Jeep Herbert
Williams, Bill (March 16, 1990). "'Jeep Herbert' Fonda Speedway racing pioneer". Gater Racing News (25th Anniversary ed.). Liverpool NY. p. 10.
| Jeep Herbert | |
|---|---|
| Born | Howard Herbert April 14, 1927 |
| Died | November 29, 2002 (aged 75) |
| Retired | 1963 |
| Debut season | 1949 |
| Car number | 1, 11, 37, 53, 62, 451, 991 |
| Championship titles | |
| 1956, 1957 NASCAR NY Sportsman Champion[1] | |
Howard "Jeep" Herbert (April 14, 1927– November 29, 2002) was an American driver of dirt modified stock cars. Herbert picked up his nickname from the comic strip character "Eugene the Jeep" after dropping one side of a customer's car into the service pit at a gas station where he was employed.[2][3]
Racing career
Jeep Herbert began racing in 1949 at the Perth Speedway, New York, in a 1934 Ford coupe numbered 451.[4] He centered his career at the Fonda Speedway (New York), where he claimed the track championship in 1959 and had a total of 25 wins. He also competed successfully at 40 different speedways including New York's Airborne Park Speedway, Burden Lake Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, Monroe County Fairgrounds, Pine Bowl Speedway in Snyders Corners, Syracuse Mile, Utica-Rome Speedway, and Victoria Speedway in Dunnsville; State Line Speedway in Bennington, Vermont; Thompson Speedway in Connecticut; Trenton Speedway in New Jersey; and Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania.[1][5][6]
Herbert retired from racing at age 36, having competed on both the sand at Daytona Beach and the tri-oval at Daytona International Speedway.[3][7] He was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified and the New York State Stock Car Association Halls of Fame.[1][8]
References
- ^ a b c "Howard "Jeep" Herbert". Sunday Gazette. Schenectady NY. December 1, 2002. p. B8. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ Boyd, Lew (2002). Fonda! An Illustrated and documented history of the legendary Fonda Speedway. Coastal 181. ISBN 0970985428.
- ^ a b Szczerba, Ronald J. (December 8, 2002). "Szczerba NYSSCA and Fonda Speedway lose a part of their history in Jeep Herbert". New York State Stock Car Association. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ Williams, Bill (March 16, 1990). "'Jeep Herbert' Fonda Speedway racing pioneer". Gater Racing News (25th Anniversary ed.). Liverpool NY. p. 10.
- ^ "Jeep Herbert cops coveted berth in State Line win". The Times Record. Troy NY. August 29, 1953. p. 11. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via NewspaperArchive.
- ^ "Jeep Herbert ready to challenge Holiday". Press-Republican. Plattsburgh NY. August 11, 1956. p. 9. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
- ^ Hoefs, Art (February 6, 1960). "Jeep Herbert heads for Daytona stock car event". Schenectady Gazette. NY. p. 19. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ Hill, John (May 28, 1999). "Early dirt racers get HOF honor". The Post-Standard. Syracuse NY. p. D10. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via NewspaperArchive.
