Wikipedia

Richie Evans

For other people with the same name, see Richard Evans (disambiguation).

Richard Ernest Evans (July 23, 1941[1] – October 24, 1985), was an American racing driver who won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, including eight in a row from 1978 to 1985. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame lists this achievement as "one of the supreme accomplishments in motorsports".[2] Evans won virtually every major race for asphalt modifieds, most of them more than once, including winning the Race of Champions three times.[1] Evans was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011. As one of the Class of 2012, Evans was one of the Hall's first 15 inductees, and was the first Hall of Famer from outside the now NASCAR Cup Series.

Richie Evans
Evans at New Smyrna Speedway in 1985
Nationality American
BornRichard Ernest Evans
(1941-07-23)July 23, 1941
Westernville, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 24, 1985(1985-10-24) (aged 44)
Martinsville, Virginia, U.S.
Winston Modified Tour
Years active1985
TeamsB. R. DeWitt
Starts28
Wins12
Poles4
Best finish1st in 1985
Previous series
1965–1984NASCAR Modified Division
Championship titles
1985
1982–1985
1973, 1978–1984		Winston Modified Tour
Winston Racing Series Northeast
NASCAR Modified Division
Awards
2011NASCAR Hall of Fame

Early career

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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, a local stock car racer, Chuck Mahoney, 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 Modified division, the premier short track division. In 1965, winning his first feature in the season's final night.[4]

National championships

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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 Martinsville Speedway while practicing for the Winn-Dixie 500 tripleheader in late 1985 (three races in one day—a 200-lap Modified race, a 200-lap Busch Series race, and a 100-lap Late Model race). Before his crash, Evans had clinched NASCAR's inaugural Winston Modified Tour (now known as Whelen Modified Tour) championship a week earlier at Thompson, Connecticut.

Regional championships

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In 1982, NASCAR created the Whelen All-American Series, then known as the Winston Racing Series, to reward successful short-track racers and to provide incentives for them to support their local weekly short tracks, known now as NASCAR Home Tracks. 

He was Holland Speedway's first NASCAR champion (1982). Evans won the Northeast Region championship all four years that he competed in it, from 1982 through 1985, but did not win the national championship.[5]

Fatal crash and legacy

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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 race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia (the races featured 200-lap Modified and Busch Grand National, and a 100-lap Late Model feature). He crashed heavily into the concrete retaining wall in Turn 3, and perished in the accident. The racing world was devastated by the loss of Richie, but his devoted fans have done much to keep his memory alive.

Evans' signature paint scheme, truck fleet color Swamp Holly Orange, began with "borrowed" paint from the local highway department garage.

NASCAR named him as one of the sports' 50 Greatest Drivers during its 50th anniversary year in 1998. On January 20, 2012, Evans was inducted into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame. On June 14, 2011, Evans was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame

He is survived by wife Lynn and 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.

Awards and honors

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Track championships

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(30 championships at 11 tracks in 4 states. All were in the Modified division on paved tracks.)[4]

Other acknowledgements

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  • 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

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(518 feature wins known = 516 in Modifieds, 1 in Limited Sportsmen, and 1 in Supermodifieds, at 40 tracks in 12 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces).[4]

Recognition

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  • 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

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Whelen Modified Tour

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NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour results
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

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  • Zanardi, Pete. Stock Car Racing, April 1974. (Richie Evans biography article.)

References

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  1. ^ a b c Bourcier, Bones, "61 at 61", Speedway Illustrated (ISSN 1528-4182), Volume 3, Number 8, August 2002.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ RICHIE EVANS, Modified Stock Car Racing Legend Retrieved 2014-09-07.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Bourcier, Bones. RICHIE!: The Fast Life and Times of NASCAR's Greatest Modified Driver (1st ed., 2004). Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA: Coastal 181. ISBN 0-9709854-6-0.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Schaefer, Paul. Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, 2006. pp. 163–170.
  9. ^ "1985 NASCAR Winston Modified Tour Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
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