Jim Vandiver

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Jim Vandiver
BornDecember 13, 1939
Huntersville, North Carolina
DiedJune 18, 2015(2015-06-18) (aged 75)
Charlotte, North Carolina
NASCAR Cup Series career
85 races run over 14 years
Best finish30th (1975)
First race1968 Hickory 250 (Hickory)
Last race1983 World 600 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 24 0

Jim Vandiver (December 13, 1939 – June 18, 2015) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver who raced from 1968 to 1983.[1][2] As an independent driver, he had limited financial resources but enjoyed a level of success that relatively few independent drivers had during the formative years of NASCAR.

Career[edit]

Vandiver competed in 85 races with five finishes in the top-five, 24 top-ten finishes, 117 laps led out of 16529, and a total mileage count of 24247.8 miles.[1][2] Over his career, he had a total of $167,703 in winnings earned on the track ($513,026.62 when adjusted for inflation).[1][2]

At the 1972 Daytona 500, Vandiver finished third to winner A. J. Foyt. Vandiver is also the only undefeated ARCA driver at Talladega Superspeedway with victories in 1970 and 1975.[1][2]

Most of Vandiver's earlier racers were done in Dodge vehicles. In his later career, he drove Oldsmobile and Chevrolet racecars.

He later operated Choice Trucks, a used truck dealership in Huntersville, North Carolina.[citation needed]

He was involved in the controversial 1969 Talladega 500, where he came in second place to Richard Brickhouse in a questionable finish. Both Vandiver and car owner Ray Fox Sr. were adamant that Brickhouse was a lap down because he had stopped to pit under the green flag (Vandiver only pitted under the Caution). Even after three hours of arguing the decision, Brickhouse was still made the winner of the event. Conspiracy theorists cite the difference in the Dodges as the determining factor since Vandiver was in an older Charger 500 and Brickhouse was in the brand new, winged Dodge Daytona.[3]

Vandiver is known for an unusual exit to the 1973 Southern 500 in Darlington, South Carolina. He was due to be arrested for not showing up to divorce court for a child custody hearing, and had to figure out a way to avoid going to jail. His engine began running worse and worse so he waved goodbye to his pit crew and intentionally spun out his Dodge. To avoid the authorities seizing him on the track in front of the spectators, he ran across the track to escape and hitchhiked a ride to Charlotte, North Carolina in order to get home.[4][3]

Personal life and death[edit]

Vandiver was divorced and had four children; Emory, Rhett, Nicole and Shannon. Emory is a former softball player, Rhett also drives race cars, Nicole and Shannon are practicing lawyers in Davidson, North Carolina.[5]

Vandiver's sister, Lillian, also raced - participating in the 1976 and 1977 Nascar DASH series. [6]

On June 15, 2015, Vandiver was admitted to a Charlotte hospital for chest pains. He died three days later at the age of 75.[7]

Motorsports results[edit]

NASCAR[edit]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series[edit]

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 NGNC Pts Ref
1968 Tom Vandiver 1 Chevy MGR MGY RSD DAY BRI RCH ATL HCY
22 		GPS CLB NWS MAR AUG AWS DAR BLV LGY CLT ASH MGR SMR BIR CAR GPS DAY ISP OXF FDA TRN BRI SMR NSV ATL CLB BGS AWS SBO LGY DAR HCY RCH BLV HBO MAR NWS AUG CLT CAR JFC 124th 0 [8]
1969 Fox Racing 3 Dodge MGR MGY RSD DAY DAY DAY CAR AUG BRI ATL CLB HCY GPS RCH NWS MAR AWS DAR BLV LGY CLT MGR SMR MCH KPT GPS NCF DAY DOV TPN TRN BLV BRI NSV SMR ATL MCH SBO BGS AWS DAR HCY RCH TAL
2* 		CLB CLT
43 		SVH AUG CAR JFC MGR TWS 96th 24 [9]
Jim Lineberger 13 Chevy MAR
10 		NWS
1970 Fox Racing 3 Dodge RSD DAY
9 		DAY DAY
38 		RCH CAR SVH ATL
21 		BRI 46th 519 [10]
Jim Vandiver 31 Dodge TAL
33 		NWS CLB DAR
35 		BLV LGY CLT
10 		SMR MAR MCH
6 		RSD HCY KPT GPS DAY
33 		AST TPN TRN BRI SMR NSV ATL
9 		CLB ONA MCH TAL
9 		BGS SBO DAR HCY RCH DOV NCF NWS CLT
33 		MAR CAR
16
Bub Strickler 58 Chevy MGR
19
Cecil Gordon 97 Chevy LGY
14
1971 O. L. Nixon 31 Dodge RSD DAY DAY
17 		DAY
6 		ONT RCH CAR HCY BRI ATL
8 		CLB GPS SMR NWS MAR DAR
5 		SBO TAL
6 		ASH KPT CLT
11 		DOV MCH RSD HOU GPS DAY BRI AST ISP TRN NSV ATL BGS ONA MCH TAL CLB HCY DAR MAR 48th 553 [11]
Faustina Racing 5 Plymouth CLT
42 		DOV CAR MGR RCH NWS TWS

