Adams, former SUPR veteran, dies at 68
Ronny Adams, winner of nearly 600 feature races in a 51-year career for Louisiana- and Texas-based racing teams, died Saturday morning after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. The Diana, Texas, resident was 68. | Slideshow
His death came the same day he was honored by the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Adams's most recent car owner, Ricky Jowers, accepted the award on his behalf.
Adams, a 14-time champion at Boothill Speedway in Greenwood, La., where he lived for many years operating a race shop building and repairing race cars, was a nine-time Louisiana State champion and the fourth all-time winningest driver on the Southern United Professional Racing tour with 38 victories. Major victories included the Spooky 50 in Chatham, La., the Jambalaya 100 at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss., Armadillo Nationals at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, and a 1992 Grand Prix event in Australia.
The longtime hired gun drove for car owners Boothill promoter Claude Barnett, Kelly Arnold, Bill and Vicky Whiseant and the late Pat Wright. Adams drove his final seasons for Jowers, the longtime Arcadia, La., team owner who operates Luigi’s Restaurant.
Adams won his 589th and final feature Aug. 25, 2018 at Boothill on the Louisiana Late Model Series. He made his final start for Jowers on Jun 1, finishing third at Chatham on a night when the track paid tribute to him before he began cancer treatments.
Survivors include three daughters and four grandchildren. Visitation is 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, at Welch Funeral Home in Longview, Texas; the funeral is 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.
