Lew Russell Robinson (June 2, 1933 – February 6, 1971), nicknamed "Sneaky Pete", was an American

drag racer Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most ...

Biography

Robinson was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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. Robinson was born Lew Russell Robinson but is best known as Pete or "Sneaky Pete". Pete is the son of Olaf Robinson brother to Lowell Galen Robinson or "LG". Olaf had two sons Torch and Pete Robinson. Pete married wife Sandra Robinson on October,27th 1962, at the family home in Fitzgerald. They lived in Atlanta where Pete owned Pete's Engineering Company and raced NHRA top fuel dragsters. Pete's wife traveled with him to the races, and helped her husband run his business until his death.

Career

Gassers

He started drag racing in 1950, at the wheel of a Buick-engined B/Gas 1940 Ford, which he continued to campaign until 1961.

Dragsters

Robinson purchased his first

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from a wealthy friend, who was unable to persuade his father it was merely a

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. Robinson, obsessive about lightening his cars (once quipping, "Anything that falls to the ground when you let it go from your hand is way too heavy to be on my race car." ) immediately began trimming weight off the car, reducing it from over the course of three months. He improved its performance from a previous quickest pass of 9.50 seconds to a 9.13. It was the focus on weight reduction that prompted him to switch to a Cobra engine, which was lighter than the Chevrolet. He gained national attention at

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsp ...

's 1961 Nationals at

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 his

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Dragmaster-chassied gas dragster, eliminating Tom McEwen (not yet "Mongoose") to win AA/GD before beating Dode Martin to take the Top Eliminator title. Along the way, he set low

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of the meet with an 8.68 second pass, which contributed to his "Sneaky Pete" appellation. At the 1962 NHRA Winternationals, Robinson reached the semi-final in Top Eliminator before being defeated by eventual event winner Nelson. Robinson also attended the 1963 NHRA U.S. Nationals at IRP.

Top Fuel

1964

Robinson moved up to

Top Fuel Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of and finishing the runs in 3.62 second ...

in 1964. He did compete in

Top Gas Top Gas (T/G) is a former NHRA drag racing professional class. Analogous to Top Fuel, Top Gas was a pro class, and allowed dragsters (T/GD) as well as bodied cars. Several noteworthy cars ran in Top Gas. One of the early streamliners, ''Scuder ...

at the 1964 NHRA U.S. Nationals, losing in the final to

Gordon Collett Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

1965

Relying on a new Ford "Cammer", he reached TF/D final the 1965 Springnationals at

Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...

, being eliminated by Maynard Rupp. In Top Gas at that event, he lost to Collett again.

1966

He started his 1966 Top Fuel season at the AHRA Winter Nationals at Irwindale Dragway in

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. He was eliminated in the second round at Pomona by

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(driving for Roland Leong). He was eliminated in round one at Bristol. At 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 ...

Summer Nationals, held at Dragway 42 in

West Salem, Ohio West Salem is a village in Wayne County, Ohio. The population was 1,464 at the time of the 2010 census. West Salem is served by a branch of the Wayne County Public Library. The noted drag racing track Dragway 42 is located nearby. History Wes ...

, he qualified #2, and defeated Joe Jacono (#10 qualifier) in round 1, Chris "The Greek" Karamesines (#14 qualifier) in round two, and #16 qualifier

Connie Kalitta Conrad "Connie" Kalitta (born February 24, 1938) is an Americans, American businessman and former drag racing driver, nicknamed "The Bounty Hunter". Kalitta is the CEO of Kalitta Air and the owner of Kalitta Motorsports.Nick Marshall. At the Nationals, he lost in round one to Nick Marshall. He took his first Top Fuel win just over a month later, at the World Finals, at Tulsa Raceway Park in

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. He eliminated Kalitta in round one and

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in the semi-final, before defeating Dave Beebe in the final with a 7.17 second pass.

1967

Robinson started the 1967 season with a victory over Jerry "King" Ruth, but a loss in the semi-final to Kalitta, at Pomona. He suffered a broken arm in tire testing early in the year, but still made it to the TF/D final of the 1967 Springnationals at Bristol, eliminating Tom Hoover in round one and Leroy Goldstein ("the Israeli Rocket") in the semi-final, before being beaten in the final by Don "The Snake" Prudhomme. During the 1967 season, he also tied McEwen's record 6.92 second pass.

1968

Beeline Dragway in

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hosted the AHRA Winter Nationals to start the 1968 season. With the field including Tom Hoover, Frank Pedgregon, Leroy Goldstein,

Danny Ongais Danny Ongais (May 21, 1942 – February 26, 2022) was an American racing driver. Ongais was the only native Hawaiian to compete in the Indianapolis 500. He competed professionally in motorcycle, sports car, CART, IndyCar, Formula One, and ...

