Dink Widenhouse papers

David Franklin "Dink" Widenhouse (born January 1, 1932) began racing at the age of fifteen. That was when Dink's brother, Jack, built a dirt race track near Concord, NC, and encouraged Dink to race on his track. Dink's car was a '37 Ford Coach, painted with what would become his trademark "B-29" emblazoned on the side. Dink had a successful career at such places as the old Charlotte Fairgrounds, Midland and Concord, North Carolina; Myrtle Beach and Columbia, South Carolina and Danville, Virginia. Dink's success is largely attributed to his mechanic, "Greaseball" Young. Widenhouse brought his career as a driver to a close in the mid-1960s, when paved asphalt tracks were becoming the norm. Widenhouse always preferred dirt tracks and did not feel comfortable on the new paved tracks. His last race resulted in a duel between himself and a long-time co-racer, Ralph Earnhardt. During the race, the two competitors' cars became locked side-by-side, and sailed out of the race track. Widenhouse's car hit a tree, and Earnhardt's car gradually came to a stop a hundred feet further. Fortunately, neither was injured. During his career, Widenhouse did not win any NASCAR races but won nearly 200 races that he competed in (primarily in modified cars on southern tracks), including twenty-one victories in one season. Also known as "The Preacher" for never racing on Sundays, Widenhouse never made racing his full-time career because of the substantial investment that it required. Widenhouse was a native of Concord, North Carolina; and with his wife Frances, made their home there.