Former area racer Gene Varner of Selinsgrove was remembered late Monday as a man with great talent, both on and off the track, following his death at the age of 65 on Sunday afternoon.
"He could do anything as far as fabrication work or things you would never think of," said Mount Pleasant Mills sprint driver Colby Womer upon learning of Varner's passing.
Now a sprint driver at Selinsgrove Speedway, Womer benefited from Varner's mechanical prowess as a micro sprint driver in the area from late 1999 through 2001.
"He was really crafty," Womer said. "He got a lot out of very little, that's for sure. The deal was never high dollar, but he spent every penny where it needed to be put. He was really sharp."
With Varner turning the wrenches, Womer won the inaugural event held at Selinsgrove Raceway Park in 2001.
Varner will forever be remembered in sprint car annals as the winner of the prestigious 1969 Williams Grove Speedway National Open for sprint cars.
In an upset for the ages, the Richfield native was in the pits without a ride at the track when he approached car owner Gary Wasson to drive his backup car to primary driver Mitch Smith of Linglestown.
Wasson said yes and Varner went on to dust the field in the 150-lap event for his first-ever sprint victory anywhere, leading the entire way.
Varner remembered his victory in the race, now known as the biggest sprint event in the East, for The Daily Item in 2000.
"I ran the last 75 laps without brakes and at the end of the race, no fuel pressure. It ran out of fuel and was spittin' in the corners and the oil pressure was down to about zero," Varner said.
"The win was worth $1,000 and $10 per lap. You got more lap money than you got prize (money)!
"It's hard to look back on that day and remember what was what. I know I was never so excited."
Varner went on to win only two more races before quitting as a driver in 1971 when he was just in his late 20s, taking another checkered flag at Williams Grove and one at the South Penn Speedway near Bedford.
He began his career in stock cars in 1963 driving for Selinsgrove owner Luke Bogar and evolved into sprints with Bogar before also piloting mounts for Al Hamilton and the Duncan owned "Sweet 16."
Varner's driving talent impressed Selinsgrove racing historian and former Daily Item reporter Dave Herrold.
"I was surprised when he stopped racing. He always had potential," Herrold said. "And that Open shocked a lot of people."
Varner said in 2000 that he credited his lack of wins for why he gave up on jockeying.
"I was tired of being fired," he once said, noting that top finishes were not always good enough. "That's why I got fired from Hamilton, because we got I don't know how many seconds down here that year at Selinsgrove and never did win."
But Gene Varner was a winner nevertheless.
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Varner remembered on and off the track
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