Mike Alexander (born July 31, 1957) is a retired American racing driver. He won the NASCAR Weekly Series national championship in 1983.[1] He also raced in Winston Cup and in the Busch Series.
Michael Clay Alexander | |||||||
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Born | Franklin, Tennessee | July 31, 1957||||||
Achievements | 1984 All-American Challenge Series Champion 1983 Grand Am Stock Car Series Champion 2-time Nashville Speedway USA Track Champion | ||||||
Awards | Nashville Speedway USA Hall of Fame | ||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
74 races run over 7 years | |||||||
Best finish | 28th (1984) | ||||||
First race | 1980 Music City 420 (Nashville) | ||||||
Last race | 1990 First Union 400 North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
71 races run over 6 years | |||||||
Best finish | 4th (1988) | ||||||
First race | 1983 Miller Time 300 (Charlotte) | ||||||
Last race | 1988 Winston Classic (Martinsville) | ||||||
First win | 1987 Hampton 200 (Langley) | ||||||
Last win | 1988 Mountain Dew 400 (Hickory) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of November 2, 2013. |
Career before national racing
editAlexander was the 1978 and 1992 track champion at the historic Nashville International Raceway, now known as Fairgrounds Speedway.
In 1983, driving Late Models on paved tracks for car owner Bobby Ray Jones, he won the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series national championship, and won the NASCAR Grand American Stock Car championship in its final year. Alexander won 31 of the 56 races that he entered. Most were at Nashville, Tennessee or Birmingham, Alabama (where he won the track championship), but some ranged as far as South Carolina or Florida. He was born to a family well-known in the Nashville automotive scene who operated several area franchised dealerships.[1]
2020 Brought Alexander back to the fairgrounds with ARCA driver Mason Mingus behind the wheel of the famed 84 throwback to the BRJ days in the 80’s. The two paired up with longtime Fairgrounds member Ben Pruitt and Mark Lawson. 2021 plans are the same as 2020 with Mingus driving and Alexander on top of the box.
NASCAR career
editWinston Cup Series
editAlexander began his national-level racing career in the Winston Cup Series. He made the field in the Music City 420 in 1980 and performed fairly well, finishing tenth. He ran part of the 1981 season for Bob Rogers. Most of his finishes in 1981 were in the Top 15 (if he was running). He ran most of the first 22 races in 1984 for car owner Dave Marcis with limited success. In 1985 he ran a partial schedule for Sims Brothers and Sadler Brothers. He drove for the Stavola Brothers for the final 16 races in 1988, substituting for the injured Bobby Allison.[1] He had his greatest success in 1988, with six top-ten finishes in 18 starts, including a career best 3rd-place finish at the season finale at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 1989, Alexander drove the Stavola Brothers car at Daytona, but he was hampered by the effects of an injury in the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL the previous December, and resigned from the ride.[1] His final stint in Cup was the first seven races for Bobby Allison Motorsports in 1990.
Busch Series
editAlexander ran a partial season in the Busch Series in 1986. He ran full-time in 1987 and 1988, and had a win in both seasons (1987 Langley Speedway) and (1988 Hickory Motor Speedway). He had three career poles. He had 31 Top 10 finishes in his 71 Busch starts.
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.)
Winston Cup Series
editDaytona 500
editYear | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | Marcis Auto Racing | Oldsmobile | 42 | 21 |
1985 | Sims Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | 29 | 12 |
1989 | Stavola Brothers Racing | Buick | 22 | 27 |
1990 | Bobby Allison Motorsports | Buick | 15 | 41 |
Busch Series
editARCA Talladega SuperCar Series
edit(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | ATSS | Pts | Ref |
1984 | Sims Brothers Racing | 96 | Pontiac | DAY | ATL | TAL | CSP | SMS | FRS | MCS | LCS | IRP | TAL 33 |
FRS | ISF | DSF | TOL | MGR | 108th | - | [16] |
1985 | Alexander Racing | 84 | Chevy | ATL | DAY | ATL | TAL | ATL 2 |
SSP | IRP | CSP | FRS | IRP | OEF | ISF | DSF | TOL | 72nd | - | [17] |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Schaefer, Paul. Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, 2006. ISBN 0-9789261-0-2. pp. 11-15.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1984 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1985 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1986 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1987 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1988 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1984 Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
- ^ "Mike Alexander – 1985 ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
External links
edit- Mike Alexander driver statistics at Racing-Reference