This Week in Racing History: Remembering the ‘Godfather’ of Southern Auto Racing, Raymond Parks - Dawson County News

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This Week in Racing History: Remembering the ‘Godfather’ of Southern Auto Racing, Raymond Parks

Raymond Parks with a replica of his car that won the first-ever NASCAR race and Championship in 1948. Photo from 1998 on Daytona Beach for NASCAR's 50th Anniversary. Photo submitted.

W-RACING HISTORY 4.jpg — Raymond Parks with a replica of his car that won the first-ever NASCAR race and Championship in 1948. Photo from 1998 on Daytona Beach for NASCAR's 50th Anniversary. Photo submitted.

Raymond Dawson Parks - not a name everyone knows, but one every racing fan should. Raymond's story was something of a screenplay. He was a self-made millionaire during the Great Depression.