Ken Rush

Ken Rush
Ken Rush, circa 1969
Born	(1931-09-14)September 14, 1931 High Point, North Carolina, United States
Died	October 17, 2011(2011-10-17) (aged 80) High Point, North Carolina, United States
Cause of death	Stroke
Achievements	1969 Grand American Champion
Awards	1957 Grand National Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
56 race(s) run over 8 year(s)
Best finish	39th (1957)
First race	1957 Race #23 (Newport)
Last race	1972 World 600 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 16 2
Statistics current as of April 22, 2013.

Kenneth "Ken" Rush (September 14, 1931 – October 17, 2011) was a NASCAR Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1957 to 1972.

Career

He would win the 1969 'Bama 400 Grand Touring race on Saturday, September 13, 1969 - arguably the first race held at Talladega Superspeedway sanctioned by any motorsports body - in his Chevrolet Camaro. In his eight-year career, Rush managed to race in 56 races for a distance of 9396 laps - the equivalent of 5,717.6 miles (9,201.6 km). He started 14th on average and finished in 18th on average. After his racing career was over, Rush managed to earn $11,760 in total prize winnings ($64,544.34 in today's money). Had he been born 40 years later, he may have accomplished the big prize winnings that today's NASCAR superstars earn from their races. A lot of the races during Ken's era paid $200 ($1,634.83 in today's money) or less just for winning the race.

Ken died from a stroke in his hometown of High Point, North Carolina at age 80. He is survived by his wife Patsy and daughter Deborah.