Willie Davis, USAC Hall of Famer, dies at 86

PITTSBORO, Ind. – Willie Davis, one of USAC's 2016 "Hall of Fame" inductees, passed away yesterday at the age of 86. He was one of USAC’s most proficient car owners and chief mechanics.

Davis captured USAC National Sprint Car Owner titles in 1969 and 1971, producing driver titles for Gary Bettenhausen. He recorded 34 feature victories during his tenure as a USAC car owner. In 1980, he served as the chief mechanic on Bettenhausen’s third-place Indianapolis 500 entry from Armstrong Mould Racing.

Having started in hot rods in the 1940s, Willie assisted with Art Bisch’s 1956 CRA Sprint Car championship and later was instrumental in providing Johnny Rutherford’s initial USAC Sprint car ride at Reading, Pa. In 1996, he was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. His 34 USAC Sprint car wins came at 29 different tracks in seven states between 1968 and 1976. All but two of the wins were scored by Gary Bettenhausen, with Billy Shuman winning at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1973 and Johnny Parsons the winner at Winchester, Ind. in 1974.