Danny Letner

Danny Letner
Born(1928-01-03)January 3, 1928
Downey, California
DiedMarch 30, 2018(2018-03-30) (aged 90)
Orange, California
AwardsWest Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2002 - Inaugural Class)
NASCAR Cup Series career
27 races run over 8 years
Best finish33rd (1954 NASCAR Grand National Series)
First race1951 Race 4 (Carrell Speedway)
Last race1963 Riverside 500 (Riverside International Raceway)
First win1954 Race 27 (Oakland Stadium)
Last win1955 Race 14 (Tucson Rodeo Grounds)
Wins Top tens Poles
2 10 1

Danny Lewis Letner[1] (January 3, 1928 – March 30, 2018) was an American racecar driver who won two races in what is now the NASCAR Cup Series.[2]

Career

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In 1951, Letner ran five NASCAR Grand National Division races in cars owned by his father, Bert. He earned two top-fives that year with a best finish of eighth. Letner then competed in a handful of races each year from 1954 to 1957, adding seven more top tens, including wins at Oakland and Tucson.[3][2]

In 1954, Letner won two races and finished in second place in the NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model standings. The next year, he won three races en route to a championship in his only full-time season. He won three of the twelve races he entered in 1957, his final season in the series.[2]

In 1956, Letner ran 23 races in the inaugural season of the short-lived NASCAR Convertible Division, winning at Langhorne Speedway.[4]

Letner retired from stock car racing in the early 1960s, but later took up off-road racing. He won the SCORE Parker 400 in 1989 at the age of 61,[5] and would go on to finish tied for second in the championship standings that year.[6]

In 2002, he was inducted into the first class of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.

Personal life

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Letner was born in Downey, California. His son Marty and grandsons Kory and Harley have also competed in off-road racing.[7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "Danny L Letner from Orange, CA". Radaris.com. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Driver Danny Letner Career Statistics". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  3. ^ "O'Connor Wins Big Car Race; Letner Nabs Stock Car Victory". San Bernardino Sun. No. 2 August 1954. 2 August 1954. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Letner Takes Auto Title Race". The New York Times. No. May 21, 1956. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Letner first finisher in Parker 400 race". San Bernardino Sun. No. 29 January 1989. 29 January 1989. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Letner racing crowned unlimited class one champions". kingshocks.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  7. ^ "NASCAR West champion Danny Letner passes". nascar.com. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Harley Letner carries on a family tradition at Laughlin that stretches back to the 1940s". snoreracing.net. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
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