Maynard K. Yingst (October 10, 1949 – March 6, 1993) was an American racer and crew chief from Linglestown, Pennsylvania. He quit his

sprint car racing Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...

career to become the crew chief for

Bruce Larson Bruce Larson (1937) is an American retired drag racer from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He became nationally known for his match races. He quit funny Car racing in 1972 after a bad fire and raced in the Pro Stock class for 2 years. He then returned ...

's 1989 national championship

Funny Car Funny Car is a type of drag racing vehicle and a specific racing class in organized drag racing. Funny cars are characterized by having tilt-up fiberglass or carbon fiber automotive bodies over a custom-fabricated chassis, giving them an appea ...

drag racing 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 c ...

team. He was nicknamed "The Linglestown Leadfoot".

Racing career

Yingst was a sprint car racer in Central

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He had won six features at

Williams Grove Speedway Williams Grove Speedway is a half-mile automobile dirt racing track located in Mechanicsburg , Pennsylvania, USA. The speedway opened on May 21, 1939, it has been owned by the Hughes family for over 50 years and has hosted many of the most nota ...

. In 1984, he won the 410 Sprint car championship at Selinsgrove Speedway. Yingst won the inaugural Selinsgrove Open sprint car racing in 1983, and he repeated as the special event champion in 1984 and 1985. He usually raced with a white #88 racecar.

Crew chief

After taking a some time off, fellow Pennsylvanian racer Bruce Larson wanted to return to drag racing in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) after a long career as a match racer. Yingst quit his sprint car racing career to become Larson's crew chief in NHRA's

division. Larson won the 1989 NHRA

title after winning six national events (the Winternationals, Springnationals, Mile-High nationals, Seafair Nationals, Fallnationals and the NHRA Winston Finals) and finishing second at five more events. He worked for "Flash Gordon" Mineo in the 1991 season, entering five national events. He was hired by

Chuck Etchells Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * ...

in 1992 to be his crew chief, and Etchells had three events wins to finish fifth in the season points.

Death

Yingst was working in the pits at

Houston Raceway Park Houston Raceway Park, formerly known as Royal Purple Raceway, is a quarter-mile dragstrip in Baytown, Texas, just outside Houston. Built in 1988, the Park is situated on 500 acres on the eastern edge of the greater Houston metropolitan area and i ...

on March 6, 1993 at the NHRA Slick 50 Nationals when he collapsed and died from a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circul ...

. "We were devastated," said Etchells. "Maynard was only 43 and was at the top of his profession. My feeling at the time-was not that we had lost a crew chief but a very dear friend who was like a father to all of the guys on the crew." Williams Grove Speedway started a "Maynard Yingst Memorial" sprint car race after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yingst, Maynard 1949 births 1993 deaths Auto racing crew chiefs People from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Racing drivers from Pennsylvania Deaths from intracranial aneurysm