Bob Babb
first climbed into a race car in 1956 at the age of 19, racing
on the dirt half-mile of Oxford Plains Speedway and Beech Ridge
Speedway’s one-third-mile clay oval.
It didn’t take Bob long to find his way to victory lane.
Driving the famed blue and red "Diamond 4" coupe in
the Class B Bomber division, Bob won feature races on a regular
basis. Whether it be at Beech Ridge, his home track, or at
Oxford Plains, fans would see the "Diamond 4" racing
up front.
When the coupes were replaced by Late Models, Bob continued
winning races and when asphalt replaced the dirt racing surface,
the "racing logger" could still be found in the winner’s
circle.
During his thirty-plus year driving career, Bob won two track
championships at Beech Ridge and over 80 feature races at the
Ridge, Oxford Plains and Arundel Speedway. While he hung up his
racing helmet almost two decades ago, Bob continues to be
heavily involved in racing as he has won five more owner
championships in cars driven by son Bobby Jr.
Bob was also an innovator. Due to limited use of his left arm
from polio as a child, Bob was one of the first to install power
steering on a race car.
Bob is a member of the Beech Ridge Speedway Hall of Fame and
the ninth recipient of the memorial blazer.
