Duane Howard | |
---|---|
Born | Duane L. Howard June 5, 1963 Oley, Pennsylvania |
Modified racing career | |
Debut season | 1985 |
Car number | 4,15G,66,85,114,126,357 |
Championships | 17 |
Wins | 272+ |
Previous series | |
1983-1984 1968-1982 | Late model Kart racing |
Championship titles | |
2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2019 NASCAR Pennsylvania State Champion | |
Last updated on: June 27, 2024. |
Duane Howard (June 5, 1963) is an American Dirt Modified racing driver, credited with over 250 career wins at tracks in the Mid-Atlantic (United States). [1]
Duane Howard grew up racing go-karts against fellow Oley PA resident Craig Von Dohren, and after seeing Von Dohren move on to stock cars, began racing late models at Silver Spring Speedway PA. Howard transitioned to modifieds and in 1989 claimed the Pennsylvania Tri-Track Championship, teaming with car owner Buddy Biever for weekly 358 modified racing at Big Diamond Speedway in Pottsville PA, Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville PA and Penn National Speedway in Grantville PA. [2] [3] [4]
Howard won the first of five NASCAR Pennsylvania state championships in 2007. Along the way, he claimed individual track championships at Big Diamond, Grandview, and Bridgeport Speedway NJ. [5] [6]
He also competed successfully at venues throughout northeast, including Accord Speedway NY, Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, Five Mile Point Speedway in Kirkwood NY, Fulton Speedway NY, Georgetown Speedway DE, New Egypt Speedway NJ, Penn Can Speedway in Susquehanna PA, Selinsgrove Speedway PA, Susquehanna Speedway in York PA, and the Syracuse Mile NY. [7] [8] [9]
Duane Howard was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 2025. [10]
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.
Watertown Speedway was a 1/2 mile dirt oval raceway located at the Jefferson County fairgrounds in Watertown, New York.
Grandview Speedway is a one third-mile automobile race track located just east of Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania, United States. Featuring moderately high banks and a wide racing surface, it is suitable for close racing and passing. The track is sanctioned by NASCAR in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
Modified stock car racing, also known as modified racing and modified, is a type of auto racing that involves purpose-built cars simultaneously racing against each other on oval tracks. First established in the United States after World War II, this type of racing was early-on characterized by its participants' modification of passenger cars in pursuit of higher speeds, hence the name.
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.
The Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to recognize individual achievements in the sport of stock car racing. It is located at 1 Speedway Dr., Weedsport, New York.
Craig Von Dohren is an American Dirt Modified racing driver. A NASCAR Northeast Regional champion, Von Dohren has over 350 career wins, at 13 tracks in five states.
Frank Cozze is an American Dirt Modified and sprint car racing driver, currently credited with over 300 career wins.
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.
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.
Robert "Bobby" Cain was a pioneering American stock car and sprint car racing driver. Raised in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country he and his cars were known to racing fans as the "Quaker Shaker".
Charles "Chuck" Akulis is a retired American Dirt Modified racing driver. Akulis had a 9-year winning streak at the Five Mile Point Speedway in Kirkwood, NY (1977–1985), and captured 14 track championships at the venue during his career.
Robert "Bobby" Gerhart Sr. was an American race car driver, equally skilled at Modified, Supermodified, and Sprint car competition. He won three track championships and over 300 feature races in a career that spanned three decades.
E. David "Dave" Kneisel was an American dirt modified race car driver. He was also a noted builder of race cars, founding Kneisel's Speed and Sport shop in Clarks Summit PA, which continued to field cars for multiple drivers after Kneisel's death.
Ken "Kenny" Meahl is a retired American Modified racing driver. He was the driver for teen car owner Jerry Cook for several years before the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver came of age.
Mitch Gibbs is a retired American Dirt Modified racing driver, credited with 179 career wins at 15 tracks in the Mid-Atlantic.
Dale Planck was an American Dirt Modified racing driver, credited with over 200 career wins at tracks in the Mid-Atlantic.
Jeff Strunk is an American Dirt Modified racing driver, credited with over 220 career wins at tracks in the Mid-Atlantic.
William "Billy" Van Pelt is a retired American Dirt Modified racing driver credited with 243 career wins at 9 tracks in the Twin Tiers regions of Pennsylvania and New York.
Big Diamond Speedway is a three-eighths-mile high-banked dirt oval raceway located in Pennsylvania's Coal Region.