Bob Markos collecction

Carl Smart Sr., one of the winningest Dirt Late Model racers in the Carolinas from the 1960s through the early '80s, died Saturday after a battle with cancer. The Hildebran, N.C., resident was 83.

He was a frontrunner on the GASCAR and FASCAR circuits at North Carolina tracks in Lenoir, Concord and Charlotte among others, a contemporary of drivers including Ralph and Dale Earnhardt, Stick Elliott, Billy Scott, Hayward Plyler and Freddy Smith.

Driving for car owners including Phil Herman, O.L. Nixon, Jivie Simpson and Bud Love, Smart scored hundreds of victories, including the 1974 Little 100 at Concord, the 1982 Mello Yello Invitational at Metroline and the 1967 Spring 100 at Lenoir. Victories also came at tracks in Lavonia, Ga., Wytheville, Va., Gaffney, S.C., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Carl Malcolm Smart Sr. is survived by his wife of 36 years, Wanda Smart, three sons, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services were held Wednesday at Catawba Funeral Home in Hickory, N.C. Find a complete obituary at catawbamemorialpark.com. — Bob Markos