Bob Senneker | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationality | American | ||||||
Born | December 12, 1944 | ||||||
Retired | 1998 | ||||||
Related to | Terry Senneker (brother) | ||||||
American Speed Association | |||||||
Starts | 396 | ||||||
Wins | 85 | ||||||
Best finish | 1st in 1990 | ||||||
Championship titles | |||||||
1990 | ASA National champion | ||||||
Awards | |||||||
1988 | Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
8 races run over 4 years | |||||||
Best finish | 44th ( 1983) | ||||||
First race | 1968 Daytona 500 ( Daytona) | ||||||
Last race | 1983 Atlanta Journal 500 ( Atlanta) | ||||||
| |||||||
Statistics current as of July 3, 2020. |
Bob Senneker (born December 12, 1944) is an American stock car racing driver from Dorr, Michigan near Grand Rapids. [1] He is best known for racing on the American Speed Association (ASA) National Tour where he was the 1990 champion. Senneker's 85 wins were the most in series history. [2] He has also raced in eight NASCAR Cup Series races between 1968 and 1983. [1]
Senneker was born on December 12, 1944. [1] His brother, Terry Senneker, raced against him and has done some touring series starts. [3]
In 1963, Senneker began racing at the 1/4 mile paved Grand Rapids Speedrome in 1963. [4] He began racing at Berlin Raceway after it was paved in 1966; [4] he won 92 features and over 130 preliminary races between 1966 and 1980. [5] In 1966, he won 18 features at Berlin. [5] He was the 1966, 1967, and 1968 Berlin track champion. [4] In the 1960s, he also won track championships at Grand Rapids Speedrome, Tri-City Motor Speedway, and Kalamazoo Speedway. [4]
He began this 1970 season by winning at Heidelberg Raceway; [4] he also won the Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway by two laps. [4] In 1971, he raced Heidelberg Raceway as well at selected larger money shows. [4] Senneker won the Goodyear 250 that season at Cayuga Speedway in Ontario, Canada. [4] In 1972, Senneker was the U.S. Stock Car Champion at Tri-City. [4]
Senneker took his first ASA National Tour win at the Winchester 400 in 1974; he ended up winning the race five consecutive times (1974–1978). [2] That season, he used a Camaro to win approximately 40 races. [4] He began teaming up with Ed Howe in 1975 and he started using a new car. [4] Senneker won 21 times in 1976 and 28 feature races in 1977. [4] In his "Bluebird" car, he won 24 times in 1978, including six ASA wins [4] - the first Milwaukee 150, his fifth consecutive Winchester 400, and a 300-lap race at I-70 Speedway. [4] In 1979, he promoted at Hartford Motor Speedway. [4] He cut back on weekly races and just concentrated on major races. [4] The final year of the decade ended with five wins, including one in ASA and one in ARTGO. [4]
He started the eighties by winning 15 times including the Anderson 300, Cayuga 300, Minnesota State Fair 300, and the Queen City 300. [4] He won five in ASA to take second in the national tour points. [4] Senneker recorded 11 wins in 1981, including five times in ASA (Milwaukee 500 and the first ASA race at Michigan International Speedway) as well as an All-Pro race at Birmingham International Raceway. [4] In the 1982 ASA season, Senneker primarily raced in ASA. [4] He had eight wins, including the Badger 150 at the Milwaukee Mile, [6] Indianapolis Raceway Park, [6] the Molson 200 and Molson 300 at Cayuga International Speedway, [6] the Fall Classic 300 at Indianapolis Raceway Park, [6] and the All-American 400 at Nashville Speedway. [6] Senneker remained racing primarily in ASA in 1983 and won six features. [4] Senneker won ten ASA races in 1984 and finished second after an accident in the final race of the season. [4] He raced strictly at ASA races and won once in 1985 and once in 1986 (Cayuga). [4]
In 1991, he won four consecutive ASA races in the middle of the year. [7]
Senneker's final ASA start happened on September 26, 1998 where he won in his final race at Southern National Speedway. [2] He had competed in 396 ASA races with 85 wins. [8]
Senneker won nine times in frequent ARTGO starts throughout his career. [8]
Senneker made eight NASCAR Cup Series starts in this career. [9] He made his first start at the 1968 Daytona 500 in a home-built 1966 Chevelle. [4] He had his career-best 13th-place finish. [9] His next NASCAR race happened at his home track of Michigan International Speedway in 1970. [9] He started 30th and finished 21st. [9] Eleven years later, Senneker started 23rd for J.D. Stacy at Charlotte Motor Speedway and finishing 21st after crashing. [9]
Senneker made his final five NASCAR starts in 1983 for Terry Marra in the No. 80 Pontiac. [9] He finished 28th after crashing at Atlanta, 27th with battery issues at 1983 World 600 ( Charlotte), 14th and 16th at Michigan, and 15th at Atlanta. [9]
Speed Sport describes his personality as "intensely focused, ... engrossed with the thought of winning the next race." [2] Speed Sport also said "His smooth, calculating style was perfectly suited to long races and he had an uncanny ability to conserve his equipment." [2] Michigan fans nicknamed him "The Sneaker" for his patience and "The Bluebird" for his blue car which was often "flew" in front. [5]
Senneker was inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. [4] Bob was inducted into the Grand Rapids, MI Sports Hall of Fame(www.grshof.com) in 2006. He was added to the Berlin Raceway Hall of Fame in 2015. [5]
