Gary Myers, the former NASCAR driver who anchored a four-generation racing dynasty at Bowman Gray Stadium, died Thursday at 76 after an extended illness. His passing removes the central figure from a family operation that has treated the Winston-Salem quarter-mile as a family business for more than six decades, a rarity in a sport where teams typically fold or sell within a single generation.

The family enterprise

Myers was the son of William "Billy" Myers, who died in 1958, and nephew of Bobby Myers, killed in 1957, both racers. Gary began competing professionally in 1974 and logged 46 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series across four seasons. His sons Burt and Jason followed him into the car, and grandson Slate represents the fourth generation. The family's primary venue has been Bowman Gray Racing Stadium, where Gary accumulated 38 modified victories and captured the 1996 SMART Modified Tour championship, a series he helped found.

The numbers at the track

At Bowman Gray, the Myers name appears in the record books 38 times in modified competition alone. The SMART Modified Tour, where Gary was a founding member and its inaugural 1996 champion, credits him with 15 series wins. Burt Myers announced the death on Facebook, writing that his father "fought so hard but was so tired." Jason Myers' page added that Gary "taught him and Burt everything they know and touched so many people along the way."

What the track loses

Bowman Gray Stadium issued a statement noting Gary's 38 modified wins and his Cup and Grand National starts, extending condolences to his wife Pam, sons Burt and Jason, and grandson Slate. The SMART Modified Tour called him "one of our heroes." In a sport increasingly defined by corporate teams and national sponsorships, the Myers family operated as an independent, multi-generational concern rooted at a single short track, a model that has largely vanished from NASCAR's upper tiers.

The succession question

With Gary gone, the family operation passes formally to Burt and Jason, both winning drivers, and to Slate, who has already reached victory lane. Whether the fourth generation can maintain the family's presence at Bowman Gray without the patriarch's institutional knowledge and relationships will determine if the track's longest-running dynasty survives intact.