By John Goralski Sports Writer Nobody expected much out of Ronnie Wyckoff when he slipped into the lineup at the Riverside Park Triple Crown Finale in August of 1980. After all, the Southington driver was supposed to be retired. How could he expect to keep pace with such a storied group of drivers in their prime? How could a recently retired driver survive the obstacles, trials, and ordeals of a 125-lap race? But Wyckoff’s fans knew that he was the one to beat. After all, Wyckoff made a career out of finishing races. “Ronnie was never one to get into any controversy at all, so people liked him whether he was on the race track or off it,” said Southington racing fan Gary Danko, radio host of the Speedway Line Report on WATR. “He wasn’t one of those guys that we call ‘checkers’ or ‘wreckers.’ He was more of a consistent driver. He didn’t really win a lot, but he was always a top 5 or top 10 finishers. The most important thing is that you’d know, at least 95 percent of the time, he would bring the car in with all the tires on it.” On that hot August [...]
By John Goralski Sports Writer Nobody expected much out of Ronnie Wyckoff when he slipped into the lineup at the Riverside Park Triple Crown Finale in August of 1980. After all, the Southington driver was supposed to be retired. How could he expect to keep pace with such a storied group of drivers in their prime? How could a recently retired driver survive the obstacles, trials, and ordeals of a 125-lap race? But Wyckoff’s fans knew that he was the one to beat. After all, Wyckoff made a career out of finishing races. “Ronnie was never one to get into any controversy at all, so people liked him whether he was on the race track or off it,” said Southington racing fan Gary Danko, radio host of the Speedway Line Report on WATR. “He wasn’t one of those guys that we call ‘checkers’ or ‘wreckers.’ He was more of a consistent driver. He didn’t really win a lot, but he was always a top 5 or top 10 finishers. The most important thing is that you’d know, at least 95 percent of the time, he would bring the car in with all the tires on it.” On that hot August [...]
