Richard "Richie" Panch (born May 28, 1954, in

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

– died September 1, 1985, near Rion,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

) was a

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 ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

driver from 1973 to

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

.''Richie Panch''
information at Racing Reference He was the son of NASCAR Cup Series veteran

Marvin Panch Marvin Panch (May 28, 1926December 31, 2015) was an American stock car racing driver. Winner of the 1961 Daytona 500 and 1966 World 600, he won seventeen NASCAR Grand National Series events during a 17-year career. Early career Born in Menom ...

Career

Panch had officially raced a grand total of 9,295 laps - the equivalent of of stock car racing – and had led nine of them. His average start was 18th place while his average finish was 23rd place. His total earnings were $90,842 USD ($ when adjusted for inflation).

Death

Panch was killed on September 1, 1985, along with the other three people aboard a

Piper PA-28 Cherokee The Piper PA-28 Cherokee is a family of two-seat or four-seat light aircraft built by Piper Aircraft and designed for flight training, air taxi and personal use.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', pages 62–64. Werner & Werner Corp, ...

that flew into a squall line and heavy rain near Rion,

, and came apart in mid-air.planecrashinfo.com Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents: 1980s
/ref>

References

1954 births 1985 deaths Accidental deaths in South Carolina NASCAR drivers Racing drivers from Florida Sportspeople from Daytona Beach, Florida Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1985 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States {{NASCAR-bio-stub