Mike Klapak
BornMike Klapak
(1913-03-08)March 8, 1913
Warren, Ohio
DiedMarch 13, 1997(1997-03-13) (aged 84)
NASCAR Cup Series career
13 races run over 4 years
Best finish6th (1953)
First race1950 Poor Man's 500 (Canfield Speedway)
Last race1953 (Charlotte Speedway)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0
NASCAR Sportsman Division
1950,1951,1952National Champion

Mike Klapak (March 8, 1913 – March 13, 1997) was an American race car driver from Warren, Ohio. Klapak won the first three championships of the NASCAR Sportsman division from which the Xfinity Series is a direct descendant in 1950, 1951 and 1952.[1]

Racing Career

Mike Klapak began racing at the Sharon Speedway on the Pennsylvania-Ohio border in 1931, and by 1950 regularly competing with NASCAR, where he won the first of three consecutive NASCAR Sportsman Division (predecessor of currently Xfinity Series) titles in 1950, 1951 and 1952.[2] He also entered 13 events in the Grand National Division (now NASCAR Cup), including multiple times at the Daytona Beach Road Course.[1]

Klapak spent much of his career in the Midwest Association for Race Cars, now ARCA, where he won two more titles.[3]

Klapak was the 2009 pioneer selection for the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame.[4]

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.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 NGNC Pts Ref
1950 Mike Klapak 23 Ford DAB CLT LAN MAR CAN
14		 VER DSP
25		 HAM DAR LAN
40		 NWS VER MAR WIN HBO 98th - [5]
Nash DSP
15		 MCF CLT HBO
1951 Perry Smith Studebaker DAB
42		 CLT NMO GAR HBO ASF NWS MAR – – [6]
John Marcum 77 Nash CAN
8		 CLS CLB
Mike Klapak 35 DSP
26		 GAR GRS
24		 BAI
26		 HEI
42		 AWS MCF ALS MSF FMS MOR ABS DAR CLB CCS LAN CLT DSP WIL HBO TPN PGS MAR OAK NWS HMS JSP ATL GAR NMO
1952 Marshall Teague 4 Hudson PBS DAB
47		 JSP NWS MAR CLB ATL CCS LAN DAR DSP CAN HAY FMS HBO CLT MSF NIF OSW MON MOR PPS MCF AWS DAR CCS LAN DSP WIL HBO MAR NWS ATL PBS 199th - [7]
1953 Bill Adams 18 Oldsmobile PBS DAB HAR
6		 NWS CLT
8		 RCH CCS LAN CLB HCY MAR PMS RSP LOU FIF LAN TCS WIL MCF PIF MOR ATL RVS LCF DAV HBO AWS PAS HCY DAR CCS LAN BLF WIL NWS MAR ATL - - [8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Mike Klapak". Legendsofnascar.com. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  2. ↑ "NASCAR XFINITY Series Results". The Third Turn. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Special Features - Julian Buesink". Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  4. ↑ "Stock car racing: Thompson finally breaks through at Albany-Saratoga". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  5. ↑ "Mike Klapak – 1950 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Mike Klapak – 1951 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Mike Klapak – 1952 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Mike Klapak – 1953 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
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