JD McDuffie
| NASCAR Cup Series statistics | |||||||||
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| Best placement | 9th - (1971) | ||||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics | |||||||||
| Best placement | 44th - (1982, 1983) | ||||||||
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John Delphus McDuffie Jr. (born December 5, 1938 in Upper Little River Township , North Carolina , † August 11, 1991 in Watkins Glen , New York ) was an American racing driver .
He competed in the NASCAR - Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991 and collected a total of 106 top 10 placements (including twelve in the top 5), and he also holds the record in the highest NASCAR division of races without one of having won at 653. He was killed in a racing accident at Budweiser at The Glen in 1991 at Watkins Glen International .
Career
McDuffie began his motorsport career on dirt tracks. In 1963, the then 24-year-old drove his first races in the highest NASCAR division, at that time still known as the Grand National Series , in a privately entered Ford Galaxie and made it into the top 10 three times in twelve races. That was enough for him to finish the season in 48th place.
It wasn't until 1966 that McDuffie contested his next NASCAR races. This year he took part in 36 races of the season and finished nine of them in the top 10, also he drove on the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds for the first time in the top 5, which was enough for overall rank 27. After he had contested only one race in 1967, he started again regularly in 1968, this time on a Buick Skylark . He improved to 24th place. In 1969 he even started 50 of 54 races and climbed again significantly to 14th place. Over the years, McDuffie would change vehicles several times, except for Ford and Buick, he competed in Chevrolet , Plymouth , Mercury , Dodge , Oldsmobile and his own Pontiac last six years .
His best place went to McDuffie in 1971 as third on the Albany-Saratoga Speedway . In the same year he was able to take his first laps in the lead and achieve his best overall placement in ninth place. This was also the final year of the Grand National Series , the following year the series was renamed NASCAR Winston Cup Series , but this did not affect his performance. Over the years, however, McDuffie was often slowed down by technical and financial problems, and throughout his career, it was not to be to finish a race on the same lap as the winner, but he counted alongside James Hylton , Cecil Gordon and Dave Marcis to the best independent drivers. In addition, his brother Glenn also contested some races for McDuffie's team in 1975 and 1976, but without success.
His best place at the Daytona 500 was JD McDuffie in 1976 in seventh place. In 1978 he drove his only pole position at Dover International Speedway , but was only 33rd in the race. The following year he finished in the top five at Fairgrounds Speedway for the last time and even led 111 laps at Nashville Speedway , but finally crossed the finish line two laps behind winner Cale Yarborough .
After that, it should only go downhill for McDuffie. In 1980 he failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 and for the first time since the end of 1972 he missed qualifying in a NASCAR race. When Subway 500 1982 drove McDuffie for the last time in the top 10, the following year he missed the 26th for the first time since 1968 the top 20 overall. His best days were long gone, especially as the top teams became more and more modern while McDuffie, unlike less weak independent pilots like Alan Kulwicki , had to use mostly used parts. Nevertheless, he was still the most popular independent driver in the field and he made it clear in interviews that he was more about having fun than about success. In addition, his son Jeff drove a few races at the same time, but also with very little success. McDuffie himself contested eleven races in the new Busch Series between 1982 and 1984 and finished eighth in the top 10 on his last start in 1984 at Charlotte Motor Speedway .
In 1988, he suffered second and third degree burns in an accident on the Daytona 500 after driving without gloves that someone had stolen from him before the race. Even so, this accident didn't slow him down.
In 1991 he announced that he would slowly retire as a driver and in future only slowly appear as the owner. From September Marty Burke should drive his first race for his team. But it did not get to that. On the Watkins Glen International heavy accident McDuffie when he and his Pontiac Grand Prix with Jimmy Means collided. His car took off and stayed on the roof. He died of serious injuries while the race was still in the hospital.
He left behind his wife Irma and his children Jeff and Linda.
Web links
Driver statistics on racing-reference.info
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McDuffie, JD |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McDuffie, John Delphus junior (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American racing car driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 5, 1938 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Upper Little River Township , North Carolina |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 11, 1991 |
| Place of death | Watkins Glen , New York |