Steve Danish

Steve Danish
Born	Stephen Danish March 16, 1919 Green Island, New York
Died	August 12, 2003(2003-08-12) (aged 84)
Motorsport career
Debut season	1949
Car number	61
Championships	5
Wins	120
Finished last season	1966
Championship titles
1953 NASCAR NY Sportsman Champion[1]

Stephen "Steve" Danish (March 16, 1919 – August 8, 2003) was an American sprint car and midget racer, who became a pioneering stock car driver. He was known for his neatly pressed tan driving uniform and dent free, pristine, finely lettered race cars.[2][3]

Racing career

Steve Danish drove open-cockpit race cars before and after World War II, but in 1949 changed his focus to the sportsman stock cars trending in popularity. He impressed his competitors by beating flathead V-8 powered cars with his 6-cylinder engine, and soon captured track championships at Metowee Speedway in Granville, New York and State Line Speedway near Bennington, Vermont.[3][4]

Danish competed regularly in New York's Capital Region, including Airborne Park Speedway in Plattsburg, Arlington Speedway, Richfield Springs Speedway, and Victoria Speedway in Dunnsville, with annual trips to the National Open at Langhorne Speedway PA.[5][6] He captured three Fonda Speedway track championships.[2]

Steve Danish retired from racing in 1966 with 120 feature event wins.[2] He was inducted into the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 1994.[7][8]

References

1. "Steve Danish". The Catamount Stadium Website. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
2. Hill, John (May 13, 1994). "Profile: Steve Danish". Inside Track. The Post-Standard. p. IT 19. Retrieved April 18, 2024 – via NewspaperArchive.
3. Szczerba, Ron (April 29, 2017). "Steve Danish Tribute Highlights Saturday At Fonda". Race Pro Weekly. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
4. "Steve Danish victor in 25 lap feature at State Line track". The Record. September 29, 1951. p. 10. Retrieved April 19, 2024 – via NewspaperArchive.
5. "Steve Danish first in Arlington '100'". Daily Freeman. August 11, 1952. p. 8. Retrieved April 19, 2024 – via NewspaperArchive.
6. "Steve Danish-Career Results by Series". The Third Turn. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
7. "NYSSCA unveils new Hall of Fame display". New York State Stock Car Association. February 7, 2005. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
8. Boggie, Tom (June 3, 1994). "Around the tracks". The Daily Gazette. p. D6. Retrieved April 16, 2024 – via Google Books.