{"id":6355,"date":"2011-04-28T04:03:01","date_gmt":"2011-04-28T04:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/?p=6355"},"modified":"2011-04-28T04:15:41","modified_gmt":"2011-04-28T04:15:41","slug":"legendary-central-florida-race-driver-phil-orr-passes-at-age-84","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/featured\/legendary-central-florida-race-driver-phil-orr-passes-at-age-84\/","title":{"rendered":"LEGENDARY CENTRAL FLORIDA RACE DRIVER PHIL ORR PASSES AT AGE 84"},"content":{"rendered":"
From Dave Westerman<\/span>\r\n\r\nPhil Orr, a local legend in Central Florida auto racing has passed away.  Orr<\/span>\r\nraced at many of the local tracks throughout Central Florida including Orlando<\/span>\r\nRaceway, Sunbrock Speedway, New Smyrna Speedway, Eau Gallie Speedway and<\/span>\r\nVolusia County Speedway.  A local star in Modified and Sportsman cars, Orr<\/span>\r\nalso competed in NASCAR Grand National and Modified races on the Daytona Beach<\/span>\r\nand Road Course from 1955 through 1958.  He finished 12th in the 1955 Modified<\/span>\r\nevent which started 80 cars.  57 cars started the 1957 NASCAR GN race and Orr<\/span>\r\ndrove his 1957 Ford to a 13th place finish.  He also competed in the final<\/span>\r\nNASCAR GN event on the beach in 1958 driving a 1958 Ford.<\/span>\r\n\r\nHe returned to the local short tracks and raced for many years even driving a<\/span>\r\nMini Stock at Volusia County Speedway when he was well into his seventies. <\/span>\r\nPrimarily a Modified driver, Orr did dabble in Late Model racing briefly in<\/span>\r\nthe 1960s.  He won numerous feature races throughout his career.  The<\/span>\r\nfollowing is Phil's obituary that was published today:<\/span>\r\n\r\nORR, CYRIL PHILLIP \"PHIL\", age 84, went to be with the Lord, April 23, 2011.<\/span>\r\nBorn in Maitland, FL, September 30, 1926, he was a caring and generous man<\/span>\r\nwith a big heart, helping anyone in need, never asking for anything in return.<\/span>\r\nHe lived by the Golden Rule, taught to him by his beloved Grandfather - \"treat<\/span>\r\nothers like you want to be treated\". He was a man of integrity, well known in<\/span>\r\nhis hometown of Apopka as The Land Man for his career in real estate at Phil<\/span>\r\nOrr Realty. Beyond this profession, Phil played football and graduated from<\/span>\r\nWinter Park High School, served in the U.S. Navy and saw a successful career<\/span>\r\nas a salesman, working at Heintzelman Ford and starting his own business in<\/span>\r\nMaitland, and then owning Florida Gator Motors in Apopka. For fun, Phil loved<\/span>\r\nwatching NASCAR and his Florida Gators. and he loved to dance. He was a long<\/span>\r\ntime Gator booster, a professional boxer at one time, and was a legend on the<\/span>\r\nracetrack himself. Phil drove the old Beach-Road course in Daytona Beach as<\/span>\r\none of the legendary NASCAR drivers and then raced at many local tracks well<\/span>\r\ninto his 70s. He is survived by his loving wife, family and many friends. A<\/span>\r\nviewing and visitation will be held Thursday, April 28, 5-9 PM at the Loomis<\/span>\r\nFamily Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral Services will be held Friday, April 29, at<\/span>\r\nthe First Baptist Church of Apopka, 441 S. Highland Avenue, Apopka,<\/span>\r\n407-886-2628. Graveside committal immediately following at Greenwood Cemetery,<\/span>\r\nApopka, FL. Fellowship will be held for friends and family from 1-3 pm at the<\/span>\r\nFirst Baptist Church. If so desired, donations may be made in Phil's honor, in<\/span>\r\nlieu of flowers, to Hospice of the Comforter, 480 W. Central Parkway,<\/span>\r\nAltamonte Springs, FL 32714, 407-682-0808, www.hospiceofthecomforter.org<\/a><\/span>\r\nServices Entrusted to LOOMIS FAMILY FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICE, 420<\/span>\r\nWest Main Street, Apopka, Florida 32712, 407-880-1007. Please visit<\/span>\r\nwww.loomisfuneralhomes.com<\/a> to sign the online guest book.<\/span>\r\n<\/strong><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From Dave Westerman Phil Orr, a local legend in Central Florida auto racing has passed away. Orr raced at many of the local tracks throughout […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"publish_to_discourse":"","publish_post_category":"","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t