Growing up, racing was a constant in my family. My grandparents Roby and Irma Combs started working for NASCAR in the early 50′s. Until moving back to my hometown of Shelby N.C. in 2008, I never realized their contributions to the sport. My grandmother collected memorabilia through the years, and one of her favorite pastimes was organizing the relics she had collected. What an amazing story. My grandmother had passed away in July of 2008. Picking up where she left off helped me get through the Summer she died. I hope to give everyone a different view of NASCAR history as seen through their eyes and mine.

Pictured: Yours truly, age 4, on “The National 500″ car my Grandmother drove while selling tickets.

To start, the following are excerpts from the chapter on my Granddaddy, Roby Combs from the book All Around the Track, from authors Anne Jones and former NASCAR champion Rex White.

Roby Combs began his involvement in auto racing in 1950 when he, Ike Kiser, and two-time National Champion Buck Baker began promoting races at the Charlotte Fairgrounds Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. This lasted only a year before they sold their lease to Charlotte Motor speedway president Bruton Smith. Combs then went to work for NASCAR where he became a chief steward.

Combs was one of NASCAR’s first flagman and his job took him all over the United States. Beginning in 1952 and working into 1972, he was dedicated to his job and the sport and was well known to all its participants. A popular track personality, he was selected to explain the NASCAR flagging system on the 1968 album Gentlemen Start Your Engines.

The following is based on a recent interview with his son, Phil Combs.Roby Combs literally lived a Mayberry life. He was born and raised in Mt. Airy, the town on which the Andy Griffith television series was based.

“My Dad and Andy Griffith were close in age,” says his son, Phil. “His sister was in Andy’s class and they became close friends. When Andy made it big time and moved his parents to California, they basically gave away everything in their house. I have their old milk pitcher which I got from my aunt and still treasure.

“The first auto race my father and mother attended was in North Wilkesboro in 1949. Later, my Dad became best friends with Enoch Stanley, who was the track’s manager and one of its owners. Dad had a sign shop and he eventually decided to expand into the racing business. He partnered with a fellow name Ike Kiser from Charlotte. Ike owned a garage and wrecker service and they fixed up a race car Buck Baker drove. Since my father held partial ownership of the car, he worked on it and did all of the lettering. Baker ran the car in 1951 and had much success; it became one of his favorites. He used to tell stories about how hard it was to outrun him when he was in that car and he won an unbelievable number of consecutive races at the old Charlotte Fairgrounds Speedway.

Back then drivers didn’t have trailers. They towed the race car all over the country, traveling up and down one-lane roads, using a tow bar attached to Dad’s   signtruck. When the car was wrecked, they had to fix it before they could tow it home. “In 1952, Dad was given the opportunity to work as flagman for NASCAR. He worked at his sign business during the week and then on Thursdays he’d go to Columbia, South Carolina. On Fridays, he’d go to Asheville’s McCormick Field. It was one of the most historic and unusual racetracks in the country, because it encircled an old baseball field.

“My Dad was a starter but his official title was chief steward and he was more or less an overseer of the race. He made sure  inspection rules were followed and the race was run under NASCAR’s format.“My mother Irma worked as a track steward. She sold membership forms to all of the drivers and made sure they had insurance by selling them pit passes. Since there were no computers or fax machines, everything was done through the postal service. The race reports were prepared on Sundays to make sure they got in the morning’s mail for Daytona. As a kid, I thought my parents’ involvement in racing was neat. My dad dealt with drivers such as the Petty’s and the Bakers, Jack Smith, and Rex White. They came to our house on a regular basis.

My brother sold National Speed Sport News and as he got older, I picked up where he left off. When I was six, my Dad put me in business for myself, selling Southern Motor Racing, Southern Motor journals, and Racing Pictorial magazines. I paid six other kids to work for me, giving the five cents a copy to sell them and keeping two cents each for myself.

In 1959, Bruton Smith and Curtis Turner formed a partnership to build a track. Its first race was on June 19, 1960…to be continued….

There is more to this chapter, but it would not be fair to not mention Enoch Stanley, and not mention North Wilkesboro Speedway. Though I only know through pictures, it is clear that they were great friends. As mentioned and pictured North Wilkesboro Speedway was the first race that my grandparents went to, and the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. It is unfortunate that on September 29, 1996, North Wilkesboro Speedway ran its last race.

Until  next  time!