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Sprint Cup
CUP: Evans Roars Into Hall Via Backroads
Richie Evans built a superstar career with nine championships in the Modified Series…
Fifth In A Series
It had rained during the overnight hours, and the morning air at Martinsville Speedway that October day, 1985, was damp. It was a gloomy start to the race weekend.
Clay Campbell was sitting in his office behind the main grandstands at the Sprint Cup Series’ oldest track. The low-slung, power-house cars of the Modified Series were on the track for their first practice of the week. Suddenly, a tremendous noise ripped through the air, and Campbell immediately knew there had been a huge crash on the track.
“On the radio, the tower said, ‘Roll rescue, roll fire,’ and I could tell from the tone of the voice that there was urgency,” Campbell said. He walked down to the track and saw Richie Evans’ crumpled racer stopped at the entrance to the frontstretch.
In a moment of horror – the throttle on the car apparently had stuck, Evans had smashed nearly head-on into the wall between turns three and four. The car banged along the outside wall through turn four before coming to rest on the frontstretch.
Evans never had a chance. One of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history had lost his life, ending a career that still generates conversation in the garages and taverns of the Northeast, Evans’ racing region.
A nine-time Modified champion and a short-track wizard, Evans will be inducted posthumously into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in a ceremony Friday night in Charlotte, N.C. Also in the third hall class are Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Glen Wood and Dale Inman. The ceremony will be broadcast by SPEED at 6 p.m. ET Sunday.
Evans, who died at the age of 44, blazed a trail through the sport despite never starting a Cup Series race. He was the ultimate big fish in a small pond, dominating Modified racing, winning an estimated 475 feature races and producing a good living without venturing into more visible series.
“I asked him one day about all the championships and races he’d won,” said Jimmy Spencer, who raced against Evans in modifieds before moving on to Cup. “He said, ‘I make more money than a Winston Cup driver makes. I’m home on the weekends. I stay in my own little area here, and I make a really good living.’”
Evans built and maintained his own cars and was a victory threat at every stop.
“A lot of the modified guys built their own cars,” Spencer said. “They liked to do little things differently to them so they’d have an edge. He did a good job of that, and he sold a lot of race cars. But he was a great driver. He probably would have won just as many races in somebody else’s car.”
Over the years, Evans became almost a mythic figure in Northeastern racing. He lived in Rome, N.Y., and ran his operation from there. He put together eight straight series championships (from 1978 through the year he died) and built a fan following that rivaled those of some Cup stars.
“It was like a rock star coming here,” said Campbell of the Martinsville track, a popular stop on the Modified tour. “He was the king. If you could outrun Richie, you could probably win. That’s how good he was.
“He loved life. He was a character. He was the modifieds’ hero. He lived life hard and drove hard. I don’t know of anybody else that would fit the mold. He was a hell of a competitor, and he had a good time on the track and off the track. He was a super nice guy, always had a smile on his face when he met you.
“It was a great loss for the sport and for the division. I don’t think the modifieds have been the same since.”
Campbell said a jump to a higher racing division probably never was a thought for Evans.
“He was so successful doing what he was doing that he didn’t need to,” he said. “He was making a living. He was running his tail off, but he enjoyed it. I don’t think he wanted or needed to move to Cup.”
Spencer said Evans was friendly to other drivers and offered help and advice – up to a point.
“I became pretty good friends with him,” Spencer said. “He’d help you, but after he’d get you to a certain point, he wouldn’t help you any more. He had the mentality of the Saturday night racer. You either became a good driver, or you didn’t.
“He wasn’t afraid to pass people. You hear stories about guys rooting and gouging. Richie would pass you. He had the thinking of, ‘When you get to the guy, pass him.’
“He enjoyed life. He enjoyed racing. After the race was over, he’d pop a cold one with you and talk about the race, whether he won or finished fifth.”
