Billy Foster
William A. Foster (September 18, 1937 – January 20, 1967) was a Canadian racecar driver.
William "Billy" Foster | |||||||
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Born | William A. Foster September 18, 1937 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | ||||||
Died | January 20, 1967 29) Riverside, California, U. S. | (aged||||||
Cause of death | Race accident | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
Car no., team | No. 22 (Rudy Hoerr) | ||||||
First race | 1966 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside) | ||||||
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Champ Car career | |||||||
27 races run over 3 years | |||||||
Years active | 1964-1966 | ||||||
Team(s) | Jim Robbins | ||||||
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Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Foster died in a crash during practice for a NASCAR Grand National stock car race at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.[1]
Foster won the 1963 CAMRA (Canadian American Modified Racing Association) in 1963 in the first year of the series. He also won the Utah Copper Cup race in 1963 and 1964.
Foster also drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1964–1966 seasons, with 28 career starts, including the 1965 and 1966 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 10 times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1966 at Atlanta.
Foster and Mario Andretti became best of friends, building a close relationship which Andretti claimed he would never do again with a fellow racer because Foster's death so significantly affected him.
Foster ran a NASCAR Cup Series race at Riverside International Raceway in 1966 and finished 7th. He died in a practice for NASCAR race at Riverside in the following year. He also competed in 2 NASCAR West Series races in 1965.
Foster was cousins with musician, producer, composer, arranger David Foster and with Canadian stock car driver Jim Steen.
He was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 1993.
See also
References
- "Crash is fatal to Foster". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. January 21, 1967.
External links
- Billy Foster driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame entry
- Indianapolis 500 Career Stats
- Motor Sport Memorial entry
- Canadian Motor Sports Hall of Fame