BOB BURDICK - 10/20/1936 - 10/04/2007
was from Omaha, Nebraska. Racing was a natural for Bob as his dad Roy owned stock cars starting in 1949, with Bob’s uncle Bud doing the driving. Bob however, started his racing career in motorcycles. Among his championships on two wheels was the Nebraska State Motorcycle Scramble in which he rode his underpowered BSA Gold Star Clubman to victory despite an early race accident. After three years racing on two wheels, Bob and his dad built a 1955 Ford to compete in IMCA. He made his IMCA and four-wheel debut at Hutchinson, Kan. and came away with a very impressive fourth place finish. This led Bob and his dad to start campaigning full time on the IMCA circuit and in 1956 they won four races on the circuit and finished fourth in the championship. Bob continued to improve as a driver and started to understand that a good handling car was the key to success. Combining this knowledge and experience with his dad’s well-prepared cars featuring stout Burdick engines and the 1957 IMCA championship would come down to Ford versus Chevrolet. In 1957, Burdick in his Ford, and Harlan, Iowa’s Johnny Beauchamp in his Chevrolet waged a war for the IMCA championship with the point's lead switching back and forth. Late in the season, Burdick experienced a rash of bad luck and finished second in the championship chase with 22 wins. Among his wins that year were the prestigious Iowa International 300 at the Iowa
State Fairgrounds, two wins during the Minnesota State Fair, a win at the Iowa State Fair, and a win at his home state fair, the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln. On July 26 at the Red River Fairgrounds in Fargo, North Dakota, Bob barely escaped serious injuries when he hit the front stretch wall and had two planks come through his windshield and barely miss his head. He escaped with a broken bone in his hand and a bruised shoulder. His car received serious damage. In 1958 Bob scored 13 wins on the circuit and finished 3rd in the points. During his short three year IMCA career, Bob Burdick scored 40 victories and had 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishes in the point
Daytona 500 1961
Atlanta 500 win 1961
championship. He also set many track records during that time. During this same time, Burdick raced at the Pioneer Speedway in Des Moines for promoter Marion Robinson, who would later become famous for starting the Knoxville Nationals. Because IMCA frowned upon their drivers running the local bullrings, Burdick competed under the alias, Don Quinn, and drove one of his old IMCA cars to many victories at Pioneer Speedway. In 1959, Bob was drafted into the Army but used his leave to continue to race. Having worked closely with Holman & Moody during his IMCA days, the Burdicks' continued to use Fords in their next endeavor, NASCAR. Burdick competed in fifteen Grand National Series events in his career. His first start came at Trenton NJ. He won the pole, but a fire took him out early and he ended the race in 15th place. The next race was at Nashville in the Music City 200. He would start ninth, and finish ninth. He started fourth at Atlanta, but would crash out after only three laps and finish last. He
won another pole in only his fourth start, coming at Columbia Speedway in Cayne SC. He would go on to finish sixth. He was also sixth in the Firecracker 250, before coming home second in the Southern 500 behind winner Jim Reed. He had four top ten finishes in the span of five races. In the 1960 Daytona 500 Burdick started 13th, but would fall out after 31 laps and finish 60th. He didn't run another Cup race again until the 1961 Daytona 500. Fireball Roberts started on the pole and led 170 laps before falling out when his motor expired. Marvin Panch was
Final Cup start - Daytona 1962
Playland Speedway - Council Bluffs Iowa
there to inherit the lead and hold off Joe Weatherly to get the win. Burdick, who had started 15th, would once again erupt an engine, and finish 36th. The next race would be at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Marvin Panch won the pole and led 127 laps in a race that saw high attrition. 46 cars started the race, but only 13 would finish. Burdick would lead 44 laps to get the win over Rex White, and Ralph Earnhardt. It would be Burdick's only Cup win. It was considered a big upset on the national stage as Burdick drove the car of his father, Roy, besting the 46-car field on used tires, a borrowed rear end and a rag-tag rookie pit crew. Burdick took home a check for $15,775. As of 2025, it is still the only win for a Nebraska driver on NASCAR's top circuit. He would finish fourth in his next start at Darlington, but crash out of the World 600 finishing 27th.
His final career Cup start came in the Daytona 500 in 1962. He started 13th but would break a crankshaft and fall out finishing 35th. Distance and money cut the Burdick’s NASCAR career short. In the early 1960’s Bob ran super modifieds with much success in Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas driving for the likes of Ernie Motz of Omaha and Kettleson’s Automotive in Lincoln. On Labor Day 1963 at the newly opened Midwest Speedway in Lincoln, Neb., Burdick and fellow Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductee Lloyd Beckman put on one of the best shows ever waged at Midwest. In the 50-lap feature, the two battled each other lap after lap, putting the rest of the field a lap down before a lapped car took Burdick, (the leader at the time), out on the white flag lap, and Beckman was awarded the win. Burdick died on October 4, 2007
Front Row Rebel 300 1959 - Curtis Turner, Bob Burdick, Buck Baker (right to left)
All Photos copyright and are property of their respective owners