Birthplace of Curtis Morton Turner (1924-1970)

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Curtis Turner, stock car racer, was born here and honed his driving skills hauling moonshine in these mountains. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he became a pioneering NASCAR driver. He is credited with 360 career wins both in and out of NASCAR, including 38 of 79 starts in the NASCAR Convertible Division and 17 in NASCAR's premier series. Turner co-founded Charlotte Motor Speedway, was the first driver featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, operated a successful timber business, and piloted his own aircraft. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992 and the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016.

Department of Historic Resources, 2017

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Robert Edelstein, Full Throttle: The Life and Fast Times of NASCAR Legend Curtis Turner (Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 2005). Kim Chapin, “King of the Wild Road: Curtis Turner,” Sports Illustrated, 26 Feb. 1968. “Class of 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame” (program), 2016. D. L. Morris, Timber on the Moon: The Curtis Turner Story (Charlotte: Colonial Press, 1966). Margaret Sue Turner Wright, Curtis Turner Racing Stats: His Stock Car Racing Career, 1946-1968 (2011). Daniel S. Pierce, Real NASCAR: White Lightning, Red Clay, and Big Bill France (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010.) Tom Jensen, “Eight Amazing Facts about Hall of Fame Inductee Curtis Turner,” www.foxsports.com, 25 Jan. 2016. Randy King, “Curtis Turner Lived at Full Throttle,” www.roanoke.com, 21 Jan. 2016. Bill Kiser, “NASCAR HOF Inductee Curtis Turner: NASCAR’s Original Rock Star,” www.charlotteobserver.com, 17 Jan. 2016. Curtis Turner biography, International Motor Sports Hall of Fame (1992). Washington Post, 2 Aug. 1965.