Richie Evans

Competitor, Car Builder
CLASS OF 1998

Richie Evans began racing in the Hobby division at Utica-Rome Speedway (NY), his hometown track, in 1964. The following season he moved up to the Modifieds, earning his first victory in the last race of the season. He would travel frequently, including to non-NASCAR sanctioned tracks. When NASCAR fined him for competing elsewhere, Richie refused to pay the fine and raced at non-sanctioned tracks for over a year. Citing New York’s Right to Work laws, Evans was allowed to return and in late 1971 in spectacular fashion – a dominant win in the New Yorker 400.

He then teamed with car owner Gene DeWitt and won his first NASCAR Modified National Championship in 1973. After his hometown rival Jerry Cook won 4 straight championships from 1974-1977, Evans would regain the Championship in 1978 and never relinquish it again during his career. He won a record 8 straight NASCAR Modified Championship from 1978-1985, the last of which was the first of the current NASCAR Modified Tour. He additionally won back-to-back NASCAR Connecticut State Championships (1980-1981), 4-straight NASCAR Northeast Regional Championships (1982-1985) and an unprecedented 9 Most Popular Driver Awards.

He earned an incredible 30+ track championships at regional short tracks, including Thompson Speedway (5), Stafford Speedway (2), New Egypt Speedway (2), Utica-Rome Speedway (4), Holland Speedway (4), Fulton Speedway (3), Spencer Speedway (4), Shangri-La Speedway (3), Oswego Speedway, Riverside Park Speedway and Chemung Speedrome.

When the Modifieds became part of the New Smyrna World Series, Evans dominated the annual event, winning the Modified Championship in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984 with 37 total feature wins. New Smyrna now holds a 100 lap race in his honor to close out the modified schedule during the World Series.

As an example of Evans dominance, in 1980 he qualified for 84 features and won 52 of them. Some of the prestigious modified races he won during his career include the Martinsville’s Dogwood Classic (1978, 1981, 1983), the Islip All-Star 300 (1975-1976), Thompson Ice Breaker (1981, 1982, 1985), Stafford’s Spring Sizzler (1975, 1976, 1985), Thompson 300 (1983, 1985) and back-to-back super speedway races at Daytona International Speedway in 1979-1980.

In addition to all those accomplishments at various tracks, he also took down wins at 13 other tracks: Lancaster Speedway, Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Cayuga County Speedway, Hickory Motor Speedway, Metrolina Speedway, Freeport Speedway, Fonda Speedway, Monadnock Speedway, Seekonk Speedway, Caraway Speedway, Bowman-Gray Stadium, Twin State Speedway and Oxford Plains Speedway.

Richie died from injuries suffered in an accident while practicing for the season ending Martinsville Classic in October 1985. He had already clinched the tour championship, the last of his record 9 NASCAR Championships. He was named on NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers, 10 greatest Modified drivers and was inducted as part of the inaugural class of their Hall of Fame, the only driver with no experience on the Cup series. Known as “The King of the Modifieds”, Evans is widely considered the greatest modified driver of all time.