I cannot begin to explain the feelings of our favorite drivers dying tragically, too early and way before their time. But for those who die on the track it is anything but unfair. The ones who suffer are those left behind. To fend off the losses and betrayal. Daughters and sons, wives and girlfriends, parents and the racing community at-large.
Another aspect to us are the memories and they grow and they ebb and they grow again. Born of clay and resurrected in photographs. Sometimes the tracks met their own demise, a victim of parking lots, malls and apartment complexes. A few have reminders by the way of old paths, dilapidated stands or even bits of the concrete that featured these local and sometimes national superstars.
Some of these tracks even have landmarks like restaurants, carnivals or maybe a beach. But none of these supercede the value of a driver or the memories of old men and women. Ours kids may even consider us old-fashioned but in racing the memories live longer as more obscure drivers are remembered in the minds of youths.
Our fathers sat in the sands and as kids we wondered what all the racket and drama was about but as time wore on those legends became clearer and more relevant. There are seldom drugs that can induce greatness and these heroes have families, crews and fans who helped them to become good and great.
Above is the great Richie Evans in his familiar Orange #61. The first driver to be elected into the NASCAR hall-of-fame from the old NASCAR Modified division. A winner of over 600 races, this man is known far and wide in the racing community and he died in the mid 80s.
This driver was a contemporary of Richie Evans and to many the next greatest Modified driver ever by many fans though some may say the still living Geoff Bodine or Jerry Cook, both rivals of Evans and both a contender to win on any given night. The elder Bodine once posted 55 feature wins in one season! Charlie died in 1987 at 45 years old. Charlie won 187 feature events and won at 16 different tracks. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.
Corky Cookman was another Modified fatality. Winner of 44 lifetime features, still a significant number, the young driver died in 1987 and dying at age 44.
Tom Baldwin Sr. raced over 40 years and won 250 modified races. His son now works with Kasey Kahne on his race team. The #7ny was a fixture at many tracks and in the day would race against, Evans, Siscone, Jarzombek, Cookman, etc.
This was the great Ray Hendrick who won over 700 races and died of cancer in 1981. Geoff Bodine raced this car for awhile too. Though not an accident fatality of autoracing, his death is very notable.
http://www.oswegospeedwayoldtimers.com/Jim-Shampine.html
Jim Shampine was a Modified and Super-Modified driver in mainly upstate NY and near Rochester. He was also seen on the tour with the bigs on many occasions in the #69 shown above. He was in a quality pavement, full bodied modified for the annual 200 lap modified race at Oswego. A simple spin and bad timing with on coming traffic cost him his life.
He died in 1982 at the age of 41 with over 200 career wins in Modified and Super-modifieds.
Tony Jankowiak, another in a line of great driver and Tom Druar. Both drivers are featured with stories about their careers and ultimately their deaths.
http://www.tonyjankowiak.com/tdindex.htm
John Richard Blewett, III (October 25, 1973 August 16, 2007), from Howell Township, New Jersey , was a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver. [1]
http://www.longislandjam.com/driver.php?seriesId=7ionId=2&driverId=1540&carId=11519
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whelen_Modified_Tour
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blewett_III
My brother and I saw a few races and while it has it's dark history, remembering these superstars and their rigs and cars was breathtaking. Little did we know in the early to mid 80s, that these memories crystalize into focus and the legacy left by these great drivers are immense. If you ever get to check out their histories further and commemorate them because they and their families deserve it.
