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Joe Bessey

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Joseph W. Bessey (born June 25, 1961) is a former NASCAR owner/driver. He won one career Busch Series race before heading back to the Busch Grand National North Series in 2001, where he continues to field teams. In his driving career in that series in the mid-1990s, he won 21 races and two championships. Bessey is also a businessman, having started his own trucking companies in his 20s.

Joe Bessey
Born (1961-06-25) June 25, 1961 (age 63)
Scarborough, Maine
Achievements2003, 2004 Busch North Series Champion (crew chief)
Awards1988 Busch North Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish64th (2000)
First race2000 Dura Lube 300 (Loudon)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
163 races run over 15 years
Best finish17th (1993)
First race1988 Pennsylvania 300 (Nazareth)
Last race2002 Stacker 2 200 (Nazareth)
First win1997 MBNA 200 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 20 2
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
4 races run over 3 years
Best finish62nd (1995)
First race1995 Skoal Bandit Copper World Classic (Phoenix)
Last race1997 GM Goodwrench/Delco 300 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
Statistics current as of November 24, 2012.

Racing career

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Busch Series

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Bessey made his Busch Series debut in 1988 at the Pennsylvania 300 at Nazareth Speedway in the No. 9 Pontiac. Despite an eighth place starting spot, he finished last after a crash on the opening lap. He made five other races in 1988, his best finish being 19th at Dover. He also finished his remaining five races.

Bessey made six more starts in 1989 and finished in the top-20 in four of the six races, with 14th at Dover, a 17th at Nazareth and had a pair of 20ths. He also had a top-10 start at Richmond. However, he did not finish his other two starts, but finished 45th in points. The next season, he only started four races, finishing just one of them.

Bessey made eight starts in 1991. Driving his No. 9 Pontiacs and the No. 64 Pontiacs, Bessey finished six of his eight starts, and managed his career best finish with a 14th place at Daytona International Speedway. He also had three top-10 starts, the best being at Nazareth.

Bessey made nine starts in 1992. Bessey garnered an 11th-place run at Rockingham and then his first top-10 at Richmond. He also closed the year with three straight top-21 finishes. He was 42nd in the points, his highest showing to that date.

Bessey planned to run the full season in 1993. He made all but three races en route to a 17th-place points finish. Bessey had a best finish of third at Rockingham and added on a fourth at Rougement. He also had an eighth and a pair of 10ths. Bessey also earned his best career start of fourth at the inaugural race at Talladega.

With his success in 1993, Bessey focused more on the Busch North Series, but did manage to make 11 Busch Starts in 1994, three of which resulted in top-10s. Driving his No. 97 Bellsouth Chevy, Bessey finished sixth at Atlanta and 10th at Dover and Charlotte. He also had three top-10 starts.

Bessey returned for 1995. He had two top-10s: a ninth at Rockingham and a 10th at Nazareth. (driving for Jimmy Spencer) However, Bessey continued to struggle in finishing races, only running at the end of half of his starts.

In 1996, he drove the No. 9 Delco Remy America Chevy in 12 races. For the first time since 1992, Bessey did not finish in the top-10 in any race, but did have five top-19 finishes. At Rockingham, Bessey made his debut for Power Team; a sponsorship deal resulted in a two-year deal to go Busch Racing full-time.

Bessey returned full-time 1997, driving the No. 6 Power Team Chevy. Bessey picked up his first win at the MBNA 200, despite being ill that day. He also had four other top-10 finishes, the best being a sixth at South Boston. He also earned his first career pole in the inaugural event at Gateway, and finished 18th in points, the best run of his career.

Bessey did not win a race in 1998, but had four top-10s, the best being a fifth at Nazareth. He had a solid weekend at New Hampshire, where he won the pole and led 107 laps. However, in a late race fight for the lead with Buckshot Jones, Bessey crashed while Jones won the race. Bessey had 14 top-10 finishes to finish 18th in standings.

With Bessey going full-time Cup racing in 1999, he only made a few starts that season. His best run was a 17th at Nazareth driving for Geoffrey Bodine and an 18th at Dover (back in his No. 6). He did not finish his other three starts.

Bessey and the No. 6 only returned for one race in 2000. He started 26th at New Hampshire, but crashed on the first lap and finished 43rd.

Bessey made three starts in 2001, with a 17th at Daytona, 43rd at Talladega and a 22nd at New Hampshire (where he started in the 8th position).

Bessey made his last two starts: a 25th at New Hampshire and an 18th at Nazareth. Afterward, Bessey moved back full-time to Busch North Series as an owner, where he continues to this day.

Winston Cup Series

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Bessey moved his operation up to Winston Cup in 1999, fielding the No. 60 Power Team Chevy driven by Geoffrey Bodine. Bodine was eighth in the second race of the year at Rockingham. Bodine also earned a third-place finish late in the year at Martinsville Speedway. Also, Bodine was able to qualify in every race in 1999, earning the team a 27th-place finish.

