Red Farmer’s Biography
A single of the first famous “Alabama Gang” Charles Lawrence “Crimson” Farmer was born on the 15th October 1932 (his beginning 12 months is unsure) in Nashville, Tennessee, moving to Miami, Florida with his mother in the mid 1940s’ soon after his mothers and fathers divided.
It was not right up until 1958 that Purple moved to Hueytown on a part time foundation with Bobbie and Donnie Allison, racing there during the summer time months and returning in the winter season to his loved ones to do the job as an electrician. During this time development operate was sluggish and generally Purple had to assistance his wife, children and his mom in regulation on unemployment dollars. Finally, in 1962 Pink took his relatives to stay in Hueytown, Alabama and that is in which they have settled, contemplating it their home town.
His first race was in 1948 at Opa-locka Speedway in Florida, driving an old 1934 Ford Coupe for a friend’s father. He gained his initial prize income of close to $300 at the Dixie Speedway at Midfield in a 1936 coup and the subsequent working day gained once again in the function at Montgomery, supplying him close to $600, supplying him a lot more cash than he experienced experienced in a very long time.
Right after relocating to Hueytown Crimson continued to do the job as an electrician right until immediately after a couple of years he gave it up to concentrate on racing comprehensive time and so commenced an amazing journey above the next sixty or so decades. Ray has accrued an extraordinary believed 700 to 900 victories on dust, asphalt and superspeedways, has received the NASCAR Modified championship in 1956, and then claimed 3 Late Product Sportsman (now Busch Collection) titles in 1967-70-71. Four occasions he was voted NASCAR’S Most Common Driver and he is been inducted into the Talladega/Texaco Walk of Fame, the Alabama Sports activities Corridor of Fame, the National Dust Late Model Corridor of Fame and the Intercontinental Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Farmer was the 1999 recipient of the Alabama Governor’s Award, per year given to an person or firm for their contribution to car racing. Maybe the most prestigious award that Farmer has acquired was getting named in 2000 as a single of NASCAR’S 50 Greatest Drivers of all time.
He has been married to spouse, Joan for around 55 yrs and has 3 small children, two daughters, Cindy and Bonnie and just one son, Michael. He also has nine grandchildren and 4 wonderful grandchildren. Pink is still lively as a NASCAR racing driver and routinely races at the Talladega Brief Monitor and also is effective as specialist with ARCA group.
Alabama Gang legend Red Farmer will be honoured at the monitor exactly where he nevertheless races at age 77. It has been declared that Talladega Small Track will host the Purple Farmer Common on the 15th of May perhaps, 2011 at the filth keep track of in Eastaboga across from Talladega Super-speedway. In honour of Red’s variety – 97- the tremendous late model race will be 97 laps and will pay $9,700 to get. Purple replied to this honour by declaring,”Having a race named immediately after him “is very an honour, especially due to the fact they want to do it just about every yr” when asked in the course of an job interview for the Stock Vehicle Magazine. When asked if any track stood out as his favourite Crimson replied
“Any track I win on is my favourite. But I guess Daytona and Talladega were two of my favorite tracks. That is strange for a small keep track of driver. Of study course, I beloved Birmingham and Huntsville and Montgomery, tracks we ran Thursday, Friday and Saturday for 20 a long time. We ran Huntsville on Thursday evening, Birmingham, Friday evening and Montgomery on Saturday night. Then we would go obtain a major race somewhere. In some cases we would go all the way up to Manassas, Virginia, and run on Sunday, or up in Tennessee somewhere. We ran 4 evenings a 7 days a great deal of occasions. Generally, I was constantly a limited observe driver, but I like Daytona and Talladega. I like the super-speedways”.
He was questioned if he favored dirt or asphalt tracks and he replied
“Almost nothing but dust. That is just one factor I really appreciate any more. It can be just a large amount a lot more entertaining. I have bought two filth vehicles, Tremendous Late Design grime cars and trucks, right now. I’ve got a GRT and a C.J. Rayburn chassis. I am building a new engine for up coming year. I’ll be beginning my 58th 12 months in 2006. My grandson has a auto. We are developing him a crate motor course to start running with. I never even care just about anything about small observe asphalt racing any more. To me it is dull in comparison to a very good grime keep track of race. You go see a World of Outlaws Super Late Design race with Scott Bloomquist, Billy Moyer, Rick Eckerd, Darrell Lanigan, and Dale McDowell and individuals fellas run on a half-mile dirt monitor and you will in no way go back and check out yet another asphalt race. You look at these guys set on a demonstrate and that are what I really enjoy it. I just love the grime tracks sideways, broadside, running up the cushion and it truly is a ton a lot more entertaining racing to me than asphalt is. On asphalt you can set up a motor vehicle and go again the upcoming calendar year and by no means have to adjust it. It really is the exact just about every week. But you go to a filth track and you’ve got received to work on it all the time. A person time it is moist, sometime it is dry slick, from time to time it blacks more than, and you have to continually get the job done all night very long to keep up with the track. It really is just a great deal a lot more interesting to me.“
