December 27, 2007
By Allen Madding

Allen Madding

Born Feb 28, 1930, Houston, Texas native Billy Wade began competing on the Texas short tracks. Ten years of competition netted him three Texas Modified Championships driving his No. 53 open wheel modified. He stepped up to compete in the late model division and won two late model championships. With his success on the local short tracks it was just a matter of time before Billy Wade would move to NASCAR competition.

Wade’s first NASCAR Grand National Division event came in the 1962 Daytona 500 driving Luther Costales’ No. 01 Ford starting 45th and finishing 18th. He returned to the series at North Wilkesboro driving James Turner’s No. 24 Pontiac finishing tenth. An eighth place finish followed at Martinsville and a 19th place finish at Winston-Salem.

Car owner Cotton Owens signed Wade to drive his No. 5 Dodge for 1963 as a teammate to David Pearson. Wade quickly began to showcase his driving talent accumulating top-ten finishes. In the Atlanta 500, he started 40th and drove his way to a 13th place finish. Wade scored his first top-five finish in NASCAR when he finished fourth in the Richmond 250.

When the series returned to Atlanta for the Dixie 400, Wade started 18th, charged to the front and waged war with Junior Johnson, leading 17 laps before worn tired dropped him back into the pack to eventually finish eighth. A second place finish came in the Nashville 400. All told, Wade recorded four top-fives and 14 top-tens and garnered the coveted 1963 NASCAR Rookie of the Year title.

Wade picked up where he left off when the 1964 season began.

He recorded a third place finish at the Augusta International Raceway. But after a tenth place finish at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida, Wade and Owens parted company. Bud Moore picked up the hot shoe and put him behind the wheel of his No. 1 Mercury. The combination seemed to click right off. Wade recorded third place finishes at Richmond, Weaverville, and Birmingham.

Then Wade struck pay dirt in the Fireball Roberts 200 at Old Bridge Stadium, Old Bridge, New Jersey qualifying on the pole and winning the race. In the following event at Bridgehampton, New York, Wade qualified third and won again. The series then went to Islip, New York and again Wade qualified on the pole and won.

Wade made it four wins in a row at Watkins Glen, New York by setting on the pole and charging to the win.

He captured his fifth pole of the season at Harris Speedway in North Carolina. Competing in only 36 of the years 62 events, Wade had recorded four wins, five poles, 12 top-fives, and 25 top-tens finishing fourth in the championship points.

Wade’s NASCAR racing career seemed to be blossoming when he was tragically killed during a tire test at Daytona International Speedway on January 5, 1965. He was 34 years old.

Career Acomplishments:

1963 NASCAR Grand National Division Rookie of the Year

Discuss this and other racing matters in the Prodigys@Speed Forum

You can contact Allen Madding at .. Insider Racing News

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.

   More Articles By Allen Madding

---

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Finding cures for children with catastrophic
illnesses through research and treatment

return to top

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web Insiderracingnews.com

---

---

---

---