American Auto Racing Driver. Born seventh out of twelve children, his legendary high-speed origins began as a teenager when he would make frequent drives for his bootlegging father, delivering then-illegal moonshine to customers within the Appalachian mountains. Although he was never caught speeding or transporting illegal products, he was arrested & sentenced to a year in prison for having an illegal still. In 1953, he made his NASCAR debut in that year's Southern 500 at South Carolina's Darlington Raceway, finishing 38th out of the 59 cars that entered. He wouldn't make his first NASCAR career win until two years later when he won a race at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina. His greatest win would come along in 1960 when he won the Second Annual Daytona 500 at Florida's Daytona International Speedway. Three years later, he made an attempt to qualify for the 47th Annual Indianapolis 500 at Indiana's Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but failed. In 1966, he made his final NASCAR driver appearance in the 1966 American 500 at the North Carolina Motor Speedway (modern-day Rockingham Speedway). In his 14-year NASCAR driving career, he made 313 starts, 50 wins, 121 top fives, 148 top tens, and 46 poles & earned a total of $301,866 (approximately $2,873,475.50 in 2024) in prize money. He returned to NASCAR in 1972, but this time as a team owner. The following year, a sports documentary film based on his life, The Last American Hero, was released in theatres with Jeff Bridges as his actor. Despite retiring from the position a decade later, his team won a combined 132 wins (six of which were championships) upon its disestablishment in 1995. In 1986, he was pardoned by then-US President Ronald Reagan for his 1956 imprisonment. In 1991, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Seven years later, he was named on NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers list during the observance of NASCAR's golden anniversary. In 2007, he collaborated with Piedmont Distillers to introduce their second line of moonshine products: Midnight Moon. In 2010, he was inducted as one of the five inaugural members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina. He would make his final film appearance in the 2017 Disney-Pixar film Cars 3, in which he played the voice of Junior "Midnight" Moon. He passed away two years later after losing his battle with Alzheimer's disease. In 2023, he was posthumously honored on NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers list during the observance of NASCAR's diamond anniversary.