Mercury made big impact in sport for three decades

If industry reports are correct that Ford is planning on discontinuing its Mercury division, it would close the book on one of NASCAR's most famous and identifiable brands. Even though Mercury hasn't won -- or raced -- in three decades, the images of drivers like David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Darel Deiringer driving Mercury into Victory Lane is still vivid in many fans' minds.

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Created by Edsel Ford in 1939 as a bridge between affluent Lincoln buyers and the tried-and-true Ford faithful, Mercury was present at the inaugural NASCAR Strictly Stock race at Charlotte, as Floridian Bill Snowden finished 22nd with overheating issues.

The brand won for the first time one season later when Bill Blair drove a Mercury to victory at the Vernon Fairgrounds in upstate New York. Later that year, Lloyd Moore won at Winchester. Mercury added two more wins in 1951, both on the western circuit, as Marvin Burke won at Oakland and Bill Norton captured the race at Gardena.

About that time, the Hudsons, the Oldsmobiles and the Dodges began to dominate NASCAR, and it wasn't until 1956 that Mercury found its way back into Victory Lane. Billy Myers snapped the drought at West Palm Beach, but by the time the season had ended, four more wins were added to the Mercury ledger.

But with factory support being pulled midway through the 1957 season, the top teams gravitated away from Mercury again, with only a handful of independents campaigning the brand in limited action. That changed again by 1963, when Bill Stroppe's operation put together a strong effort at Daytona, led by Indianapolis native Darel Dieringer and a pair of Indy 500 winners in Troy Ruttman and Parnelli Jones. Dieringer would go on to win the season finale at Riverside.

Stroppe would be joined under the Mercury banner by Bud Moore in 1964. Moore had a talented young Texan named Billy Wade behind the wheel, and Wade would go on to win four consecutive races that season, starting at Old Bridge and finishing on the famous Watkins Glen road course. Sadly, the 1963 rookie of the year would be killed in a tire test during the offseason.

The next two seasons, Dieringer recorded four more wins for Mercury, including a victory in the 1965 Daytona 500 qualifier and the 1966 Southern 500 at Darlington. From that point on, the Mercury brand seemed to have a penchant for wins in some of NASCAR's biggest races. (Continued)