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JANUARY 26th



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JANUARY 26

1901
George Abell... Born ... AAA driver 1920's
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1906
Fred Marriott sets a Land Speed record of 127.659 mph on Ormand Beach in Florida. The car was powered by a Stanley steam engine and used an upside down Robertson canoe for the body.
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1907
Doc Shanebrook... Born ... AAA driver 1950's
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1919
Roscoe Sarles drove a Miller-powered Roamer to victory at Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles, California.
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1925
Paul Newman... Born ... Actor, movie star, champion road racing driver and Indy Car owner.
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1936
Al Gordon... Died ... AAA driver, died in a racing accident at Legion Ascot Speedway in California. Rex Mays won the race.
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1956
Nick Fornoro Jr.... Born ... Eastern midget, sprint and supermodified driver. Son of one of the sport’s premier flagman, and Chief Starter for the Championship Auto Racing Teams Indy Car Series from 1979-1992 Nick Fornoro.
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1962
Gene Hartley, driving the George Hopkins Offy, won the 50 lap USAC Midget race at the indoor Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati , OH. Billy Woods was second followed by Johnny White, Nick Wilhelm and Chuck Rodee.
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1964
Don Branson won the first 50 mile USAC Sprint Car race on 1 mile dirt oval Arizona State Fairgrounds, Phoenix, AZ. A.J. Foyt was second followed by Chuck Hulse, Jim McElreath and Gordon Woolley.
A.J. Foyt won the second 50 mile USAC Sprint Car race on 1 mile dirt oval Arizona State Fairgrounds, Phoenix, AZ. Jim McElreath was second followed by Roger McCluskey, Johnny Rutherford and Don Branson.
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1974
Cale Yarborough completed the rain postponed NASCAR Grand National "Western 500" at Riverside International Raceway, the opening round of the 1974 season. The race began on the 20th, with 63 of 191 laps run before a downpour hit the track (Yarborough reported snow flurries on the backstretch). Rains persisted and officials elected to complete the race the next Saturday. The race resumed under clear skies, but windy and cold. Yarborough was the only contender to pit before the rains, taking the lead when the rest pitted shortly after the restart. Yarborough went on to lead all but 6 of the last 127 laps, but running low on fuel, the Chevy motor began sputtering with 2 laps left. Yarborough held on, running completely out of gas as he crossed the line 3 seconds in front of Richard Petty's Dodge. David Pearson finished third in the Wood Brothers Mercury. For the first time, the new NASCAR point system was used. Based on a multiple of basic prize money and number of events entered, the standing showed Yarborough with 11.025 points, Petty 6.525 and Pearson 5.025 .
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1976
Scott Wimmer... Born ... NASCAR driver
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1980
Johnny Coy Sr. wins the TQ Midget feature at the indoor Atlantic City Convention Hall.
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2003
Eddie Leavitt... Died ... Sprint car driver from the 1970's & 80's. He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2001 and was in the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame. He was a two-time National Sprint Car Champion.
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2010
Jeff Mathews won the opening round of the 11th annual Open Wheel Modified Winternationals Championship Stock Car race at the East Bay Raceway Park, Tampa, FL. Dave Hess Jr. was second followed by Stormy Scott, Perry Brown and Kevin Weaver.
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