Learned today from my buddy Frank in Pennsylvania of the death of legendary driver Smokey Snellbaker. No, Smokey didn't drive stock cars - but I'd have sure loved to see him in one. Smokey drove dirt sprint cars, mostly in central Pennsylvania and what a driver he was. Smokey was a 2002 inductee to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and won track championships and big events at many of the famed dirt speedways in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland. I had the opportunity in 1990 to watch him put on a driving clinic in a dirt sprint car at the historic Williams Grove, Pennsylvania track. He was no spring chicken then, but he sure could show the youngsters the short way around, sideways, in one of those winged sprint beasts. More than that, he was the friend of other racers and those in the grandstand. He was still full of fun at a more advanced age. Frank tells me he ran into him the other year at a car show in York, PA featuring a pretty hokey "beauty pageant." A fairly lame magician was performing, much to the crowd's dismay, when Smokey suggested the magician wouldbe better appreciated if he made the beauty contestants' clothes disappear! Another one of those colorful drivers disappearing from racing who showed up every week, had fun and thrilled the fans. In reading various reports, it was always mentioned how he stayed around after the races to talk to fans. R.I.P. Smokey.
This brief piece appeared in National Speed Sport News online:
Smokey Snellbaker
Smokey Snellbaker Dead At 79
by NSSN Staff
DOVER, Pa. Legendary open-wheel racer Larry Smokey Snellbaker has died at the age of 79. Snellbaker, who raced sprint cars, super sportsman and other types of cars primarily in Central Pennsylvania, was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2002. Snellbaker began driving in 1965 and amassed more than 150 sprint car victories and raced in the super sportsman class until recently. Among the car owners for whom Snellbaker drover were Jack Imerbrink, Al Hamilton, Bob Weikert, Bud Hoffman, Kenny Beck, Gary Wasson and Roy Morrall when the pair campaigned the familiar No. 880 sprint car. Snellbaker drove for Mike and Charlie Lloyd beginning in 1977 and the team won the Williams Grove National Open and the Syracuse Super Nationals in 1979. Through the years Snellbaker earned track championships at Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway, Penn National, Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway, Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway and Williams Grove Speedway. We raced back then because we enjoyed it, Snellbaker said upon his induction into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. No, we loved it. We made money, but we really had fun at it.
And - from the York, PA newspaper:
Local racing loses legend in Snellbaker
COLUMN By BRYAN HOUSEHOLDER The York Dispatch
Updated: 10/07/2011 07:51:01 AM EDT
The central Pennsylvania racing area has lost another of its legendary drivers.
Dover's Smokey Snellbaker died Wednesday afternoon.
Snellbaker began his Hall-of-Fame racing career in 1966 and had raced through the 2010 season.
His time on the local circuit earned Snellbaker berths in both the York County Racing Club Hall of Fame and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
Snellbaker actually put together two separate careers on the local tracks.
He began racing in the cut-down racers known locally as "bugs," and followed that class through the progression into today's sprint cars.
As he became older and was no longer able to find winning sprint-car rides, Snellbaker moved into the super-sportsman class and kept right on winning.
Snellbaker scored his first sprint-car win in 1968 at Susquehanna Speedway, and before ending that phase of his career, had won 152 sprint-car races. His wins included the Williams Grove National Open, the Syracuse Super Nationals and wins against the World of Outlaws and USAC (United State Auto Club). He won point titles at Williams Grove, Selinsgrove, Port Royal and Hagerstown, along with the overall title in Jack Gunn's KARS series.
Snellbaker's most productive year in a sprint car was in 1975, when he won 29 features. Seven times during his career, Snellbaker won a dozen or more sprint-car features in a single season. His last sprint-car wins came in 1983 at Port Royal.
After another season or so in the sprint cars, Snellbaker began racing in the super-sportsman class, and also spent some time in the 358 sprint cars. He won another 35 features in the super sportsmen and continued racing them on occasion even through last season.
While he didn't spend much time in the 358 sprints, he was also a winner there.
Snellbaker also raced for a time with USAC's Dirt Champ Car class. Those cars evolved from the Indy cars of the 1940s and 1950s, and often attracted some of Indy's finest.
During the time when USAC and CART were fighting for control of the Indy-car series, USAC invited a few of the Dirt Champ Cars to compete with the Indy cars in a 500-mile race at Pocono. Snellbaker was one of the drivers invited and got to compete with some of his racing heroes, including four-time Indy 500 champion A.J. Foyt. That was one of his proudest moments.
While he was one of this area's biggest stars, Snellbaker always had time for the fans who supported the sport. He never disappeared after a race and seemed to always make time for the various events fans attended around the area.
Snellbaker was one of the first drivers to befriend me when I got started in this business and always made time for me. Less than two weeks ago, we sat together to watch the super-sportsman and limited-late-model races on a Sunday evening at Susquehanna Speedway Park.
This season was the first time since his career began that Snellbaker didn't drive a race car at some time during the season. Not that he had retired. Snellbaker was still looking for a ride. However, earlier this season he began experiencing some health problems and probably then realized that his time behind the wheel had come to an end.
Now he's gone, and those of us left behind will always have all those great memories.
Bryan Householder writes about dirt-track racing for The York Dis patch. He can be reached at sports@yorkdispatch.com.
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
