Billy Carden

Billy Carden (April 1, 1924 – October 25, 2004) was an American racing driver from Mableton, Georgia. He was a stock car racing pioneer and an early NASCAR competitor. He made over 50 NASCAR Grand National (now Cup) starts and also dabbled in the NASCAR Convertible Division.

Racing career

NASCAR Carden has contributed four finishes in the top five, seventeen finishes in the top ten, starting the race at the pole position twice, 58 laps led, and 6431.8 miles (7951 laps) of racing experience at the top level. He was a participant at both the 1955 Southern 500 and the 1959 Daytona 500 which were seen as the major events of his generation. He would start in 12th and finish in 16th; collecting a meager $110 in the process ($ when adjusted for inflation).

Most of Carden's top-five and top-ten finishes were done on short tracks. He was generally more successful there as opposed to superspeedways, road courses, and intermediate tracks. Carden owned his hometown Mableton Speedway in 1948 and 1949 while racing at it.