Dick Passwater

Richard "Dick" Passwater (born July 25, 1925) is a retired American racecar driver who raced in NASCAR and USAC.

Born in Indianapolis, Passwater started racing after World War II, and was active in the 1950s and 1960s.[1] He won the fifth race of the 1953 NASCAR Grand National Series season at Charlotte Speedway in his 1953 Oldsmobile.[2] He won the race after most of the top contenders either fell out of the race or had to make a late pit stop at the 3/4 mile long dirt track.[3] The race saw a then-record six drivers take the lead with 18 lead changes.[3] One of Passwater's Oldsmobiles is in a museum in Lansing, Michigan.[1] He retired because car owner Frank Arford had died in a crash in Langhorne, PA while attempting to qualify for the race. Passwater's generosity of letting the owner race backfired, and he returned to Indianapolis. He campaigned a self-owned Olds for his last race in the '53 Southern 500, finishing ninth.