Elmo Guy
Photo courtesy of Wayne Guy
Floyd Wright, Elmo
Guy, Ernie
Wright
Photo courtesy of Wayne Guy
Elmo Guy
Elmo
was born on December 29, 1924, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Like
his younger brother, Wayne, Elmo was riding and racing motorcycles from
an early age. The transition to stock car racing in
1951 was easy for him. He stood 5 feet 6 inches
tall and weighed in at 135 lbs.
Ernie
Wright, owner of Wright’s Machine Shop with his brother, wanted to
build a stock car but wanted a driver. He
approached Raymond McClard, owner of the local Harley-Davidson
motorcycle dealership, for a list of young motorcycle riders who might
be interested in racing. Wright assumed that
motorcycle riders might be the type of young men who would adapt to
stock car racing. Elmo Guy was one of several men
who were invited to test drive Wright’s 1932 Chevrolet, which was
powered by a 239 cubic inch Ford flathead V8, bored and stroked, with a
roller cam, and fired by alcohol. Elmo didn’t even
know how to drive a car, he was strictly a motorcycle man, but he was
intrigued by Wright’s invitation. They met at the
Beech Bend track along with several other men, and Wright put each of
them through a few test laps. Elmo’s first reaction
to the car was the feeling of stability of having four wheels under him.
It felt good! It felt safe! So
he opened it up! Wright had a driver for his No.
7-11 modified stock car.
Elmo’s
attraction to stock car racing was his addiction to speed, and the
opportunity to win money. He earned about $50 a
week at his job, but he could race on Sunday and win up to $100.
Elmo
drove stock cars until about 1960, then switched to drag racing.
As one of the most dominant drivers in the early days of Beech
Bend Park, Elmo was regularly in the winner’s circle. Today,
his garage contains innumerable trophies. According
to his brother, Wayne, Elmo would not participate in any sporting event
if he couldn’t win. Although Elmo discounts the
importance of victory, Wayne states that he could always see the pain
in Elmo’s eyes when he didn’t win.
At
this writing, Elmo is 79 years old, lives in Bowling Green, and says,
“I still like to go fast!”