Don June
| Don June | |
|---|---|
| Born | Donald C. June December 3, 1929 Theresa, New York, US |
| Died | June 1, 1999 (aged 69) |
| Modified racing career | |
| Debut season | 1951 |
| Car number | 117 |
| Finished last season | 1967 |
Donald "Don" June (December 3, 1929 – June 1, 1999) was a pioneering driver of dirt modified stock cars. He dominated the inaugural season at Edgewood Speedway in 1951, winning 11 feature events at the Alexandria Bay, New York oval and claiming the Adirondack Stock Car Club championship.[1][2]
Racing career
[edit]Don June began racing in 1951 in a Ford owned by George Schultz at the Edgewood and Canton NY speedways. A rookie, he was so unbeatable that many nights the promoters would start him on the backstretch, a half-lap behind the field. June went on to compete successfully at many other area tracks, including Evans Mills Speedway NY, Kingston Speedway ON, the Syracuse Mile NY, and Watertown Speedway NY.[3][4][5]
A master mechanic, June earned the nickname “Stroker” after his experiments with stroking a crankshaft in a Chrysler produced big horsepower gains. When forced to retire from the driver's seat after being injured in a work accident, he continued on as a car owner, fielding cars for many of the top drivers. June was the crew chief for Dick May in the 1967 Daytona ARCA 200 and the Daytona Permatex 300.[2]
June was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame 2022.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "Don June takes stock car race". Watertown Daily Times. August 11, 1951. Retrieved September 23, 2023 – via NNY360 Archives.
- ^ a b c Rowe, Gary; Corbett, Rich (July 14, 2022). "Don June dominated North Country tracks". The Citizen (Auburn, New York). Retrieved September 23, 2023.
- ^ "Five injured in race mishap". The Daily Gazette. September 7, 1954. p. 8. Retrieved September 23, 2023 – via Google Books.
- ^ "June ends slump: Veteran wins feature at Watertown track". The Post-Standard. August 22, 1966. p. 56. Retrieved September 23, 2023 – via NewspaperArchive.
- ^ O'Donnell, John (July 24, 1992). "Racing flashback". Watertown Daily Times. p. 27. Retrieved September 23, 2023 – via NNY360 Archives.