| By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
January 30, 2006
03:15 PM EST (20:15 GMT)
The Garden State may border both New York and Philadelphia, but farms still outnumber factories in much of the nation's most densely populated state. New Jersey is home to the world's largest container port, the largest petroleum containment system outside of the Middle East and the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the world. Some of music's greatest legends hail from New Jersey: Freehold's Bruce Springsteen, Sayreville's Jon Bon Jovi, Newark's Whitney Houston, Red Bank's Count Basie -- and of course, Hoboken's Frank Sinatra. Jack Nicholson, Kevin Spacey and Meryl Streep are all New Jerseyites. And there must be something funny about the place, since Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Ernie Kovacs, Jerry Lewis and Joe Piscopo hail from there. It's also home to Park Place, Boardwalk, Frankie Schneider and one of the most unusual races in NASCAR history.  |
| Inside the Numbers |
| Frankie Schneider's Cup career |
| Years |
7 |
| Starts |
27 |
| Wins |
1 |
| Top-5 |
11 |
| Top-10 |
16 |
| Poles |
1 |
| Avg. Start |
8.3 |
| Avg. Finish |
12.7 |
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Best behind the wheel • Frankie Schneider, Lambertville Richard Petty may have scored a record 200 victories in NASCAR's premier series, but he has nothing on Frankie Schneider. Schneider reportedly won 100 races the same year Petty made his debut -- 1958. And it's possible he won more than 100 races during his 1952 NASCAR National Modified championship season, according to a tribute page on racer Rusty Smith's Web site. All told, Schneider is believed to have won at least 750 races throughout a 30-year span beginning in 1947, when he took home $70 for driving his street car to a seventh-place finish at Flemington Speedway. In the 1950s, Schneider would race eight times a week -- quite often competing in more than one division. He was equally as capable driving stock cars, Modifieds, sprint cars and midgets. Schneider entered NASCAR races at Hamburg and Morristown from 1949-51 before venturing south to run the No. 88 Oldsmobile Rocket early in the 1952 season. In six races, Schneider had four top-10 finishes, including a third at Jacksonville, before heading back to north to capture his only NASCAR Modified crown. |  | |
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ACCELERATION 2006
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There's more to the new season than just driver changes. Read more about what to watch for as we rev toward Daytona.
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He returned to Grand Nationals again in 1957, winning the pole for the 250-lapper at Raleigh and stringing together five consecutive top-10s before engine problems derailed his effort at the Southern 500. "I remember in 1957 at the Raleigh Mile, my gas man got thrown out of the pits by NASCAR because he wasn't 16 years old yet," Schneider said. "So when I came in for pit stops, I got out of the car and refueled it myself. I think I still finished second." Schneider's only victory came at Manassas in 1958, when he led 106 of the 150 laps on the three-eighths-mile paved oval to beat Jack Smith. A driver who built his own equipment and even towed it to the track, Schneider was capable of doing everything on a race car. "I think I was just a better driver and a good mechanic," Schneider said. "I was a low-buck guy my entire career. In fact, the reason I quit Grand Nationals was because it was too expensive." Schneider returned to New Jersey and resumed his domination at places like Nazareth National Speedway, Orange County Fair Speedway and Lebanon Valley Speedway. His last feature win came in 1977 at Nazareth but amazingly still races occasionally at Orange County Fair in Smith's backup Modified. "I feel about 50," Schneider said. "I'm not retired. I think I can still do the job with the right car." Other noteworthy drivers from New Jersey • Neil Cole, Oakland: Scored his only NASCAR victory in 1951 at Thompson Speedway • Ed Hessert, Trenton: Four top-10s in 1969, including a sixth at Dover • Elton Hildreth, Bridgeton: Eight career top-10s, including a fourth at Bloomsburg in 1953 • Jimmy Horton, Folsom: 13th twice in 48 career starts from 1987-95 • Pappy Hough, Paterson: Highlight in 21 career starts was his Rochester pole in 1951 • Don Hume, Belvedere: First race was 1964 Southern 500, last was Pocono in 1985 • Ronnie Kohler, Paterson: Made 13 starts at nearby tracks from 1951-54, with six top-10s • Jack Reynolds, Hawthorne: Recorded eight top-10s in 14 career appearances, starting in 1950 • Martin Truex Jr., Mayetta: Two-time Busch Series champion finished seventh in the 2005 Coca-Cola 600 • D.K. Ulrich, Woodbury: Fourth at Dover in 1981 was his best effort in 19-year career We wish ... Carl Lewis had become a NASCAR driver. One of only four Olympic athletes to win nine gold medals, the Willingboro native matched Jesse Owens' feat of winning gold medals in the 100-meter, 200-meter, long jump and 400-meter relay at the 1984 Games. Sounds like he'd give Ryan Newman a run for his money when it comes to qualifying. | | ARCHIVE | |
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Keeping it on track • Wall Township Speedway Fans at the "Speedway by the Shore" saw Jim Reed win a 300-lap feature by one car-length against Rex White in 1958. The one-third-mile track remains in operation as a member of the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series. Dave Michel won the 2005 track championship in the Modified division. Gone but not forgotten • Linden Airport, Linden The 1954 race remains one of the most unusual in the NASCAR history books. Run on a temporary two-mile road course made up of airport runways, it remains the only race in NASCAR's premier series which allowed foreign cars to compete. In fact, nearly half of the 43-car field were sports cars, including the winner -- a Jaguar, driven by Al Keller. Linden Airport was used to test Navy Wildcat fighters during World War II. Other tracks which have hosted NASCAR races • Flemington Speedway, Flemington: Chevrolets won all four Craftsman Truck races on the 5/8ths-mile oval between 1995-98 • Morristown Speedway, Morristown: Dirt half-mile hosted five races, with Tim Flock winning twice • Old Bridge Stadium, Old Bridge: Paved half-mile was scene of six events, including 1965 win for Junior Johnson • Trenton Speedway, Trenton: Richard Petty won three times on paved mile with unusual backstretch kink, which hosted eight races from 1958-72 A word from our sponsor • Exide Technologies, Lawrenceville The official battery of NASCAR is one of the world's largest producers and recyclers of lead-acid batteries. Transportation markets include original-equipment and aftermarket automotive, heavy-duty truck, agricultural and marine applications, and new technologies for hybrid vehicles and 42-volt automotive applications. | 
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