Wilfred "Chubby" LeRoux (October 10, 1933 – May 29, 2020) was a pioneering American driver of modified stock cars. Equally adept on both dirt and asphalt surfaces, he competed regularly in the northeastern United States and the southeastern Canada, capturing 6 track titles.

Racing career

Chubby LeRoux began racing in 1955 at various tracks in the

Champlain Valley The Champlain Valley is a region of the United States around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York extending north slightly into Quebec, Canada. It is part of the St. Lawrence River drainage basin, drained northward by the Richelieu River into ...

region. In northeastern New York, he became a track regular at Canton Speedway and later

Fort Covington International Speedway Fort Covington International Speedway was a dirt oval raceway located just 1.5 miles from the Canada–United States border with New York State and 3.5 miles from the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne territory. Overview In spring of 1953, R. S. Lomber ...

in his number 6-12 white and red coupe. LeRoux added the NASCAR sanctioned

Saranac Lake Speedway Saranac Lake Speedway was a dirt oval raceway in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. It was a home track of 1960 national NASCAR Sportsman Division co-champion Dick Nephew, who also captured the speedway's title that same year. Overvie ...

when it opened in 1959. An eye injury prompted LeRoux to limit his driving and to form a partnership with fellow driver Gaston Desmarais in 1965 and 1966, and the merger included a number change to the legendary 6-50. LeRoux returned to driving in 1967, and then the closing of Saranac Lake sent LeRoux looking for new racing venues in 1968. LeRoux found the clay surfaced

Watertown Speedway Watertown Speedway was a 1/2 mile dirt oval raceway located at the Jefferson County fairgrounds in Watertown, New York. History Auto racing was first presented at the former horse track located on Coffeen St in 1936 and again in 1940, when ...

, New York, and claimed the track championship that first year. LeRoux claimed 5 more track championships at New York venues over the next seven years, adding one at

Brewerton Speedway Brewerton Speedway is a 1/3rd mile D-shaped dirt oval raceway in Brewerton, New York. It is considered one of the oldest jewels of the robust Central New York racing scene. History The Brewerton Speedway was built as a ¼ mile clay racetrack ...

, a second at Watertown, and three in a row at the asphalt surfaced Evans Mills Speedway.

References

External links

The 6-50 with Chubby LeRoux The 6-50 with Gaston Desmarais
{{DEFAULTSORT:LeRoux, Chubby 1933 births 2020 deaths Racing drivers from New York (state)