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From Don Hubbard's Sooner Circles column

The following photo of John Bankston shows how I remember John Bankston.

  He would do anything to help anyone.  I witnessed his performance back in March at Devils Bowl when rain inundated Devils Bowl Speedway for three days before Lanny's scheduled World of Outlaws race.   John spent hours on that big roller race day,  rolling in the infield so that they could get all the rigs in the infield pits.     They finally had to about push him off it too get his hot laps in.  Just recently I talked to John at the NSCHoF Induction weekend and as usual he had his great smile as we discussed his plans for this year.   Unfortunately it ended too soon.  He was a man everyone loved and respected.   His career spanned five decades.  He even raced a dirt modified which in addition to NASCAR asphalt Modifieds was at the top of my list before relocating in Tulsa.   Sympathy cards will reach the Bankston Family at 11139 Keith Rd., Beaumont, TX, 77713.  Donations in memory of John can be mailed to, Pink Ribbon Project for Breast Cancer, 2476 Bolsover Suite #404, Houston, TX 77005.  John's sister died of Breast Cancer last year.  Or, if you wish you can make a donation the the church, John's mother attended. Wesley United Methodist Church Building Fund, 3890 Dowlen Rd., Beaumont, TX 77706.  If you would like to add anything to the Website "A Celebration of the life of John Bankston", you may do so by dropping by http://www.johnbankston.50megs.com/.  Carol Morrow & Steven McMillion have put this great tribute together and we dearly thank them for it.  Hope you will share some stories and thoughts.  RIP John.

 

Wednesday, August 8, 2001, THE VIDORIAN SHOPPER,

Bankston remembered at Speedway 90

By Steve Upshaw

Special to The Vidorian

A memorial service was held for longtime racer John Bankston Friday night at Speedway 90. In a season already marred by the tragic deaths of Dale Earnhardt and Charles Kettl, the local racing community took yet another blow when Bankston was killed in a sprint car Thursday night at Eldora Speedway in Ohio.

Sixty-two years young, Bankston was born April 15, 1939 in Beaumont. A graduate of French High School, he enlisted in the Army with best friend and fellow racer Jerry Aylor long before either began their driving careers. Aylor told a story at the memorial service. Shortly after the two were honorably discharged, they were looking for work and low on money. They could only afford one hamburger, so they cut it in half and shared it. At the time of his death, John Bankston was a self-made multimillionaire.

He began racing in the "Hot 6" division at Motorama Speedway, now Speedway 90, in 1971. A consistent winner ever since, Bankston was a fan favorite with his never lift style driving.

John Whittington Jr., one of the most talented racers this area has ever produced, put it this way, "He was the Dale Earnhardt of Southeast Texas." That is quite a statement from quite a source. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bankston family.

 

THE VIDORIAN SHOPPER, Wednesday, August 8, 2001

Tribute to John Bankston-A racer's racer

By Joy Graham

Special to The Vidorian

At first glance Friday night, it seemed to be racing as usual at Speedway 90 ... but things weren't really the same at all. A large space just inside the pit gate was roped off with checkered flag pendants and a large wreath of flowers stood inside. Grown men and women were embracing and trying to fight back tears as they passed the spot where John Bankston's racing rig last parked. The flag was at half mast and a sea of Bankston T-shirts were in the stands. Fans wore them as a special tribute to their fallen hero.

For those who don't know, John lost his life on Thursday night racing his sprint car in Eldora, Ohio. It still seems unreal to many of us. For at least 40 years, my husband, Joe and I had the pleasure of knowing him. Maybe we weren't on his list of best friends, but I can't remember a time when John didn't stop what he was doing to talk and joke with us... not just at the race tracks we frequented around the country but in restaurants, at work, on the phone, in parking lots wherever. He did the same for my son and his wife, who not long ago watched a race at the new Ft. Worth Speedway from the top of his hauler. So, it's not at all surprising to our family that eulogies to the man are pouring in from all over the country. He had, in his own time, become a Southeast Texas Legend. Yet, he put on no airs. He was one of us.

