With most of the motorsports world on hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve decided to highlight some of the sport’s legends on a daily basis. We begin each story within the pages of National Speed Sport News.
Pennsylvania-born racer Frankie Kerr, who spent much of his career racing out of Fremont, Ohio, was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2016.
Best known for his years driving the McBride & Shoff No. 23s sprint car with the All Star Circuit of Champions, Kerr racked up 53 All Star victories and won the series title four times. He also was crowned Ohio Speedweek champion four times.
Kerr also won races with the World of Outlaws, USAC, California Racing Ass’n, Sprint Car Racing Ass’n, National Championship Racing, Ass’n, Interstate Racing Ass’n and the United Racing Club.
Kerr is credited with 188 victories in 18 seasons wheeling sprint cars.
He retired while still in the prime of his career, winning an Ohio Speedweek race at Fremont Speedway in late June of 2000, and after missing the next night’s race because of a transporter accident, Kerr and team owner Stan Shoff elected to retire together.
Kerr was 39 years old.
“We’ve had a lot of fun and it’s been a great 11 years, but we feel the time is right to go out a winner,” Kerr and Shoff said at the time.
Later that year, Kerr moved to North Carolina and became a NASCAR crew chief. He continues to work in stock car racing.