Bodine, however, was injured in the season opening Craftsman Truck Series race of 2000, and Bessey was sent scrambling for a driver. The team missed the Daytona 500, but Bessey's new driver, Ted Musgrave made the next five races. After a best finish of 16th, Musgrave left and Bessey moved onto Dick Trickle, who made three starts for Bessey, before Bodine returned to the team at Richmond. Bodine had a solid run of 13th in his return, but the team continued to struggle to qualify. Bodine only made 10 of the next 14 races. Even with a best finish of 12th, Bessey released Bodine after a 41st at Richmond.

Bessey then made his Cup debut the next week at NHIS. He barely made it in with a 42nd place starting position at his home track. He finished 27th.

Bessey then used drivers Trickle and Rich Bickle to finish out the year. However, the team began to struggle to qualifying with Bessey's team only making a handful of the final eight races.

After a failed attempt to get Hermie Sadler to drive his car with The Rock sponsoring in 2001,[1] Bessey closed down his Cup team, and ran selected Busch races after that.

Craftsman Truck Series

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Bessey has also made four career starts in the Truck series. His best run came in his debut at Phoenix in 1995, where he started fifth and finished fourth in the No. 30 Taylor Togs Dodge. His other start in 1995 resulted in a 38th at Phoenix.

At NHIS in 1996, Bessey's lone run resulted in a fourth place start. Once again, he ran a solid race at his home track and drove the No. 9 Chevy to a sixth-place finish.

His sole race in 1997 came at Phoenix, driving for A. J. Foyt. There he started 19th, but struggled home to 35th place after his engine blew.

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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

Winston Cup Series

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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 32 33 34 NWCC Pts Ref
1994 Gray Racing 62 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA
DNQ 		POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL NA - [2]
2000 Joe Bessey Motorsports 60 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA
27 		DOV
DNQ 		MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL 64th 82 [3]

