Randy Smith inducted to Iowa Racing Hall of Fame
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Randy Smith of Mount Ayr was inducted into the Iowa Racing Hall of Fame.
Randy Smith of Mount Ayr was inducted November 2 in the Iowa Racing Hall of Fame at the Briggs Woods Conference Center in Webster City.
Smith started driving sprint cars in 1975. He traveled throughout the United States, competing in 23 different states, as well as Australia and Canada.
Smith’s racing career found him piloting for many different owners.
He started out in his father, Hank Smith’s #5. In 1979 his father-in-law, Guy Graham, put a team together for him to race with. At that time Guy had four grandsons and three granddaughters, therefore coming up with #43.
Some of the other names he raced for were Bob Trostle, Lenard McCarl, Jenson Construction, Phil Durst, Cahill Brothers, Dan Motter, and many more.
He finished his career in the family owned #0. His son Chadd was the crew chief, along with daughter Christi and wife Connie helping also.
Smith had the honor of driving for 35 different owners, winning features for 19 of them, including 18 features in the Bob Trostle #20 car. Randy’s career brought him 109 feature wins, 35 being at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World” in Knoxville, IA.
One of Smith’s most memorable seasons was 1987 when he drove 5 different cars in one season at Knoxville and won the drivers point Championship. He also won the Knoxville point Championship in 1979, 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1991, making him a six-time Knoxville champion.
In 1979 he ran second, to Ron Schuman, in the Knoxville Nationals.
He was the All-Iowa Driver Champion in the years 1979, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1989, and 1991.
He won the National Sprint Car Association (NSCA) Championship in 1983.
In 1979 he was crowned the Two Track Champion in Davenport, IA and Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, IA.
Smith won the Sioux Falls, SD Cheaters Day race in 1981 and 1987.
He was inducted into the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame in 1998.
He retired in 1997, after an accident. The injuries he sustained kept him from continuing his racing career.
He did, however, return to the driver’s seat in 2008 for the Master’s Classic at Knoxville, IA.
He drove Dwight Snodgrass’s #24 and won the event, even after not racing for 12 years. He then participated in a regular 305 Knoxville show in 2010 and won that feature also.
With these feature wins, Smith has won features in five different decades 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010.
Racing was all Smith ever wanted to do. He feels so very blessed to have been able to do something he loved and make a living at it along with having his family close by all the time.
Smith has made many great friends and memories along the way. You can still find him and Connie on Saturday nights at Knoxville Raceway enjoying the races with the great “3G” suite gang.