Richie Evans Bio
Richard Ernest Evans (July 23, 1941[1] – October 24, 1985), 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”.[2] Evans won virtually every major race for asphalt modifieds, most of them more than once, including winning the Race of Champions three times.[1] Evans was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011. As one of the Class of 2012, Evans is one of the Hall’s first 15 inductees, and is the first Hall of Famer from outside the now NASCAR Cup Series.
Early career
Evans left his family’s farm in Westernville, New York at age 16[3] to work at a local garage in Rome, New York. 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 II), in 1962. He advanced to the Modifieds, the premier division, in 1965, winning his first feature in the season’s final night.[4]
Richard Ernest Evans (July 23, 1941[1] – October 24, 1985), 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”.[2] Evans won virtually every major race for asphalt modifieds, most of them more than once, including winning the Race of Champions three times.[1] Evans was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011. As one of the Class of 2012, Evans is one of the Hall’s first 15 inductees, and is the first Hall of Famer from outside the now NASCAR Cup Series.
Early career
Evans left his family’s farm in Westernville, New York at age 16[3] to work at a local garage in Rome, New York. 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 II), in 1962. He advanced to the Modifieds, the premier division, in 1965, winning his first feature in the season’s final night.[4]
