Six months ago when the NSCHoF announced the Inductees for the Class of 2025, my heart filled with joy for the family of Kenny Gritz. I quicky revisited this story I had written 12 years ago, hoping to have an impact and create a path for Gritz to be inducted, someday. That day is here. Here is a slightly edited version of this story written for the 2013 Knoxville Nationals souvenir program. I hope you enjoy it.
Eric Arnold
Knoxville Raceway - Track Historian
On August 16, 1969, 25-year-old Kenny Gritz of Lincoln, Nebraska, etched his name into racing history by winning the Knoxville Nationals. Just sixteen days later, on September 1, his life was tragically cut short in a racing accident at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds. His is a story of passion, perseverance, and a life taken too soon — a man for whom racing was more than a pastime; it was a family affair.
Although Gritz had enjoyed some success during the 1969 season, few saw him as a serious contender for the Knoxville Nationals. Yet he shocked the racing world by capturing the $3,000 top prize in what many still consider one of the biggest upsets in the event’s storied history. Gritz’s underdog victory was a true Cinderella story.
For those of us who pass under the ticket gates at Knoxville Raceway and glance up at the list of past champions, every name has a story. As a proud historian of the Knoxville Nationals, I wanted to uncover the man behind the name "Kenny Gritz" — a driver who I never witnessed race, but whose legacy deserves to be remembered by my generation and those who follow.
Gritz’s racing journey began in late 1964, piloting a friend’s car a few times at Midwest Speedway in Lincoln. He helped a coworker build a race car and eventually purchased it himself. Encouraged by his wife, Jeanne, he took the wheel and never looked back. By 1967, Gritz had claimed his first feature win at Midwest Speedway and finished second in the Nebraska Modified Racing Association (NMRA) standings. A toolmaker by trade, he spent countless nights working on his car with a close-knit team that included Jeanne, father-in-law Bob Whitlock, Zeke Zegers, Gary Schoenrock, John Burke of Burke Machine, and Larry Snyder of Snyder Fiberglass — now Snyder Industries.
Among his mentors and fiercest competitors was fellow Lincoln driver Lloyd Beckman. In a 1968 interview with George Kaufman of the Lincoln Star, Gritz reflected on racing against his idol:
"It’s quite a challenge to me. I enjoy beating him when I can, but even when I don’t, I’m learning. I’ve watched Beckman closely, and he’s helped me quite a bit. As far as I’m concerned, he’s one of the best in the country."
That respect was mutual. After Gritz beat Beckman at Eagle Raceway in 1967, Beckman told him, “Kid, you’re on your own from now on.”
Gritz’s momentum continued. He won the 1968 Knoxville Nationals B-Main and, although his final position in the A-Main that year remains unclear, he had clearly established himself as a serious competitor.
In the fall of 1968, Gritz and Snyder flew to Los Angeles to purchase an Edmunds chassis sprint car. Back in Lincoln, they installed a 327 fuel-injected Chevy engine and outfitted the car with custom fiberglass panels. The blue No. 12 became a fan favorite. Because IMCA rules at the time prohibited roll cages in sprint cars, the car was designed with a removable cage — a sobering sign of the era's safety standards.
In early 1969, the team ventured west to race in California at Ascot Park, El Centro, and Imperial, before returning to the Midwest where they rattled off three straight wins at Eagle Raceway. At Knoxville, Gritz ended the regular season fifth in points with four quick times and a June feature win. He finished fourth in the NMRA standings. In another memorable Knoxville race, he battled Earl Wagner to the finish before both cars tangled on the final stretch, allowing Joe Saldana to steal the win. Gritz still managed to finish second.
The day of the Nationals final nearly ended in disaster before it began. While welding on his brother-in-law Jerry Sanford’s No. 12JR car, a gas tank ignited, and Kenny suffered severe facial burns from the flames and metal fragments. His mentor Beckman insisted he rest in an air-conditioned hotel room nearby. Rumors swirled about who might drive the Snyder No. 12 car that night. But Gritz, battling through the pain, took the green flag.
What followed was the stuff of legend. On lap 27 of the 30-lap A-Main, Gritz passed race leader Jan Opperman and pulled away for an unforgettable victory. Burns still visible on his face in victory lane, Gritz triumphed over a field that included future Nationals champions Opperman, Ray Lee Goodwin, and Kenny Weld. At just 25, he had reached the pinnacle of sprint car racing.
Tragically, Gritz's triumph was short-lived. On Labor Day, he competed at the Nebraska State Fair, where IMCA rules required him to remove the roll cage from his car. He hit a hole in the track, flipped violently, and was killed in the crash. His death sent shockwaves through the racing community.
It is hard to imagine that racing 56 years ago, roll cages were a luxury item for race car drivers. At the time super modifieds had roll cages, while sprint cars typically had none. The Knoxville Nationals allowed sprint cars to attach cages to compete, but Gritz was forced to remove his cage by IMCA rules at the time to compete at the Nebraska State Fair that day. Sadly, Gritz at only twenty-five years old, who had just began to peak as a race car driver, was gone
Kenny had recently been promoted to foreman at Bair Machine and was a devoted husband and father to two young daughters, Lori and Teresa. Jeanne, who was instrumental in his racing career, later remarried and passed away in 1991.
By all accounts, Kenny Gritz was a kind, easygoing man who loved his family and his sport. While his death was a heartbreaking loss, it spurred a critical change in racing safety. Jeanne Gritz filed a lawsuit that helped force IMCA and other organizations to mandate roll cages on sprint cars. The heartbreaking loss ended with a legacy that has saved countless lives since.
Gritz was inducted into the inaugural class of the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame in 1979, and later into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2002. One day, he may also take his rightful place in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
The car Kenny drove to victory in 1969, owned by Larry Snyder, lives on. Restored by Mike Dewey of Santa Paula, California, the iconic blue No. 12 now resides at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville. If you’re in Knoxville this week, make sure to stop by and see it.
Special thanks to Bob Wilson and Kenny Gritz’s sister, Jan Sanford, for their help in telling this story. It was an honor to remember and celebrate Kenny Gritz — forever the 1969 Knoxville Nationals champion.
- Eric Arnold on May 30, 2025
- Article Date: 5/30/2025 by PR - Eric Arnold