Kenney Goodell, a longtime nitro-racing veteran from the great Northwest known for a long line of pretty cars that ran as good as they looked, died April 21, seven days after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 64.

Goodell, known to his legion of Northwest fans as "the Action Man," was known to most as a Funny Car driver but also piloted Top Fuelers and fuel altereds in his long career.

Goodell, who lived in Tigard, Ore., was in on the Funny Car class' earliest days, fielding a Mustang as far back as 1967 but from that point on was Mopar man with a series of Dodges, many of them sporting his trademark purple paint scheme. Throughout the mid-1970s, Goodell either drove his car or those of others and racked up an impressive scorecard of wins, including at the Stardust National Open in Las Vegas, the prestigious Northwest National Open in Seattle, and the Manufacturers Meet at Orange County Int'l Raceway. He also competed in Top Alcohol Funny Car in the early 1980s.

Away from the track, Goodell participated in community affairs such as the local Night of Fire charitable event and devised the Safety on Wheels program that focused on traffic safety to work in conjunction with his Beaverton Dodge sponsorship.

Goodell is survived by his wife, Ginger; sons, Shane and Shay; daughters, Brittney Miller, Tiffany Whitehurst, and Julie Carrasco, and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, April 30, at Newberg Christian Church in Newberg, Ore. Services are open, and well-wishers are asked to wear purple, Goodell's favorite color.