William F. Rafter (July 31, 1929 – March 2, 2026) was an American champion stock car driver from Clarence Center, New York and a pioneer of the sport.

Racing career Rafter began his racing career in 1948 as a teenager at the Civic Stadium in Buffalo, New York, and was soon hired by local car dealer John Moran to drive his highly-modified ’37 Ford coupe.

Rafter made 35 appearances in the NASCAR Grand National Series, the first of which was in 1949, the inaugural year of the Cup division. He otherwise spent the majority of his career racing in the Late Model Sportsman and Modified divisions, competing at the renowned tracks of the northeast, including Fonda Speedway and Perry Speedway in New York and Langhorne Speedway in Pennsylvania. In 1961, he won the inaugural event at the newly opened Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York.

Rafter claimed track titles at Civic Stadium, Lancaster Speedway and Holland Speedway in New York, as well as Merrittville Speedway in Thorold, Ontario. He was inducted into the New York State Stock Car Association and the Northeast Dirt Modified Halls of Fame.

Death Rafter died March 2, 2026, at the age of 96.

Motorsports career results NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series NASCAR Grand National Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 Pts Ref 1949 Ford CLT DAB HBO LAN HAM 3 MAR HEI NWS 20th 160 1953 Plymouth PBS DAB HAR NWS CLT RCH CCS LAN CLB HCY MAR PMS RSP LOU FFS LAN TCS WIL MCF PIF MOR ATL RVS LCF DAV HBO AWS PAS HCY DAR CCS LAN BLF WIL NWS MAR ATL 146th 64 1954 Billy Rafter 141 PBSDAB JSP ATL OSP OAK NWS HBO CCS LAN WIL MAR SHA RSP CLT GAR CLB LND HCY MCF WGS PIF AWS SFS GRS MOR OAK CLT SAN COR DAR CCS CLT LAN MAS MAR NWS 201st 14 1956 41 Dodge HCY CLT WSS PBS ASF DAB PBS WIL ATL NWS LAN RCH CLB CON GPS HCY HBO MAR LIN CLT POR EUR NYF MER MAS CLT MCF POR AWS RSP PIF CSF CHI CCF MGY OKL ROA OBS SAN NOR PIF MYB POR DAR CSH CLT LAN POR CLB HBO NWP CLT CCF MAR HCY WIL 73rd 623.4 1957 C.M. Julian WSS CON TIC DAB CON WIL HBO AWS NWS LAN CLT PIF GBF POR CCF RCH MAR POR EUR LIN LCS ASP NWP CLB CPS PIF JAC RSP CLT MAS17 POR HCY NOR LCS GLN10 KPC99th 128 Billy Rafter LIN23 OBS MYB DAR 4 Plymouth NYF24 AWS CSF SCF LAN CLB CCF CLT MAR NBR CON NWS GBF 1958 150 Ford FAY DAB CON FAY WIL HBO FAY 19th 2916 50 CLB PIF ATL CLT57 MAR ODS OBS GPS GBF STR NWS BGS TRN RSD CLB NBS REF LIN HCY AWS MCC SLS TOR BUF MCF BEL BRR CLB NSV AWS BGS MBS DAR CLT BIR CSF GAF RCH HBO SAS MAR NWS ATL Chevy RSP

References

External links

Racers Reunion - Bill Rafter