Fresno racing Hall of Famer with deep family motorsports ties passes away

Fresno racing legend Tommy Astone Jr., a Hall of Fame driver with deep motorsports family ties, passed away last month.

The cause of his death is pending.

Astone, who died April 14, was 70 years old.

He was one of the central San Joaquin Valley’s most accomplished racers and enjoyed instant success in the U.S. Auto Club National Midgets series as the circuit’s Rookie of the Year in 1972.

“A lot of local drivers looked up to him,” Astone’s son Anthony said.

Astone finished runner-up in the USAC National Midget points standings in both 1973 and 1974, and placed third overall in 1976.

He enjoyed his most prestigious win in 1974 after taking the checkered flag during the Night Before the 500 at Indianapolis Raceway Park, according to speedsport.com.

“He was born into racing,” his wife Joy said in an interview with The Bee. “It was in his blood and it meant everything to him.

“Racing at Indy was his goal. Never happened, but it almost did. He had a ride at Indy one year. He was supposed to drive the backup car. But the night before, the primary driver crashed his car, so (Astone) never got to race. That was in 1976.”

Astone, who raced on dirt and asphalt tracks, got his start in racing by competing locally, including at Kearney Bowl and Clovis Speedway (both long-closed tracks).

He retired from racing in 1982 only to launch a short comeback. In 1990, Astone officially retired — the same year that his nephew and Indy-car driver Billy Vukovich III died while practicing for a race at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield.

Astone and his wife tried to steer their sons from racing.

But eventually, sons Thomas III and Anthony got into racing, which pulled Astone back into the sport.

“I was always around it,” Anthony Astone said of racing. “So it was going to happen. But I didn’t get started until I was 16. Some people get started when they’re 5.

“My dad and I, we did everything together. Any type of driver feedback, he’d teach me setups and how to work on them. It was fun.”

In 2018, Astone was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall Of Fame.

Among Astone’s notable relatives also involved in auto racing: his father, longtime car owner/racer Tommy Astone Sr.; father-in-law and race-car builder/chief mechanic Wally Meskowski; and brother-in-law Billy Vukovich Jr., a fellow National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Famer.

Astone is survived by his wife Joy, children Anthony Astone and Angela Wulf, sister Joyce Vukovich, grandsons Rocco Astone and Braden Diel and nieces Julie Siroonian Mumma, Stacey Siroonian and Shelley Siroonian.