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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Gary Myers, a longtime NASCAR driver and patriarch of one of stock car racing’s most enduring families, died Sept. 10 after a period of declining health. He was 76.
Myers was born March 4, 1950, in Walnut Cove, North Carolina. Racing was part of his family before he ever climbed behind the wheel. His father, Billy Myers, and uncle, Bobby Myers, were early stars at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, where the family began racing in the track’s first years.
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Billy died during a Modified race at Bowman Gray in 1958, while Bobby was killed in a crash at Darlington Raceway in 1957.
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Gary Myers carried on the family tradition. He made 46 NASCAR Cup Series starts between 1974 and 1978, with his best finish a fourth place at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1976. He also competed in the Grand National East Series, NASCAR Modified competition and other regional touring series.
His most sustained success came in Modified racing. Myers won 38 races at Bowman Gray and captured the 1996 SMART Modified Tour championship. He remained closely associated with Bowman Gray for more than six decades, first watching his relatives race, then competing there himself and eventually watching his sons Burt and Jason take over the family cars.
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Myers took particular pride in his sons. “I'm very proud — I couldn't help but to be proud of my boys,” he said. “I just want to see them do well.”
Burt and Jason both became successful Modified drivers, extending a family lineage that reached into a fourth generation when Burt’s son, Slate Myers, won his first Modified race at Bowman Gray in May 2026. Gary was in attendance that night. Slate later said he became emotional when he saw his grandfather from the track.
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Burt announced his father’s death on Facebook, calling Gary his “hero” and writing that he had taught him “everything I know.” Gary’s 38 Bowman Gray victories remain part of a combined total of more than 180 wins by Gary, Burt and Jason at the track.
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