) races from
1949 to
1952 , winning seven of them. However, he left the series in
1953 following a dispute with NASCAR founder
William France Sr. During the 1951 and 1952 seasons Teague was a member of the
Hudson Motors team and driving the company's "Fabulous
Hudson Hornet " model. Teague appraoched Hudson by traveling to Michigan and visiting the plant without an appointment; by the end of the visit Hudson virtually assurred Teague of corporate support and cars; the relationship was formalized shortly after the visit. Teague was also instrumental in helping Hudson tune the I6 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 power by larger, more modern engines.
He participated in 2 grands prix, debuting on
May 30 ,
1953 . He scored 0 championship points.
He died testing an Indy car at
Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 1959.
with his son at the
Daytona Beach Road Course in 1952, courtesy Florida Photographic Collection]]