, Tom "Mongoo$e" McEwen, and Chris "The Greek" Karamesines, Robinson again lost to Prudhomme in the final. At a

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at OCIR in March, Robinson joined Larry Dixon, Prudhomme, Kalitta, McEwen, and Don "Big Daddy" Garlits; Garlits would ultimately be beaten in the final by Vic Brown. At the Springnatls at Englishtown, again facing the likes of Karamesines, Prudhomme, Kalitta, and Garlits, Robinson failed to qualify.

1969

Opening the 1969 season, Robinson returned to Beeline, qualifying #30 for the AHRA Winter Nationals, in a field that included Goldstein (the eventual winner), Hoover, Karamesines, Prudhomme, Kalitta, and Dixon. The AHRA Spring Nationals featured a field of sixteen, again hosting Goldstein (once more the eventual winner), Karamesines, and Prudhomme; Robinson qualified #15. At the NHRA Nationals, he was eliminated in round one by eventual winner Prudhomme. The event was marred by John "The Zookeeper" Mulligan's wreck; Mulligan died of his burns sixteen days later.

1970

The 1970 AHRA Winter Nationals saw Robinson qualify #14 in a field of 16, only to lose in round one to #3 qualifier John Wiebe; the early loss earned Robinson US$200. Robinson won TF/D at the Summernationals, at York U.S. 30 Dragway in

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, by beating Jim Nicoll in the final It earned him US$7250. Later that year, he won the 1970 AHRA World Championship at Bristol, beating Jimmy King in the final. Before the year ended, he went back to IRP for the 1970 NHRA Nationals, eliminating Chip Woodall in round 1 and Bob Murray in round two before losing in round three to Prudhomme. Robinson attended the 1970 NHRA World Finals at DIMS, in Lewisville, Texas; it was won by Ronnie Martin. Robinson went back to Beeline for the 1970 AHRA Winter Nationals, but failed to make the field. Following his successful 1970 season, now being the only driver left running a 427 Cammer, and having lost factory support, Robinson decided to retire and concentrate on building lightweight casings for superchargers, differentials, and similar components. He hired Bud Dabler to drive his new ground effect-equipped dragster, instead. Dabler disliked the car.

1971

Entering at

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for a 1971 AHRA TF/D event, Robinson was eliminated in round one by Rick Ramsey, which paid just US$200. At the first ANRA Grand American Series event of the 1971 season, Robinson clocked the quickest pass of his career, a 6.50, in the new car, and decided to enter at the 1971 Winternats, only three weeks away. At Pomona on 6 February, he qualified with a 6.77, low e.t. of the day. On a subsequent pass, the chassis twisted, causing the front tires to separate from the rims; Robinson, in the right lane, hit the guardrail, and the car broke in pieces.

Death and legacy

He was taken to hospital in Pomona and died later that day. He was thirty-seven. At his death, Robinson was "one of the sport's best-liked gentlemen".

Don Garlits Donald Glenn Garlits (born January 14, 1932, Tampa, Florida) is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer in the field o ...

, himself an innovator, respected Robinson's engineering: "Pete was always on the edge of the envelope..." He would be listed #22 on NHRA.'s list of its Top 50 Greatest Drivers.Motorsport.com
(retrieved October 4, 2018) Pete Robinsons wife passed away April 18, 2020 at her home. Pete Robinson and his wife are survived by his daughter, Kelly Robinson Vann (Glen), two nieces, Carol Bishop (Joe) and Leah Masters (Chuck), there great nephew and great nieces, Matthew Bishop (Mary), Philip Bishop (Anna) Sarah Keadle(Karl), Katherine McMahon (Kieran), Margaret Harris(Ryan), Andrea Sandbach(Taylor), their children. Other surviving relatives would be cousins Jon Robinson, and Sean Lowell Robinson great grandchildren of Lowell Robinson (Pete Robinsons uncle).

Notes

Sources

*Brown, Allan E. ''The History of America's Speedways - Past & Present'', 2nd edition. Comstock Park, MI, United States, 1994. .

External links

(bio page)
Atlas F1 forumHotrod.com
(bio page)
''Hot Rod'' magazine
(bio page) {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Pete (drag racer) 1933 births 1971 deaths American racing drivers Dragster drivers People from Atlanta Racing drivers from Atlanta Racing drivers from Georgia (U.S. state) Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in California Sportspeople from Atlanta