New Cup team UPDATE a little history: Eric Smith, of Akron, New York, will again become the First and only Native American in the NASCAR Winston Cup during the modern era(1972-present) and the Arca RE/MAX series this year. Smith plans to compete in an extensive schedule with #92 entry in the Arca RE/MAX with a limited schedule in the #49 entry in the NASCAR Winston Cup series in 2001. Smith is a Native of the Iroquois Indian Nation and the Tonawanda Band of Senecas located in upstate New York. He is currently the only Native American competing in NASCAR Winston Cup and ARCA RE/MAX. With his appearances in the NASCAR Winston Open at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1995 and 1996, Smith became the only Native American Indian ever to compete in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the modern era. With a broad background in electrical engineering technology, Eric is also a professional fixed wing and helicopter pilot. After serving in the US Marine Corps for a 1 1/2 year tour in Vietnam, Eric began his life long career in stock car racing. Jim Michael, a native of Binghamton, NY, will again serve as crew chief for the NWC#49 and Arca RE/MAX#92 entries if he is free from his current situation(E & E Motorsports PR)(3-22-2001) UPDATE – history: after I posted the above, I got a few inquiries about the statement (before it was corrected) that Eric Smith was the first ever Native American driver in NASCAR Winston Cup. Been told that a driver from 1957 thru 1970 Roy Tyler was the first (or one of the first) Natice American drivers in the Cup (then Grand National series). A reader sent me some info from an old copy (1969) of the SCR Magazine: Roy Tyner was born in Lumberton, N.C. “…with half the blood that pulsed through him carrying the heritage of the Lumbee Indians. One suspects that the other half might be found to consist of gasoline, grease, and a trace of Wynn’s Friction Proofing. Roy is proud of his Indian blood. The boyish humility and half-embarrassed grin that prevail when he is talking about himself, fade and are replaced by an air of authority when he speaks of his ancestry. The Lumbees were composed of bands of Indians who broke away from their own tribes. There were Cherokee, Comanches….” “The names of his children, India Dawn and Forrest Truitt, reflect his heritage….”(thanks Phil) and from the Forty Years of Stock Car book – Vol 2 – Tyler’s best finish was a 2nd at Greenville Pickens, SC in 1959. And ironically Stooges Racing site even has a story with some images of Tyler and his cars, see it at Ask The Stooge: Roy Tyner(3-24-2001)
