Iggy Katona facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Iggy Katona |
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| Nationality | American | ||||||
| Born | Egnatius Katona August 16, 1916 Toledo, Ohio |
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| Died | December 4, 2003 (aged 87) Daytona Beach, Florida |
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| Retired | 1977 | ||||||
| ARCA Series | |||||||
| Years active | 1953–1977 | ||||||
| Teams | Iggy Katona | ||||||
| Starts | 312 | ||||||
| Wins | 79 | ||||||
| Poles | 44 | ||||||
| Best finish | 1st in 1955, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1966, 1967 | ||||||
| Previous series | |||||||
| 1951–'52, 1965–'66, 1974 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series | ||||||
| Championship titles | |||||||
| 1955 1956 1957 1962 1966 1967 |
MARC Champion MARC Champion MARC Champion MARC Champion ARCA Series Champion ARCA Series Champion |
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| Awards | |||||||
| 1982 | Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame | ||||||
| Achievements | 1965, 1971, 1974 Daytona ARCA 200 Winner Finished top ten in ARCA Racing Series point standings for 21 consecutive seasons (1953–1973) The only driver ever to win a 600-lap race on a half-mile oval (Dayton Speedway) |
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| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 13 races run over 5 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 33rd (1952) | ||||||
| First race | 1951 Motor City 250 (Detroit) | ||||||
| Last race | 1974 Winston 500 (Talladega) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Grand National East Series career | |||||||
| 3 races run over 1 year | |||||||
| First race | 1973 Toledo 100 (Toledo) | ||||||
| Last race | 1973 Mt. Clemens 100 (Mt. Clemens) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of April 28, 2013. | |||||||
Egnatius "Iggy" Katona (born August 16, 1916 – died December 4, 2003) was an American stock car racing driver. He came from Willis, Michigan. Iggy Katona is famous for his amazing racing in the ARCA series. He raced in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
During his career, he won six championships and 79 races in the ARCA series. His record of 79 wins was the most in the series for a long time. It was only broken in 2013 by Frank Kimmel. Iggy Katona also holds other ARCA records. These include the most starts (630 races). He was also the oldest race winner at 57 years old. This win happened at Daytona International Speedway in 1974. He also had 19 seasons in a row with at least one win.
Iggy's Early Racing Days
Iggy Katona started his racing journey when he was 21 years old. He began by racing motorcycles in local competitions. These races took place in Michigan and Ohio. He was very good and won almost every race he entered.
After serving a short time in the Army during World War II, he switched to midget car racing. Midget cars are small, powerful race cars. Iggy built his own engines and car frames (called chassis). His two sons, Ronnie and Jim, helped him as his crew.
Iggy found great success racing on four wheels too. He won 14 feature races in a row at Detroit's famous Motor City Speedway. This track was a dirt oval.
Becoming an ARCA Legend
In 1952, a man named John Marcum created a new racing series. It was called the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC). This series was like a northern version of NASCAR. Iggy Katona was a top driver in this new series right from the start.
He finished 3rd in the first MARC season in 1953. Then he came in 2nd in 1954. After that, he won the championship three years in a row: 1955, 1956, and 1957. His fourth MARC championship came in 1962. He drove his #30 Ford car to victory.
Iggy was known for his skills on short tracks. But he also did very well when the MARC series changed its name to ARCA. This happened in 1964. ARCA started racing on bigger tracks called superspeedways. Iggy won the ARCA race at Daytona three times.
He won his fifth and sixth championships in 1966 and 1967. When he won in 1967, he was 51 years old! One of Iggy's best qualities was his consistency. He finished in the top ten in series points for 21 seasons in a row. This amazing streak lasted from 1953 to 1973.
