Tim Bender (born August 19, 1957) is an American former snowmobile and

NASCAR Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a Undercard, support ...

race car driver from

Colden, New York Colden is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 3,265 at the 2010 census. The town derives its name from Cadwallader D. Colden, a state senator. Colden is an interior town in the southeastern part of the county. It ...

. He raced snowmobiles in the 1970s to 1990s and was inducted in the Snowmobile Hall of Fame. He had spot starts in the Busch Series from 1990 to 1996. He joined the tour full-time in 1997 before suffering a career-ending injury after the eighth race.

Snowmobile racing

Career

Bender began racing snowmobiles in 1974. He raced on ovals and

snocross Snocross (also snowcross) is a racing sport involving racing specialized high performance snowmobiles on natural or artificially-made tracks consisting of tight turns, banked corners, steep jumps and obstacles. Riders race at speed of up to 60 mi ...

, peaking in the modified classes at United States Snowmobile Association (USSA) and Ontario Snowmobile Racing Federation (OSRF) events. Some of Bender's big wins were a championship at the Kawartha Cup in 1985 and two Formula I wins at the Adirondack Cup racing in 1990-91. He swept the Formula III division at the

World Championship Snowmobile Derby The World Championship Snowmobile Derby is the World championship snowmobile race. It is held at the World Championship Derby Complex, formerly known as the Eagle River Derby Track, along U.S. Route 45 in Eagle River, Wisconsin on the third weeken ...

at Eagle River from 1985 to 1988. In 1999 he was inducted into the Snowmobile Hall of Fame. During his snowmobile racing career, Bender was known for his association with

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

; he won a total of eleven snowmobiling championships. In the 1980s, he designed several limited-production racing sleds that he used in competition.

Other snowmobile activities

Bender formed and ran Bender Racing, a snowmobile performance parts company. He sold the company in 1997 to go NASCAR racing and the company continues to carry his name. As of 2011, he was the Team Manager for the Hentges Racing Polaris team. As of 2014, Bender is on the Board of Directors for the Snowmobile Hill Climb Racing Association (SHCRA).

Stock car racing

Bender raced selected events on the

K&N Pro Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly known by other names) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Races are h ...

tour between 1988 and 1991 with one Top 10 finish. He raced in selected

NASCAR Sportsman Division NASCAR's Sportsman Division was formed in 1950, one year after the Strictly Stock (now NASCAR Cup Series) was launched and two years after NASCAR’s formation. It gave NASCAR three major series, along with the original Modifieds. It was replac ...

events from 1990 until 1996. He began racing full-time for the newly retired Robbie Reiser in 1997. Bender won his only career NASCAR pole position of at the Stihl Outdoor Power Tools 300 (

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (currently known as EchoPark Speedway for sponsorship reasons, formerly known as the Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Hampton, Georg ...

). After the eighth race, he suffered a career-ending back injury. Reiser selected

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and the current competition advisor for Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series. Most recently, he raced part-time in the Superstar Racing Exper ...

to replace Bender, and the team would go on to finish second in the following season's Busch Series championship.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bender, Tim Living people 1957 births Sportspeople from Erie County, New York Racing drivers from New York (state) NASCAR drivers Snowmobile racers