| Chautauqua County, New York |
| Chautauqua County, New York |
Lloyd Moore
Lloyd Moore was the third auto racer inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame. Born on January 6, 1912 in Frewsburg he lived nearly all his life in Chautauqua County.
Moore was a major factor in the start of auto racing in this area. After tearing up several grass fields around Frewsburg, Moore decided to approach Findley Lake car owner Julian Buesink about becoming a driver and that was the start of his stock car driving career
Moore first started racing jalopies and in the late 1940’s at the Penny Royal Track in Leon he established a track record with a 27.1 for the five-eighths mile overall with a water injection vehicle.
The head of the third turn at the Penny Royal was interesting because in it stood a large maple tree. If a driver wasn’t leading the race, he would watch for the top of the tree to loom up above the cloud of dust and then start his left turn.
The rest of the time at that track everyone was attempting to outdo each other with their cars and large motors. Eventually, the track wasn’t able to keep up with itself and shut down.
Moore and teammate (and 1997 CSHoF inductee) Bill Rexford moved from the Penny Royal to the NASCAR Grand National (later called the Winston Cup).
”It was a good experience, sometimes good sometimes bad but I loved everyminute of it,” said Moore. “There were lots of tough guys on the circuit them, pioneers of sorts. Most were short on money and equipment, but tough as all get out when they got behind the wheel of a car.”
Among the toughest races for Moore was against Rexford at Brainbridge, Ohio. Both drivers were placed in the back of the pack to start because they had the best qualifying times. They worked their way to the front and pulled away from the rest of the drivers to make it a two-person race that was won by Rexford.
Moore, who raced every type of vehicle in that era except Indy cars and midgets, escaped serious injury at Hillsboro, North Carolina and the old Daytona Beech course.
Another time in a 150-mile race at Dayton, Moore was driving one of Buesink’s Fords in a 300-lapper. He managed to win despite local drivers doubling up on him trying to run him into the ground.
Moore has many accomplishments with one being selected as the only “Yankee” to make the NASCAR Top 20 in 1951. The year before he was fourth nationally and won a race at Winchester. In 1951, Moore was the top Northern point finisher, placed fifth in the Dayton Grand Nationals and was second and third in two races at the Vernon Fairgrounds. He was driving a 1951 Ford at Dayton and a 1950 Ford at Vernon.
Moore was second a the Dayton Grand National, fourth at the Hamburg Fairgrounds, seventh at Rochester, and tenth at the Daytona Beach Grand National Circuit race.
It was in the Daytona Qualifier that Moore recorded the fastest time, but he points out that doesn’t have anything to do with where you finish in the actual race.
Moore also had wins at the Detroit Speedway, Kokomo, Indiana, most of the New England states, Portville, Erie, Butler and Clearfield. Also, Mike’s Place and the Satan’s Bowl of Death in addition to Leon Speedway were sites that produced wins for Moore.
A mechanic by trade, Moore was employed for 19 years by Leonard Rhodes, who operated the Studebaker Garage on Washington Street in Jamestown. That was followed by working for Buesink’s Ford Garage in Corry, Pennsylvania.
He retired from racing in 1955 and later accepted a job at Frewsburg Central School as a bus driver. Additionally, he was in charge of the bus garage.
Moore was a soft-spoken guy off the track, which when he start were dirt surfaces. But when he was on it he was strictly business with a very competitive attitude.
Lloyd Moore was inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. He died in May, 2008.
Links
Lloyd Moore, The Oldest Living NASCAR Driver