Todd Gibson

When one talks about legends of supermodified racing one of the first names that comes to mind is Todd Gibson. Not only was he a great driver but he was also a master builder.

He was a fierce competitor on the track. He was once suspended from Lorain County Speedway for an altercation with the starter. Of course that sent him to Oswego Speedway. He is also a very humble man, not liking to talk about himself.

Born in 1936, the Richwood, Ohio native would try to race at the age of thirteen at a local track but couldn’t until the age of fifteen because of an age restriction. He raced what he called "junk" cars and slowly got into supermodifieds. He is a self-taught fabricator, a neighbor loaned him a welder and gave Todd one piece of advice, make sure you wear eye protection. He started at first modifying then building his own cars. Todd is unsure how many cars he built over the years but he usually built a new one every three years, most of them without a drawing.

By the mid-sixties he was running races all over the Midwest. He quickly realized that he could make more money by winning races then he could just working a regular job. During the racing season, he would on Wednesday travel to Anderson, then on Friday race at Columbus or Heidelberg Speedways, then travel all the way to Oswego Speedway on Saturday, and Sunday come back to Sandusky Speedway. More often than not he would start scratch because he would miss time trials.

In 1967, Todd purchased a former Indy roadster. He made a lot of modifications by moving the driveline and shortening the wheel base. He then brought it to Oswego Speedway. In only his second start with the car he won the feature. And in 1968 he simply destroyed the competition. He won the track championship by winning thirteen features that year including an incredible nine in a row. He was the odds on favorite to win the Oswego Classic that year and set the track record in qualifying. But, it was not to be as during the race, someone blew a motor and he hit the oil and went into the wall.
Read more here about this highly successful supermodified.

In the mid-seventies the call to Indy car racing caught Todd, first as a crew chief and then as a driver. He raced in a number of races with a fourth place finish at Mosport being his best career finish. He attempted to qualify for the Indy 500 but never made it. By 1979, he left Indy car racing for good.

Todd continued racing in the 1980’s, winning the Sandusky Speedway championship in 1983. But winning the big race always seemed to elude Gibson. He nearly won the Sandusky Hy-Miler in 1985. He led for most of the race until Bentley Warren was able to slip by him. The two ran several laps under the track record during the race. I asked Todd about his greatest disappointments in racing and he was very matter of fact, “I never really got down about not winning. I was always happy about winning, but if I didn’t I just went on to the next race.

I have to say, he was one of the nicest guys you would want to meet. In his retirement days, he still got autograph requests and he happily honored those requests. He truly was… a legend.
  . . . written by Tim Church

from his obituary...
Darrell Wayne "Todd" Gibson
To say that racing was in Todd Gibson's blood would be an understatement. There wasn't a car that Todd couldn't drive and drive fast. He raced midgets, supermodifieds, sprints, ARCA stock cars, and Indycar. He started racing at 16 years old. Known for his stern mannerisms, not a talker at the track. He raced for a living, however a racing legend was born. He traveled the country with his family, racing at over 110 race tracks. He set track records and held many other records, such as most wins at Oswego Speedway, where he won 13 races in a row. He had over 500 feature wins. Todd developed the "Flintstone Flyer", and was known around the country for his driving ability. He held many awards and records all of which resulted in him being a 4x racing hall of famer. He was inducted into the Oswego Speedway, Sandusky Speedway, Lorain County and CloverLeaf Speedway Hall of Fames.

He was a self made fabricator. Todd could build any car from the ground up and was considered a mechanical genius with an 8th grade education. Todd used these skills to be a mechanic for his children and grandchildren and would also weld for many of the local farmers. These talents also helped him have a great career and retirement from Honda, where he was part of building the first 3 wheel motorcycles in the US. He enjoyed riding trikes and motorcycles he built himself, with his wife Brenda, family, and friends all over the country. They often traveled to Florida in the winters.

Todd built a legacy of racers, with his sons and grandson following in his footsteps. He will be remembered as a hard nose racer who wanted to win, and by those who watched him race. He will be missed by those who loved him and knew him as family.