[Dayton Daily News-Neighbors: Thursday, May 6, 2004]
FOURTH TIME’S A CHARM
Miamisburg mechanic, 77, is top wrench man in Midwest short-track racing—again
By Dave Long
Miamisburg—Bob Korn is a happy man again.
His black and white No. 72 Ford Late Model stock car is back winning on the race tracks at Kil-Kare Speedway in Xenia and Shady Bowl Speedway in DeGraff.
One of the Miami Valley’s best known stock car owner/mechanics, he had to park his car for a good part of last season for one of the few times in the 66 years he has been involved in stock car racing.
But the 77-year-old was still honored as the NASCAR Short Track Heartland Regional Mechanic of the Year in a vote of mechanics from throughout the Midwest.
It was the fourth straight racing season that he was won the top wrench award. In 2002, he was honored not only as the regional winner but was NASCAR’s National Short Track Mechanic of the Year.
“Pretty nice awards, especially at my age,” Korn said. “Guess that shows some of us old-timers still know what we’re doin’.”
Korn has never driven a race car. He attended his first race in 1936, started working on his father’s cars in 1938 and owned his first race car in 1940. The only time he was out of racing was during Army duty in the Korean War in the early 1950’s.
“I found out I was better to build ‘em than race ‘em,” he said. “I don’t know how many cars I’ve owned and built over the years, hundreds I guess. The one I have right now (2002 Ford Taurus) may be one of the best I’ve ever had.
“It’s got plenty of power, and I think I’ve got a pretty good driver to handle it.”
Korn's driver is Don Mahaffey, 32, of Dayton who won the Late Model race at both Kil-Kare and Shady Bowl April 23-24. He sits near the top of the point standings at both tracks.
Last season was Mahaffey’s first driving for Korn. The team was doing well early until Mahaffey broke his arm while participating in the annual School Bus Race at Kil-Kare in early June.
“After that I decided to park,” Korn said. “Donnie’s a real good driver and I really didn’t want to go out and try and find someone else.”
Even with his car parked, Korn helped out other race teams whenever he could.
“He just helps everyone out,” Dayton driver Ronnie Simpson said. “He’s a tough ol’ guy who has his ways and he wants to win. But he’ll help anybody.”
Korn has a well-earned reputation of doing things his own way.
While many car owners have gone to racing GM and Dodge products, Korn is still a Ford man.
“Fords were the only car that stayed together on the race track when I got into the business,” he said. “Guys would run some Chevys and other stuff out there, but they were always breakin’ down. So I stayed with Fords.
“For a lot of years I built my own engines. The last few years I’ve bought them from (former NASCAR champion) Bill Elliott and his brother and only had to make minor adjustments. I haven’t hardly touched the engine we have in our car in the last two years.”
Korn also runs a different chassis than most race cars at Midwest short tracks. He uses a little-used Coleman chassis while frames from Howe and Lefthander—more proven and popular models—are under the sheet metal of most cars.
“I like the way it’s constructed, the way you can make adjustments to it and its durability,” Korn said.
“The car we’re running now has one and I’m building another car on the last Coleman chassis that was built in the late 1990s. They’re still in business. They just haven’t done a complete chassis in three years.”
Korn did venture away from Ford products in 1959 when he was part of a crew that raced in the first Daytona 500.
“We took a Studebaker down there,” he said. “It was a pretty good car. We wound up getting 30th place. But I still liked the Ford better.”
Korn has raced at virtually every race track in the Midwest.
“We used to race six nights a week and take Mondays off to get the car in shape for the next week,” he said.
“We’d go to Lima, Fort Wayne, New Bremen, Eldora, Winchester, Ind., Salem, Ind., Dayton Speedway, two or three races in Cincinnati, and some places in Illinois and Michigan.
“My best season was in 1957 when we won 40 feature races. There have been other good seasons, but none like that one.”
When he isn’t racing, Korn runs a transmission repair business along with buying and selling racing parts.
Much of the under-car work he used to do is now handled by his grandson, Bobby, who is from Miamisburg and attends the Montgomery County Career Technology Center.
“I can still do most of the things I need to, but not quite as fast I used to,” he said. “I leave that to the younger guys. Bobby is a really good mechanic. He’s taking a little more responsibility all the time. But I’m still going to do this as long as I can.”
Korn’s cars have had the No. 72 for more than 40 years.
“72 N. Main. That was one address of one of my early sponsors we had a lot of luck with, so I’ve always had that number and a black and while paint scheme so everyone knows who we are,” he said.
The primary sponsorship on Korn’s current car is Affordable Auto Parts, which is owned by the Mahaffey family. Other sponsors include Performance Clinic, Nestor Insurance, Printing for Less, Moore Trucking, Beavercreek Marathon, Laffs Bar, Duncan Oil, and Thoma Garage.
“I used to go to NASCAR races all the time when I had a chance, but I can’t stand to watch ‘em anymore,” Korn said. “It’s not racin’. It’s parade laps. I’ll take the short tracks anytime.”