The Fairytale Life and Heartbreaking Death of NASCAR Legend Tiny Lund

• Tiny Lund, a fun-loving 6-4, 260-pounder, did some lower-level racing in Iowa and served in Korea before moving to South Carolina in the mid-1950s to try NASCAR.

• Lund won the 1963 Daytona 500 as a late substitute for an injured Marvin Panch.

• He died from injuries suffered in a race in 1975 at the age of 45.

The tragic fairytale life of DeWayne Louis "Tiny" Lund likely would be considered too far-fetched for Hollywood movie-makers to consider. In some ways, it was too good to be true; in others, it was too heartbreaking to endure.

The life and times of the big man from Iowa had everything: determination, courage, acclaim for his success, an inexplicable professional slump, and unfathomable circumstances that led to his death.

Tiny Lund, a fun-loving 6-4, 260-pounder, did some lower-level racing in Iowa and served in Korea before moving to South Carolina in the mid-1950s to try NASCAR. He was a competent driver, a reliable journeyman willing to take almost any ride to support his family. But times were tough, so he ran a popular lakeside fish camp to make money between racing gigs.

In February 1963, he went to Daytona Beach seeking a ride for the Daytona 500. Virtually penniless, he was counting on the kindness of friends for help. That help came when Wood Brothers Racing offered their No. 21 Mercury for the 500. The offer came after Lund helped several colleagues rescue team driver Marvin Panch from an upside-down, burning sports car prior to the 500.

He quickly accepted their offer and went out and stunned the NASCAR family. In his first major superspeedway race, he saved fuel by drafting from start to finish and making one fewer pit stop to win the sport’s biggest race over Fred Lorenzen. But Lund’s career stalled after the 500. Despite his fame and popularity, his phone seldom rang with offers from major owners. He performed for many years at a championship level in NASCAR’s lower touring classes, but won only four more Cup Series races.

Ironically, he died in a race he wasn’t supposed to run. In August of 1975, he drove home after failing to qualify for the Talladega 500. The race was rained-delayed for a week, and the crew chief of a qualified driver died of a heart attack in that week. Appropriately, the driver withdrew.

Lund was first alternate, so he returned to take the unexpected place on the grid. The race was seven laps old when he died almost instantly in a multi-car crash on the backstretch. Just 45 at the time, he left his wife, Wanda, and their son, Chris.