50 Greatest Modified Drivers – Bob Potter 1941-2019
“A Master of Modifieds”
Bob Potter was the only driver to race on all three surfaces at Stafford Motor Speedway. He ran one event on the dirt and only a few in the early days on asphalt including the first Spring Sizzler in 1972. He drove Roger Bonnville’s outlaw #110 to a 9th place finish in that first Spring Sizzler. A good part of his career was spent at the Waterford Speedbowl where he has six Championships and 96 career wins.
With the advent of the SK Modified® division, Potter became a regular weekly competitor at Stafford Speedway. His first Stafford win came on Sizzler weekend in 1986. Since that first win, Potter tallied up 24 wins and five Modified track championships (1988, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1995).
Potter did most of his own race car fabrication while his partner and car owner Jiggs Beetham supplied the power. Potter became the first Modified driver to turn a lap on the new Stafford surface in the Spring of 1998.
In addition to his successes at Stafford and Waterford, Potter has numerous wins at Thompson and had successful drives at Trenton and Martinsville.
When the Arute family had Stafford Speedway re-paved in the fall of 1997, Potter was the number one choice to be the first driver to turn a competitive lap on the new speedway surface.
1998 turned into a landmark year for Potter as along with his christening of the newly reconstructed Stafford Speedway, Potter garnered the dubious honor of joining the list of the ‘50 Greatest Modified Drivers of All Time’. The list of the fabulous fifty having been determined by fan voting is evidence to the popularity of this proven racing talent. Often referred to as Modified racing’s Father Time, Bob Potter used his time at the wheel to master the skill of driving Modifieds.
By: Phil Smith
