Smokey Yunick
Henry "Smokey" Yunick (May 25, 1923 – May 9, 2001) was an American professional stock car racingcrew chief, owner, driver, engineer, engine builder, and car designer as well as being a pilot in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II. Yunick was deeply involved in the early years of NASCAR, and he is probably most associated with that racing genre. He participated in nearly every facet of the sport as a driver, designer, and held other jobs related to the sport, but was best known as a mechanic, engine builder, and crew chief.
Yunick was twice NASCAR mechanic of the year; and his teams would include 50 of the most famous drivers in the sport, winning 57 NASCAR Cup Series races, including two championships in 1951 and 1953.
He was renowned as an opinionated character who "was about as good as there ever was on engines", according to Marvin Panch, who drove stock cars for Yunick and won the 1961 Daytona 500. His trademark white uniform and battered cowboy hat, together with a cigar or corncob pipe, were a familiar sight in the pits of almost every NASCAR or Indianapolis 500 race for over twenty years. During the 1980s, he wrote a technical column, "Track Tech", for Circle Track magazine and wrote an occasional "Say, Smokey..." guest column for Popular Science magazine. In 1990, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
But he's STILL not in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. A travesty.
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(via 24th March 2024 - all things amazing —l)
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"The stock car driver is the new American cowboy. There aren't any new frontiers, not even the moon anymore. The only thing left for these guys is to go a little deeper into that first turn." -Ken Squier
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A good example of a community coming together to get shit done is the stock car club. Everyone that works the races are volunteers. Someone cuts the grass at the track. Someone maintains the dirt on the track. There are flaggers and announcers and the lady working admission at the gate. The people that race do get cash prizes, but it isn't a lot. They spend a ton more than they make. But everyone works together to make it happen because they love stock car. They don't do it because they're getting paid. They do it because in order for it to happen certain things need to be done and someone has to do it. So they do it. It's just nice. It's a nice little community. Everyone is encouraging and will help each other when something is wrong with a car. They all give each other advice even if they are racing the same class. It's just been nice to be a part of it all.
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When you start believing your own hype
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