American racecar driver (born 1940)
Bentley Warren
(born December 10, 1940, in
Kennebunkport, Maine
), is an American racecar driver. He is best known for racing in the
USAC
Championship Car
series, and for some New Englanders, even more so for his racing in the Supermodified winged cars, now called
ISMA
. During the 1970s, he twice raced in the
Indianapolis 500
.
Biography
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]
Warren had his first win 1957 at
West Peabody, Massachusetts
.
[1]
As of 2007, he had won races at 34 tracks in the United States and Canada.
[1]
His first championship came in 1962 in the B-class at Hudson and the Pines.
[1]
Since then, he has won championships at
Oswego Speedway
,
Star Speedway
, New England Super Modified Racing Association and
ISMA
.
[1]
Warren raced in the 1970?1975 seasons, with 37 career starts, including the
Indianapolis 500
races of
1971
and
1975
. He finished in the top ten 14 times, with his best finish in fourth position in 1970 at
Milwaukee
.
After he stopped racing in the Indy cars, Warren's career was revitalized at Oswego Speedway, driving for Tom Heveron in a wingless
supermodified
. While subbing for injured driver Doug Heveron, Bentley racked up 5 wins in his first 6 starts which led to a series of great rides including the Flying 5 and one of Paul Dunigan's fleet. Bentley has won the International Classic at Oswego 6 times.
Other notable wins include the
Little 500
twice, the Copper World Classic, the Star Classic, The Thompson World Series, and an east?west showdown between the best of the supermodified drivers. He continues to drive on occasion in the ISMA supermodified series and recorded a win in 2006 driving for car owner Vic Miller.
In the early 2000s, Bentley worked with actor
Paul Newman
in a
midget car
and supermodified at Star Speedway in
Epping, New Hampshire
. In the late 1990s and in the 2000s, Bentley dabbled back in the USAC open-wheel division, and continued to make appearances in supermodifieds.
Later on, sometime around 2007, Bentley's Campground and Biker Saloon were constructed in Arundel, Maine, serving as a tourism site and recreational haven.
Career awards
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Indy 500 results
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References
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