May 23, 2008
By Rebecca Gladden
Last fall, I had the distinct honor of interviewing NASCAR pioneer Lloyd Moore, who in recent years had come to be recognized as the oldest living former NASCAR driver.
I had spoken to Lloyd last September by phone from his family home in Frewsburg, New York, where he'd resided his entire life. The house was built in the late 1800's by his father and granddad. Lloyd was born and raised there and, in turn, he and Virginia, his wife of 61 years, raised six daughters there.
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Lloyd Moore * Photo Courtesy Reggie Houghwot
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Even at age 95, Lloyd was mentally sharp, his memory and wit remarkably intact. Though I was tempted to talk with him for hours, I tried to keep the interview length reasonable, focusing primarily on his racing career and his opinions of the current state of NASCAR.
Since that initial conversation, I've stayed in regular contact with Lloyd's close friend and neighbor Reggie Houghwot, who helped bring Lloyd to the attention of NASCAR officials a few years ago when another fellow was being mentioned as the oldest living former driver. Reggie knew about Lloyd's racing career, but at the time, very few others did.
Lloyd was never one to seek the limelight himself, but Houghwot believed he deserved some recognition for his accomplishments in the earliest years of the sport. After all, NASCAR was formed in 1949 and Moore competed that same year, in the seventh race ever held under the NASCAR banner.
In all, Moore ran 49 NASCAR races, accumulating 13 top 5s, 23 top 10s, and a win at Funk's Speedway in Winchester, Indiana, on October 15, 1950. He finished the 1950 season ranked fourth in points behind some pretty recognizable names: Bill Rexford, Fireball Roberts, and Lee Petty.
Despite his success as a driver, Lloyd chose to leave racing in the mid-1950s to devote his time and energy to Virginia and the children, running the farm and taking a job as a school bus driver and mechanic.
Over the last several months, I've learned a lot more about this hardworking, salt-of-the-earth man who, it seemed, could never quite understand what he'd done to deserve all the attention being directed his way.
Looking back now, I realize it was within the first few minutes of that first interview that I felt an immediate closeness with Lloyd - not as a writer, but as an admirer and even a sort of extended family member. This was completely Lloyd's doing, however. His unpretentious nature and easy sense of humor made everyone who met him feel like they'd known him for years.
At the end of that brief interview, Lloyd gave me his address and asked me to write to him and let him know how I was doing. This from a man who had 46 grandchildren and great-grandchildren of his own to try and keep in touch with.
Despite the adventure and enjoyment that racing delivered during those early years of NASCAR, Lloyd decided that, for him, life had a greater calling - to be the best husband, father, and provider he could be. He left motorsports behind, returned to the farm, and never looked back - though he always displayed his winning trophy from 1950 as a solitary relic of racing glory gone by.
Lloyd passed away with quiet dignity Sunday at home in Frewsburg, surrounded by his family, just as it should have been.
With the Coca-Cola 600 approaching this weekend, I can't help but smile when I remember my favorite quote from my first interview with Lloyd, who didn't much care for the long 500- and 600-mile events NASCAR runs these days. "I don't like the long races," he said with typical humor. "You can go take a shower and wash your feet and come back and it's still the same thing."
You know what, Lloyd? I think I might just try that this Sunday.
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