Morris Metcalfe passed away this past weekend. A friend of ours who presided over the transition of stock car racing from manual scoring to transponder based systems.
Metcalfe Funeral Set for Wednesday
Funeral services for former longtime NASCAR official Morris Metcalfe will be held Wednesday (Sept. 5) at Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home on Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem., N.C., at 7 p.m. Metcalfe died last Thursday in Winston-Salem at the age of 81 due to what his family called natural causes.
Metcalfe was one of NASCAR’s longest-serving officials. His work in the sanctioning body’s timing and scoring department spanned five decades; he retired as Chief of Timing and Scoring following the 2002 Daytona 500.
Some would joke that Metcalfe was a bit over-qualified for that position. After all, he held a Master’s Degree in biomedical engineering from Texas Tech University after also attending Tennessee Military Institute and the University of Miami.
Engineering aside, Metcalfe loved racing and began scoring NASCAR events in the 1950s. He became an assistant to then-NASCAR scoring chief Joe Epton a few years later.
A World War II veteran who served as a signalman on the USS Randolph and later a colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve, Metcalfe joined NASCAR on a fulltime basis after his retirement with 30 years of service with Western Electric (now Lucent Technology).
Metcalfe, born in Morristown, Tenn., is credited for founding NASCAR’s first fan club, in 1955 for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion Lee Petty.
Metcalfe was the recipient of many honors during his NASCAR service including the prestigious Buddy Shuman Award.
He is survived by two children, M. Lee Metcalfe Jr. and Laura Boblitz; five grandchildren and one great grandson. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Wives Auxiliary.
http://www.legacy.com/WinstonSalem/DeathNotices.asp?Pag...ry&PersonId=93654770
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