Richie Evans

Richard Ernest Evans (born July 23, 1941, died October 24, 1985), better known as Richie Evans, was an American racing driver who won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, including eight in a row from 1978 to 1985. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame lists this achievement as 'one of the supreme accomplishments in motorsports'. (http://www.motorsportshalloffame.com/main/03_halloffame.htm)

Related Topics:
July 23 - 1941 - October 24 - 1985 - Racing driver - NASCAR - International Motorsports Hall of Fame

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Evans left his family's farm at age 16 to work at a local garage. After he found early success in street racing, then became a winner in drag racing, an associate suggested he try building a car to race at the nearby Utica-Rome Speedway. He ran his first oval-track car, a 1954 Ford Hobby Stock numbered PT-109 (after John F. Kennedy's torpedo boat in World War Two), in 1962. He advanced to the Modifieds, the premier division, in 1965, winning his first feature in the season's final night. In 1973 he became the NASCAR National Modified Champion. In 1978 he won a second title and did not relinquish his crown during the next seven years. Evans took over four hundred feature race wins at racetracks from Quebec to Florida before he was killed in a crash at Martinsville Speedway while practicing for a race in late 1985.

Related Topics:
Utica-Rome - John F. Kennedy - World War Two - Martinsville Speedway

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