Banjo Matthews

Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = Banjo Matthews
Birthdate = birth date|1932|2|14|mf=y | Birthplace = Akron, Ohio
Died = death date and age|1996|10|2|1932|2|14|mf=y
Cause of Death = heart and respiratory disease
Awards = Inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1998
Best_Cup_Pos = 10th - 1960 (Grand National)
Cup_Wins = 0
Cup_Top_Tens = 13
Cup_Poles = 3
First_Cup_Race = 1952 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last_Cup_Race = 1963 World 600 (Charlotte)
Total_Cup_Races = 51
Years_In_Cup = 10

Edwin Keith "Banjo" Matthews (February 14, 1932, Akron, Ohio – October 2, 1996, Hendersonville, North Carolina) was a NASCAR driver, car owner and builder.

Driver

He was also a successful Modified driver. He made 51 starts in the NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) Series, with a best finish of second. [http://www.circletrack.com/thehistoryof/1804/ Circle Track magazine] , Retrieved April 1 2007] [ [http://racing-reference.info/driver?id=matthba01 Driver's statistics] at racing-reference.info, Retrieved April 2 2007] He won three poles, one each at the Daytona Beach Road Course, Daytona International Speedway, and Atlanta International Raceway.

Car owner/builder

He served as car owner for several of the biggest names in NASCAR in the 1960s and 70s including Fireball Roberts, A. J. Foyt, Junior Johnson, Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough. [ [http://racing-reference.info/owner?id=matthba01 Owner's statistics at racing-reference.info] , Retrieved April 1 2007] He is best known, however, for having constructed (with the assistance of Holman Moody in his first carbuilding years) many cars in the 1970s and 80s, including 72 percent of the winning cars in the top NASCAR division from 1974 to 1985.

Award

*He was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1998.

References

Persondata
NAME=Matthews, Banjo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Matthews, Edwin Keith (real name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=NASCAR driver and owner
DATE OF BIRTH=February 14, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH=Akron, Ohio
DATE OF DEATH=October 2, 1996
PLACE OF DEATH=Hendersonville, North Carolina