Arden Mounts

Enoch Arden Mounts (July 9, 1917 – March 4, 2003) was an American NASCAR Grand National Series driver from Gilbert, Mingo County, West Virginia. His primary vehicle was the #18 self-owned Pontiac machine;[1] although he would occasionally drive a Hudson vehicle on the race track.

Enoch Arden Mounts
Arden Mounts (photograph taken in 1954)
Born(1917-07-09)July 9, 1917
Gilbert, West Virginia, United States
DiedMarch 4, 2003(2003-03-04) (aged 85)
St. Mary's Hospital (Huntington, West Virginia)
Cause of deathAdvanced age
NASCAR Cup Series career
37 races run over 4 years
Best finish21st – 1954 NASCAR Grand National Series season
First race1953 race (Hickory Motor Speedway)
Last race1956 Southern 500 (Darlington Raceway)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 6 0

Career

He raced in the NASCAR Grand National Series from 1953 to 1956.[1][2] Like J.D. McDuffie, Alan Kulwicki, and Joe Nemechek, Mounts was an "independent" race car driver who would never receive manufacturer's support or the support of blockbuster sponsors.

Arden would earn six finishes in the top ten from the 37 races that he would compete in NASCAR.[1][2] The 1954 Grand National season would see Mounts record his best championship finish at 21st place in the standings.[2] During his career, Mounts would earn $2,505 in race winnings ($23,556.81 when adjusted for inflation) and race 4489 laps - the equivalent of 3,505.8 miles (5,642.0 km).[2] Only the 1953 and 1956 NASCAR Cup Series seasons would see him finish better than he started in the races.[2] Mounts would end up losing nearly one position on average from start to finish during his entire career.[2]

His appearance at the 1955 Southern 500, where he would crash into Don Duckworth's stalled vehicle, would be captured on highlight films for generations.[3][4] While Bill Champion managed to avoid Duckworth by swerving past the vehicle rapidly, Arden Mounts managed to see the stalled vehicle too late and crashed into him in a very hard manner.[3][4] The proper usage of seat belts on the stock car automobiles would save the lives of both Mounts and Duckworth.[3][4]

The types of racing tracks that best favored Arden was the dirt tracks where he finished an average of 18th place; intermediate tracks were very much a disadvantage to Mounts, where a finish of 42nd place was the career average for him.[5]

Death

Mounts would die while being a patient at St. Mary's Hospital, a medical center in Huntington, West Virginia.

References
  1. "Arden Mounts' NASCAR career information (second reference)". Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
  2. "Arden Mounts' NASCAR career information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
  3. Stock Cars of 50s & 60s – Stock Car Memories: Darlington-Southern 500 (DVD). Topics Entertainment.
  4. "Don Duckworth 1955 Crash". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  5. "NASCAR Statistics for Arden Mounts". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2012-11-11.
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