Jeep Herbert | |
Birth Name: | Howard Herbert |
Birth Date: | April 14, 1927 |
Birth Place: | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
Last Finish: | 1963 |
Titles: | 1956, 1957 NASCAR NY Sportsman Champion[1] |
Howard "Jeep" Herbert (April 14, 1927– November 29, 2002) was an American driver of dirt modified stock cars. Herbert picked up his nickname from the comic strip character "Eugene the Jeep" after dropping one side of a customer's car into the service pit at a gas station where he was employed.[2] [3]
Jeep Herbert centered his career at the Fonda Speedway NY, where he claimed the track championship in 1959 and had a total of 25 wins. He also competed successful at 40 different speedways including Airborne Park Speedway NY, Burden Lake Speedway NY, Canandaigua Speedway NY, Langhorne Speedway PA, the Monroe County Fairgrounds NY, Pine Bowl Speedway in Snyders Corners NY, State Line Speedway in Bennington VT, the Syracuse Mile NY, Thompson Speedway CT, Trenton Speedway NJ, Utica-Rome Speedway NY, and Victoria Speedway in Dunnsville NY.[1] [4] [5]
Herbert retired from racing at age 36, having competed on both the sand at Daytona Beach and the tri-oval at Daytona International Speedway.[3] [6] He was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified and the New York State Stock Car Association Halls of Fame.[1] [7]