"[1] He may have had more overall impact on Modified racing in the U.S. than any other individual, being "a pioneer, innovator, teacher, fierce competitor, and living legend all rolled into one.
His father, Jake, owned and operated a garage in New Britain, CT, and his older brother, George, drove midget racing cars for many years.
[3] Flemke's mentors included his brother George, along with Bert Brooks and Mike Nazaruk, all of whom were midget car drivers.
His first NASCAR race was the 250-mile Permatex Modified-Sportsman event at Daytona, where he substituted for Benny Germano and drove a late-model Studebaker.
[12] In 1961, Flemke expanded his regular racing circuit to include Westhampton (NY) and Old Bridge, Wall, and Vineland (all in NJ).
He raced at Islip on Wednesdays, Fort Dix (NJ) on Thursdays, Southside (VA) on Fridays, Old Dominion (Manassas, VA) on Saturdays, Marlboro (MD) on Sunday afternoons, and Old Bridge (NJ) on Sunday evenings, before returning home to Connecticut to work on his car and rest.
[6]: 46–52 Accompanying him on the circuit were his protégé, fellow driver Dennis Zimmerman—who later became the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year—and John Stygar, chief mechanic and co-owner of one of Flemke's cars, known as the "$".
"[15] Two other New England drivers, Rene Charland and Red Foote, heard of their success and also began traveling south to race.
He also won races at Southside, South Boston (VA), Marlboro, and Fort Dix, and achieved numerous high finishes at those tracks and others, including Fredericksburg, Old Bridge, Wall, Bowman Gray, and Tar Heel (Randleman, NC).
[17][18] Although Flemke won numerous races and substantial (relative to the era) prize money in 1962, he concluded after the season that the expenses associated with fuel, motels, restaurant meals, wear-and-tear on car transport vehicles, and other costs, along with the effort required for extensive travel and the inconvenience of maintaining racing cars on the road, made it unjustifiable to continue the "Eastern Bandits" circuit every week.
Although Flemke was wearing regular street clothes rather than a protective driving suit, he leaped out of his own car, ran straight into the flames, and pulled Charland from the burning wreckage.
During that and the following season, usually driving the 2x, Flemke won or placed highly in multiple races throughout the Northeast at tracks such as Stafford (CT), Albany-Saratoga, Utica-Rome, Norwood, Airborne, Islip, Catamount, Thompson, Wall, and Lee (NH).
He also set a new track record at Martinsville (VA) and finished second in long-distance races at South Boston and Beltsville (MD).
Although the #79 appeared to be inherently slower than some of its competitors, Flemke regularly won or placed highly at Stafford, Norwood, and Thompson.
By Flemke's standards, the 1971 season was relatively less successful, although he achieved a major win in the Fulton (NY) 200 and won three races at Albany-Saratoga.
[6]: 74 In 1972, the first full year NASCAR allowed Modifieds to run with current road car bodywork, Flemke began the season driving Frank Vigliarolo's #34 Pinto.
This car, built by Bob Judkins (who had run the 2x in which Flemke had achieved great success in 1967–68), was the first with current bodywork to receive NASCAR sanction for the Modifieds.
A week later, at the inaugural Stafford "Spring Sizzler," he comfortably led the race until 8 laps to go, when his car's water pump failed.
With the 2x Pinto, he won or achieved high placings in races at Monadnock (NH), Stafford, Islip, Thompson, Trenton (NJ), Albany-Saratoga, Seekonk, Lancaster, Oswego (NY), Martinsville, Pocono (PA), and Riverside.
[13] Starting in mid-1974, Flemke began driving primarily for BOTAG Enterprises, which was later acquired by the Manchester Sand & Gravel Company owned by Bill Thornton.
He achieved considerable success in these cars, including wins and high placings at Seekonk, Plainville, Stafford, Thompson, Riverside, New London-Waterford, Albany-Saratoga, New Smyrna (FL), Westboro, and Chemung (NY).
While driving the Bob Garbarino #4 Pinto in the Stafford 200, his car made contact with another vehicle, flew into the air, rotated an estimated eight times, and landed on its top, crushing the roof.
Almost exactly a year after he broke his back, Flemke was involved in another serious crash, this time at Star Speedway (Epping, NH), in which he reinjured his vertebrae.
That season, as an unsponsored, 49-year-old independent, Flemke experienced less success than usual, although he still won or achieved high placings in races at Riverside, Stafford, Catamount, and Monadnock.
Under his stewardship, there were many fewer incidents and race stoppages than previously, which was attributed to Flemke's keen ability to anticipate potential problems and direct drivers away from trouble.
"[35][36] Journalist Pete Zanardi said that "Eddie was the guy so many other racers talked of as their guru" whom they "put on a pedestal," and described Flemke as "a Babe Ruth-like figure" in racing.
[6]: 157 Long-time Modified driver Elton Hill remarked, "If we're talking about short-track racing, I always felt Eddie was the king.
[38] In the early hours of March 30, 1984, Flemke drove the snowplow he had been operating back to his home and parked it in front of his house.