How Red Byron went from WWII hero to NASCAR's first champion

Few drivers in NASCAR history have as unique of a story as Red Byron. 

In 1932, at the age of 17, Byron began his racing career and quickly became a force on the local tracks of Alabama. 

It was during World War II, though, that Byron first made a name for himself.

It was Byron's selflessness, not his speed that put his life in danger. Byron wasn't scheduled to fly a B-24 bomber on the evening that his leg injury occurred, but he did it anyway. With a fellow soldier of Byron's awaiting news from home regarding the birth of his child, Byron took his friend's spot on the B-24 bomber that wasn't supposed to carry him. 

As the bomb bay doors opened on Byron's plane, the final bomb that was supposed to drop failed to release. Byron was delegated as the man to let the final bomb free, but it was once more his selflessness that nearly cost him his life. 

Over eight decades later, it's still not exactly clear what happened to Byron's leg. Whether it was the final bomb detonating or enemy fire is a moot point, but Byron's left leg was ravaged to the point of near-amputation. 

It was only after a 27-month stay in a Colorado military hospital that Byron returned to a normal life — at least, normal according to the standards of the Anniston, Alabama, native. 

Byron returned to racing after his family suggested he might find a greater sense of self and normalcy behind the wheel of a racecar. With his left leg encased in a leg brace that was bolted to the clutch of his car, he returned to the track in 1946 at the Seminole Speedway. 

Once Byron got together with legendary mechanic Red Vogt — the man who came up with the NASCAR acronym — the two men got together as NASCAR's first great driver-crew chief duo. 

Byron won NASCAR's first two championships — first the Modified championship in 1948 and then the first Cup Series title in 1949. 

Byron only ran 15 total Cup Series races, but his legacy as a wartime hero and NASCAR's inaugural champ will forever live on. 

On this Veteran's Day, it's stories like Byron's that are immortalized in history.