Born into a racing family in North Carolina, and thus appropriately “sired” another generation of harness racers in Hall of Famer John Jr. and Jim. In between, he did pretty good, as well – after training for private interests and winning the national dashwinning title in 1950 and 1951, Simpson was approached by Lawrence Sheppard of the mighty Hanover Shoe Farms to become their racing stable’s private trainer/driver and to apply his considerable knowledge to helping Hanover the breeding operation grow and continue to prosper. He succeeded spectacularly on both counts, winning all six legs of the two Triple Crowns, but particularly on the breeding side – he convinced Sheppard to add Adios to Hanover’s sires, and he was unafraid to pay top dollar for the mares that would help continue Hanover’s dominance.