Bob Senneker | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationality | American | ||||||
Born | December 12, 1944 | ||||||
Retired | 1998 | ||||||
Related to | Terry Senneker (brother) | ||||||
American Speed Association | |||||||
Starts | 396 | ||||||
Wins | 85 | ||||||
Best finish | 1st in 1990 | ||||||
Championship titles | |||||||
1990 | ASA National champion | ||||||
Awards | |||||||
1988 | Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
8 races run over 4 years | |||||||
Best finish | 44th ( 1983) | ||||||
First race | 1968 Daytona 500 ( Daytona) | ||||||
Last race | 1983 Atlanta Journal 500 ( Atlanta) | ||||||
| |||||||
Statistics current as of July 3, 2020. |
Bob Senneker (born December 12, 1944) is an American stock car racing driver from Dorr, Michigan near Grand Rapids. [1] He is best known for racing on the American Speed Association (ASA) National Tour where he was the 1990 champion. Senneker's 85 wins were the most in series history. [2] He has also raced in eight NASCAR Cup Series races between 1968 and 1983. [1]
Senneker was born on December 12, 1944. [1] His brother, Terry Senneker, raced against him and has done some touring series starts. [3]
In 1963, Senneker began racing at the 1/4 mile paved Grand Rapids Speedrome in 1963. [4] He began racing at Berlin Raceway after it was paved in 1966; [4] he won 92 features and over 130 preliminary races between 1966 and 1980. [5] In 1966, he won 18 features at Berlin. [5] He was the 1966, 1967, and 1968 Berlin track champion. [4] In the 1960s, he also won track championships at Grand Rapids Speedrome, Tri-City Motor Speedway, and Kalamazoo Speedway. [4]
He began this 1970 season by winning at Heidelberg Raceway; [4] he also won the Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway by two laps. [4] In 1971, he raced Heidelberg Raceway as well at selected larger money shows. [4] Senneker won the Goodyear 250 that season at Cayuga Speedway in Ontario, Canada. [4] In 1972, Senneker was the U.S. Stock Car Champion at Tri-City. [4]
Senneker took his first ASA National Tour win at the Winchester 400 in 1974; he ended up winning the race five consecutive times (1974–1978). [2] That season, he used a Camaro to win approximately 40 races. [4] He began teaming up with Ed Howe in 1975 and he started using a new car. [4] Senneker won 21 times in 1976 and 28 feature races in 1977. [4] In his "Bluebird" car, he won 24 times in 1978, including six ASA wins [4] - the first Milwaukee 150, his fifth consecutive Winchester 400, and a 300-lap race at I-70 Speedway. [4] In 1979, he promoted at Hartford Motor Speedway. [4] He cut back on weekly races and just concentrated on major races. [4] The final year of the decade ended with five wins, including one in ASA and one in ARTGO. [4]
He started the eighties by winning 15 times including the Anderson 300, Cayuga 300, Minnesota State Fair 300, and the Queen City 300. [4] He won five in ASA to take second in the national tour points. [4] Senneker recorded 11 wins in 1981, including five times in ASA (Milwaukee 500 and the first ASA race at Michigan International Speedway) as well as an All-Pro race at Birmingham International Raceway. [4] In the 1982 ASA season, Senneker primarily raced in ASA. [4] He had eight wins, including the Badger 150 at the Milwaukee Mile, [6] Indianapolis Raceway Park, [6] the Molson 200 and Molson 300 at Cayuga International Speedway, [6] the Fall Classic 300 at Indianapolis Raceway Park, [6] and the All-American 400 at Nashville Speedway. [6] Senneker remained racing primarily in ASA in 1983 and won six features. [4] Senneker won ten ASA races in 1984 and finished second after an accident in the final race of the season. [4] He raced strictly at ASA races and won once in 1985 and once in 1986 (Cayuga). [4]
In 1991, he won four consecutive ASA races in the middle of the year. [7]
Senneker's final ASA start happened on September 26, 1998 where he won in his final race at Southern National Speedway. [2] He had competed in 396 ASA races with 85 wins. [8]
Senneker won nine times in frequent ARTGO starts throughout his career. [8]
Senneker made eight NASCAR Cup Series starts in this career. [9] He made his first start at the 1968 Daytona 500 in a home-built 1966 Chevelle. [4] He had his career-best 13th-place finish. [9] His next NASCAR race happened at his home track of Michigan International Speedway in 1970. [9] He started 30th and finished 21st. [9] Eleven years later, Senneker started 23rd for J.D. Stacy at Charlotte Motor Speedway and finishing 21st after crashing. [9]
Senneker made his final five NASCAR starts in 1983 for Terry Marra in the No. 80 Pontiac. [9] He finished 28th after crashing at Atlanta, 27th with battery issues at 1983 World 600 ( Charlotte), 14th and 16th at Michigan, and 15th at Atlanta. [9]
Speed Sport describes his personality as "intensely focused, ... engrossed with the thought of winning the next race." [2] Speed Sport also said "His smooth, calculating style was perfectly suited to long races and he had an uncanny ability to conserve his equipment." [2] Michigan fans nicknamed him "The Sneaker" for his patience and "The Bluebird" for his blue car which was often "flew" in front. [5]
Senneker was inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. [4] Bob was inducted into the Grand Rapids, MI Sports Hall of Fame(www.grshof.com) in 2006. He was added to the Berlin Raceway Hall of Fame in 2015. [5]