Bob Korn never turned left in a race car.

But few, if any, could turn a wrench better than Korn.

The award-winning mechanic and car owner from Miamisburg died Thursday afternoon at age 83. Among his many accomplishments, Korn:

• Worked the No. 69 Studebaker Lark that Dayton’s Harold Smith drove to a 31st-place finish at the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959.

• Was named the NASCAR National Short Track Mechanic of the Year in 2002, and from 2001-04 won Short Track Heartland Regional Mechanic of the Year.

• Was an inaugural member of the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame in 2009.

“I found out I was better to build ’em than race ’em,” Korn told the Dayton Daily News in 2004. “I don’t know how many cars I’ve owned and built, hundreds I guess.”

Korn attended his first race in 1936, wrenched his father Harold “Red” Korn’s cars and owned his first car — always a beloved Ford — in 1940. Korn, who went racing six nights a week at tracks like Lima, Fort Wayne, New Breman, Eldora, Winchester, Salem and Dayton, won 40 features in 1957. His cars carried the No. 72, the address of one of his early sponsors.

Funeral arrangements are pending.