Without question, Bob Hampshire was instrumental in two of the most dominant eras by any driver in USAC history.

Born on September 25, 1946, Hampshire’s initial success as a USAC car owner came with Jac Haudenschild, who cor-ralled a pair of wins in 1982. Yet Hampshire’s most iconic seasons came in association with Jack Hewitt. In all, the pair teamed up for 22 USAC Sprint Car victories between 1985-1997.

That said, Hampshire and Hewitt’s success on the USAC Silver Crown trail was simply dominant. Armed with their Chal-lenger Chevy nicknamed “Gussie,” they annihilated the competition, winning all six dirt races they entered in 1986. In 1987, they repeated as series champs.

Officially, Hampshire is credited with 14 USAC Silver Crown owner wins, which once ranked as the most in series history. However, as a crew chief, Hampshire has orchestrated a boatload of victories with Hewitt at 6R Racing and 21 more with Kody Swanson at DePalma Motorsports between 2014-2018, a run which included four series titles in a five-year span.

In 2014, Hampshire was named USAC’s Chief Mechanic of the Year, and in 2018, his “63” became the first number offi-cially retired for use in the USAC Silver Crown series.