Bentley Warren (born December 10, 1940, in

Kennebunkport, Maine Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. The town center, the area in and around Dock Squa ...

) is an American racecar driver. He is best known for racing in the USAC

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...

series, and for some New Englanders, even more so for his racing in the Supermodified winged cars, now called

ISMA Isma is a genus of butterflies. ISMA may refer to: * The Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA), a Malaysian NGO * The International Securities Market Association * The International Supermodified Association, a sanctioning body in modified racing * The I ...

. During the 1970s, he twice raced in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

Biography

Warren had his first win 1957 at West Peabody, Massachusetts.Biography
at the

New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame The New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for racing-related people in the New England region of the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primari ...

, 2007, Retrieved October 2, 2007 As of 2007, he had won races at 34 tracks in the United States and Canada. His first championship came in 1962 in the B-class at Hudson and the Pines. Since then, he has won championships at

Oswego Speedway The Oswego Speedway is a 5/8 mile race track in Oswego, New York. It was built in 1951 and was paved with asphalt since the 1952. The track has held dates on several national tours - the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, ASA National Tour, and USAC ...

Star Speedway Star Speedway is a short-track oval race track located in Epping, New Hampshire. It hosts a tour-type modified stock car racing division under the management of the Webber family. History Star Speedway opened in 1966, having been primarily bu ...

, New England Super Modified Racing Association and

. Warren raced in the 1970–1975 seasons, with 37 career starts, including the

races of

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. He finished in the top ten 14 times, with his best finish in fourth position in 1970 at

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. After he stopped racing in the Indy cars, Warren's career was revitalized at Oswego Speedway, driving for Tom Heveron in a wingless supermodified. While subbing for injured driver Doug Heveron, Bentley racked up 5 wins in his first 6 starts which led to a series of great rides including the Flying 5 and one of Paul Dunigan's fleet. Bentley has won the International Classic at Oswego 6 times. Other notable wins include the

Little 500 The Little 500 (also known popularly as the "Little Five"), is a track cycling race held annually during the third weekend of April at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind ...

twice, the Copper World Classic, the Star Classic, The Thompson World Series, and an east–west showdown between the best of the supermodified drivers. He continues to drive on occasion in the ISMA supermodified series and recorded a win in 2006 driving for car owner Vic Miller. In the early 2000s, Bentley worked with actor

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

in a

midget car Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, and typically use four-cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

and supermodified at Star Speedway in

Epping, New Hampshire Epping is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,125 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 6,411 at the 2010 census.United States Census ...

. In the late 1990s and in the 2000s, Bentley dabbled back in the USAC open-wheel division, and continued to make appearances in supermodifieds. Later on, sometime around 2007, Bentley's Campground and Biker Saloon were constructed in Arundel, Maine, serving as a tourism site and recreational haven.

Career awards

*He was inducted in the

in 2007.

Indy 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Bentley 1940 births Living people Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Kennebunkport, Maine Racing drivers from Maine USAC Silver Crown Series drivers World of Outlaws drivers