Frank "Rebel" Mundy
(Born as Francisco Eduardo Menendez)
Born: June 18, 1918   Died: May 15, 2009 Home : Atlanta, Ga.

Frank Mundy, early NASCAR racer, dies at 91

Friday, May. 15, 2009

Frank Mundy, a former NASCAR and AAA competitor in the late 1940 and early '50s, has died in Atlanta. Mundy, born Francisco Eduardo Menendez, was 91 and is survived by his wife, Mae.

Also known by the nickname "Rebel", which he sometimes signed as a middle name, Mundy competed in more than 50 NASCAR events from 1949 to 1956, earning three wins - at Columbia, S.C., Martinsville, Va., and Mobile, Ala. He also won four poles and recorded 24 top-10 finishes. He was the 1955 champion in the American Automobile Association.

Mundy is often remembered for driving a Studebaker, but the Georgia driver was also associated with the powerful Chryslers organization of Mercury Marine owner Carl Kiekhaefer, widely regarded as NASCAR's first big-spending, mega-team owner.

Mundy and Indianapolis 500 figure Tony Bettenhausen drove Keikhaefer's cars in American Automobile Association races before the multimillionaire turned his attention to NASCAR in the mid-1950s. Mundy, Tim Flock, and Buck Baker were among his drivers in the growing stock car racing series.

Frank Mundy is a former NASCAR driver from Atlanta, GA. He competed in fifty-two NASCAR Series events in his career, spanning from 1949 to 1956. He had a remarkable career, earning three victories, twenty-four top-tens and four poles. He finished 5th in 1951 points, the same year he recorded all four poles and victories at Columbia, Martinsville and Mobile. He also finished 10th in 1949 points and recorded at least two top-ten finishes in every year that he raced.

Bill Rankin Print. Email to purchase one
 

Name the only driver to win a race in the No. 23. If you said "Frank Mundy in a Studebaker," you either are a relative, a bookworm or watched NASCAR before the cars had tailfins. Mundy finished fifth in the points in 1951, thanks to victories at Columbia and Mobile in 25 starts. Since then, 49 different drivers have tried but failed to match Mundy's feat. Erwin Blatt, Skip Lewis and Ken Marriott all drove the No. 23 in the two years before Mundy, with Lewis finishing eighth at Pittsburgh in 1949. In addition, driver Frank Mundy proved that the Studebaker could get it done, driving the bullet-nosed model to two of its four NASCAR wins. Mundy also took poles in four of the five times a Studebaker earned the accomplishment.

Fonty Flock, Tim Flock, Rebel Frank Mundy

Mundy Facts: 52 races 3 wins (9 podiums) 4 pole positions Wins 5.77% of participated races. Former NASCAR driver Frank Mundy served as a personal driver for General Patton during World War II. 1955 Frank Mundy wins AAA Championship in Kiekhaefer-prepared Chrysler 300. His real name is Francisco Eduardo Menendez. (Frank “Rebel” Mundy

Herb Thomas, Frank Mundy, Tim Flock
Special Thanks To Dale Duncan

Check out this book with the HELL DRIVERS chapter with pages on Frank 'Rebel' Mundy by Anne Jones

Mundy #7 racing

Jim Rathmann at Langhorne

 

 

 

Marshall Teague #6 and Herb Thomas #92 on Daytona Beach

April 8,1951 a 200 lap race was held at Carrell Speedway before 9,000 fans... Marshall Teague in a Hudson won the race over Johnny Mantz in a Nash Ambassador... Slick Smith was actually driving the Nash at the finish in relief for Mantz. The biggest news of the race as far as I am concerned was the Frank Mundy story... Mundy went to Gardena without a ride and when no California car became available he took matters into his own hands... He rented a 1950 Chevrolet at a rental agency downtown and qualified 17th... He finished the race 11th and waited till dark to return the car so the employees would not notice the bald tires on the car after racing.... I wonder if rental cars always matched the templates... Oh you mean no templates back then , huh... Marshall Teague leads Frank 'Rebel' Mundy #7 Hudson at Carrell Speedway

Frank Mundy Strictly Stock & Grand National DRIVER Statistics

Frank Mundy 1951 Wins

Nascar Nextel Cup Series Tickets

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