Countdown: Nebraska

Once considered part of the Great American Desert, the Cornhusker State is smack dab in the middle of America's Breadbasket. Nebraska claims to have more miles of river than any other state.

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The only state with a unicameral legislature, it's the birthplace of Henry Fonda and Marlon Brando, strobe lights, Kool-Aid and Reuben sandwiches. The first Arbor Day was held in Nebraska City, while Buffalo Bill's first rodeo took place in North Platte.

Nebraskan Johnny Carson entertained viewers on the Tonight Show, while Warren Buffett made money on Wall Street. Fred Astaire and Malcolm X were both natives of Omaha.

The 1960 Daytona 500 was the high-water mark for Nebraska and NASCAR, as three drivers from the Cornhusker State made the race.

Best behind the wheel

• Bob Burdick, Omaha

Bob Burdick caught the motorcycle bug at an early age, according to his Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame biography. At age 4, he was placed on a motorcycle between his parents as they went to races to watch father Roy's car with uncle Bud at the wheel.

Inside the Numbers Bob Burdick's NASCAR career Year Starts W T5 T10 1959 6 0 1 4 1960 2 0 0 1 1961 5 1 2 3 1962 2 0 0 1 Totals 15 1 3 9

Burdick raced motorcycles for three years before switching to cars in 1955. He and his father built a 1955 Ford for the International Motor Contest Association. In his first race, Burdick finished third in a 200-lap race at Hutchinson, Kan.

Scoring four wins in his first two seasons, Burdick's career took off in 1957, when he won 22 IMCA features at tracks throughout the Midwest and Canada. However, he lost the championship to Johnny Beauchamp.

While Bob was in the Army in 1959, his father put Beauchamp in the car for the inaugural Daytona 500 -- and nearly won the race, losing in a photo finish to Lee Petty.

When Burdick was able to get leave from his military service, he found time to race the No. 73 T-Bird. In his NASCAR debut at Trenton, he won the pole and finished 15th.

He won another pole -- at Columbia -- then wound up second to Jim Reed in the 1959 Southern 500 at Darlington, one of his four top-10 finishes that season.

With his father's brand-new Ford, Burdick was primed for the 1960 Daytona 500. He started 13th but had climbed to second behind Fireball Roberts as the two cars pulled away from the rest of the field. However, Burdick's engine couldn't take the strain and he dropped out of the race after 31 laps.

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Burdick returned to Daytona in 1961, only to suffer more engine problems. However, his luck changed at Atlanta as Burdick passed Marvin Panch with 43 laps remaining and held on for his only NASCAR victory.

Burdick would go on to make one more Daytona 500 start, finishing 35th in 1962, the last of his 15 NASCAR appearances.

Burdick was inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2000.

Other noteworthy drivers from Nebraska

• Bud Burdick, Omaha: Finished seventh in the 1960 Daytona 500

• Bob Kosiski, Omaha: Patriarch of the famous dirt track clan, finished 44th in the 1960 Daytona 500

• Joe Kosiski, Omaha: Five-time NASCAR All-Star Series champion

• Steve Kosiski, Papillion: Won seven titles in the NASCAR All-Star Series

We wish...

NFL Hall of Famer Gale Sayers had become a NASCAR driver.

A two-time football All-American at Kansas and Chicago Bears great was also the state champ in the long jump. Known for his ability to avoid tacklers, the Omaha native would be perfect for dodging the Big One at Talladega.

Gone but not forgotten

• Lincoln City Fairgrounds, North Platte

The dirt half-mile -- which is now the quarter-mile Lincoln County Raceway -- hosted its only NASCAR race in 1953. Dick Rathmann beat Herb Thomas to the line by six feet to win the 200-lapper and take home the $1,000 check.

Other tracks which have hosted NASCAR races

• I-80 Speedway/Nebraska Raceway Park, Greenwood: 4/10-mile semi-banked dirt oval was built in 1994; Ralston's Ed Kosiski won eight races to claim the Super Late Model track championship in 2005

A word from our sponsor

• ConAgra Foods, Omaha

The manufacturer of Parkay, Peter Pan, Slim Jim and Wesson is one of North America's largest packaged food companies, serving consumer grocery retailers, as well as restaurants and other foodservice establishments.