Notes:
Gene Daniel began racing modifieds in 1971 and moved up to supermodifieds in 1977. The 1981 season was one of Daniel's best, when he was 11th in the Tulsa Speedway point standings. On 05 September of that year Daniel was competing at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Motorplex 5/8-mile dirt oval when he suffered a violent accident during the supermodified A feature race. On the first lap, Gene was racing mid-pack when his car got airborne, likely after touching another vehicle, as it went down the backstretch heading towards Turn 3. Daniel's supermodified somersaulted, flipping multiple times at high speed. No other vehicle was extensively damaged in the accident.

It was one of the worst wrecks that many observers at the Tulsa Motorplex had ever seen. As Bob Daniels recalls, "The car executed as many as six to eight lightning-fast barrel rolls. No one could remember seeing such a number of mid-air rolls". Gene was critically injured, but track physicians were able to restore his pulse and breathing. Daniel was airlifted to Hillcrest Hospital in Tulsa, where he died three days later. The cause of death was listed as head and neck injuries. According to Bob Daniels, "I believe the roll cage did its job, but the centrifugal forces must have been unsurvivable. The scuttlebutt among racers was that it had been too much."

Gene Daniel was remembered at a large memorial, attended by many of his peers. Daniel was survived by his wife, Kathy, children, Christopher and Gene Allen, sister Carolyn and parents, Mr. & Mrs. Reginald Daniel. Gene was in business with his father.

Daniel was the second driver to die at Tulsa Speedway in 1981, after Junior Taft perished in a crash in April.

Reginald "Gene" Daniel is buried in Floral Haven Memorial Gardens, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

The Motorsport Memorial Team would be grateful for any additional information on Gene Daniel's life and career. Thank you.

• U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007.
• United States Social Security Death Index.
• Book "The History of America's Speedways - Past & Present", by Allan E. Brown, third edition, first printing, November 2003, America's Speedways, PO Box 448, Comstock Park, MI, 49321-0448, United States, ISBN 0-931105-61-7, page 585.
• Book "Racers At Rest - The Checkered Flag - 1905-2008", by Fred Chaparro, Joe Heisler, Buzz Rose and Jeff Sharpe, © 2008, Rose Racing Publications, P.O. Box 10879, Glendale, AZ 85318-0879, United States [no ISBN shown], page 439.
• Book "The Tribute Project", edited by Ed Watson, 1997, page 11.
• Newspaper National Speed Sport News (Ridgewood, NJ, United States), issue of 9 September 1961, article titled "Tragedy in Tulsa Run" by John Ritenoure.
• Newspaper National Speed Sport News (Ridgewood, NJ, United States), issue of ?? September 1961, Column "Tulsa Topics" by Don Hubbard.
• Newspaper National Speed Sport News (Ridgewood, NJ, United States), issue of 16 September 1961, article titled "Gene Daniel Passes Away.
• The Wilson Howard Davis Archives [incorrect name, Gene Daniels].
• Website Find-A-Grave: Reginald E. “Gene” Daniel.
• E-mail by Jim Michels, dated 03 September 2008.
• E-mail by Bob Daniels, dated 28 August 2009.