'50s racer Frank Mundy dies at 91
Friday, May. 15, 2009
Frank Mundy, a former NASCAR and AAA competitor in the late 1940 and early '50s, has died in Atlanta.
Mundy, born Francisco Eduardo Menendez, was 91 and is survived by his wife, Mae.
Also known by the nickname "Rebel", which he sometimes signed as a middle name, Mundy competed in more than 50 NASCAR events from 1949 to 1956, earning three wins - at Columbia, S.C., Martinsville, Va., and Mobile, Ala. He also won four poles and recorded 24 top-10 finishes. He was the 1955 champion in the American Automobile Association.
Mundy is often remembered for driving a Studebaker, but the Georgia driver was also associated with the powerful Chryslers organization of Mercury Marine owner Carl Kiekhaefer, widely regarded as NASCAR's first big-spending, mega-team owner.
Mundy and Indianapolis 500 figure Tony Bettenhausen drove Keikhaefer's cars in American Automobile Association races before the multimillionaire turned his attention to NASCAR in the mid-1950s. Mundy, Tim Flock, and Buck Baker were among his drivers in the growing stock car racing series.
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