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Hall of Famer Curtis Turner to be recognized with Virginia highway marker

Curtis Turner

1965: Curtis Turner was the rough and tumble super tar of NASCAR whose movie star looks and partying antics brought him scores of notoriety. (Photo by ISC Archives via Getty Images)

ISC Archives via Getty Images

Curtis Turner, a 2016 inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, will be recognized with highway marker in his home state of Virginia, according to the Associated Press.

The Virginia Board of Historic Resources approves a dozen highway markers this month, including one for the native of Roanoke, Virginia.

A 17-time winner in the Cup series, Turner was once banned from NASCAR in 1961 for attempting to form a driver’s union, but was reinstated four years later.

Turner’s daughter, Margaret Sue Turner Wright, operates a museum honoring him in Roanoke. Turner was born in Southwest Virginia in Floyd. He passed away in 1970.

Turner may not be the only NASCAR Hall of Famer and Virginia native who will get a sign erected in his honor soon.

Danville, Virginia, is set to vote on whether it will install signs proclaiming it the hometown of Wendell Scott, the only African-American to win a Cup race. Scott was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

On Dec. 19, Warrick Scott, Wendell’s grandson, presented a petition of 600 signatures in support of the sign to the Danville City Council.

“It is appropriate, it is right that we here in Danville, one of the great cities that built Virginia, celebrate his legacy,” Warrick Scott said. “It’s a bright shining light and example of not only who we were, but also what we stand for and who we will be as a community, both now and in our future.”

In support of the measure, Councilman James Buckner said, “I want to get this thing going pretty soon.”

Danville has previously named a street after Scott.

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