Richard Passwater (July 24, 1926 – July 10, 2020) was an American racecar driver who raced in

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

and

USAC Stock Car The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently comp ...

s. He won the fifth race of the

1953 NASCAR Grand National Series The 1953 NASCAR Grand National Series began on February 1 and ended on November 1. Future NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Herb Thomas, driving his own No. 92 Hudson Hornet, won the championship and became the first repeat champion of the series. It i ...

(now NASCAR Cup Series) at

Charlotte Speedway Charlotte Speedway was the site of NASCAR's first Strictly Stock Series (now NASCAR Cup Series) race on June 19, 1949. The Daytona Beach Road Course held the first race sanctioned by NASCAR in 1948. The track was a few miles west of the NASCAR ...

Background

Passwater was born in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

and he attended

Danville Community High School Danville Community High School (DCHS) is a public high school located in Danville, Indiana. DCHS enrolls students from grades nine through twelve and is operated by the Danville Community School Corporation. Danville is part of the Sagamore Confe ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

between 1942 and 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was a Presbyterian.

Racing career

Passwater started racing after the war and was active in the 1950s and 1960s.Interview
, Fall 2001, Jet Trust News, Retrieved July 5, 2007 He won the fifth race of the 1953

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 to 1970, then the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand Nation ...

season at

in his 1953

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

.Driving statistics
Retrieved July 5, 2007 He won the race after most of the top contenders either fell out of the race or had to make a late pit stop at the 3/4 mile long dirt track.(NASCAR) Timelines
at

Fireball Roberts Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts Jr. (January 20, 1929July 2, 1964) was an American stock car racer. Background Roberts was born in Tavares, Florida, and raised in Apopka, Florida, where he was interested in both auto racing and baseball. He was ...

' website, Retrieved July 5, 2007 The race saw a then-record six drivers take the lead with 18 lead changes. He led three laps in his NASCAR career, all in this race at Charlotte. One of Passwater's Oldsmobiles is in a museum in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

. He retired because car owner

Frank Arford Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

had died in a crash in

Langhorne, PA Langhorne Borough is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,622 at the time of the 2010 census. The mailing address "Langhorne" is used for Langhorne Borough, but it is also used broadly to describe the majority of surrou ...

while attempting to qualify for the race. Passwater returned home without a ride. He campaigned a self-owned Olds for his last race in the '53

Southern 500 The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is and consists of 367 laps. Fro ...

, finishing ninth. He raced in a

during the 1960s.

Life after racing

Passwater worked at car repair shops. He opened a car body repair shop named Passwater's Auto Specialists in

Broad Ripple Broad(s) or The Broad(s) may refer to: People * A slang term for a woman. * Broad (surname), a surname Places * Broad Peak, on the border between Pakistan and China, the 12th highest mountain on Earth * The Broads, a network of mostly nav ...

. He retired in 1996 and moved to

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

. Passwater died in July 2020, shortly before his 94th birthday.

References

External links

*
Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Passwater, Dick 1926 births 2020 deaths NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from Indianapolis Military personnel from Indiana United States Navy personnel of World War II American Presbyterians