Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part feature on Fred Brownfield and the impact his untimely passing had on the sport of sprint car racing. Part II will follow in next week’s edition of SPEED SPORT Insider.
Mentioning the name Fred Brownfield elicits an emotional shift among those in the dirt-racing community who knew him.
Nearly 17 years after being fatally struck by a race car at the track in Elma, Wash. — a dirt oval he helped put on the map — fond memories are plentiful, only interrupted by cracking in the voice as the stories flow. It is evident the loss of Fred Brownfield continues to sting those who knew him.
Brownfield was a champion racer turned promoter. After time spent running Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., Brownfield and his family revived Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, located an hour and 30 minutes southwest of Seattle and less than an hour from the Pacific Ocean.
Brownfield was also largely successful via Brownfield Promotions Inc., which notably brought the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series back to the Northwest in 1994 following a 15-year absence. He earned World of Outlaws Promoter of the Year awards in 2004 and in ’05 for his efforts with the Wild Wild Northwest Tour.
“He lobbied hard with Ted Johnson to get the Outlaws back to the Northwest,” said Brownfield’s niece, Joanne Cram. “Ted gave him an exclusive deal. My uncle took it on. Skagit, Yakima, Cottage Grove, Billings, Wyoming, Colorado. He promoted that basically until the National Sprint Tour happened. They were wildly successful.”
In 1996, Brownfield also created the Northern Sprint Tour — a winged 360 sprint car series that competed in Washington, Oregon, Montana and Alberta, Canada. He was presented the North American 360 Sprint Car Poll Promoter of the Year award in 2001.
After spending 20-plus years racing his black-and-gold No. 92 sprint car, Brownfield quickly morphed into a jack-of-all-trades on the promotional side of the sport. With his accomplishments in both the 410 and 360 sprint car ranks — successfully running numerous World of Outlaws events, a weekly program at a race track and a regional sprint car tour for several years — Brownfield’s reputation as a smart and honorable promoter led to him taking a huge leap heading into the 2006 season.
The National Sprintcar League, led by the Petty family of NASCAR fame, was established to compete with the World of Outlaws, but it soon fell apart. Brownfield picked up the pieces to form the National Sprint Tour and quickly created a schedule with an infrastructure that supported nearly every full-time World of Outlaws competitor moving to the new series.
“He got into the National Sprint Tour in 2006 because they were a rival series to the Outlaws,” said Craig Murphy, who was hired to handle public relations for the National Sprint Tour in 2006. “The Pettys were behind it and it fell apart. By that time most of the Outlaws drivers were going to go with this new series. (Steve) Kinser went to Brownfield and said, ‘We can’t go back. Can you help us out here?’ People like Kinser trusted him and knew what he’d be able to do with a series like that. He really changed the whole scope of racing in the Northwest. A lot of people wonder what could have been if he hadn’t been killed, both with the National Sprint Tour as well as the Northwest.”
Greg Burgess, who operated a travel planning business in Washington, is a race fan turned friend of Brownfield.
“We were friends as we were fans and followed the Northern Sprint Tour,” Burgess said. “When Fred started the National Sprint Tour, we did some business together. I did Fred’s personal travel planning, which turned into travel planning for the National Sprint Tour crew. Fred, honestly, did business with me because I was a supporter. He could have found a much better travel planner. He could have found somebody who had the skill and craft better than me, but he saw me following the Northern Sprint Tour for years and be a supporter of his and a season-ticket holder at Grays Harbor Raceway. So Fred supported me and did not in any way have to, but that was Fred.”
For every racing story about Brownfield there are many more about his personality and kindness away from the track.
“As far as a person, he was great to be around,” said Murphy, choking back tears. “He always had time. I don’t know how he had time with all that was on his plate. He had the racing stuff and a manufacturing business. He was spread pretty thin but did it all. He was a one-of-a-kind character.
“When they launched the National Sprint Tour, it was Dec. 17, 2005, I think. They sent out a press release about it. Around the same time his mother-in-law passed away and it was Christmastime. And he was starting this new venture. I got married at the end of 2005. I figured Fred was so busy he’s not going to make it. I was standing outside greeting people and this red F-150 showed up and sure enough there was Fred. He really took care of people and was a great guy.”