Will Cagle... Born ... Florida racer who made his name in Northeast Modified racing in the 1960's , 70's and 80's. He is one of the all time great modified drivers.
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1946
Larry Rice... Born ... A former driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. Rice had a major win when he won the 1970 Hut Hundred. Rice finished third in 1972 USAC National Midget championship, helping his team (Shannon Brothers) win the owner's championship. Rice followed up by winning the 1973 USAC National midget driver's championship himself. Rice was also the 1977 and 1981 USAC Silver Crown Series champion. He raced in 5 seasons in Championship cars (1974, and 1978-1979, and 1981), with 9 combined career starts, including the 1978 and 1979 Indianapolis 500 and finished in the top ten 3 times. He was co-named the 1978 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, along with Rick Mears, for his 11th place finish. After he stopped racing in 1991, he became the color analyst on ESPN's Saturday Night Thunder program that featured midget, sprint, and Silver Crown racing. He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1993.
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1947
Roger Mears... Born ... A former off-road driver who also drove in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1978-1984 seasons, with 31 combined career starts, and started in the 1982 and 1983 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 17 times, with his best finish in 4th position achieved 3 times. Late in his career, he raced 4 times in the 1995 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, racing for Hendrick Motorsports, including the inaugural series race at Phoenix. His best career finish, however, was a 16th at Mesa Marin. Roger is the father of NASCAR driver Casey Mears and the brother of 4-time Indinapolis 500 winner Rick Mears.
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1956
Jimmy Makar... Born ... NASCAR crew chief
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1957
Buck Baker, defending NASCAR Grand National champ, drove his factory backed Hugh Babb Chevy to victory in the 99 mile race on the 9/10 mile Orange Speedway in Hillsboro, North Carolina. Speedy Thompson finished 3/4 of a lap behind and Jack Smith a lap down in third, giving owner Babb his 2nd 1-2-3 sweep of the season. GM president Ed Cole was on hand for the sweep. Following the race, Chevrolet advertised it's recent successes in national publications, a violation of a new NASCAR rule, resulting in NASCAR president Bill France stripping Chevy of all manufacturer's points from the Hillsboro race.
Andy Linden won the 50 lap USAC Sprint Car race at the Dayton Speedway, Dayton, OH.
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1960
Scott Pruett... Born ... An American race car driver who has competed in NASCAR, Champ Car, IMSA, Trans-Am and Grand-Am.
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1962
Chuck Weyant won the 100 lap USAC Midget race at the Chicago Ampitheater, Chicago, IL.
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1963
A.J. Foyt won the 30 lap USAC Sprint Car race at the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway, Reading, PA. Roger McCluskey was second followed by Don Branson, Allen Crowe and Elmer George.
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1970
Buddy Baker drove a Dodge Charger Daytona to a new World Closed Course Speed Record of 200.447 mph at Talledega International Speedway.
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1974
Cale Yarborough won the NASCAR GN 'Atlanta 500' at Atlanta International Raceway, the first race under new carburetor rules. Controversial restrictor plates were dropped in favor of smaller carburetors for engines over 366 cubic inches. This made smaller motors the hot tip. David Pearson won the pole with a 351 c.i. motor in the Wood Brothers Mercury with Gary Bettenhausen alongside in the 366 c.i. Penske AMC Matador. The two cars were the class of the field, but used more fuel. Pearson had a comfortable lead until a green flag stop on lap 244 put Yarborough in front. A yellow soon came out, allowing Yarborough to stop under caution and a gain a lap on Pearson. Pearson chased Yarborough over the remaining laps, but still finished 21.7 seconds behind Yarborough's 427 c.i. Chevy. Buddy Baker was 3rd in the K&K Dodge's first start since owner Nord Krauskopf pulled out in protest of the restrictor plate rules. Bettenhausen wound up 9th after many tire stops.
Bill Puterbaugh won the 40 lap USAC Sprint Car race at the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway, Reading, PA.
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1989
Doug Wolfgang won the second night of the SuperTex Speedweeks NCRA-USA Challenge Sprint Car race at the Battleground Speedway, Houston, TX. ( Click here for the race report. )
ONE DAY
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