Richard Charles Atkins (April 23, 1936 – November 13, 1966) was an American racing driver from

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. Atkins came up in sprint cars and won the

Turkey Night Grand Prix The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving ni ...

in 1965 and was rewarded by race promoter J. C. Agajanian with a chance to race in the USAC

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in 1966. He failed to qualify for the

1966 Indianapolis 500 The 50th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Monday, May 30, 1966. The official program cover for the race celebrated both the 50th running of the race, and 150th anniversary of ...

, but finished fourth at

Trenton Speedway Trenton Speedway was a racing facility located near Trenton, New Jersey at the New Jersey State Fairgrounds. Races for the United States' premier open-wheel and full-bodied racing series of the times were held at Trenton Speedway. Racing histor ...

in September then won on the dirt oval at

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

in October, for his first "big car" win. However, he was killed just a month later in a sprint car crash at Ascot Park in California in a wreck that also killed

Don Branson Donald L. Branson (June 2, 1920 – November 12, 1966) was an American racecar driver. Career Born in Rantoul, Illinois, Branson drove in the USAC Championship Car series and also in sprint cars, racing champ cars in the 1956–1966 seasons ...

. He finished 11th in 1966 USAC National Championship points.

Awards

*He was inducted in the

West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall Of Fame, originally the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame for people associated primarily with late-model stock car racing on the West Coast of the United States. Many NASCAR Grand Nation ...

in 2021.

Complete USAC Championship Car results

References

External links

Dick Atkins
at Champ Car Stats 1936 births 1966 deaths Racing drivers from California Racing drivers who died while racing Sportspeople from Oakland, California Sports deaths in California {{US-autoracing-bio-stub