that Swede Savage got his start in motorsports, with a motor cycle, working with Evel Knievel in 1965
That's not how he got his start in racing though, he was soap box derby racing at age 5.
In 1965 Savage dropped by Riverside International, when he heard that Dan Gurney was to be present at a test for the Ford Motor Company. The 20-year old Savage was showing off, popping wheelies on his motorcycle.
Struck by the young man’s skill and bravado, Ford signed him on as a development driver.
The association with Ford brought Savage the opportunity to run a limited schedule in the NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) series in 1967.
Savage made his stock car debut at North Carolina’s Hickory Speedway with the legendary Holman-Moody team. He was running well before losing the engine 25 laps shy of the finish. His next two outings with the team, at Martinsville and North Wilkesboro, both resulted in top-ten finishes.
In 1968, Savage split his time between NASCAR, and running both USRRC and Can-Am with Dan Gurney’s All American Racers. In Grand National, Savage took a third place on the half-mile oval at Bristol, while he piloted Gurney’s powerful Lola Can-Am car to a top finish of fourth at the road course in Bridgehampton.
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