Cause of death Heart Ailment Name Shorty Rollins | Died December 28, 1998 | |
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Born April 3, 1929
Granbury, Texas, U.S.A. ( 1929-04-03 ) Awards 1958 NASCAR Rookie of the Year Best finish 4th – 1958 Grand National Series season First race 1958 Champion Speedway Race (Fayetteville) Last race 1960 Southern 500 (Darlington) First win 1958 State Line Speedway Race (Busti) | ||
Lloyd George "Shorty" Rollins (April 3, 1929 – December 28, 1998), nicknamed "Shorty", born in Granbury, Texas was the first official NASCAR Rookie of the Year.
Summary
He began stock car racing in Corpus Christi, Texas. The great success achieved there led him to Fayetteville, North Carolina and to NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup). His rookie year 1958, he had one win at State Line Speedway, 12 top five finishes and 22 top ten finishes in 29 starts with car owner Spook Crawford. He won the first stock car race at the Daytona International Speedway, a 100-lap qualifying race in the NASCAR Convertible Division, which gave him a second place start in the first Daytona 500 in 1959. He made 43 starts in three professional seasons and earned $17,018.
He left racing in 1960 with just 43 starts and settled in Pensacola, Florida with his wife Mozelle, where he established Hurricane Fence Industries. He was a resident of Pensacola until his death at the age of 69.