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.Ned was born on December 13, 1933 in Huntington, Ind. and started racing during 1952 in stock cars and jalopies from Ohio to Florida. He made the 1956 "Little 500" sprint car race in Anderson, Indiana. He served in the Navy from 1953-56 as a sea-bee repairing machinery and tractors. Ned and wife Rita made their home in Ojai where they raised three sons and a daughter. He worked for decades in Ventura as an automotive machinist rebuilding engines. He raced his own midget with URA and modifieds in San Diego before moving up to sprint cars with CRA. Ned called Ascot and Santa Maria his favorite tracks. He was known for his sense of humor and was a practical joker, but never in a mean way. His trademark was a cigar, lit or unlit, but he claimed he did not inhale. Ned was a front runner in CRA from 1962-68 and again in 1973. He tried rear-engine Indy car racing in the early 70s and made some races.
Ned's first CRA sprint car race came on 5/30/62 in Marshall Hansen's Chevy. He finished his rookie season with 141 points, 22nd of 83 drivers with points. Rookie of the year honors went to Al Bartz who had 86 points and ranked 28th. In 1963 Ned raced Hansen's No. 17 but they didn't start the season until July 4 at Ascot. Ned scored 319 points, finished 8th among 87 drivers and received CRA's 1963 most improved driver award. 1964 – Ned ran Hansen's Chevy and scored his first CRA feature victory on April 25 after he started first and led every lap in an Ascot 30-lapper. On May 31 Ned set fast time of 16.81 and finished 4th in the first ever race at Santa Maria Speedway. Ned drove Kenny Worth's Chevy three times at Ascot, won two trophy dashes, a heat and finished mains in positions, 10, 2 and 5. Ned and Hansen reunited August 5 at Ascot and Ned won his second CRA main event, starting second and leading all 30 laps over Bob Hogle's Morales Bros. Offy. Ned also drove the new Hank Henry-built S.O.W Chevy later to a 5th place. He raced the S.O.W 10, Hansen 9 and Pop Miller 2 during 1964 and scored 772.5 points to rank 3rd among 94 drivers. He won the most trophy dashes (7) that season. At the banquet Ned showed his comedic side, giving champion driver Hal Minyard and car owner Leonard Surdam a home made trophy of broken pistons, rods and gears. Ned said, "This is my excuse for not winning the championship."
1965 – Ned started in Val Alamillo's Offy for the January 10 Ascot 100 and finished 7th. His next ride came in race 6 for Pop Miller. In race 8 Ned and Harlan Dismuke (No. 14 Chevy) joined forces for the year. On June 12 they won the Ascot 100. On August 13 Ned started and finished first after leading all 30-laps on the Riverside oval. On Oct. 30 at Champion Speedway in San Francisco Ned won the dash, led 41-50 and set a NTR in winning the Western States Championship race for his 5th CRA feature. Ned earned 619.5 points and finished 5th among 91 drivers with 1965 points. In 1966 Ned raced primarily for Carl Alleman and son Smokey in their newly-built car and Ned again ranked 5th in final points with 794.
1967 – Ned was the CRA point leader by 2-points over Billy Wilkerson entering the December 10 final race at Ascot. Ned got spun on the first lap but came back to finish 8th on the lead lap. Wilkerson's 3rd place gave him the championship by 25 points over Ned, who served as a CRA board member. In 1968 Ned tallied 670 points and finished 4th in final points. In 1969 Ned only ran a few times and scored 27 points for 46th position. He did not compete in CRA sprints for three years as Ned and Alleman made a foray into USAC Indy Car racing with an older rear-engine car. In 1973 Ned and the Alleman's No. 17 returned to CRA full-time. Remarkably, Ned won three CRA mains at Ascot (6/23, 7/7 and 9/8) during his comeback. Ned's CRA career through 1973 showed 9 fast times to tie Dick Fries for 7th place, 21 trophy dash wins (+1 in 1974) to rank 3rd behind Wilkerson (41) and Hogle (38). and 20 main event wins to tie for 3rd with Allen Heath and Paul Jones. Ned's 20 CRA feature victories came as follows: 3 in 1964, 4 in '65, 4 in '66, 4 in "67, 2 in '68 and 3 in '73. His feature victories came for five car owners: Alleman (9) Dismuke (4), Hansen (3), Pop Miller (3) and Lehotsky & Singh (1 in 1965). Ned logged 12 (60%) of his 20 main event triumphs at Ascot, 3 at Irwindale's Speedway 605, 2 at Riverside, 2 at San Francisco and 1 at Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino. CRA 1960-1990 statistics show Ned's hall of fame credentials. Ned's 9 career fast times is tied for 32nd among 114 drivers with a quick time. Ned's 20 feature wins is tied for 14th with Heath, Jones and Tony Simon. Dean Thompson ranked first (103), followed by Buddy Jones (79), Hogle (63) and Oskie (58) through Ascot's final race in November 1990. There were 147 drivers with a CRA main event victory during the three decades.
NED & USAC: Some of Ned's most memorable nights racing against USAC Indy 500 stars came aboard Hansen's No. 17 Chevy in Ascot's USAC National Sprint races. On November 2, 1963 Ned set 6th fastest qualifying time in a field of 32, including 6 Offies. Ned won heat 2, started the main 4th and finished 6th behind A. J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Chuck Hulse, Roger McCluskey and Johnny White. On November 9 Ned's Hansen Chevy was 2nd fastest qualifier of 30 in the same all-star field. He finished 3rd in the dash and 2nd in heat 1. Ned started 2nd in the 30-lap main next to Parnelli in the Morales Bros Offy. Ned led the first 16 laps over Indy 500 winners Parnelli and Foyt, with McCluskey, Hulse and Bobby Unser next in order. Ned had a 25-yard lead on lap 17 when he heard dropped out with a broken rear end gear. He placed 14th in a 15-car field and lost his chance for his greatest victory in front of his home track fans. Parnelli won that all-green flag race in a 30-lap NTR time of 11:22.89. Two years later (on 11-6-65) Ned drove Dismuke's No. 14 Chevy in Ascot's USAC National Sprint event. Ned was 5th fastest of 40 qualifiers. He started the feature 3rd and finished 2nd to winner Mario Andretti and ahead of Johnny Rutherford, Hogle and McCluskey. USAC MIDGETS: From 1961-66 Ned drove Offy midgets for John Schmick, Dutch Hurd, Sandy Chais and Harvey Guttry, plus Gray Hargleroad's Falcon on Ascot's half and quarter-mile tracks. He finished 9th in Ascot's 150-lap Turkey Night GP in 1962 and 15th in the 1965 TNGP 150. Ned in Guttry's No. 23 Offy won the 18-car, 100-lap USAC feature on the Vallejo, CA quarter-mile 10/22/65 after leading lap 68-100. That year Ned finished 40th of 157 drivers with 1965 USAC National Midget points.
Ned did not race after 1974. In 1979 Ned and wife Rita relocated to Selma, Oregon where they bought 15-acres near Lake Selmac. Ned changed careers and sold grinders and machinery throughout the Northwest. He never retired for working, but he quit cigars in 1982. He had a heart pacemaker installed on 5/10/99. At 7:00 am June 10, 1999 Ned (at age 65) suffered a stroke and died in his kitchen while having coffee. He was buried at a veterans cemetery in Oregon. The name Spath continues today in sprint car racing. Ned's 20-year old grandson Tyler Spath races winged sprint cars at various northern California tracks and in Oregon.
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