Steve Danish

The racing world lost Steve Danish on August 12, 2003. For anyone who really knows about the roots of Northeast stock car racing, this should become one of the most important dates in racing history.

Steve Danish was from the small eastern New York hamlet of Cropseyville, near Grandma Moses' town of Eagle Bridge and somewhat near Troy. Steve did not begin his racing career until 1949, when he was already 30. That was quite late in life, when compared to most race drivers.

Being very near to the states of Massachusetts and Vermont, Danish was able to compete at such places as Bennington, Vermont's State Line Speedway, Rutland, Vermont's Pico Raceway, Granville, New York's Mettowee Speedway, and probably Fair Haven, Vermont's Fairmont Speedway, as well. It is during this time that he would have first exerted influence on the way racing was done in Vermont. That, in turn, would filter down to those who began at Catamount some sixteen years later.

Danish was to become synonymous with the the Fonda Speedway, at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Fonda, New York. In the racing history book Fonda !, by Andy Fusco, Lew Boyd, and Jim Rigney, the second chapter is called "1953 and the Formative Years : The Steve Danish Era". Again, some of the first competitors and officials who started Catamount used to attend races at Fonda during its glory years in the very late 1950's and early 1960's. They would have beheld Steve Danish at his peak.

Steve Danish clearly was the first professional stock car driver in the Northeast, at least in as far as the way he went about his sport. Danish, himself, pointed out in the Fonda ! book : " I tried to set a standard in appearance and in everything else I did. Not only was I the first guy with a sponsor and the first guy with a uniform, but I was the first guy to haul my race car on a trailer."

Source Unknown - Probably Danish Family Photo
Steve did not back his way into life, but he did back up to win this one at Fonda.

I never saw Danish when he was not uniformed in clean khaki work shirts and pants, nor when his car wasn't an immaculate cream tan #61, with exactly the same lettering and color scheme. His sponsor was Bumstead Chevrolet, of Troy, and he kept his crew dressed exactly the same as himself. Danish could beat the fields of Fonda V-8's with a Chevy six -and he did so frequently.

Even though he retired in the mid 1960's, Danish still ranks ninth in Fonda feature wins. Ironically, one of the last wins he recorded anywhere, was back in Vermont - at Fairmont Speedway. I was there. Danish was always one of my heroes, from when I first saw him somewhere in 1950 or 1951. In 1984, it was my lifelong thrill to finally meet Steve, courtesy of my friends - his daughter and son - in - law [Stephanie and Phil Miller]. I not only talked with Steve, but I went up with him in his private airplane. It didn't get any better than that. Lastly, I have struck up an email correspondence with Steve's son, John, the gangly kid in many of Steve's photos. John now operates the Danish garage, Pleasant Valley Garage in Cropseyville and he seems to know many people in the racing world.

McDowell Photo Courtesy of Dan Ody and Ken Gypson
Steve, in his characteristic Danish Chevrolet T-shirt, poses and signs an autograph. Note the Clark 45 in the background.

Otto Graham Website
Danish, who rarely drove other peoples' cars, did manage to wreck Bill and Dave Clark's 45 in one race.

Catamount was always run with a strong effort to be professional, to put on a good show, and to further the image of stock car racing. Some of this attitude, they got from Mr. Danish. Thanks for the memories, Steve.

Herbert Family Photo Steve mixes it up with Jeep Herbert, Bob Mott, and Pete Corey at a banquet.	Herbert Family Photo Steve has Jeep Herbert on the inside at Stateline Speedway in the 1950's.	Otto Pade Photo via Black Jack on oldiesbutgoodies,com Steve could get into scrapes just like everyone else.	Courtesy of Jo Towns via Otto Graham With an unusual trophy at Fonda around 1960.
Paul Connors Photo Steve loaded up at Stateline in 1956.	Paul Connors Photo A rare damaged 61 at Stateline in 1956.	Courtesy of Mark LeFrancois Steve at Fairmont, with the 61Jr, around 1951.	Courtesy of Mark LeFrancois Steve at what I believe to be Mettawee Speedway near Granville, NY.
Bob Mackey Photo Courtesy of John Rock Steve in early 1950's.	From Fonda Book Steve poses in he first Fonda Speedway promo photo, along with Walt Roberts, Herb Root, and Spence Parkhurst.	Courtesy of Hackel Family Steve with another Stateline trophy, flanked by Pete Corey and an unknown driver.	Courtesy of Ted Vogel Family An extremely rare shot of Steve having dumped the car at Fonda.
Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham Danish's 61 is out back in this Fonda start. 25- Nick Carter, 3 1/7 Chuck Flihan, 44 Ronnie Nichols, 42 - Schooch Schoonmaker, L8 - Bob Adams, 62 - Jeep Herbert, Danish, and 4-Lou Lazzaro.	Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham Danish's 61 and the 61Jr. backup car, that was driven by such as Al Danish and Hully Bunn - as well as Steve.	Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham Danish's 61 at home.	Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham Steve poses for some photographer.
Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham Danish's 61 trails the 111NY of Ken Shoemaker as Chet waves checkers.	Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham Steve, in Victory Lane with Harry Peek [above] and Lou Lazzaro. In the bottom shot, I'm not sure who's awarding whom.	Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham Two Fonda action shots.	Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham In the west end of the Fonda infield pit area. The tarps that blocked people from looking in from Route 30A are seen in the background.
Courtesy of Dan Ody Danish and others pull off at Victoria after a heat race. Noted are Wimble 33; Janoski 40; and Lou Smith 87.	International Motorsport News Clippings	Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham Steve nips Howie Westervelt in Cliff Wright's 83. Note Chet's flagstand is on the opposite side of the track from most other shots.	Herbert Family Photo Rare instance with a numeral other than 61. Probably at a big race like Langhorne.

Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham
Steve evades trouble by leading this race at Stateline Speedway, near Bennington, VT. Others in the race are: 3, Pete Corey:
62, Joe Ciganenko; 37, Jeep Herbert; and 112, one of the Gerows.

Russ Bergh Photo Photograph from the Coastal 181 Collection. Some of the crew Danish had, at Fonda. Son John is second from left. The sportsman of Jack DuBrul can barely be seen through the windows of Steve's car with the "Speed & Race Engineering" ad.	Russ Bergh Photo Photograph from the Coastal 181 Collection The Danish crew fusses around the 61 during a break in the action. That is son, John, leaning in the window at right.	Photograph from the Coastal 181 Collection. Photographer - McDowell Steve Danish poses for a photo around 1950 , at Stateline Speedway. The track wasn't very safe. It had few or no barriers.
Courtesy of the Danish Family An apparently very early shot of the Danish car leaving Langhorne Speedway. The hauler is earlier than anything I had seen before. The hospital sign says "Bucks County", which is a dead giveaway to the location.	Courtesy of the Danish Family Not too many people know of Steve's trip to the Daytona Beach course in the 1950's. He had Frank Trinkaus, among others, along for the trip.	Courtesy of the Danish Family Starting a feature possibly at Victoria Speedway in Duanesburg, NY. Steve is behind the Trinkaus car and Paul Marshall in the Warren Daniels 7-11, out of Alplaus, NY. Link Petit, Sr. trails Danish. 54 could be Willie Chest, but it pretty far for Chest to travel for a race.

Courtesy of Danish Family One of the more interesting photos of Steve. He had subbed in the Frank Trinkhaus car the night Miss America was visiting the track. Guess who won ? Courtesy of Danish Family via Otto Graham	Courtesy of Danish Family John Danish stands on a pole near turn four at Fonda to see the action.	Courtesy of Danish Family A typical Fonda heat starts with Steve sideways into turn one chasing Utica's Jim Luke in the Floyd Wilcox #32. Pete Corey ins further back in the Tony Villano #37.
Courtesy of Danish Family An early shot with some of his admirers at Fairmont Park Motor Speedway in the early 1950's. The tower in the background is noteworthy, but I don't know much about it.	Rutland Herald Photo - One of the last victories [if not THE LAST] was at Fairmont Speedway. Here Steve poses with legendary CVRA promoter C.J. Richards.	Courtesy of Danish Family A very rare shot of Danish racing on pavement at Empire Speedway in Menands, NY.

Photo by McDowell Source: vintagemodified.com An early shot of Rhode Islander Don Rounds at Stateline Speedway. Danish is seen getting lined up for a race in the background.	Courtesy of Danish Family Chief Mechanic John Danish - early 1950's	Courtesy of Danish Family Very early shot of a Danish car ready to leave the Pleasant Valley Garage. Freddy Sheppard won a race for Steve with this car, too - at the Bennetts Field track, in New York. Courtesy of Danish Family
Courtesy of Danish Family The 61 sits, ready to go, outside the Pleasant Valley Garage. Today, son John operates the garage.	Photo by McDowell Danish chases Stu Piper in George Barber's first number 46 coupe at Stateline.	Courtesy of Danish Family The 61 is trailered and ready to head out to the race track du jour.
Courtesy of Danish Family Another win at Stateline	Courtesy of Danish Family The 61 sits on the pole at a 1953 feature at Stateline Speedway.	Courtesy of Danish Family The start of a feature at Fonda.

Courtesy of Danish Family The family kept good records of their participation in racing. This is one of Steve's very early outings - to Airport Speedway in Poughkeepsie, NY.	Courtesy of Danish Family Note that even the pit pass from Poughkeepsie is carefully dated. That is how Steve did things.	Courtesy of Danish Family Steve, family, and friends after the races - either at Rutland, VT's Pico Raceway, or at Fairmont Park Motor Speedway in Fair Haven, VT. I can't identify the car in the background. It isn't Steve's, as it is clearly a Ford.