In 1956 Russ qualified fifth at Daytona (128.205 mph) and
made a bit of history. While down shifting down from 130 mph
for the North Turn, the right tire dug in, and the car
flipped six times. Photos of the crash made the March 19th
issue of Life magazine.
"I walked away, but spent the night in the hospital. My bell
was pretty well rung," says Russ. "I consider myself very
lucky to have survived. You don't think about a whole lot
but hanging on. You see sand and sky. It all happens so
fast," Russ
explains. But, he still wonders how Ralph Moody managed to
duplicate his gymnastics and still finish
the
race.
After the race, Russ got a new car body from the factory,
but when he blew an engine in 1957, he quit racing. "It was
just too expensive for independent drivers," he explains.
Russ had two top ten finishes during his Grand National
career.
Russ' racing career was revived in 1989 when his wife
presented him with a four-cylinder Spec Racer kit car for
Christmas, and he was off and running with the Sports Car
Club of America. He finally stopped racing when he was hit
from
behind and knocked into a wall. "The medical
people
told me to keep out of racing, and I decided to listen to
them," he said.
Russ still lives in Waterbury and has served as a director
of
The Living Legends of Auto Racing, Inc. These days he
spends a large part of his time scheduling public
appearances for our members. Russ can usually be found
posing for photographs with his restored 1956 Mercury and
signing autographs for old and new fans at Living Legends
events.
Russ still lives in Waterbury and has served as a
director
of The Living Legends of Auto Racing, Inc. These days he
spends a large part of his time scheduling public
appearances for our members. Russ can usually be found
posing for photographs with his restored 1956 Mercury and
signing autographs for old and new fans at Living Legends
events.
Excerpts from
Living Legends of Auto Racing Site.
Takin’
the “226” to the Beach
After being nearly demolished at Daytona’s beach/road
course, Russ Truelove’s restored 1956 Mercury proves
they
don’t build ‘em like they used to.
By Meghan Frazier Photography: Jeff Huneycutt
Did you ever spend Spring Break in Daytona Beach? Well, if
you did, just imagine those flat stretches of sandy beach
being as crowded as they are today—not with rowdy college
kids, but race cars and spectators. Today, when we think of
a racetrack in Daytona Beach, we think of Daytona
International Speedway—the granddaddy of all race tracks.
Well, scratch that out of your mind. In the early days, the
track at Daytona was made up of a long stretch of
sandy beach and an equally long stretch of Highway A1A.
In
February of 1956, Russ Truelove took his Mercury of the same
year to the sands of Daytona Beach to race around with his
friends for an early Spring Break and the 1956 NASCAR Grand
National for stock cars on the four-mile beach course.
Racers, like Truelove, Tim Flock, Fireball Roberts, and Lee
Petty raced around in Big Three production cars with the
only NASCAR safety requirement being a roll over bar. Other
than fixing the doors so they would not fly open during the
race, which was done with two I-bolts and a chain strung
between the doors, Truelove raced this red rocket with
everything intact from the factory—including turn signals.
Truelove actually raced on the beach the year before.
Excerpt from
http://stockcarracing.com/featuredvehicles/43258/
Russ Truelove "getting ready" for the
beach race in 1956. In the background is John Holman, of
Holman and Moody Ford fame.
Below,
Russ joined by
author Greg Fielden and The Speed Zone webmistress Andre'
Morrison with the #226 Mercury in the background during
Speedweeks 2000. Truelove qualified 5th fastest in the
76-car field for the 1956 Grand National event, but a crash
ended his bid for victory. Check out Greg's site:
http://members.tripod.com/~SpeedZone70/index.html
Long time cheif NASCAR scorer Joe Epton, Russ Truelove,
legendary car builder Ray Fox and Don Ruhff with $5000
Living Legends of Auto Racing Club check for charity.
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