Driver

The Elkhorn, WI native was the all-time winningest sprint car driver in USAC history with 52 victories until Dave Darland surpassed him in 2014. Bigelow’s record had stood for 33 years. An additional 23 midget wins and six Silver Crown wins place him fifth on the overall all-time USAC winners list with 81. “Biggie” began his career in 1956 at a local speedway driving jalopy stock cars and won the Sun Prairie, WI sprint car championship in 1964. He went on to race in USAC, racking up victories by the handful throughout the ‘70s. He captured USAC’s National Sprint Car Series Championship in 1978 and the National Midget Series title in 1984. (Ironically, Bigelow had missed out on the 1977 Sprint Car title despite winning 14 events.) Bigelow made nine starts in the Indianapolis 500, with a career-best sixth in 1977 and an eighth (from the last row) in 1980. Bigelow was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1996 and the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2002.