From a very early age, long before he was old enough for a driver's license, Curtis developed his driving talents by running moonshine through the mountains from the law.

After a gunfight escape from the Joint Expeditionary Base–Little Creek where numerous bullet holes pierced the chassis and the lead lodged in the sugar, his more than 300-mile trip under police dragnet to Floyd, Virginia, was successfully achieved by using back roads.

Under oath, Curtis convincingly stated a lie of conspiring to produce apple butter, and the judge let him off with a 1,000 dollar fine and a 2-year suspended sentence.

[1] Locals spoke of how Curtis would drive away from the hot pursuit of revenuers and lawmen, and his legendary ability to turn a car 180 degrees in a very small space.

He also was one of the founding members in the original group that met in Daytona Beach at the Streamline Hotel to discuss and support the formation of NASCAR.

Turner drove a Holman Moody-prepared Studebaker Lark in the 2-hour compact car race accompanying the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Sebring, Florida, on December 12, 1959.

"[8] "Attorneys for the drivers claim the ban represents a violation of state right to work laws because test driving contracts involving $150 a day plus expenses were canceled as a result of the action.

1962 and 1963 NASCAR-points champion Weatherly was killed driving a Mercury at Riverside, California on January 19, 1964,[11] and his star driver Fireball Roberts had died following a fiery crash on May 24, 1964, at the World 600 in Charlotte.

The Chrysler factory was boycotting NASCAR over the organizing body's ban of the Hemi engine, and Richard Petty went drag racing in the first half of the 1965 season.

"[16] Turner started the 1966 season in a Ford, but with the Ford-factory withdrawal, he signed to drive a Chevrolet for Smokey Yunick out of Daytona Beach, Florida.

[18] Police said the Aero Commander 500 piloted by Turner crashed shortly after taking off from the Dubois-Jefferson Airport en route to Roanoke, Virginia.