In the rush of the current moment, NASCAR flies through some of the most iconic drivers of its past. One such driver who has largely been forgotten is Nelson Stacy from Orangeburg. Stacy was a World War II veteran who drove a tank under General Patton. It was in 1952 that he got behind the wheel of a race car to keep his blood hot in the aftermath of the war.
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Stacy drove in a sole NASCAR race in 1952 before moving to the ARCA Series. He honed his skills on dirt tracks in Maysville, Cincinnati, and Dayton, all in preparation for the larger stages. He ended up becoming the ARCA Series champion in 1958, 1959, and 1960. This achievement lifted him to NASCAR once again to drive for Holman-Moody Racing.
Nelson Stacy would have been 103 today #RIP
Nelson Stacy was a WWII tank driver for General Patton. He won 3 consecutive MARC (@ARCA_Racing) series championships from 1958 to 1960.
Stacy won the 1961 Southern 500 at Darlington and the 1962 World 600 at Charlotte. pic.twitter.com/3q7eXxtvow
— NASCAR Legends (@LegendsNascar) December 28, 2024
His time on the national stage was modest, with as many as 15 races in each season that he drove between 1952 and 1965. His best years were in 1961 and 1962, during which he tamed Darlington Raceway not once but twice. The first instance was at the 1961 Southern 500 and the second was at the 1962 Rebel 300.
He secured two other victories in his career. The more notable one of them was the 1962 World 600 in Charlotte, in which he was the only driver alongside Joe Weatherly to complete all 400 laps. The other victory lane visit came in Martinsville the same year. His short NASCAR career earned him over $90,000 in winnings.
Stacy’s retirement from motorsports, legacy and death
After battling health problems, Stacy called it quits in 1965. His final race was the Firecracker 500, in which he finished 24th. He went by several nicknames while he a part of the field. Some of them were “Bullfighter” and “Grandpa Stacy.” The latter took hold since he was the only grandfather to race at the time.
Drivers in NASCAR operated on extremely tiny budgets back in those days and still found ways to make things work. Stacy was a pioneer amongst such heroes. He was over 40 years old when he properly started racing in NASCAR. Sadly, he passed away on May 14, 1986. He spent his final days owning a car dealership in Florida.
Taming Darlington Raceway is considered to be an extremely hard task that can be fulfilled only by the best. Stacy’s ability to conquer it twice tells a lot about his caliber behind the wheel. It is only fitting that his name be remembered as the one who once conquered the Lady in Black when the NASCAR field visits her next time.
