- Bobby Wawak
Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = Bobby Wawak
Birthdate =September 4 1939 | Birthplace = Villa Park,Illinois
Died =April 17 2004
Cause of Death = Unknown
Awards =Best_Cup_Pos = 22nd - 1974 (Winston Cup)
Cup_Wins = 0
Cup_Top_Tens = 41
Cup_Poles = 0
First_Cup_Race = 1965Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last_Cup_Race = 1988Daytona 500 qualifier #1 (Daytona)
Total_Cup_Races = 141
Years_In_Cup = 17Bobby Wawak (
September 4 1939 –April 17 2004 ) was an AmericanNASCAR driver fromVilla Park, Illinois . He made 141 Grand National/Winston Cup (nowNEXTEL Cup ) starts, with 14 Top 10 finishes. [http://racing-reference.info/driver?id=wawakbo01 Driver's statistics at racing-reference] , RetrievedSeptember 13 2007 ]Racing career
Local racing
He began
drag racing as a teenager. He raced in his first stock car race at around 1958 at Mance Park Speedway inHodgkins, Illinois . He raced regularly at theO’Hare Stadium inSchiller Park, Illinois . He competing in both the cadet (sportsman) and late model divisions. [http://www.kalracing.com/Autoracing/Bobby_Wawak_Bio.htm "Bobby Wawak"] ; Stan Kalwasinski; ChicagolandAutoRacing.com; RetrievedSeptember 13 2007 ]In 1974 he was the 1974 late model stock car champion at
Illiana Motor Speedway inSchererville, Indiana . He competed at the track in 1973 and 1974, winning 14 features at that half mile asphalt track in his 1971Ford Torino . He won 21 total races (including preliminary events) in 1974.National touring series
USAC
Wawak competed on the USAC stock car circuit in 1965. He made six races with a sixth place finish in one event during his rookie season. He finished 18th in the final USAC standings that year. Wawak did not return to USAC racing until 1969 and would compete on a limited basis into the early 1970s.
NASCAR
Wawak made occasional NASCAR starts before 1976, except for making 14 NASCAR starts in 1967. His first start was in the 1965
Southern 500 atDarlington Speedway . He started 27th, and finished 36th with engine problems.His most successful year was 1976, when he finished 22nd in the points. His highest career finish was a sixth place finish in the final race of the season at Ontario.
The fuel line on his car came loose on the third lap of the 1977
Daytona 500 , and the fire came into the car's cockpit. Wawak jumped from the car while it was still moving (and slammed into the inside wall moments later), held up his burnt hands, and ran to the infield care center. "It was like sitting in front of a blow torch," Wawak said later. He made six more starts that year.He continued racing in NASCAR, and made 96 more NASCAR starts. His career ended when he crashed in the first qualifier for the
1988 Daytona 500 . Wawak suffering a fracturedvertebra and detachedretina s.Randy Lajoie raced in one race in his car in 1988, and Mike Potter raced three races in 1990.After his NASCAR career ended, he helped
Hendrick Motorsports with theirshow car s.Death
Wawak died on
April 17 ,2004 at age 64. He was survived by his wife Stevi and two daughters.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.