Evans will become the only member of the Hall without a connection to Cup racing. This year’s class brings the total number of inductees to 15. His election is expected to improve the Hall chances of other stars who succeeded outside the Cup series, particularly drivers like Jack Ingram and Sam Ard.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 29 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
It had rained during the overnight hours, and the morning air at Martinsville Speedway that October day, 1985, was damp. It was a gloomy start to the race weekend.
Clay Campbell was sitting in his office behind the main grandstands at the Sprint Cup Series’ oldest track. The low-slung, power-house cars of the Modified Series were on the track for their first practice of the week. Suddenly, a tremendous noise ripped through the air, and Campbell immediately knew there had been a huge crash on the track.
“On the radio, the tower said, ‘Roll rescue, roll fire,’ and I could tell from the tone of the voice that there was urgency,” Campbell said. He walked down to the track and saw Richie Evans’ crumpled racer stopped at the entrance to the frontstretch.
In a moment of horror – the throttle on the car apparently had stuck, Evans had smashed nearly head-on into the wall between turns three and four. The car banged along the outside wall through turn four before coming to rest on the frontstretch.
Evans never had a chance. One of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history had lost his life, ending a career that still generates conversation in the garages and taverns of the Northeast, Evans’ racing region.
A nine-time Modified champion and a short-track wizard, Evans will be inducted posthumously into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in a ceremony Friday night in Charlotte, N.C. Also in the third hall class are Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Glen Wood and Dale Inman. The ceremony will be broadcast by SPEED at 6 p.m. ET Sunday.
Evans, who died at the age of 44, blazed a trail through the sport despite never starting a Cup Series race. He was the ultimate big fish in a small pond, dominating Modified racing, winning an estimated 475 feature races and producing a good living without venturing into more visible series.
“I asked him one day about all the championships and races he’d won,” said Jimmy Spencer, who raced against Evans in modifieds before moving on to Cup. “He said, ‘I make more money than a Winston Cup driver makes. I’m home on the weekends. I stay in my own little area here, and I make a really good living.’”
Evans built and maintained his own cars and was a victory threat at every stop.
“A lot of the modified guys built their own cars,” Spencer said. “They liked to do little things differently to them so they’d have an edge. He did a good job of that, and he sold a lot of race cars. But he was a great driver. He probably would have won just as many races in somebody else’s car.”
Over the years, Evans became almost a mythic figure in Northeastern racing. He lived in Rome, N.Y., and ran his operation from there. He put together eight straight series championships (from 1978 through the year he died) and built a fan following that rivaled those of some Cup stars.
“It was like a rock star coming here,” said Campbell of the Martinsville track, a popular stop on the Modified tour. “He was the king. If you could outrun Richie, you could probably win. That’s how good he was.
“He loved life. He was a character. He was the modifieds’ hero. He lived life hard and drove hard. I don’t know of anybody else that would fit the mold. He was a hell of a competitor, and he had a good time on the track and off the track. He was a super nice guy, always had a smile on his face when he met you.
“It was a great loss for the sport and for the division. I don’t think the modifieds have been the same since.”
Campbell said a jump to a higher racing division probably never was a thought for Evans.
“He was so successful doing what he was doing that he didn’t need to,” he said. “He was making a living. He was running his tail off, but he enjoyed it. I don’t think he wanted or needed to move to Cup.”
Spencer said Evans was friendly to other drivers and offered help and advice – up to a point.
“I became pretty good friends with him,” Spencer said. “He’d help you, but after he’d get you to a certain point, he wouldn’t help you any more. He had the mentality of the Saturday night racer. You either became a good driver, or you didn’t.
“He wasn’t afraid to pass people. You hear stories about guys rooting and gouging. Richie would pass you. He had the thinking of, ‘When you get to the guy, pass him.’
“He enjoyed life. He enjoyed racing. After the race was over, he’d pop a cold one with you and talk about the race, whether he won or finished fifth.”
Evans will become the only member of the Hall without a connection to Cup racing. This year’s class brings the total number of inductees to 15. His election is expected to improve the Hall chances of other stars who succeeded outside the Cup series, particularly drivers like Jack Ingram and Sam Ard.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 29 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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