One of stock car racing’s early trailblazers is gone. Bill Rafter, a driver from NASCAR’s very first season in 1949 and a legend on short tracks across the Northeast, has died at the age of 96.
#Buffalo area racer Bill Rafter competed in 35 @NASCAR Grand National races from ’49-’58, with 2 top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. The 2-time @LancasterMtplx champion returned to racing in the early ’70s after suffering burns in a Late Model race at Perry, N.Y. pic.twitter.com/mBVQkY3zr8
— John A. Bisci Jr. (@JohnBisciJr) December 1, 2023
Rafter competed in 33 races in the early days of what is now the NASCAR Cup Series, recording 11 top-10 finishes during a time when the sport was still finding its footing. His best results included a third-place finish in Hamburg, New York in 1949 and a 10th-place showing at Watkins Glen in 1957.
But numbers alone do not capture his legacy.
Around Buffalo and across New York, Rafter became one of the most feared and respected short-track drivers of his era. He racked up dozens of wins at Buffalo’s Civic Stadium and claimed the track’s final championship in 1959.
Those who raced against him say he could win in almost anything.
“He was so talented,” fellow driver Bill Bitterman once said. “Late Models, Midgets, Modifieds. Anything he drove, he could win in.”
Rafter’s toughness also became part of his legend.
In 1964, he was struck by a rock that shattered his windshield during a race at Merrittville Speedway, fracturing his skull. Somehow, he still managed to finish the race and take the checkered flag before collapsing and being rushed to the hospital.
Just eight days later, he returned and won again.
Rafter eventually retired from racing in 1972 but remained involved in the sport for years, even working at Daytona International Speedway for more than a decade.
For many longtime racing fans, he was one of the originals. And one of the toughest competitors the sport ever saw.