Columbus racer remembered for successful career

Columbus lost a local racing legend when Herman Burton passed away on Dec. 14 at the age of 77.

He started his racing career as a driver in 1975, which transpired after three seasons behind the wheel of a race car to a car owner for several drivers, including National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Russ Petro, Carl Collins, Don Hobbs, Roger Sullivan, Gary Herbert and Dick Phillips. Burton also owned a car with his brother Harold in which their younger brother Troy raced.

The newly formed hobby stock was started at Brownstown Speedway in 1975. Burton, driving a 1955 Chevy, won the track championship that year at the Jackson County Fairgrounds track, winning three feature events during that inaugural season with five runner-up performances and two third-place finishes. Burton would race two more seasons in his own car before turning over the driving duties to Petro.

In 1978, Burton and Petro dominated the local scene on the track, winning every feature but one at Bloomington Speedway on Friday nights, which also earned them the track title. During the same year, they won five times at Brownstown and finished second in the points to Doc Jewell. In 1979, the Burton/Petro combo again dominated Victory Lane, especially at Twin Cities and Whitewater Valley Speedway in Liberty.

“Herman was a great mechanic,” said his nephew Gary Burton, who was a top competitor for several years in go-karts, street stocks, late models and modifieds before turning over the driving duties to his son Broc. “When Herman and Russ got together, they were nearly unbeatable. They would go run that hobby stock car against late models sometimes and be competitive. It was amazing how many times they won in that 1964 Chevy they got from behind the Petro family garage.”

The Burton and Petro magic continued when they turned to a Gator Late Model Chassis based out of Michigan. The duo captured the 1980 track title at Twin Cities. Petro would then start out the next season driving for Burton, but a call from Fred King would be a chance of a lifetime for Petro, who accepted the offer to drive the famous K1NG late model. Burton then brought in Columbus racer Roger Sullivan and veteran racer Carl Collins to fill Petro’s shoes.

In 1982, Burton teamed with Gary Herbert of Greensburg, and they purchased a new Dixon Chassis. In 1983, Burton teamed with his brothers Harold and Troy in the limited late model division, winning several races with Troy behind the wheel, and after he left the team, Carl Collins picked up where Troy left off, winning several features, as well.

For a 10-year period from 1984-94, Burton helped the efforts of Columbus racer Dick Phillips. During that time span, Burton helped Petro out for a time on his late model in 1987.

Russ Petro’s grandson Dustin Petro first met Herman Burton in 2012 at the Eagles in Columbus. “Of course, I had always heard stories from when grandpa raced for Herman back in the day. He was always with grandpa. I finally got to meet the guy I had always heard crazy stories about. Never did I know I was meeting what would become one of my very best friends that night. I would meet up with him at least one night a week down at the Eagles. The visit always consisted of old race stories. Some, I had heard time and time again, but they never got old.”

Herman Burton was retired from the City of Columbus, where he was a mechanic for 35 years.

Broc Burton of Columbus, a great-nephew of the late Herman Burton, will make his super late model debut in 2019. The 33-year-old racer has acquired a MasterSbilt Race Car from Zack Burton of Edinburgh to race locally this season. Burton started his career in go-karts, then moved to open wheel modifieds in 2010 after a brief stint in a super stock. Burton has hounded his father Gary since 2010 about getting a late model.

“We just thought it was a good time to get one. Broc has a couple of young kids, and soon they will be wanting to get involved in several things in the future, so I told Broc that we might as well go for it now because his career window to drive a late model maybe slipping away,” said Broc’s father Gary.

“The chassis is from the early 2000’s that Mike Jewell formerly ran. The guys at MasterSbilt have updated most everything on the car to help get us on track. We are doing this on a shoe-string budget. We think we can make this work without having to spend $30-40,000 on a motor. We are going to update the motor out of Broc’ modified, which is a former sprint car motor and give it our best shot. Most of the tracks that we are going to race at (Brownstown, Florence, etc.) get slick, and hopefully, that will be to our advantage. We think we will have enough horsepower to be competitive.”

Broc Burton feels that he is up for the challenge of participating in a division he has longed to race in.

“I am very excited for the new challenge and think it’s very cool to be racing in a premier division again like when we were sprint car racing,” he said. “Even though we are on a budget with an older car, I’m hoping we can turn some good laps and be competitive. With the years of experience we have as a team/family racing, I think we can overcome obstacles we might face this season. Maybe we will even run well enough to get some sponsors excited or involved with our program.”

Pierce wins 3 races in Arizona

Bobby Pierce took three late model features in the Wild West Shootout last week in Arizona. Pierce was in line for a $250,000 bonus if he had won all six feature races contested.

In winning three features, Pierce earned a $10,000 bonus, but it could have been a whole lot more since he led in two more races, only to be derailed by a cut tire and rear-end issues on his racer. If Pierce would have won the two other races, he led in he would have picked up a $100,000 bonus.

Other winners in Arizona were Ricky Weiss (twice) and Cade Dillard.

Chili Bowl live on TV tonight

The Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals Presented by General Tire will air live tonight from Tulsa, Oklahoma, on MAVTV. The broadcast will begin at 8:30 p.m.

James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. Send comments to [email protected].