Howie Westervelt

Last updated
Howie Westervelt
BornHoward Westervelt
April 10, 1921
Ravena, New York
DiedSeptember 19, 1992(1992-09-19) (aged 71)
Modified racing career
Car number24,38,83
Championships1
Finished last season1962

Howard Westervelt (April 10, 1921-September 19, 1992) was a pioneering American Dirt Modified racing driver. He was known for turning on a rooftop mounted blue light any time he took the lead in a race. [1]

Contents

Racing career

Howie Westervelt had a 10-race winning streak in 1959 at the Lebanon Valley Speedway, New York, ultimately capturing 17 modified features and the track championship. [2] He competed regularly in New York's Capital Region, including Clearview Speedway in Westerlo, Fonda Speedway, Menands Raceway, Pine Bowl Speedway in Snyders Corners, Rhineback Speedway, and Victoria Speedway in Dunnsville. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Westervelt was inducted into the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 1997. [1] [9]

References

  1. 1 2 Hedger, Ron (April 11, 1997). "Westervelt joining Dirt Hall of Fame". The Daily Gazette . Schenectady NY. p. 2. Retrieved April 15, 2024– via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "Westervelt wins Lebanon final". North Adams Transcript . MA. October 6, 1959. p. 10. Retrieved April 15, 2024– via NewspaperArchive.
  3. ↑ "Stock cars to race at Clearview". The News-Herald. Ravena NY. June 9, 1950. p. 20. Retrieved April 15, 2024– via NYS Historic Newspapers.
  4. ↑ "Westervelt wins feature at Pine Bowl". The Record . Troy NY. September 5, 1955. p. 20. Retrieved April 15, 2024– via NewspaperArchive.
  5. ↑ "Westervelt cops race at Empire Speedway". The Record . Troy NY. July 5, 1956. p. 31. Retrieved April 15, 2024– via NewspaperArchive.
  6. ↑ "Washburn Memorial winner". Daily Freeman . Kingston NY. August 8, 1957. p. 29. Retrieved April 15, 2024– via NewspaperArchive.
  7. ↑ "Good crowd on hand for Welch benefit". Schenectady Gazette . NY. August 19, 1959. p. 24. Retrieved April 15, 2024– via Google Books.
  8. ↑ "Howie Westervelt - Results by year". The Third Turn. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  9. ↑ "NYSSCA unveils new Hall of Fame display". New York State Stock Car Association. February 7, 2005. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
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.