Eddie Partridge Passes; Whelen Modified Tour Team Owner, Riverhead Raceway Owner

He was a mountain of man, in stature and to the world of Modified racing.

Friday night, after celebrating a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory with driver Ryan Preece at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, longtime team owner and Riverhead Raceway owner Eddie Partridge passed away.

The 68-year old Partridge had a medical incident after leaving Richmond Raceway Friday.

“I don’t know if I know of any better person than Eddie Partridge in my eyes,” Jimmy Blewett told RaceDayCT. “As far as a car owner and friend, he was just all around one of the best human beings that I have ever met in my life.”

Partridge, in partnership with his wife Connie, owned the TS Haulers Whelen Modified Tour with current driver Ryan Preece. He also owned Riverhead Raceway in Riverhead, N.Y. The historic Long Island bullring is one of the most iconic venues in the country for Modified racing.

Partridge won the 2011 Whelen Modified Tour championship with driver Ron Silk.

“Some of my best years were racing with Eddie, it was amazing that he gave me that opportunity,” Silk told RaceDayCT. “But the things I’ll remember about him more was the fun. We’d go on a trip and we’d get a nice conversion van to ride to the races in and he was just really fun to be around. Sometimes you drive for people and things don’t go well at the track and everybody is in a bad mood for a while. With Eddie, he’d flip the switch right after the race and you’d still have a pretty good time with all the guys riding home.”

Preece started driving for Partridge in 2014. Even as Preece ascended to NASCAR’s top level Cup Series, he and Partridge continued to chase Modified victories together. Friday’s victory in the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 150 at Richmond was their third victory in seven Whelen Modified Tour events together in 2021.

Preece has recorded 14 Whelen Modified Tour victories since 2015 with Partridge as his team owner. Partridge won the 2017 Whelen Modified Tour team owner’s championship with Preece as his driver.

Blewett recorded five of his six career Whelen Modified Tour victories driving for Partridge from 2005 to 2009. The pair also ran multiple other tracks together including running regularly in the SK Modified divisions at Stafford Speedway and Thompson Speedway. Blewett was driving for Partridge when his brother – John Blewett III – was killed in a Whelen Modified Tour event in 2007 at Thompson Speedway.

“I remember the day that my brother came to the shop and he said ‘Hey, I think I’ve got a ride for you.’” Blewett said of getting together with Partridge in 2005. “I was like ‘What do you mean you’ve got a ride for me?’ He said ‘Like a ride, driving somebody’s car.’ I said ‘Get outta here.’ And he said ‘Yeah, you know that guy with the really nice cars with all the chrome on it?’ He said ‘He’s a perfect fit for you.’ Eddie and I got together and the rest was history. We had a really really really good run together. We won close to 80 races together in a short period of time.

“There was nobody better than Eddie. Eddie was with me through the darkest hours of my life and him and his wife kept me going in a lot of ways just all the way around.”

Partridge was the godfather to Jimmy Blewett’s 13-year old son James.

“He meant everything to my career,” Blewett said. “He was the first person outside of my family to 100 percent believe in my ability to drive a car. He was always a great influence. You’re having a bad day and you call Eddie and he’d make you laugh or make you smile or talk you through it. I’m almost at a loss for words. That usually doesn’t happen to me. I don’t even really know what to say. I’m really really going to miss him. Him and Connie gave me an opportunity that not many kids got. When I got the opportunity not many young kids were getting opportunities like that on the Modified Tour.

“He wasn’t only a car owner, he was a friend. And that’s what made racing with him so easy. It wasn’t so much the racing aspect of it, it was the friendship that you built. We had a lot of ups and a lot of downs, but no matter how many ups and downs we had as a team, nobody laughed or had more fun than we did. Even the worst nights we had, that guy would have us laughing afterwards.”

Silk ran for the first time for Partridge on the Whelen Modified Tour in 2009. They ran full-time together on the Whelen Modified Tour from 2010 to 2014 and had five victories together in addition to winning the 2011 series title.

“It’s just so hard to believe that it’s true,” Silk said. “I saw him walking out of the race track last night. I don’t know even know what to think. I feel terrible for his wife Connie and his family. Whenever I’d see him we’d stop and speak. We were still very friendly. It’s going to be weird going to the races knowing that Eddie isn’t there.”

Partridge purchased Riverhead Raceway in 2015.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of championship car owner and track owner Eddie Partridge,” read a statement from NASCAR. “Eddie’s passion for racing was felt not just throughout the Modified community, but also throughout grassroots racing as a whole. He fielded teams for some of the best drivers in the sport, and truly loved seeing his cars run up front. After taking on the task of running Riverhead Raceway, he then also proudly fielded a venue for those drivers to showcase their talent. It is only fitting that Eddie’s last race was a victory. A fierce competitor who fought for the good in short track racing, he will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and teammates at this time.”