On this day in 1948, the National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) was officially incorporated under the leadership of mechanic and auto-repair shop owner William Frances Jr.
Jeanetta Holder of Indianapolis, Indiana, made this Indianapolis 500 Quilt as a gift for driver Bobby Uncer, who’s 1981 Indie 500 win was stripped a day after the race in favor of Mario Andretti. Holder had made a quilt for the winner of the race and after presenting the quilt to Andretti, she decided that she would make another one for Uncer (who was later reinstated as the winner after an lengthy appeal). The quilt is in the permanent collection of the Michigan State University Museum. The record includes the following story about Jeanetta:
As a little girl growing up on a Kentucky farm, Jeanetta made her own small racecars out of tobacco sticks and lard cans which she “raced everywhere [she] went.” Jeanetta’s childhood creative streak soon extended to sewing. By the time she was 12, Jeanetta began sewing quilts, filling them with cotton batting from cotton she grew herself.
View this quilt on The Quilt Index to find out! Read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view or click the “See full record” link to see a larger image and all the data entered about that quilt.
Source:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nascar-founded
Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org