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NASCAR Engine Builder Ray Fox Dies At 98

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ray Fox, one of NASCAR's premier engine builders and mechanics in the 1950s and '60s, has died. He was 98.

Fox died Sunday at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona, where he'd been admitted with pneumonia. Officials at Daytona International Speedway confirmed his death.

Among the drivers Fox fielded cars for were Junior Johnson, David Pearson and Buck Baker. He was credited with 14 wins as a car owner, but was the engine builder and mechanic for many major wins. Fox won the 1960 Daytona 500 with Johnson, and the Coca-Cola 600 in 1961 with Pearson.

Daytona track president Joie Chitwood called Fox "a legendary wrench man" and frequent visitor to the speedway following his retirement.

His grandson, Ray Fox III, is a mechanic at Roush Fenway Racing.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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