HISTORICAL FEATURE: GUS LINDER IS THE MOST WELL-KNOWN SUPER SPRINT DRIVER IN TRI-CITY HISTORY
by Brian Spaid

August 13, 2004 

   You either loved him or hated him. To most, he was the fan’s racer. To other's, he was the Dale Earnhardt of sprint car racing. Probably the most popular driver in the history of Tri-City Speedway, his name is one of the first mentioned by even casual fans that visited the track in the 1960s and 1970s.

   Gus Linder, 75, now resides in Bethel Park near Pittsburgh. Back in his heyday, however, Linder was unmatched. With nearly 250 career feature wins and numerous track titles, he was well-known throughout Supermodified and Super Sprint racing circles. At Tri-City, he was a top dog on the old quarter-mile track.

   “I loved it at Tri-City,” recalled Linder. “It was a nice, high-banked track and you could hold your car up high there. I loved to run wide.”

   Linder still chuckles about one race at the venerable oval.

   “One night, the track was so bumpy, the other guys were all going to stick low. I started 24^th in the feature. I went right to the top of the track where no one was racing, and I was laughing so hard because I drove by everyone. I was the only one up there. I think I had the lead within five laps, then I went down low and everyone else followed me the rest of the race.”

   Linder speaks highly about many of the men he raced. Near the top of his list are drivers like Lou Blaney, Henry Jacoby and Dick Cotterman.

   “I couldn’t name all the guys I used to race,” said Linder. “There were a lot of tough racers back then. I’m glad I raced those days.”

   Starting in Coupes, Linder first competed in 1951. He ran at Heidelberg and South Park Speedways near Pittsburgh. In 1960, he switched to the Supermodified division, which was the forerunner to the current Super Sprint class. Back then, sprint cars were wingless.

   “All the cars were wingless. Then, one time, I was at Williams Grove Speedway (near Harrisburg), and these two racers from Nebraska were there. They had 4-x-4 wooden wings on their roll cages. I remember I finished second that day, while those boys ran first and third.”

   Although Linder cannot remember the names of the drivers, they brought a new trend to racing in the Keystone State.

   “I liked the old 4-x-4 wooden wing for a cushion if you flipped over. To me, it was more of a safety feature. Now, these race teams have these big wings with aerodynamics. It’s all too expensive now.”

   Sprint car fans are very political when it comes to wings. Like Democrats and Republicans, you’re either a winged or wingless fan. And each group is steadfast. For Linder, other than the expense, he would race either way.

   “It didn’t bother me either way, it just bothered my pocketbook. Nowadays, the sport is killing the small guy. I remember one time we were racing at Williams Grove, and the engine broke. We went to a local garage and bought a car for $700. We put the engine in our race car and went to Lincoln Speedway, where we won the feature. The purse was $700. So, we made our investment back. Today, these World of Outlaws guys are towing into the pits with over $100,000 in rigs and equipment.”

   Linder continued to race Super Sprints until 1985. It wasn’t dollars that forced him out, however. Linder quit after a bad accident at Sharon Speedway in which his friend, Spanky Lewis, was killed.

   “I just walked away after that. I decided I had enough.”

   To this day, many people can still see the black Mickey Banas No. 69 racing through the turns at area tracks. At Tri-City, although his win record is still being compiled by track historians, he amassed dozens of feature wins over the years. Those included a seven-win streak in 1964.

   “I don’t really recall how many feature wins and titles I had over the years. I just loved to race and win.”

   When asked why he was so popular, Linder just shrugs his shoulders and displays that famous smile.

   “I think it was because I didn’t carry on like an idiot out there on the track. I came to race and I did my job. I was also nice to people. It didn’t matter who they were, I made sure they were welcome.”

   As Tri-City’s 50^th Anniversary Season nears its end, race fans of all ages and backgrounds owe Gus Linder huge thanks for being a hero, a leader and a great race car driver. After all, his legacy continues to this day.

   RECORD ERROR

   In researching track records for this story, information about one of Linder’s records was corrected. In 2001, while Brent Rhebergen was dominating the E Mod division, it was widely reported that Linder won 11 consecutive races in 1964. In fact, Linder only won seven races in a row. As a result, Rhebergen’s 10-race win streak officially stands as the all-time record at Tri-City.