Danny Myers

17/10/1948

Record updated 17-Oct-06

Myers, aka Gasman Choc, was one of the most popular crew members in the world of stock car racing. Chocolate was the famed gas man for the GM Goodwrench Chevy driven by Dale Earnhardt.

Myers grew up in racing. A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Chocolate is the eldest son of the late Bobby Myers, a NASCAR pioneer who was killed while driving in the Southern 500 at Darlington in 1957 for Lee Petty, Richard Petty's father.  His uncle died leading the race a year later.

At about age 13, he and his friend, Richard Childress, began selling peanuts at the NASCAR races held at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, so they could get into the races for free.

Soon the two were racing their own cars on Saturday nights. Then in 1969, just out of high school, Childress qualified his Camaro for a Grand American Series race at Daytona. Unfortunately in the race he retired when something broke.

He wanted to race professionally but after about three years, Myers, by then married and with a young daughter, realised that racing wasn't paying his bills. He quit racing and took a number of odd jobs to make ends meet. Then in 1982 he hooked back up with Childress. By then, Childress had his own racing team, Richard Childress Racing, running Ricky Rudd in NASCAR, later Dale Earnhardt joined. Richard needed help in the garage and that was the start of a partnership that over the next 18 years saw them visit victory lane no less than 83 times.

In his early days, Myers lived the fast life, partying with his friends and enjoying the high life. He had a tough reputation, but he changed and in an effort to help others avoid some of the mistakes he has made he now speaks at outreach sites and to youth groups. He wants them to learn the lesson without having to live them.

Myers also commentates on ESPN2 and has appeared in television commercials, as well as acting in movies, such as "Smokey and the Bandit".



hr