Photos of mini stock racer
Wayne Varner
19 year old Wayne Varner cranks up his racing career in a car given to him by Miles Cole. When Wayne decided to give it a try, he had been around racing with his brother Jim, and two cousins Joe Varner and Raleigh Beatty.
Who didn't have a night like this when they were starting out? Here is Ted Merritt knocking some of the new off Wayne's car.
photo by Don Winchester, Nov. 7, 1971
The "Gray Ghost" Fiat was an A class fixture every Saturday night in 1972 and 1973.
This is one of my all-time favorite cars!
These were competitive years. Every Saturday night, Wayne was knocking heads with the likes of Raleigh Beatty, Bob Forman, Dana Barlow, Rob Bean, Miles Cole, and many others.
On one especially memorable night, Wayne won the heat and feature in the Gray Ghost. And he had to beat George Sweeting to do it!
Demo time! Wayne pulls the trigger on this ornery V8.
After winning the Demo, the party is on!
It was 4 Cylinder Demo night and Wayne gave chase in another # 7. Two more potential racecars bite the dust. Those Anglias must have been a dime a dozen.
photo by Ed Oberlies, September 2, 1972
1971, Wayne climbed into this Fiat that was normally driven by his cousin Joe.
The Grey Ghost got a little tangled up in August, 1972.
This VW was owned by Red Howell and driven by Wayne. It was a team car to Raleigh Beatty's #8, and Wayne drove it to many wins
Another win....and another group of girls!
A classic shot of Wayne and Ed Esser congratulating each other after an especially spirited battle for the win at Hollywood.
Meet the winner of the "East Coast Championship" at Vero Beach Speedway, 1974. This was the biggest win in Wayne's stock car career, and it came against the best cars in the state that gathered for this extra distance event.
After winning the East Coast Championship, Red sold the car to Wayne who continued racing it on his own.
Wayne is a devoted family man who has spent many years in activities with his kids. His racing ambitions have been put aside to concentrate on being a great dad and husband. Not many drivers can kick the racing habit.
Another feature win at Hialeah!
photo by Bobby (5X5) Day
And another at Hollywood.
After mini-stock racing in the area faded, Wayne ran this Hobby class Ford at Hialeah.
photo by Bobby (5X5) Day Jan. 29, 1977
When his stock car days ended, Wayne stayed busy with boats, dune buggies, quads and several years of competitive moto-cross. He and cousin Joe criss-crossed the state looking for good moto-cross races to run.
