Senate Bill sb2142
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Florida Senate - 2004 (NP) SR 2142
By Senator Posey
24-1563-04
1 Senate Resolution No. ____
2 A resolution recognizing and commending Henry
3 "Smokey" Yunick.
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5 WHEREAS, Henry "Smokey" Yunick was born in 1924 in
6 Nishaminy, Pennsylvania, where he grew up and lived on his
7 family's farm until he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and
8 became a B-17 Bomber pilot in World War II, flying more than
9 50 bombing missions in the Balkan theatre for the Flying
10 Tigers, and
11 WHEREAS, upon being honorably discharged from the Army
12 Air Corps at the war's end, Smokey settled in Daytona Beach,
13 Florida, where in 1947 he opened a truck repair shop that he
14 named the "Best Damn Garage in Town," and
15 WHEREAS, shortly after opening his Daytona garage,
16 Smokey accepted the invitation of fellow Daytona resident and
17 stock car owner/racer Marshall Teague to join the Teague
18 racing team and begin a career in automobile mechanics that
19 would become the standard by which others in the auto racing
20 business would be measured, and
21 WHEREAS, in the years that followed, Smokey established
22 himself as a mechanical genius in the eyes of race car
23 sponsors, owners, and drivers, repeatedly introducing
24 mechanical innovations that led automakers to adopt his
25 engineering designs, gave his cars a clear competitive edge
26 over others, and enabled his drivers to achieve racing
27 dominance on the tracks, and
28 WHEREAS, while pursuing his career in automotive
29 mechanics, Smokey patented 11 of his automotive inventions,
30 led in designing and building cars that won 39 Grand National
31 races and two Grand National Championships between 1955 and
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Florida Senate - 2004 (NP) SR 2142
24-1563-04
1 1962, designed and built the car that won the Indianapolis 500
2 in 1960, wrote articles published in Popular Science and
3 Circle Track Magazine, founded and served as Director of Emory
4 Riddle University, became Professor Emeritus at Daytona Beach
5 Community College, and served as a member of the Society of
6 Automotive Engineers, and
7 WHEREAS, in the course of his career, Smokey received
8 numerous awards recognizing and honoring his extraordinary
9 talents and successes in the sport of auto racing, including
10 becoming a two-time winner of NASCAR's Mechanic of the Year
11 Award, receiving a Mechanical Achievements Award from
12 Indianapolis Motor Speedway and from Ontario Speedway,
13 receiving an Engineering Excellence Award from Indianapolis
14 Motor Speedway, and being recognized as Inventor of the Year
15 in 1983, and
16 WHEREAS, on May 9, 2001, Smokey succumbed to the
17 ravages of leukemia, ending a remarkable life of innovative
18 leadership in automotive mechanics, marked by extraordinary
19 success in the sport of auto racing, and leaving a legacy of
20 personal and professional accomplishments unlikely to be
21 duplicated by his peers, NOW, THEREFORE,
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23 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
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25 That the Florida Senate posthumously recognizes and
26 commends Henry "Smokey" Yunick for his dedication to the
27 highest standards of excellence in pursuit of his ambition to
28 build the most competitive race cars on the tracks,
29 establishing the "Best Damn Garage in Town" as an exemplary
30 business establishment that became a local landmark, and
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Florida Senate - 2004 (NP) SR 2142
24-1563-04
1 advancing the sport of auto racing to help make Daytona Beach,
2 Florida, the stock car racing capital of the world.
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