Fireball Roberts, known as NASCAR’s first superstar, had a successful stint in 15 years. He was the most popular NASCAR driver in 1957. Roberts won four Daytona 500 events and two Southern 500 events. He came closer to winning the NASCAR Cup Series in his very first season in 1950 before losing the race against Bill Rexford. Fireball Roberts drove many cars in NASCAR including the Pontiac, Ford, Chevrolet, and Buick. Let us see about the car collections and car numbers of Fireball Roberts.
Fireball Roberts Car Collections
In the 15 year NASCAR Cup series, Roberts competed in 207 races and won 33. Fireball Roberts completed 36 poles in the cup series. He made his debut in the 1950 Cup Series in Hudson. Roberts drove Ford Galaxie and Oldsmobile in the following seasons. Fireball Roberts’ 1957 Ford model was put for sale at auction. He won the 1962 Daytona 500 in #22 Pontiac Catalina built by Smokey Yunick.
Fireball Roberts participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1962 and won the race in the Ferrari 250 GTO. In his final seasons of the NASCAR Cup Series, Roberts drove Pontiac vehicles. Fireball Roberts’ last vehicle in the cup series was Ford Galaxie. He finished 27th in the event.
Fireball Roberts Car Accidents
Most of the NASCAR drivers experienced accidents during their career. In Fireball Roberts’ case, it was different as he lost his life in the 1964 World 600 event. The race took place in Charlotte and Roberts was driving at 150 MPH. On lap 7, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson made contact and hit the wall. Fireball Roberts’ Ford Galaxie spun and hit the wall and flipped after trying to escape the crash. After a few seconds, Roberts’ Ford caught fire after the fuel tank was damaged.
Fireball Roberts started shouting and asked Ned Jarrett to save him. The track workers came to rescue Roberts, but he suffered second- and third-degree burns above 80% of his body. His lungs were damaged after inhaling flames. Roberts stayed at the hospital for 39 days, but he lost the battle to Pneumonia and Sepsis. Fireball Roberts died 39 days after the crash and NASCAR increased their research on fire-retardant uniforms.
Fireball Roberts Car Numbers
Roberts’ lucky vehicle was #22 Pontiac. He won the 1962 Daytona in Pontiac Catalina which had Black and Gold colors. Roberts also secured more than 30 wins in his #22 cars. He also drove #3 Ford and Chevrolet cars. In 1950, Roberts drove #71, #11, and #82 Oldsmobile cars. His Chevrolet numbers were #22, #48, and #88. Roberts could not win any major title with his Chevrolet vehicles.