John's fascination with fast cars began years before he got the urge to campaign a sprint. Because his escapades gave me so much to write about, I claimed that I was his publicity agent. The truth was John didn't need one! On the track, his dare-devil, flat out style of driving kept fans on the edge of their seats and gave them something to talk about for weeks on end. Out of the driver's seat, his special charisma bridged the generation gap. John truly remained "39" forever.

I can see him smiling right now just because I put that in print and he would say, "That's enough." Sincere condolences to his family, fans, and friends. John Bankston will be missed, but never forgotten.

 

A solemn goodbye
by JOSHUNDA SANDERS
The Beaumont Enterprise


CHINA— As the sun set on the Speedway 90 racetrack here Friday, more than 100 fans concentrated on the center of the track. Some donned John Bankston T-shirts and bowed their heads as three sprint-car racers circled the muddy track to pay tribute to a fallen driver.

Bankston, characterized by family members and friends as a self-made businessman and passionate driver, died Thursday night after his sprint car crashed during a race in Ohio.

Bankston, 61, was racing in the All-Star Sprints at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. He lost control of his car and crashed into a wall during the 17th lap of the 30-lap race.

His car flipped over and was hit by another car, according to an employee at the racetrack. He was transported to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater, where he died early Friday morning.

The coroner is investigating the cause of death, a hospital spokesman said.

Upon hearing the news of his death, Bankston fans, like Holly Huff, mourned the passing of a local racing legend. "I’ve been a fan of his for fifteen years," Huff said, as her two daughters stood looking down at their John Bankston shirts.

On 10-year-old Haley’s shirt, there was Bankston’s signature over her right shoulder, and a similar signature on 5-year-old Frankie’s shirt. "I was hysterical when I got the news this morning," Huff said, her eyes welling up. "He was all heart, and we’ll miss him."

When she heard the news that her only surviving child had been killed in a car crash, Lola Bankston said she lost her will to live.

"John was the light of my life," said Lola, 85. Now, both her children are dead. The other, she said, died last year. "And now I feel like I have nothing to live for."

Bankston was born and raised in Beaumont. He was a graduate of French High School in 1958 and later enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served with his best friend, Jerry Aylor.

"He was a man’s man," Aylor, 60, said. "He’d do anything for anyone. He’s my hero. He’s my best friend."

Bankston worked in construction while he took classes at Lamar University. He took the lessons he garnered from his night classes there and applied them to his business, John Bankston Construction and Equipment Rental Company, a company he established in 1976.

According a good friend of Bankston, Jimmy Gafford, he raced all over the country with The World of Outlaws, a national racing group. He began racing in 1960, and was a familiar face at Speedway 90.

He was a clean racer, Speedway owner Shannon Fontenot said, and had established himself as a formidable racer with a passion for his sport. He won two sprint car races there and placed third in another, Fontenot said.

"He was well known and well-liked by everyone who knew him," Gafford said. "Real personable. He liked to snow ski, scuba dive and race."

Anne McMakin, 36, had been engaged to Bankston for two years. The two had not set a date for their wedding. McMakin planned to meet Bankston in Knoxville, Iowa, on Tuesday, where he planned to drive in the Amoco Knoxville Nationals.

"He was very…giving," McMakin said, pausing. "He was my soul mate."

At the end of the twenty-minute memorial, drivers began revving their engines as full, orange moon hovered over the otherwise silent track.

A wreath decorated with red roses sat a few feet from a flag flying at half-staff. Bankston’s relatives stood sobbing into the shoulders of family friends, their faces wet with grief.

One of Bankston’s sprint car competitors, Ronnie Burks, Jr., of Houston, stood in the middle of the track and glanced at the dirt.

"He was a total winner," Burks said of Bankston. "It’s not what you do inside the race car that counts. It’s what you do outside."

Bankston is survived by his mother, Lola, his daughter Kelley, 27, of Beaumont and his son Todd, 37, of Glendale, Ariz.