Lowell Bennett (born May 14, 1958) is an American stock car racing driver. The

Neenah, Wisconsin Neenah () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the north central United States. It is situated on the banks of Lake Winnebago, Little Lake Butte des Morts, and the Fox River, approximately forty miles (60 km) southwest of Green ...

native has competed in the

NASCAR Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

, the World Series of Asphalt, and has five Slinger Nationals championships. He continues to race in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, primarily at

Wisconsin International Raceway The Wisconsin International Raceway (abbreviated WIR) is an asphalt stock car racing oval and dragstrip in the Town of Buchanan, in Outagamie County, just outside Kaukauna, Wisconsin, USA. History Wisconsin International Raceway originally o ...

(WIR).

Racing career

Early years

Bennett started racing on dirt, in a 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle bought from his father. The first track that he raced on was Shawano Speedway, just outside of

Shawano, Wisconsin Shawano (pronounced SHAW-no) is a city in Shawano County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,305 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Shawano County. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a tota ...

. Bennett's first year of racing was 1976; he won his first race at Shawano and it paid $80. In the following years, Bennett raced at Shawano, and in

De Pere De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, J ...

and

Seymour, Wisconsin Seymour is a city in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,451 at the 2010 census. The city is located within the Town of Seymour and the Town of Osborn. History Seymour was founded in 1868 and named after Governo ...

at dirt tracks. In 1981, he tried his hand at asphalt racing and raced at Shawano and Slinger Speedway, after winning a track championship at Shawano that year and one more year of double duty in 1982, Bennett decided to back down his schedule. He continued to race at local tracks through the end of the 1900s, eventually transitioning to the half-mile paved oval at

. Bennett won his first Slinger Nationals title in 1997, then followed it up in 2000, 2004, 2007 and 2010 to come out with a total of five championships. Lowell Bennett WIR Super Late Model

NASCAR

Running a self-funded team, Bennett ran seven total races in the

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 ...

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

(now the Xfinity Series). Three were in 2002, and two each in 2003 and 2004. He scored a best finish of 21st, at the

Indianapolis Raceway Park Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Raceway) is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about northwest of downtown Indianapolis. I ...

in 2002.

Post-NASCAR

Bennett has continued to run at

and Slinger Speedway, winning the prestigious Red, White and Blue championship at the former and the Slinger Nationals at the latter. His son Braison now runs at WIR and other regional touring series as part of the 2017 Kulwicki Driver Development Program.

Personal life

Bennett's father Bobby was a local

late model A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

driver who also served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Lowell was 1st of ten kids born in the family (hence the car number 2 as Bobby was #1, Lowell #2, and down the lines it went with all 6 boys in his racing family) and was born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

while his father was on tour.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Lowell 1958 births Living people Sportspeople from Neenah, Wisconsin Racing drivers from Wisconsin NASCAR drivers ARCA Midwest Tour drivers