Richie Evans
Richie Evans | |
---|---|
Winston Racing Series Northeast NASCAR Modified Division | |
Awards | |
2011 | NASCAR Hall of Fame |
Richard Ernest Evans (July 23, 1941
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]
National championships
In 1973, Evans became the NASCAR National Modified Champion. In 1978, the "Rapid Roman" 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 died in a crash at
Regional championships
In 1982, NASCAR created the
Fatal crash and legacy
On October 24, 1985, Evans, who had clinched the 1985 National Modified title the week before at Thompson, was practicing for the Winn-Dixie 500 Modified Feature at
Though not recognized at the time, many racing safety experts have concluded that Evans' death resulted from the same type of "head-whip" injury and resultant Basilar skull fracture, which also claimed the life of Dale Earnhardt in 2001.
Evans was the father of six children: Jodi Lynn (Evans) Meola, Janelle Ralaine (Evans) Walda, Jill Ann Evans, Jacqueline Marie (Evans) Williams, Richard Edwin Evans (who has raced under the moniker "Richie Evans Jr.") and Tara Denise (Evans) Farrell.
Evans' signature orange Modified paint scheme (GMC truck color Omaha Orange; black numbers with white shading) was replicated in 2003 on a
It was heard during the draw for an
John Bisci's input:
"GM Omaha Orange matches his early coupes. Yes, people say it's Dupont Swamp Holly Orange but it's hard to find. When Richie built his last coupes and first Pintos, he switched to Ford Grabber Orange. Also, you have to watch what you use as a primer underneath – it bleeds through the orange or tints it. Never use gray primer under the orange! Richie used red oxide primer which would tint the oranges a little darker...."
On June 14, 2011, Evans was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He is the first driver who competed primarily in Modified-type cars to be elected to the HOF.
On January 20, 2012, Evans was inducted into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame, during which Darrell Waltrip said to the Evans family amidst his acceptance speech: "You know, Richie Evans, I want to congratulate the Richie Evans family; great job tonight. I watched Richie win race after race after race at Martinsville, and in my world is what I call a wheel man, and Richie Evans was the best wheel man I ever saw when he raced at Martinsville."
Awards and honors
Track championships
(30 championships at 11 tracks in 4 states. All were in the Modified division on paved tracks.)[4]
- Thompson Speedway (Thompson, Connecticut): 5 (1980–81, 1983–1985)
- Utica-Rome Speedway (Vernon, New York): 4 (1972–74, 1978)
- Holland Speedway (Holland, New York): 4 (1978–80, 1982)
- Spencer Speedway (Williamson, New York): 4 (1977–78, 1983, 1985)
- Fulton Speedway (Volney, New York): 3 (1970–71, 1974)
- Shangri-La Speedway (Owego, New York): 3 (1975, 1977, 1982)
- New Egypt Speedway (New Egypt, New Jersey): 2 (1979, 1982)
- Stafford Speedway (Stafford Springs, Connecticut): 2 (1980–81)
- Chemung Speedrome (Chemung, New York): 1 (1978)
- Oswego Speedway (Oswego, New York): 1 (1983)
- Riverside Park Speedway (Agawam, Massachusetts): 1 (1980)
Other acknowledgements
- NASCAR Connecticut State Champion (1980–1981)
- NASCAR Winston Racing Series Northeast Region Champion (1982–1985)
- New Smyrna World Series of Racing Modified Champion (1977, 1979–1981, 1983–1984)
- 2-time Daytona International Speedway Modified Race winner (1979–1980)
- 3-time Modified Race of Champions winner
- 1973 – Trenton (NJ) Speedway (1.50 mile track)
- 1979 – Pocono (PA) Raceway (2.50 mile track)
- 1980 – Pocono (PA) Raceway (0.75 mile track)
Feature race victories
(481 feature wins known in Modifieds and 2 in other divisions, at 40 tracks in 14 states and provinces. One track with incomplete records has none of Evans' wins there included.)[4]
- Shangri-La Speedway (Owego, New York): 66 (1972–85)
- Spencer Speedway (Williamson, New York): 49 (1969–85)
- Fulton Speedway (Volney, New York): 42 (1968–77), and 1 Limited Sportsman win (1970)[6]
- New Smyrna Speedway (New Smyrna Beach, Florida): 39 (1976–85)
- Stafford Motor Speedway (Stafford Springs, Connecticut): 38 (1975–85)
- Utica-Rome Speedway (Vernon, New York): 33 (1965–78)
- Riverside Park Speedway (Agawam, Massachusetts): 32 (1978–84)
- Thompson Speedway(Thompson, Connecticut): 32 (1975–85), and 1 Supermodified win
- New Egypt Speedway (New Egypt, New Jersey): 23 (1976, 1978–1980, 1982–85)
- Lancaster Speedway (Lancaster, New York): 22 (1969–76)
- Albany-Saratoga Speedway (Malta, New York): 17 (1970–76)
- Islip Speedway (Islip, New York): 17 (1970–83)
- Oswego Speedway (Oswego, New York): 13 (1972–85)
- Holland Speedway (Holland, New York): 11 (1977–85)
- Martinsville Speedway (Martinsville, Virginia): 10 (1973–1983)
- Monadnock Speedway (Winchester, New Hampshire): 3 (1978–81)
- Pocono Raceway (Long Pond, Pennsylvania): 3 (1979 on 2.5-mile superspeedway, 1972 and 1980 on 3/4-mile oval)
