One of the best sprint car drivers of his era and was just begining to shine in the USAC Championships when he was killed at Ascot Park when Don Branson's car bounced off the wall back into his path. Branson died instantly and Atkins passed away the next day from what at first were believed to be burns. However an autosy revealed that the cause of death was a fractured skull.
Dick Atkins died 55 years ago, he was 30 , He would have been 85.