"On the Racetrack to Recovery" for Seventy-Five-Year-Old Athlete
NASCAR Race Mom met Kenny Smith back in 2006 when son Moses was racing at Irwindale Speedway. You could not miss Kenny and his Quick Pick Motorsports crew. He was just shy of his sixtieth birthday. You could tell Kenny loved to race.
He started wearing his Cowboy hat after getting out of his Race Vehicles because of bigger rims on the hats. Locals Jeffrey and Tommy of Low Budget TV picked up on that habit and penned the nickname “Cowboy Kenny.”
However, Smith’s daughter Kimberly added that her Mom and Dad loved the King of NASCAR, Richard Petty; which also influenced his hat wear!
Now there are quite a few older gentleman racers out there. However, Kenny is not that old guy running laps in the back. He is a racer!
A few years ago, in 2019, Kenny Smith, then seventy-three-years young, repeated his 2018 Spec Late Model Championship driving his own RCF-built No. 43 Chevy. He won by 44-points and was the fastest qualifier six times. He is the oldest track champion at Irwindale Speedway.
The 2019 series had ten main events with five different winners. Smith won four times, including a non-points May 25 race. Some drivers could not make a rescheduled date so it became a non-points event. Sixteen drivers scored points. The Oak Hills resident has won ten championships including titles at Saugus Speedway, which closed in 1995.
In 2020, Kenny finished third in the YouRaceLA Spec Late Models points with one win in the books.
2021 started out well. Unfortunately, on June 12th, during race four of the eight race season, Kenny and competitor Andy Partridge banged into each other, in a massive clash, with seven laps to go. Both drivers ended up into the wall hard.
It took a while to get Kenny out of the mangled racecar; nevertheless, no broken bones. The drivers were evaluated and took a trip to the hospital for precautionary measures. Kenny spent a couple of days in the hospital but is now resting at home.
In a recent Facebook post, to the question regarding how he is doing, Kenny reported, “Bruised ribs and bruised lung, my guts floating around, left ankle sprain, right foot has a knot on it - other than that I’m ready to go.”
His daughter interjected, “Hard to put weight on his Gas Pedal Foot but he’s is on the “racetrack to recovery.” We will let time tell on returning to the Spec Model series. Definitely going to root on his fellow competitors. He’s a true Winning Hero.
Heal fast and well Kenny, just like you race. I know we will see you at the track soon Cowboy.
Also See: Kenny & Marylou - A Story of Love and Racing