Winston Cup Series[edit]

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts Ref
1972 O. L. Nixon 31 Dodge RSD DAY
3 		RCH
28 		ONT
51 		CAR
3 		ATL
32 		BRI
17 		DAR
16 		NWS
26 		TAL
36 		CLT
40 		MCH
36 		NSV DAR
8 		RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
33 		CAR
30 		TWS 31st 2514.35 [12]
Bill Strong 51 Chevy MAR
32
A. J. Cox 81 Dodge DOV
22 		MCH RSD TWS DAY BRI TRN ATL TAL
1973 O. L. Nixon 31 Dodge RSD DAY
28 		RCH CAR
7 		BRI ATL
10 		NWS DAR MAR TAL
8 		NSV CLT
6 		DOV TWS RSD MCH DAY
32 		BRI ATL DAR
27 		RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT
17 		CAR
32 		31st 2508.85 [13]
J. Marvin Millis 4 Dodge TAL
35 		NSV
1974 O. L. Nixon 31 Dodge RSD DAY
27 		RCH CAR BRI ATL DAR NWS MAR TAL
16 		NSV DOV CLT
8 		RSD MCH DAY
35 		BRI NSV ATL POC TAL
33 		MCH DAR
15 		RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT
39 		CAR ONT 40th 71.4 [14]
1975 John Keselowski 99 Dodge RSD DAY
35 		RCH CAR BRI 30th 1228 [15]
Elder-Ranier 31 Dodge ATL
26 		NWS DAR MAR TAL
27 		NSV DOV CLT
15 		RSD MCH DAY
14 		NSV POC TAL
33 		MCH DAR
4 		DOV NWS
9 		MAR
8 		CLT
23 		RCH
27 		CAR
8 		BRI ATL
28 		ONT
1976 RSD DAY CAR RCH BRI ATL NWS DAR MAR TAL
13 		NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT 87th 124 [16]
1977 RSD DAY
20 		RCH CAR ATL NWS DAR BRI MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT 90th 103 [17]
1978 O. L. Nixon 89 Chevy RSD DAY
DNQ 		RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT
27 		NSV RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL ONT 81st 131 [18]
1979 Olds RSD DAY
41 		CAR RCH ATL NWS BRI DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT
19 		TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI CLT
34 		NWS CAR ATL ONT 62nd 225 [19]
Elder-Ranier 9 Chevy DAR
28 		RCH DOV MAR
1980 O. L. Nixon 89 Olds RSD DAY
37 		RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL
39 		NSV DOV CLT
8 		TWS RSD MCH DAY
25 		NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR ATL ONT 52nd 328 [20]
1983 Gordon Racing 24 Chrysler DAY RCH CAR ATL
39 		DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV BRI CLT
21 		RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 88th 88 [21]
Daytona 500[edit]
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1970 Ray Fox Dodge 17 38
1971 O. L. Nixon Dodge 32 6
1972 8 3
1973 18 28
1974 6 27
1975 John Keselowski Dodge 34 35
1977 Elder-Ranier Dodge 19 20
1978 O. L. Nixon Chevrolet 24 38
1979 Oldsmobile 39 41
1980 40 37

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "1976 Dixie 500 information". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  2. ^ a b c d "1976 Dixie 500 information (second reference)". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  3. ^ a b Higgins, Tom (July 18, 2015). "Jim Vandiver, first Talladega 500 runner-up, dies in Charlotte". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  4. ^ "A Sit Down With Jim Vandiver; A True Pioneer Of NASCAR". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2012-12-14.
  5. ^ "Meet the Staff of Choice Trucks". Choice Trucks. Retrieved 2012-12-14.
  6. ^ "Lillian Vandiver".
  7. ^ Bonkowski, Jerry (June 20, 2015). "Inaugural Talladega runner-up Jim Vandiver remembered". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
  8. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1968 NASCAR Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  9. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1969 NASCAR Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1970 NASCAR Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  11. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  13. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  14. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  15. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  16. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  17. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  19. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  20. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  21. ^ "Jim Vandiver – 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 27, 2023.

External links[edit]

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