Steve Danish

Stephen Danish (March 16, 1919 – August 8, 2003) was an American sprint car and midget racer, who became a pioneering stock car driver. He was known for his neatly pressed tan driving uniform and dent free, pristine, finely lettered race cars.^[2][3]

Steve Danish
Born	Stephen Danish March 16, 1919 Green Island, New York
Died	August 12, 2003(2003-08-12) (aged 84)
Motorsport career
Debut season	1949
Car number	61
Championships	5
Wins	120
Finished last season	1966
Championship titles
1953 NASCAR NY Sportsman Champion[1]

Racing career

Steve Danish drove open-cockpit race cars before and after World War II, but in 1949 changed his focus to the sportsman stock cars trending in popularity. He impressed his competitors by beating flathead V-8 powered cars with his 6-cylinder engine, and soon captured track championships at Mettowee Speedway in Granville, New York and State Line Speedway near Bennington, Vermont.^[3][4]

Danish competed regularly in New York's Capital Region, including Airborne Park Speedway in Plattsburg, Arlington Speedway, Richfield Springs Speedway, and Victoria Speedway in Dunnsville, with annual trips to the National Open at Langhorne Speedway, Pennsylvania.^[5][6] He captured three Fonda (New York) Speedway track championships.^[2]

Steve Danish retired from racing in 1966 with 120 feature event wins.^[2] He was inducted into the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 1994.^[7][8]