Elias Abraham Bowie Jr. (May 10, 1910 – January 26, 2005) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He is credited as being the first African-American to start a top-level NASCAR race, doing so in 1955 at Bay Meadows Racetrack.
| Elias Bowie | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | May 10, 1910[1] San Antonio, Texas | ||||||
| Died | January 26, 2005 (aged 94) San Francisco, California | ||||||
| Achievements | First African-American to start a top-level NASCAR race | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
| First race | 1955 Race No. 30 (Bay Meadows Racetrack) | ||||||
| |||||||
Racing career
editBowie made his lone NASCAR Grand National Series start on July 31, 1955. Driving a Cadillac at Bay Meadows Racetrack, a mile-long dirt track, Bowie completed 172 of 252 laps and finished 28th of 34 cars.[2] He was noted for having the largest pit crew of all the drivers in the race.[3]
Personal life
editAlthough his date of birth is sometimes noted as 1909 or 1914, Bowie was born in 1910 in San Antonio, Texas, to a laundress and a hotel porter.[1] He was a transportation entrepreneur in the San Francisco Bay, California area.[4]
Motorsports career results
editNASCAR
edit(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Strictly Stock/Grand National Series
edit| NASCAR Grand National Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | NGNC | Pts | Ref |
| 1955 | Elias Bowie | 60 | Cadillac | TCS | PBS | JSP | DAB | OSP | CLB | HBO | NWS | MGY | LAN | CLT | HCY | ASF | TUS | MAR | RCH | NCF | FOR | LIN | MCF | FON | AIR | CLT | PIF | CLB | AWS | MOR | ALS | NYF | SAN 28 |
CLT | FOR | MAS | RSP | DAR | MGY | LAN | RSP | GPS | MAS | CLB | MAR | LVP | NWS | HBO | 223rd | N/A | [5] |
References
edit- ^ a b Barnhill, John Herschel. "Bowie, Elias". Oxford African American Studies Center. Oxford University. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ Pennell, Jay W. (2015). Start Your Engines: Famous Firsts in the History of NASCAR. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-61321-844-0. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ Myrie, Donovan. "Meet the influential African-American drivers in NASCAR's Cup Series". Click Orlando. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ "Elias Bowie". Legends of NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ "Elias Bowie - 1955 NASCAR Grand National Series results". Racing Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
External links
edit- Elias Bowie driver statistics at Racing-Reference