Danny Letner
Born(1928-01-03)January 3, 1928
Downey, California
DiedMarch 30, 2018(2018-03-30) (aged 90)
Orange, California
AwardsWest Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2002 - Inaugural Class)
NASCAR Cup Series career
27 races run over 8 years
Best finish33rd (1954 NASCAR Grand National Series)
First race1951 Race 4 (Carrell Speedway)
Last race1963 Riverside 500 (Riverside International Raceway)
First win1954 Race 27 (Oakland Stadium)
Last win1955 Race 14 (Tucson Rodeo Grounds)
Wins Top tens Poles
2 10 1

Danny Letner (January 3, 1928 – March 30, 2018) was an American racecar driver who won two races in what is now the NASCAR Cup Series.[1]

Career

In 1951, Letner ran five NASCAR Grand National Division races in cars owned by his father, Bert. He earned two top-fives that year with a best finish of eighth. Letner then competed in a handful of races each year from 1954 to 1957, adding seven more top tens, including wins at Oakland and Tucson.[2][1]

In 1954, Letner won two races and finished in second place in the NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model standings. The next year, he won three races en route to a championship in his only full-time season. He won three of the twelve races he entered in 1957, his final season in the series.[1]

In 1956, Letner ran 23 races in the inaugural season of the short-lived NASCAR Convertible Division, winning at Langhorne Speedway.[3]

Letner retired from stock car racing in the early 1960s, but later took up off-road racing. He won the SCORE Parker 400 in 1989 at the age of 61,[4] and would go on to finish tied for second in the championship standings that year.[5]

In 2002, he was inducted into the first class of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Letner was born in Downey, California. His son Marty and grandsons Kory and Harley have also competed in off-road racing.[6][7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Driver Danny Letner Career Statistics". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  2. ↑ "O'Connor Wins Big Car Race; Letner Nabs Stock Car Victory". San Bernardino Sun. No. 2 August 1954. 2 August 1954. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  3. ↑ "Letner Takes Auto Title Race". The New York Times. No. May 21, 1956. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  4. ↑ "Letner first finisher in Parker 400 race". San Bernardino Sun. No. 29 January 1989. 29 January 1989. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  5. ↑ "Letner racing crowned unlimited class one champions". kingshocks.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "NASCAR West champion Danny Letner passes". nascar.com. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "Harley Letner carries on a family tradition at Laughlin that stretches back to the 1940s". snoreracing.net. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
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