Dick Atkins
Richard Charles Atkins (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 in a sprint car crash at Ascot Park in California just a month later in a wreck that also killed Don Branson.[1] He finished 12th in 1966 USAC National Championship points.
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[]
- ^ Richard C. Atkins, FindAGrave, Retrieved 2013-09-03
External links[]
- Dick Atkins at Champ Car Stats
Categories:
- 1936 births
- 1966 deaths
- Racing drivers from California
- Racing drivers killed while racing
- Sportspeople from Oakland, California
- Sports deaths in California
- American auto racing biography stubs