Decades of Racing

  Birth date:  June 12, 1916
 Birth place:  Carroll County, Virginia
 First  race:  Draper, NC 1949
 Race record:  40 wins from 1949-1956
 Wife:  Tiny Jackson Weddle
 Children:  3 sons; Ewell Hasten, Jr.,  Michael, and Terry
                                1 daughter, Delaine Weddle

    E.H. (Pap) Weddle, one of the true legends of racing, has recreated from parts all
over the United States a museum quality replica of the 1939 Ford Coupe Modified race
car he drove to victories in over 40 races from 1949 to 1956.  His racing career began in
October of 1949, when he towed his race car to the old Draper, NC Speedway in hopes
of finding a driver for the day.  Finding no experienced driver available, he decided to
try driving himself.  He won the first heat race and the feature in his first try as a driver.
From then on he was hooked on driving.
    In 1950 - 1954, he owned race cars driven by the late Billy and Bobby Myers, L.J.
Dowell, Bob Lancaster, and Clifford Shockley.  In a Bowman Gray Stadium (in
Winston-Salem, NC) Program dated 1952, four cars owned by E.H. were entered.  One
was driven by Billy Myers, one by Bobby Myers, one by L. J. Dowell and one by himself.
In fact, E.H. drove in the first NASCAR race run at Bowman Gray Stadium.  His garage,
Modern Auto Parts, was the NASCAR headquarters in North Carolina from 1949 to
1952.
    In addition to his successes as a driver, E.H. was also a master engine builder and
race car preparation mechanic.  In the late 1940's and 1950's , Joe Wolf, from
Pennsylvania, was known as the man who built the winning Ford "flathead" engines.
E.H. 's engines began out-running the Wolf engines.  In an ad that appeared in several
race programs (copy attached),  E.H advertised, "We Know What Wolf Knows"
    E.H. was also one of the pioneers in the NASCAR "Strictly Stock" series which became
the Winston Cup Series.  He drove in races on all of the old dirt tracks in North Carolina,
South Carolina and Virginia, and drove many of the legendary tracks at Langhorn, PA,
Darlington, SC, the beach/road course at Daytona Beach, FL and Detroit, MI.  E.H.'s
engines, cars and driving expertise were the class of the field wherever he ran.

More information and pictures on the way.

A special thanks to Delaine Weddle for furnishing this information.

Home