March 6, 1938 - October 5, 2011
Larry "Smokey" Snellbaker
(Photo; williamsgrove.com)
Born in York, Pennsylvania, USA.
Smokey was a legend in the sprint car world, especially in the Pennsylvania area. One of the most popular and dominant drivers in Pennsylvania’s Sprint Car circuit, Smokey Snellbaker was also one of the most humble. Like many of the grassroots racers, Snellbaker worked on his racecar during the evenings after his day job was over, racing on the weekends. Unlike many of the grassroots racers, Snellbaker won over 200 feature races and countless championships.
Working as a factory technician at AMF snowmobiles then as a truck driver for Preston Trucking, Snellbaker became a fan favorite for his blue collar, regular working man ethics and clean driving on the track. It didn’t hurt that he was always a threat to win whenever he showed up to race.
Snellbaker was the original “Smoke”, and later “Smokey” and even later, “the Silver Fox” as he continued to win races and fans at every track he visited. The thing that kept Smokey racing was the fun. Money, status or fame never entered his mind when it came to racing. Snellbaker once said, “We raced because we loved it.”
Snellbaker was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa in 2002. He was a member of the York County Racing Club.
Was reading the story on Smokey. Was really surprised that he used to work for Preston Trucking. They used to have a depot here in the little town of Falls Creek,PA
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