Dick Atkins

{{short description|American racing driver (1936–1966)}}

{{Infobox racing driver

| name = Dick Atkins

| image =

| caption =

| nationality =

| birth_name = Richard Charles Atkins

| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|04|23}}

| birth_place = Oakland, California, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1966|11|13|1936|04|23}}

| death_place = Gardena, California, U.S.

| titles =

| awards =

| module1 = {{Infobox Champ Car driver|child=yes

| years = 1965–1966

| Total_Champ_Races = 13

| Years_In_Champ = 2

| Champ_Car_Team =

| Best_Champ_Pos = 12th – 1966

| First_Champ_Race = 1965 Golden State 100 (Sacramento)

| Last_Champ_Race = 1966 Golden State 100 (Sacramento)

| First_Champ_Win = 1966 Golden State 100 (Sacramento)

| Last_Champ_Win =

| Champ_Wins = 1

| Champ_Podiums = 2

| Champ_Poles = 0

}}}}

Richard Charles Atkins{{Cite web |title=Dick Atkins |url=http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/AtkinsDick.htm |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=www.champcarstats.com}} (April 23, 1936 – November 13, 1966) was an American racing driver from Oakland, California.

Atkins came up in sprint cars and won the Turkey Night Grand Prix in 1965 and was rewarded by race promoter J. C. Agajanian with a chance to race in the USAC National Championship in 1966. He failed to qualify for the 1966 Indianapolis 500, but finished fourth at Trenton Speedway in September then won on the dirt oval at Sacramento in October, for his first "big car" win. However, he was killed just a month later in a sprint car crash at Ascot Park in California in a wreck that also killed Don Branson. He finished 11th in 1966 USAC National Championship points.

Awards

Complete USAC Championship Car results

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! Pos

! Points

1965

| PHX

| TRE

| INDY

| MIL

| LAN

| PPR

| TRE

| IRP

| ATL

| LAN

| MIL

| ISF

| MIL

| DSF

| INF

| TRE

|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | SAC
{{small|12}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| PHX
{{small|12}}

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 49th

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 30

1966

|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | PHX
22

| TRE

|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | INDY
DNQ

|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | MIL
{{small|20}}

|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | LAN
{{small|DNQ}}

|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | ATL
{{small|23}}

| PIP

|style="background:#CFEAFF;" | IRP
{{small|10}}

|style="background:#CFEAFF;" | LAN
{{small|9}}

|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | SPR
{{small|12}}

|style="background:#CFCFFF;" | MIL
{{small|12}}

|style="background:#DFDFDF;" | DUQ
{{small|2}}

|style="background:#CFEAFF;" | ISF
{{small|6}}

|style="background:#DFFFDF;" | TRE
{{small|4}}

|style="background:#FFFFBF;" | SAC
{{small|1}}

| PHX

|colspan=2|

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 11th

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 815

References

{{Reflist}}