Bud Moore Engineering
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| Owner(s) | Bud Moore |
|---|---|
| Base | Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| Series | Grand National/Winston Cup |
| Car numbers |
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| Race drivers | Joe Weatherly, Buddy Baker, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Benny Parsons |
| Sponsors | R.C. Cola / Motorcraft / Wrangler |
| Manufacturer | Ford/Mercury/Pontiac |
| Opened | 1961 |
| Closed | 2001 |
| Career | |
| Drivers' Championships | 2 |
| Race victories | 63 |
Bud Moore Engineering was a championship-winning NASCAR team. It was owned and operated by mechanic Bud Moore and ran out of Spartanburg, South Carolina. While the team was a dominant force in the 1960s and 1980s, the final years were tumultuous due to lack of sponsorship and uncompetitive race cars.
Bud Moore Engineering debuted in 1961, at a qualifying race for the Daytona 500. The team won its debut with Joe Weatherly driving the No. 8 Pontiac. Weatherly drove for the team for most of the season, and won eight races. Bud Moore Engineering became one of the first multi-car teams in NASCAR history, fielding the No. 18 for five races. Bob Welborn, Fireball Roberts, Cotton Owens, and Tommy Irwin drove that car.
In 1962, Weatherly returned and had a phenomenal year, winning five races and that year's Grand National championship. David Pearson drove the second car(No. 08) at Atlanta Motor Speedway, finishing 11th.
1963 saw Weatherly and Moore repeating as champions, despite winning only three races and running just over half of the schedule. Welborn returned to the second car(No. 06) at Lowe's Motor Speedway, finishing 29th,
Weatherly was considering retirement going into 1964, and he drove only a couple of races for Moore, until tragedy struck. While racing Moore's No. 8 Mercury at Riverside International Raceway, Weatherly began setting up for Turn 6 when he lost control and struck the concrete barrier, then slid across the racetrack where his car came to a stop. Weatherly was dead when workers got to his car. He died when his car hit the barrier, as his head slid out the window and hit the wall, suffering major head injuries. Moore retired No. 8 and switched to No. 1, and hired Billy Wade, the 1963 NASCAR Rookie of the Year, to drive. Wade had a strong year, winning four consecutive races and finishing fourth in points. Bobby Johns, Johnny Rutherford, and Darel Dieringer also saw time in the car, with Dieringer winning at Augusta Speedway.
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