Greg Hognett
Memphis, TN born Greg Hodnett earned a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering and used that knowledge along with his incredible driving talent and determination to produce a successful 20-year-career as a professional sprint car driver traveling with the World of Outlaws and then later to remaining in Pennsylvania.
Hodnett, a third-generation racer, began racing as a 17-year-old in 1986, but that was only after his father Hoyette told him and that he and friend Clayton Allen had he'd only help if the two youngsters learned to work on the car and understand how a sprint car functions before they'd be allowed to drive it.
That salient request made a massive impact on Greg's on-track triumphs that included over 250 wins including a Williams Grove National open and multiple championships.
Hodnett, who passed away as a result of injuries sustained in a crash at BAPS (PA) Motor Speedway, was equally known for his gentlemanly and sincerely humble nature as well as being thought-provokingly quotable.
"There's no worse feeling in racing," Hodnett once said, "than to be leading a World of Outlaws feature knowing that green No. 11 [Steve Kinser] is back there checking out every line on the track. You've been taking the fastest line and he's been researching, so as soon as you hit traffic, he knows where to go and you don't."
Poignant, sure, but the racing community endured a far worse feeling when we lost Greg at just 49 years old.
Hodnett, a third-generation racer, began racing as a 17-year-old in 1986, but that was only after his father Hoyette told him and that he and friend Clayton Allen had he'd only help if the two youngsters learned to work on the car and understand how a sprint car functions before they'd be allowed to drive it.
That salient request made a massive impact on Greg's on-track triumphs that included over 250 wins including a Williams Grove National open and multiple championships.
Hodnett, who passed away as a result of injuries sustained in a crash at BAPS (PA) Motor Speedway, was equally known for his gentlemanly and sincerely humble nature as well as being thought-provokingly quotable.
"There's no worse feeling in racing," Hodnett once said, "than to be leading a World of Outlaws feature knowing that green No. 11 [Steve Kinser] is back there checking out every line on the track. You've been taking the fastest line and he's been researching, so as soon as you hit traffic, he knows where to go and you don't."
Poignant, sure, but the racing community endured a far worse feeling when we lost Greg at just 49 years old.