Ken Rush

Ken Rush
Rush, circa 1969
Born(1931-09-14)September 14, 1931
High Point, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 2011(2011-10-17) (aged 80)
High Point, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of deathStroke
Achievements1969 Grand American Champion
1964 & 1966 Bowman Gray Stadium Modified Champion
Awards1957 Grand National Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
56 races run over 8 years
Best finish39th (1957)
First race1957 Race #23 (Newport)
Last race1972 World 600 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 16 2
Statistics up to date as of April 22, 2013.

Kenneth Rush (September 14, 1931 – October 17, 2011) was an American NASCAR Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1957 to 1972.

Career

Rush would win the 1969 'Bama 400 Grand Touring race on Saturday, September 13, 1969 - arguably the first race held at Talladega Superspeedway sanctioned by any motorsports body - in his Chevrolet Camaro. Another notable appearance for Rush was at the 1957 Rebel 300 where he finished in last place due to the infamous "lap 29" crash.

In his eight-year career, Rush managed to race in 56 races for a distance of 9396 laps - the equivalent of 5,717.6 miles (9,201.6 km). He started 14th on average and finished in 18th on average. After his racing career was over, Rush managed to earn $11,760 in total prize winnings ($90,515.51 when adjusted for inflation). Had he been born 40 years later, he may have accomplished the big prize winnings that today's NASCAR superstars earn from their races. A lot of the races during Rush's era paid $200 ($2,292.65 when adjusted for inflation) or less just for winning the race.

Rush died from a stroke in his hometown of High Point, North Carolina at age 80.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ken Rush racing information at Racing Reference
  2. ↑ History Archived 2010-04-16 at the Wayback Machine at Talladega Superspeedway
  3. ↑ 1957 Rebel 300 at Racing Reference
  4. 1 2 The Racing Career of Ken Rush Archived 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine at StockCarRacing.Com
  5. ↑ "Rush, '57 NASCAR rookie of the year, dies at 80 - Oct 23, 2011 - NASC…". Retrieved November 13, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)