Dick Atkins
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| Dick Atkins | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Richard Charles Atkins April 23, 1936 Oakland, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | November 13, 1966 (aged 30) Gardena, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 13 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| Years active | 1965–1966 | ||||||
| Best finish | 12th – 1966 | ||||||
| First race | 1965 Golden State 100 (Sacramento) | ||||||
| Last race | 1966 Golden State 100 (Sacramento) | ||||||
| First win | 1966 Golden State 100 (Sacramento) | ||||||
| |||||||
Richard Charles Atkins[1] (April 23, 1936 – November 13, 1966) was an American racing driver from Oakland, California.
Atkins came up in sprint cars and won the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 1965 and was rewarded by race promoter J. C. Agajanian with a chance to race in the USAC National Championship in 1966. He failed to qualify for the 1966 Indianapolis 500, but finished fourth at Trenton Speedway in September then won on the dirt oval at Sacramento in October, for his first "big car" win. However, he was killed just a month later in a sprint car crash at Ascot Park in California in a wreck that also killed Don Branson. He finished 11th in 1966 USAC National Championship points.
Awards
[edit]- Atkins was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2021.
Complete USAC Championship Car results
[edit]| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | PHX | TRE | INDY | MIL | LAN | PPR | TRE | IRP | ATL | LAN | MIL | ISF | MIL | DSF | INF | TRE | SAC 12 | PHX 12 | 49th | 30 |
| 1966 | PHX 22 | TRE | INDY DNQ | MIL 20 | LAN DNQ | ATL 23 | PIP | IRP 10 | LAN 9 | SPR 12 | MIL 12 | DUQ 2 | ISF 6 | TRE 4 | SAC 1 | PHX | 11th | 815 | ||
References
[edit]- ^ "Dick Atkins". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
External links
[edit]- Dick Atkins at Champ Car Stats
 | This biographical article related to United States auto racing is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
| Dick Atkins | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Richard Charles Atkins April 23, 1936 Oakland, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | November 13, 1966 (aged 30) Gardena, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 13 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| Years active | 1965–1966 | ||||||
| Best finish | 12th – 1966 | ||||||
| First race | 1965 Golden State 100 (Sacramento) | ||||||
| Last race | 1966 Golden State 100 (Sacramento) | ||||||
| First win | 1966 Golden State 100 (Sacramento) | ||||||
| |||||||
Richard Charles Atkins[1] (April 23, 1936 – November 13, 1966) was an American racing driver from Oakland, California.
Atkins came up in sprint cars and won the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 1965 and was rewarded by race promoter J. C. Agajanian with a chance to race in the USAC National Championship in 1966. He failed to qualify for the 1966 Indianapolis 500, but finished fourth at Trenton Speedway in September then won on the dirt oval at Sacramento in October, for his first "big car" win. However, he was killed just a month later in a sprint car crash at Ascot Park in California in a wreck that also killed Don Branson. He finished 11th in 1966 USAC National Championship points.
Awards
- Atkins was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2021.
Complete USAC Championship Car results
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | PHX | TRE | INDY | MIL | LAN | PPR | TRE | IRP | ATL | LAN | MIL | ISF | MIL | DSF | INF | TRE | SAC 12 | PHX 12 | 49th | 30 |
| 1966 | PHX 22 | TRE | INDY DNQ | MIL 20 | LAN DNQ | ATL 23 | PIP | IRP 10 | LAN 9 | SPR 12 | MIL 12 | DUQ 2 | ISF 6 | TRE 4 | SAC 1 | PHX | 11th | 815 | ||
References
- ^ "Dick Atkins". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
External links
- Dick Atkins at Champ Car Stats
 | This biographical article related to United States auto racing is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |