06/05/2026
Norman "Bubby" Jones was born this day in 1941. Bubby started racing motorcycles in the early '60's, but his family thought it too dangerous. Soon he was cutting hair in Larry "Boom Boom" Cannon's barber shop six days a week and racing open wheel cars five nights a week. When Cannon left for USAC in 1967, Bubby had his break, driving the Wink Bridges Tri-R Construction . He would win the "Little" Springfield track championship three times, and won two titles at his home track in Danville, Illinois. Bubby started hitting the road to places like Eldora and Knoxville before hooking up with M.A. Brown and his #44 with Bill Anderson turning wrenches. The team won at tracks in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Mississippi and at the "The Ditch" in West Memphis. They were second at Manzanita's Western World and second at Ascot's Pacific Coast Nationals in 1973. Ol' Bub won his first USAC Dirt Champ race at the Ted Horn 100 in DuQuoin in 1976, and later that season won both the Western World and the Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix at Ascot. He raced more with USAC in 1977, running sprints, Dirt Champ and midgets, winning on the dirt and pavement (including the Hut Hundred at Terre Haute). In 1978 and 1979, Bub would team with Don Siebert to run USAC. He narrowly missed a championship his second season, after an early crash at Eldora's finale. Bubby wanted a new challenge in 1980, so he headed for southern California, Ascot and the CRA. Battling the likes of the legendary Dean Thompson, he held his own, winning a pair of CRA titles and lighting up the scoreboard at Ascot as well. After his retirement, his work at the new Perris Auto Speedway in California earned him "Promoter of the Year" honors in the North American Sprint Car Poll. He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1998. Bubby passed away in 2020.
