The Short-Lived Rebellion: Independent 250 Gave NASCAR's Little Guys a Chance in 1973

• In 1973 Raymond Williams hosted the “Independent 250, the first, last and only outlaw NASCAR race.

• It was open only to the drivers dubbed independents who had earned NASCAR points and who owned the cars they drove.

• The goal was to demonstrate that NASCAR’s purse structure was short-changing independent drivers, including Dave Marcis (pictured above, right), who often finished mid-pack due to limited budgets.

Raymond Williams saw racing on NASCAR ovals as a fast way to get rich, qualifying for the 1970 Daytona 500 in a rented car with no previous racing experience.

Soon, he dubbed himself Captain America with a paint scheme to match. But when he crossed swords with a bona fide American captain of industry in the form of NASCAR founder Bill France, Williams found himself on the outside looking in.

After getting disenchanted with purse money along with many of his fellow independent drivers, in 1973 Williams hosted the “Independent 250, the first, last and only outlaw NASCAR race. It was open only to the drivers dubbed independents who had earned NASCAR points and who owned the cars they drove.

The entry at the 3/8ths-mile Trico Speedway (now Orange County) near Rougemont, N.C. looked like a who’s who of some of NASCAR’s most familiar drivers at the time: Dave Marcis (pictured at top), James Hylton, Bill Champion, J.D. McDuffie, Ed Negre, Elmo Langley, Walter Ballard, Richard Childress, Henley Gray, Bill Dennis and Cecil Gordon, among others.

The goal was to demonstrate that NASCAR’s purse structure was short-changing independent drivers, who often finished mid-pack due to limited budgets and a lack of major sponsorship or factory affiliation.

“I was crying for all those people,” said Williams of his motivation. “I can’t think of anybody in the world who works harder for more hours and makes less money than racers.”