- Bowman Gray Stadium (Winston-Salem, North Carolina): 2 (1979–80)
- Caraway Speedway (Asheboro, North Carolina): 2 (1973, 1979)
- Chemung Speedrome (Chemung, New York): 2 (1978)
- Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Florida): 2 (1979–80)
- Freeport Stadium (Freeport, New York): 2 (1972, 1976)
- Hickory Speedway (Hickory, North Carolina): 2 (1978–79)
- Oxford Plains Speedway (Oxford, Maine): 2 (1982, 1985)
- Seekonk Speedway (Seekonk, Massachusetts): 2 (1979, 1983)
- Trenton Fairgrounds Speedway (Trenton, New Jersey): 2 (1973, 1978)
- Catamount Stadium (Milton, Vermont): 1 (1970)
- Plattsburgh Speedway (Plattsburgh, New York): 1 (1971)
- Devil's Bowl Speedway (West Haven, Vermont): 1 (1971)
- Twin State Speedway (Claremont, New Hampshire): 1 (1985)
- Deux Montagnes Speedway (Saint-Eustache, Quebec): 1 (1979)
- Evans Mills Speedway (Evans Mills, New York): 1 (1970)
- Calloway, Virginia): 1 (1979)
- Kingsport Speedway (Kingsport, Tennessee): 1 (1979)
- Metrolina Speedway (Charlotte, North Carolina): 1 (1974)
- Riverhead Raceway (Riverhead, New York): 1 (1985)
- Star Speedway (Epping, New Hampshire): 1 (1979)
- Wall Stadium (Wall Township, New Jersey): 1 (1971)
- Weedsport Speedway (Weedsport, New York): 1 (1971, Evans' only win on dirt)
- Capital City Speedway (Stittsville, Ottawa, Ontario): multiple wins (records incomplete, none included in total)
Recognition
- Named No. 1 on NASCAR's Modified all-time Top 10 list (2003)[4]
- Only retired number in NASCAR in any series – No. 61 on the Whelen Modified Tour(Unofficial).
- As part of NASCAR's 50th Anniversary celebration in 1998, Evans was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers of All Time.[4]
- Selected by fans as NASCAR Modifieds' Most Popular Driver nine times[1]
- International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1996)[2]
- National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hall of Fame (1986)[4]
- New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame[4]
- New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame inaugural 1998 class[4]
- FOAR SCORE Hall of Fame: 1986 – inaugural class[7]
- Oswego Speedway Hall of Fame (2000)
- As part of the 25th anniversary of the NASCAR Weekly Series in 2006, Evans was named one of the series' All Time Top 25 drivers.[8]
- Nominated in the class of 2010 as one of the potential 5 inaugural inductees to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, July 2, 2009.
- Evans' No. 61 was retired at his home track – Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York in 2008.
- Nominated in the class of 2011 as one of the potential 5 inductees of 2011 to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, July 1, 2010.
- In the 1985 IROC Series, every orange car featured a '61' on the rear fender to honor Evans and his orange No. 61 car.
- Elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011 with Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Inman and Glen Wood.
- Inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, NC on January 20, 2012.
- Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Whelen Modified Tour
Whelen Modified Tour results
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Year | Car owner | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | NWMTC | Pts | Ref | ||
1985 | B. R. DeWitt | 61 | Chevy | TMP 1 |
MAR 19 |
STA 1 |
MAR 12* |
NEG 1 |
WFD 15 |
NEG 6 |
SPN 3 |
RIV 20 |
CLA 1* |
STA 1* |
TMP 1 |
NEG 1* |
HOL 1 |
HOL 13 |
RIV 15 |
CAT 4 |
EPP 3 |
TMP 1 |
WFD 6 |
RIV 1 |
STA 2 |
TMP 1* |
POC 6 |
TIO 3 |
OXF 1 |
STA 26 |
TMP 6 |
MAR Wth† |
1st | 4215 | [9] | ||
† – Fatal accident |
Further reading
- Zanardi, Pete. Stock Car Racing, April 1974. (Richie Evans biography article.)
References
- ^ a b c Bourcier, Bones, "61 at 61", Speedway Illustrated (ISSN 1528-4182), Volume 3, Number 8, August 2002.
- ^ a b International Motorsports Hall of Fame website, last verified September 17, 2007. "International Motorsports Hall of Fame Members". Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ RICHIE EVANS, Modified Stock Car Racing Legend Retrieved 2014-09-07.
- ^ ISBN 0-9709854-6-0.
- ^ Schaefer, Paul. Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, 2006. pp. 8, 14–15, 20–22, 27–28.
- ^ Bisci, John. Remembering, 2 October 2002 edition, covering weekend of September 11–12, 1970."TREICHLER CLAIMS TWO AMALIE PRO 300 QUALIFIERS - EVANS SCORES TWICE AT FULTON". Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
- ^ Hall of Fame page of FOAR Score (Friends of Auto Racing) website "FOAR SCORE HALL OF FAME". Archived from the original on 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2007-04-10., retrieved 16 April 2007.
- ^ Schaefer, Paul. Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, 2006. pp. 163–170.
- ^ "1985 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
External links
- Richie Evans driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- NASCAR.com profile
- Photo gallery
- NASCAR.com list of all-time Top 10 Modified racers