Hall Of Famer Lynn Paxton Dies At 80

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Hall of Fame sprint car racer Lynn Paxton died on Sept. 13. He was 80 years old.

The Dillsburg native was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1996. Paxton retired from the sport of sprint car racing after a win in the famed Williams Grove Speedway National Open in 1983, at the age of 39. 

It was his second win in the prestigious event. 

Paxton’s first victory anywhere occurred at Williams Grove Speedway in 1965 at the wheel of the Rhee Smith No. 1.

In his storied career from 1961 through 1983, Paxton etched 43 sprint car wins and a pair of super modified wins in the Williams Grove Speedway record books.

For a number of seasons Paxton’s win mark sat atop the oval’s all-time win list and was thought at one point to be insurmountable. 

He was the 1979, 1981 and 1982 Williams Grove Speedway sprint car track champion.

By the end of his career, Lynn Paxton had recorded more than 220 career sprint car and supermodified victories plus 14 in a late model stock car and a lone ARDC Midget victory.

He scored three KARS Series titles and trumped the World of Outlaws six times.

Paxton also scored track titles at Port Royal, Hagerstown and Penn National Speedways during his career. 

The collection of car owners that clamored for his driving talents included Harold Hank, Shorty Emerich, Al Hamilton, Bob Benchoff, Maynard Boop, Roy Morral and Bob Weikert. 

Lynn Paxton was a founder, driving force behind and curator of the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing, located just south of Williams Grove Speedway along Rt. 15.