Grover Clifton "G. C." Spencer[1] (July 9, 1925[2] – September 20, 2007) was a NASCAR driver who competed in 415 Grand National/Winston Cup Series races from 1958 to 1977. Despite never winning a race, he had 55 top-5 finishes and 138 top tens, including 7 second-place finishes.
G. C. Spencer | |||||||
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Born | Grover Clifton Spencer July 9, 1925 Owensboro, Kentucky | ||||||
Died | September 20, 2007 Johnson City, Tennessee | (aged 82)||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
415 races run over 20 years | |||||||
Best finish | 4th (1965) | ||||||
First race | 1958 Southern 500 (Darlington) | ||||||
Last race | 1977 Dixie 500 (Atlanta) | ||||||
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Born in Owensboro, Kentucky,[3] he was a dominant short-track racer in the 1940s and 1950s. He served in World War II with the U.S. Navy.[3]
Spencer drove for his own independent team for most of his career, and was one of the most successful independents of the day. His best season came in 1965, when he finished fourth in points with 14 top-5 finishes and 25 top-10s and his only career pole. Although he drove GM and Chrysler cars for most of his career, he drove Fords in 1965, where he found most of his success.
He sold his team and equipment in 1983,[4] and his No. 49 became the No. 4 of Morgan-McClure Motorsports.[3] Spencer acted as the team manager to the team for its first three years.[3]
He died in 2007 at the age of 82.[3]
Motorsports career results
editNASCAR
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
editWinston Cup Series
editDaytona 500
editYear | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | GC Spencer Racing | Chevrolet | 27 | 31 |
1962 | Matt DeMatthews | Ford | 48 | 45 |
1963 | Fox Racing | Chevrolet | 21 | 32 |
1964 | Cliff Stewart | Pontiac | 32 | 33 |
1965 | GC Spencer Racing | Ford | 36 | 10 |
1966 | Plymouth | 18 | 24 | |
1967 | 45 | 44 | ||
1972 | GC Spencer Racing | Plymouth | DNQ | |
1974 | GC Spencer Racing | Dodge | DNQ | |
1975 | 37 | 9 | ||
1977 | GC Spencer Racing | Dodge | DNQ |
References
edit- ^ G.C. Spencer, 20-year NASCAR veteran, dies at 82 - USATODAY.com
- ^ GC Spencer obituary. http://www.heartfeltconnections.net/memberEulogy.cfm?memberid=14734&sqry_rownum=1&CFTOKEN=39227896 Archived 2019-03-28 at the Wayback Machine .
- ^ a b c d e Bobo, Jeff. Kingsport Times News. "NASCAR pioneer G.C. Spencer dead at 82". 20 September 2007. http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9003095 Archived 2019-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Birchfield, Jeff. Johnson City Press. "Early NASCAR racer, who started 415 Cup events, Spencer dies". http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=SPORTS&ID=60267 Archived 2015-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1958 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1959 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1960 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1961 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1962 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1963 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1964 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1965 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1966 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1967 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1968 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1969 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1970 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "G.C. Spencer – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
External links
edit- G. C. Spencer driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- G. C. Spencer owner statistics at Racing-Reference