|
Richie Evans began racing in 1964 in the
Hobby division at Utica Rome Speedway. In a career that lasted only
21 years he became known as the “King of Modified racing” winning
nearly 500 feature races. He was nine time NASCAR National Modified
champion, winning an unprecedented eight consecutive titles from
1978 to 1985. He won over thirty track championships, including two
at Stafford, four at Thompson, and one at Riverside Park.
As an example of Evans dominance,
he qualified for 84 features in 1980 and won 52 of them. His win
list includes: Three Spring Sizzlers, two Thompson 300’s, three
Stafford’s Modified Madness as well as wining the Race of Champions
three times.
Richie won the Daytona
International Speedway Modified race in 1979 and repeated the
victory in 1980.
His non racing honors include
being elected National Modified Most Popular Driver nine times. In
1996 he was inducted into the International Motorsport Hall of Fame
in Talladega in 1996.
Richie lost his life in a horrific
accident while practicing for the season ending modified race at
Martinsville in October 1985. |
