Racer Profile: Neil Cole

April 29, 2008

By Allen Madding

Allen Madding

Neil Cole of Oakland, New Jersey was born on May 27, 1926.

At a time when stock car drivers were primarily from the south, Cole took an interest and began visiting the local track in New York State.

Cole entered his first season in NASCAR Grand National Division competition in 1950 at the age of 24 in the 200-lap event on the 1/2-mile dirt track at Vernon Fairgrounds in Vernon, New York and finished 18th in his first outing driving the No. 89 Ford. Cole competed again with NASCAR’s top division at the 1-mile perfect circle dirt Langhorne Speedway in Langhorne, Pennsylvania -- where he finished fifth.

Cole competed in five Grand National Division events in 1951 driving John Golabek’s No. 52 Oldsmobile. He finished fifth in the rained shortened event at Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsboro, North Carolina. The event had been scheduled for 150 laps but was shortened to 95 laps due to a downpour.

At the ½-mile asphalt Dayton Speedway in Ohio, Cole qualified 9th and finished 2nd to Fonty Flock while holding off Lloyd Moore who finished third. Cole was one of 38 drivers to compete in the 200-lap Grand National event at Thompson Speedway in Thompson, Connecticut on October 12, 1951 – the series’ first visit to the half-mile asphalt track. Cole qualified on the pole for the event setting a lap at 59.269 mph. When the race began, Cole engaged in a battle with Jim Reed. Reed and Cole swapped the lead back and forth several times during the event with Reed leading 58 laps. In the end, Cole came across with the win after leading 45 laps in the event to collect $1,000 prize money after lapping Reed who finished second.

For the year, Cole had recorded 11 starts in the NASCAR Grand National Division, one top-five finish and seven top-tens but failed to lead a single lap in a single event.

In 1952, Cole drove John Golabek’s Plymouth in three NASCAR Grand National Division events, Golabek’s Hudson in three events, and his own Plymouth in five events. The Hudson was plagued with mechanical failures dropping Cole out of all three events. Cole recorded a third place finish at Morristown Speedway in Morristown, New Jersey driving John Golabek’s Plymouth.

He recorded a sixth place finish in the Wilkes County 200 at the .625-mile dirt North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina, and in the April 200-lap event on the ½-mile dirt Martinsville Speedway driving his own Plymouth. He recorded a sixth place finish at Stamford Park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada despite an engine failure that dropped him from the event with 32 laps remaining.

1953 was the last year to see Neil Cole compete in the NASCAR Grand National Division. He drove John Golabek’s Plymouth in the 150-lap event in May at Langhorne Speedway finishing 24th and collecting $25.

In a career that consisted of 19 NASCAR Grand National Division starts spanning three years, Neil Cole recorded one pole, one win, five top-fives, and 11 top-tens.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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