Former NASCAR driver Rollins dies
Posted: Tuesday December 29, 1998 10:40 PM
PENSACOLA, Florida (AP) -- Lloyd "Shorty" Rollins, the first NASCAR Rookie of the Year, has died at a local hospital after a brief illness.
Rollins, the circuit's top rookie in 1958, died Monday at age 69, a day after lapsing into a coma from complications of a heart ailment.
He ran 29 races that season with one victory among 22 top-10 finishes in the NASCAR series now known as Winston Cup. He finished fourth in points.
A year later, Rollins won the first stock car race at the new Daytona International Speedway, a 100-lap preliminary to the inaugural Daytona 500. Three days later, he was running fifth in what was to become the world's premier stock car race when his engine blew.
"He would have been another Richard Petty," said a former crew member, Mike Flannigan of Corpus Christi, Texas. "He could outrun them all and he did outrun them all."
But Rollins moved his family to Pensacola in 1959 and got out of racing the following year after watching some friends die in an accident at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
All told, Rollins raced for three seasons on what then was known as the Grand National circuit. He made 43 career starts, but never won again and earned $17,019.
He started Hurricane Fence Industries in Pensacola. Earlier this month, he was the grand marshal at the Snowball Derby, a prestigious short-track race.
Rollins is survived by his widow, Mozelle; a daughter, Debbie Hodivsky; two sons, Tommy and Monty; a sister; two brothers; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services will be at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery. Faith Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
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