PUTNAMVILLE, Ind. — As Danny Smith approaches the greater Indianapolis beltway, it’s nearly impossible not to reminisce.
The 2015 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee cut his teeth in quarter midgets at the famed Big Z raceway on the Circle City’s southeast side, and he graduated from nearby Franklin Central High School in 1975.
His destination is Lincoln Park Speedway, and tonight’s inaugural event for the Honest Abe Roofing Maverick Wing Sprint Car Series. To the best of his recollection, his last appearance at the track came in 2001 when he finished second behind young Boston Reid.
Yes, Smith was returning home and his roots in the Hoosier State run deep.
His father not only raced but owned a speed shop mere blocks from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For those who watched the dynamic between Danny and his father there was little doubt the youngster would jump into a sprint car.
He competed in a handful of races in 1974 and the following year he scored his first win at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway. Smith became a regular winner on the Indiana bullring scene, and one early interaction has become a favorite topic of conversation when he gathers with his peers to swap racing tales.
He and his father traveled to Lawrenceburg with two cars. One was assigned to Danny, and the backup was slated for a young man finding his way into the sport — Steve Kinser. When Danny’s car had a mechanical issue, he had bad news to deliver to Kinser, who was going to have to relinquish his ride.
As Smith relives the moment, he proclaims it to be the day he fired Steve Kinser.
However, he admits Kinser may have gotten in the last word.
“I told that story at Knoxville,” Smith related, “and Steve says, ‘Well I got a ride in Karl’s (Kinser) car, so that worked out pretty well for me.’”
Smith took a chance on a new group called the World of Outlaws and can take pride in being among those who helped bring sprint car racing to a wider audience. In that heady time, he was behind the wheel of one of the most recognizable sprint cars in the land. He drove the Gambler chassis company house car sponsored by mega star Kenny Rogers.
It brought even more eyes to the sport.
“That was a fun time,” he said. “I remember one of our first trips to California and we were like a big caravan on our way there. I just saw a picture of our first World of Outlaws banquet and except for Ted Johnson and Bobby Marshall we are all still kicking.”
Kicking yes, but a much smaller subset of that group is still racing.
Smith has won championships, had success internationally, but most noteworthy of all has been his longevity and consistency.
He was the United Sprint Car Series champion just two seasons ago and last month he picked up a win at Ohio’s Skyline Speedway. Remarkably, he has won a feature event every year since 1975 save the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign.
The journey has been difficult at times. He lost his first wife, Jan, to cancer, and in that same period his Danville, Ind., shop went up in flames. Still, he perseveres.
“If it wasn’t still fun, I wouldn’t be doing it,” Smith said. “When we won a couple of weeks ago the fun meter went way up. But being a car owner is the stressful part because you have to make sure everything is paid for. We don’t have a huge sponsor, but we have enough little ones to keep us going.”
After he remarried, he relocated to Chillicothe, Ohio.
“Stephanie’s family is there and my family is scattered all over the country,” he said. “Then a few years ago my brother also moved here when my nephew was racing one of my cars.”
Shifting his home base also provided easier access to places where he could run a winged sprint car. Not that he is committed to standing still. After all these years Smith still suffers from a bit of wanderlust.
“I still like going to new tracks and seeing new places and I am coming out here because I hope this new deal (Maverick series) works out,” Smith said. “It will give me another place to race.”
It is his third trip to Indiana in 2023 and the chance to race at Circle City Raceway in June brought many of his old high school friends to the race track. As the season winds down he makes one thing perfectly clear — he will be back next year.
“One reason I have been able to do this for so long is that I don’t have children,” he said. “That’s just how things worked out. If I did, I would probably be spending time with them and grandkids instead of racing.”
As he looks at his schedule, he knows he is going to return to Atomic Speedway on Saturday where he sits second in the standings, and he is the point leader with the Ohio Valley Sprint Car Ass’n. Right now, he has tentative plans to head back to Lincoln Park for the High Limit Racing Series race on Tuesday night.
His schedule remains uncertain because it is impossible to predict how the weekend will go. Even if you are a Hall of Fame driver there are no special considerations, racing is still expensive, and you must do your level best to maintain your equipment and control costs.
Smith only has one 410 engine and how he obtained that is quite a tale.
“We were in Florida visiting Captain Jack (the late sprint car owner and sponsor Jack Nowling) and Chad Freeman told me about a car that was for sale just 30 minutes away,” Smith related. “It was the 2017 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame raffle car. I called Stephanie and decided to get it.”
He parted ways with the chassis, preferring a Maxim, but the Shaver engine fit his needs perfectly.
“On one hand the engine is several years old,” he said. “But it was really brand new when I got it.”
Few truly fall into the category of living legend, but Danny Smith is just that.
Throughout his career he has been hailed as one of the sport’s genuinely good guys. It will be good to come home. He expects many of his friends and family to come see him race. That alone makes this a special trip. Nonetheless, he has a message for everyone who signs in at Lincoln Park.
He may be 66 years old, but this isn’t a nostalgia tour. He still races to win.