Busch Series

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NASCAR Busch 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 NBSC Pts Ref
1988 Joe Bessey Motorsports 9 Pontiac DAY HCY CAR MAR DAR BRI LNG NZH
38 		SBO NSV CLT DOV
19 		ROU LAN LVL MYB OXF
21 		SBO HCY LNG IRP
27 		ROU BRI DAR RCH
21 		DOV
24 		MAR CLT CAR MAR 48th 428 [4]
1989 09 DAY CAR
20 		MAR HCY DAR BRI 45th 573 [5]
19 NZH
17 		SBO LAN NSV CLT IRP
34 		ROU BRI DAR DOV
14 		MAR CLT CAR MAR
9 DOV
20 		ROU LVL VOL MYB SBO HCY DUB RCH
30
1990 DAY RCH
22 		CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH HCY CLT DOV ROU VOL MYB OXF
35 		NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV
39 		MAR CLT 66th 256 [6]
19 NHA
36 		CAR MAR
1991 9 Olds DAY
14 		RCH CAR
31 		MAR VOL HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH
26 		CLT DOV ROU HCY MYB GLN NHA
36 		SBO DUB IRP 44th 623 [7]
91 OXF
34
Shoemaker Racing 64 Pontiac ROU
30 		BRI DAR RCH DOV
32 		CLT
Olds NHA
24 		CAR MAR
1992 Joe Bessey Motorsports 9 Pontiac DAY
35 		NHA
21 		TAL IRP ROU MCH NHA
17 		BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR 42nd 922 [8]
7 Pontiac CAR
11
Joe Bessey Motorsports 91 Pontiac RCH
10
9 Olds ATL
23 		MAR DAR BRI HCY LAN DUB
Shoemaker Racing 64 Pontiac NZH
24 		CLT DOV
26 		ROU MYB GLN VOL
Joe Bessey Motorsports 93 Pontiac CAR
15 		HCY
1993 97 Olds DAY
18 		RCH
DNQ 		HCY
12 		ROU
4 		MAR
13 		DOV
22 		MYB
15 		17th 2834 [9]
Pontiac CAR
21 		DAR
23 		BRI
30 		NZH
29 		CLT GLN
24 		MLW
18 		IRP
16 		BRI
12 		DAR
14 		RCH
8 		DOV
10 		ROU
10 		MAR
20 		CAR
3 		HCY
DNQ
Chevy TAL
20 		MCH
16 		NHA
23 		CLT
16 		ATL
25
1994 DAY
16 		CAR
28 		ATL
6 		MAR DAR
29 		HCY BRI
31 		ROU NHA
15 		NZH CLT
10 		DOV MYB GLN MLW SBO TAL
DNQ 		HCY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV
10 		CLT
24 		MAR CAR
11 		37th 1152 [10]
Olds RCH
36
1995 Davison Motorsports Chevy DAY
23 		CAR
9 		44th 733 [11]
Pontiac RCH
29 		ATL NSV
37 		DAR BRI HCY
Joe Bessey Motorsports 9 Pontiac NHA
25 		IRP
14 		MCH BRI
24 		DAR RCH DOV CLT
Moroso Racing 20 Ford NZH
10 		CLT DOV MYB
24 		GLN MLW TAL SBO
Joe Bessey Motorsports 9 Chevy CAR
31 		HOM
1996 DAY
11 		CAR
28 		RCH
18 		ATL
43 		NSV
17 		DAR
27 		BRI
36 		HCY
19 		NZH CLT
33 		DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA
13 		TAL
29 		IRP
DNQ 		MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT 44th 1023 [12]
Martin Racing 92 Chevy CAR
26 		HOM
DNQ
1997 Joe Bessey Motorsports 6 Chevy DAY
29 		CAR
23 		RCH
22 		ATL
29 		LVS
37 		DAR
28 		HCY
22 		TEX
27 		BRI
36 		NSV
32 		TAL
28 		NHA
21 		NZH
6 		CLT
36 		DOV
20 		SBO
10 		GLN
26 		MLW
19 		MYB
27 		GTY
9 		IRP
19 		MCH
41 		BRI
17 		DAR
23 		RCH
42 		DOV
1 		CLT
18 		CAL
16 		CAR
22 		HOM
9 		18th 2835 [13]
1998 DAY
40 		CAR
30 		LVS
12 		NSV
12 		DAR
36 		BRI
37 		TEX
43 		HCY
25 		TAL
21 		NHA
35* 		NZH
5 		CLT
19 		DOV
28 		RCH
17 		PPR
28 		GLN
28 		MLW
9 		MYB
7 		CAL
9 		SBO
19 		IRP
31 		MCH
34 		BRI
33 		DAR
27 		RCH
23 		DOV
16 		CLT
28 		GTY
35 		CAR
42 		ATL
16 		HOM
30 		18th 2763 [14]
1999 DAY
DNQ 		CAR
38 		LVS ATL DAR TEX NSV BRI TAL
DNQ 		CAL NHA
DNQ 		RCH DOV
33 		SBO GLN MLW MYB PPR GTY
39 		IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV
18 		CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 71st 380 [15]
Shoemaker Racing 64 Chevy NZH
17 		CLT
2000 Joe Bessey Motorsports 6 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSV TAL CAL RCH NHA
43 		CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM 120th 34 [16]
2001 Pontiac DAY
17 		CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL
43 		CAL RCH 77th 243 [17]
Chevy NHA
22 		NZH CLT DOV KEN MLW GLN CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM PHO CAR HOM
2002 DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL RCH NHA
25 		NZH
18 		CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL CAR PHO HOM 85th 197 [18]

Craftsman Truck Series

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NASCAR Craftsman Truck 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 NCTC Pts Ref
1995 Grandaddy Racing 30 Dodge PHO
4 		TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH MAR NWS SON MMR 62nd 209 [19]
Joe Bessey Motorsports 9 Chevy PHO
38
1996 HOM PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT BRI NZH MLW LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN NSV RCH NHA
6 		MAR NWS SON MMR PHO LVS 87th 150 [20]
1997 A. J. Foyt Enterprises 50 Ford WDW TUS HOM PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO
35 		LVS 132nd 58 [21]

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series

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

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde 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 ABSC Pts Ref
1994 Joe Bessey Motorsports 7 Chevy DAY TAL FIF LVL KIL TOL FRS MCH DMS POC POC KIL FRS INF I70 ISF DSF TOL SLM WIN ATL
3 		111th 475 [22]
1995 9 DAY ATL TAL FIF KIL FRS MCH I80 MCS FRS POC POC KIL FRS SBS LVL ISF DSF SLM WIN ATL
2 		106th - [23]
1996 7 DAY ATL SLM TAL FIF LVL CLT CLT KIL FRS POC MCH FRS TOL POC MCH INF SBS ISF DSF KIL SLM WIN CLT ATL
1 		126th - [24]

References

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  1. ^ "When Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Almost Became a NASCAR Cup Series Team Owner". Essentially Sports. December 20, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  3. ^ "Joe Bessey – 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  4. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1988 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  5. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1989 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  6. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1990 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  7. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1991 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  8. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1992 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  9. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1993 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  10. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  11. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  12. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1996 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  13. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1997 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  14. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1998 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  15. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1999 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  16. ^ "Joe Bessey – 2000 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  17. ^ "Joe Bessey – 2001 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  18. ^ "Joe Bessey – 2002 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  19. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  20. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  21. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  22. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1994 ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  23. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1995 ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  24. ^ "Joe Bessey – 1996 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
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