Danny Smith has run his last Classic and tomorrow night possibly the last time we see him race is Australai.
To the young kids that come to watch speedway, he's just another driver. To the teenagers, he's just another American driver that didn't make the feature. To the 30 year olds he's a good driver but to the supporters who have been watching speedway forever, he is, was and will always be a star.
Danny Smith won 6 Classic Titles, 5 within 7 years. He beat Garry Rush in 4 of them who was our undisputed champion at the time. He finished on the podium on 4 other occasions. He was on the podium in 3 different decades.
Danny Smith is still one of the most winningest drivers for World Series Sprintcars. He has won races in all states of the country. He hasn't had the luxury of driving in his own team or for one owner for a long period of time to build cars and test and try, he has been thrown in seats. He hasn't run from October to April, on most times here for 4-8 weeks. I'm 32. I've seen him race in at least 8 different owners off the top of my head.
He pioneered what we now see today, American drivers using there off season to come to Australia and race. He paved the way for the likes of Steve Kinser, Brent Kaeding, Kenny Jacobs in the earlier years and of course we see how many come through now.
He wasn't a driver that came over in the early 80s as an average American driver beating up on some Aussies. This was a superstar driver who was consistently in the top 10 of World of Outlaws point standings.
We have a lot to thank Danny Smith for, more than what most people realise, not just for his hard racing but for putting Australia on the map of Sprintcar racing.
Danny Smith, the greatest Australian driver, perhaps not but he will always be an Australian to us
- Robert Jordan on Jan 25, 2016
- Article Date: 1/25/2016