Sport: Auto Racing
Born: January 22, 1908
Died: October 14, 1974
Town: Ridgewood, New Jersey
Robert Sall Jr. was born January 22, 1908 in Ridgewood and grew up in Midland Park, NJ. As a teenager, Bob hung around local garages and developed a love of engineering. He began racing at age 18 at the Ho Ho Kus Speedway near his home. Bob raced almost every weekend and, by the early 1930s, he was one of the top drivers on the eastern sprint car circuit.
In 1932, Bob won eight AAA-sanctioned races and finished third in the Eastern driver standings. In 1933, he won the Eastern title. In 1935, he had a career-high 13 victories. That year, Bob competed in his one and only Indy 500, retiring after 47 laps when the steering on his front-wheel-drive Miller froze.
In 1936, Bob was crowned the AAA Southeastern champion. In 1938, he set a speed record for sprint cars at a race in Langhorne, PA. During the early 1940s, Bob teamed with Californian Ted Horn on the Central States Racing Association circuit. He finished second to Horn in the 1941 standings.
Bob retired as a driver after World War II and became an official with newly formed NASCAR. He served as Northeast Field Manager for many years. During his racing career, he won 68 AAA Sprint Car events along with 8 more victories in other categories. Bob passed away at age 66 in 1974. He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1992.