Ethel was the youngest daughter of Carl and Maudie Flock. She was born on the 8th of March 1920 in Fort Payne, Alabama and as she was closer in age to her brothers, Bob, Fonty and Tim who were among the pioneers of NASCAR racing, it seemed obvious that she should share their interest and she did. Ethel became interested in automobiles and speed by going to the Sunday afternoon "moonshiner races" near the family home.

Ethel Flock Mobley

She loved fast cars and the speed and competition that came with them. She was one of the forerunners in racing for women at a time when women were not allowed any where near the pits at many tracks. When her brother, Bob, built the new Atlanta Speedway just outside of Jonesboro, Georgia he invited his sister, Ethel, Sara Christian and Sara’s sister, Mildred Williams to race at the new track , he was hoping that with the women driving it would attract larger crowds to the speedway. Bob taught Ethel, along with the two other women, how to broad-slide around the dirt track. Driving the modified car of her brother, Fonty, she competed in over a hundred races, mostly in the Atlanta area, preferring to stay close to her young daughter, Darlene and it was only with few exceptions that she ventured further. One of these exceptions came on the 10th of July 1949 when she followed her brothers down south to Florida and took part in the NASCAR Strictly Stock event at the Daytona Beach Road Course. The event was the first to feature a brother and sister competing against each other and the only NASCAR event to feature four siblings in competition. Driving the 1949 Cadillac owned by her husband, Charlie, Ethel went on to finish in 11th position, beating not only brothers, Bob and Fonty but also racing legends Curtis Turner, Buck Baker and Herb Thomas! Her other brother, Tim, finished in second place on that day and he recalled the event saying, "She particularly loved racing and beating her brothers". The event was the first of two career Cup starts, the second being at Langley Speedway when she finished in 44th position. The combined winnings for both races were fifty dollars. On both occasions the events featured three women drivers, Ethel, Louise Smith and Sara Christian.

In June 1949 Ethel entered a racing event in Florida where she was competing against fifty seven male drivers and she finished an impressive 8th position. Ethel became the first woman race car driver to compete against men in the state of Georgia when she entered a race at Central City Park Speedway in Macon, Georgia on the 7th of August 1949. She was rated as the top woman driver in the south eastern United States, having won many competitions in all-women events. Perhaps her father could see into the future when he named her Ethel after the fuel he used in his taxi! Sadly Ethel passed away on 26th June 1984.

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