Bob Rossell

Last updated
Bob Rossell
Born (1936-09-01) September 1, 1936 (age 88) [1]
Wrightstown, New Jersey
Debut season1958
Modified racing career
Car number56
Wins51+ [2]
Finished last season1977

Bob Rossell (born September 1, 1936) is a pioneering driver of modified stock cars. Before his retirement, he was also a much sought-after car builder and fabricator, with many top drivers finding success in Rossell racers, with its signature square tubing. [3]

Racing career

Bob Rossell began his career in 1958 at what is now New Egypt Speedway NJ, with an old Chevy coupe and a junkyard engine. He has since competed and been victorious at the renowned northeast race tracks including Flemington Speedway NJ, Langhorne Speedway PA, Marlboro Motor Raceway MD, Nazareth Speedway PA, Old Bridge Speedway NJ, Orange County Fair Speedway NY, and the Southside Speedway VA. [1] [3] [4]

Rossell captured NASCAR' s Battle of Bull Run at Old Dominion Speedway VA in 1963, and twice won the Garden State Classic at Wall Stadium NJ. [3] [5] He was first to cross the finish line in the1963 New Yorker 400 at Utica-Rome Speedway, but the win was reversed when NASCAR determined fellow driver Rene Charland had pushed Rossell across the line when he ran out of gas. [6]

After his retirement from racing, Bob Rossell went on to a second career building sulkies for Standardbred horses. He was inducted into the Eastern Motorsports Press Association and the Northeast Dirt Modified Halls of Fame. [1] [3] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richie Evans</span> American racing driver (1941–1985)

Richard Ernest Evans, was an American racing driver who won nine NASCAR National Modified Championships, including eight in a row from 1978 to 1985. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame lists this achievement as "one of the supreme accomplishments in motorsports". Evans won virtually every major race for asphalt modifieds, most of them more than once, including winning the Race of Champions three times. Evans was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on June 14, 2011. As one of the Class of 2012, Evans was one of the Hall's first 15 inductees, and was the first Hall of Famer from outside the now NASCAR Cup Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim McCreadie</span> American racing driver

Tim McCreadie is an American Dirt Late Model racing driver. He is the 2021 and 2022 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Champion. In 2007 he ran a partial schedule in NASCAR West Series, ARCA RE/MAX Series, NASCAR Busch Series, and World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

James "Jimmy" Horton III is a businessman who owns a radiator and chassis shop after a Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame career racing dirt modifieds. He raced in 48 NASCAR Winston Cup races in eight seasons. He was a regular on the ARCA circuit in the 1980s and 1990s. Horton has won many of the most noted races for dirt track modifieds in the Northeastern United States.

Gary Balough is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed from 1962 to 2001. Balough has won more than 1000 races throughout his short-track career and has accumulated more than 20 wins in the All-Pro division.

Kenny Brightbill, nicknamed the "Shillington Slingshot" and "Mr. Excitement" is a former NASCAR and professional dirt modified driver from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. He has won 441 career professional races and is also the all time wins leader of Reading Fairground Speedway with 135 career wins. Brightbill has won many of the most noted races for dirt track modifieds in the Northeastern United States, most notably 1988 Syracuse Miller High Life 300.

William (Bill) Wimble was an American stock car racing driver and two time champion of the NASCAR Sportsman Division.

Gerald Chamberlain is a retired American stock car racing driver from Everett, Pennsylvania. Chamberlain won 22 feature events at the Reading (PA) Speedway in 1971. He broke the track record the next year with 31 victories in one year.

Purdy “Budd” Olsen was an American national champion stock car and sprint car racing driver from the Thorofare section of West Deptford Township, New Jersey.

Alex “Al” Tasnady was an American stock car racing driver from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. After retiring from driving, Tasnady served as race director for Flemington Speedway.

Dick “Toby” Tobias was an American stock car and sprint car racing driver from Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He revolutionized the dirt track modified stock car class by producing a chassis constructed of tubular steel.

W. Alan "Rags" Carter was an American stock car racing driver from Miami Springs, Florida. He won the 1965, 1966 and 1969 championships at the Nazareth Speedway in Pennsylvania.

Alfred A. "Freddy" Adam was an American stock car racing driver. Adam centered his racing career on the Mid-Atlantic states, and won three track championships at Hatfield Speedway PA, as well as the final Modified title at the Dorney Park Speedway in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Douglas "Doug" Hoffman was an American Modified racing driver. He won 482 feature events and 25 championships at 40 different tracks in nine states and two Canadian provinces.

Raymond "Ray" Brown was a pioneering driver of Dirt Modified stock cars and later a standout open-cockpit Midget racer. From 1951 to 1959 Brown recorded 43 victories at the Orange County Fair Speedway and claimed three track championships.

C. William "Will" Cagle is a retired driver of modified stock cars. He won over 415 feature events and 26 championships at east coast venues stretching from Florida to Canada.

Billy Osmun is a retired American Dirt Modified racing driver. He focused his career on the Mid-Atlantic states, and won 59 feature events just in New Jersey.

Mervyn "Merv" Treichler is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed on both asphalt and dirt surfaces. In 1970 he won the Race of Champions, the premier asphalt race for modifieds. He also claimed the marquee events for dirt modifieds at Super Dirt Week in 1981 and 1982.

Clarence "C. D." Coville is a retired American Dirt Modified racing driver. Often-controversial for his aggressive and fearless driving style, he is credited with 150 career wins, including one Sprint car event.

Stan Ploski Jr. is a retired American Dirt Modified racing driver. Ploski had a 16-year winning streak at Flemington Speedway NJ (1966–1981), and captured 74 modified features at the venue over his career.

John “Jackie” McLaughlin was an American racing driver from the Thorofare section of West Deptford Township, New Jersey. Although best remembered for his exploits in a dirt-track Modified, he won several United Racing Club Sprint car races and was their 1954 “Rookie of the Year”.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bob Rossell-EMPA Hall of Fame". Eastern Motorsports Press Association. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  2. ↑ "ARRA-Cars, Drivers & Events - Bob Rossell". Auto Racing Research Associates. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Swanson, Buffy (July 15, 2018). "Hall of a guy: Wrightstown pioneer driver and builder Bob Rossell to enter Modified Hall of Fame". Burlington County Times . Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Rossell wins feature". Times Herald-Record. June 29, 1973. p. 110. Retrieved September 20, 2023– via NewspaperArchive.
  5. ↑ "Rossell snaps Wall oval jinx". Red Bank Register. September 16, 1974. p. 15. Retrieved September 20, 2023– via NewspaperArchive.
  6. ↑ Grady, John (August 30, 1971). "Stock Cars". The Daily Gazette. p. 27. Retrieved September 20, 2023– via Google Books.
  7. ↑ "EMPA Reveals Latest Hall Of Fame Inductees". Speed Sport. December 18, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.