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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