Harold Dunaway, who recently passed away at age 78, competed only once at NASCAR’s top level. The Gastonia native drove a Plymouth in the Peach Blossom 500 at Rockingham, qualifying 36th and placing 40th in a field of 44. Paul Goldsmith won that race on March 13, 1966. Glenn Dunaway, his father, who died in 1964, occupies a footnote in NASCAR history. The elder Dunaway took the checkered flag in the very first race of what is now the Sprint Cup Series but had the outcome overturned and the victory handed to Jim Roper. Glenn Dunaway competed in 18 races over three seasons, 1949-51, and finished in the top five three times. On May 30, 1950, he finished second to Bill Rexford in a race run in Canfield, Ohio. Harold Dunaway won many races at short tracks in the Gastonia area and also competed in the old Permatex 300, for many years the chief preliminary race leading up to the Daytona 500. He had many other opportunities but, as longtime friend Charles Craig recalled, ‘With two young children, he wanted to stay in Gastonia and help his dad and brother Henry run the family shop.’(Gaston Gazette), see the full obituary at the Gaston Gazette.(9-9-2012)
