Maynard Yingst
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
racer and crew chief
Pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is where a racing vehicle stops in the pits during a race for refuelling, new tires, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, or any combination of the above...
from Linglestown, Pennsylvania
Linglestown, Pennsylvania
Linglestown is a census-designated place in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1765 by Thomas Lingle....
. He quit his sprint car racing
Sprint car racing
Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa....
career to become the crew chief for Bruce Larson
Bruce Larson
Bruce Larson is a retired American drag racer from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He became nationally known for his match races. He quit drag racing during the early 1980s. He returned in 1985 on the National Hot Rod Association Funny Car tour and won the 1989 NHRA Funny Car championship. His cars were...
's 1989 national championship Funny Car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...
drag racing
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
team. He was nicknamed "The Linglestown Leadfoot".
Racing career
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He had won six features at Williams Grove Speedway
Williams Grove Speedway
Williams Grove Speedway is a half-mile automobile race track located in Williams Grove, between Mechanicsburg and Dillsburg in Pennsylvania, USA. It opened in 1939, and hosted Championship Car races from 1949 to 1959 named the "Indianapolis Sweepstakes", contested by a small field of the best Champ...
. In 1984, he won the 410 Sprint car championship at Selinsgrove Speedway
Selinsgrove Speedway
Selinsgrove Speedway is one-half mile dirt racetrack in Penn Township just south of Selinsgrove, Snyder County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It hosts Road-Runner, Pro Stock, Late Model, and Sprint Car racing every Saturday night...
. Yingst won the inaugural Selinsgrove Open sprint car racing in 1983, and he repeated as the special event champion in 1984 and 1985. He usually raced with a white #88 racecar.
Crew chief
After taking a some time off, fellow Pennsylvanian racer Bruce Larson wanted to return to drag racing in the National Hot Rod AssociationNational Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...
(NHRA) after a long career as a match racer. Yingst quit his sprint car racing career to become Larson's crew chief in NHRA's Funny Car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...
division. Larson won the 1989 NHRA Funny Car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...
title after winning six national events (the Winternationals, Springnationals, Mile-High nationals, Seafair Nationals, Fallnationals and the NHRA Winston Finals) and finishing second at five more events. He worked for "Flash Gordon" Mineo in the 1991 season, entering five national events. He was hired by Chuck Etchells in 1992 to be his crew chief, and Etchells had three events wins to finish fifth in the season points.
Death
Yingst was working in the pits at Houston Raceway ParkHouston Raceway Park
Royal Purple Raceway is a quarter-mile dragstrip in Baytown, Texas, just outside Houston. It opened in 1988 and hosts the NHRA's O'Reilly Spring Nationals. It has a seating capacity for nearly 50,000 spectators, with additional grandstand seating brought in during major events...
on March 6, 1993 at the NHRA Slick 50 Nationals when he collapsed and died from a brain aneurysm. "We were devastated," said Etchells. "Maynard was only 43 and was at the top of his profession. My feeling at the time-was not that we had lost a crew chief but a very dear friend who was like a father to all of the guys on the crew." Williams Grove Speedway started a "Maynard Yingst Memorial" sprint car race after his death.