Richard Barnes

Fulmer Lance, a 2016 National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee who won more than 400 races over a four-decade career, died Monday evening in an Augusta, Ga., hospital after a battle with cancer. He was 72.

Lance’s death was reported by long-time friend and crew member Billy Billings, who’d received the information from Lance’s wife, Jeannie.

A telephone company engineer, Lance’s racing career began as a 22-year-old at Tri-County Speedway in Brasstown, N.C. He went on to drive for Late Model car owners including Randall Twiggs, Doug Evans, Billy Morris, J.R. Foster, Harley Hall and Henry Elvis along with a stint in the Phenix City, Ala.-based Jig-A-Lo Chassis house car.

Billings remembers Lance as a “laid-back” and “likable” person who was enjoyable to race with.

“He could work on a race car. That man could lay down and work on that race car with the best of ‘em. Where some drivers wouldn’t do that, he would,” Billings said. “You couldn’t ask for a better person to work with. All the drivers, Freddy Smith, (Mike) Duvall, all of them said he was a super-clean racers … he was just one of those good ol’ country guys.”

Hall of Fame historian Bob Markos lists Lance’s major victories at the World Series of Dirt Track Racing at Anderson, S.C., the Turkey 100 at Concord (N.C.) Motor Speedway and multiple Azalea 100s at Summerville, S.C. He twice finished third in East Alabama Motor Speedway’s National 100.

Lance finished ninth in standings on the first season of the National Dirt Racing Association while capturing 1979’s Winter’s 100 at Pearson National Speedway in Louisville, Miss.

Lance won track championships at Tri-County, Gordon Park, Winder-Barrow and Anderson and he’s one of eight Georgia drivers in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.

Survivors include his wife Jeannie and two children. Visitation is 1:30-2:30 p.m. Thursday at Hopkins Funeral Home in Washington, Ga., followed by 3 p.m. graveside services at Memorial Garden Cemetery.

Editor's note: Updates with arrangements.