J. D. McDuffie
| J. D. McDuffie | |||||||
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| Born |
December 5, 1938 Upper Little River Township, Harnett County, North Carolina |
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| Died | August 11, 1991 (aged 52) Watkins Glen, New York |
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| Cause of death | Basilar Skull Fracture at Budweiser at The Glen | ||||||
| Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 653 races run over 28 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 9th (1971) | ||||||
| First race | 1963 Speedorama 200 (Myrtle Beach) | ||||||
| Last race | 1991 Budweiser at The Glen (Watkins Glen) | ||||||
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John Delphus "J.D." McDuffie, Jr. (December 5, 1938 – August 11, 1991) was an American racing driver. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1963 to 1991, collecting 106 Top 10 finishes during his career and holding the record for most starts in NASCAR's top level without a win. He died in a racing accident during the Budweiser at The Glen at Watkins Glen International in 1991.
After attending his first race in Bowman Gray Stadium at the age of ten, McDuffie was inspired by racers Curtis Turner, Glenn Wood, Billy Myers, and others to become a race car driver.
McDuffie won several small races throughout the Carolinas including a track championship at a small dirt track near Rockingham, North Carolina. McDuffie made his NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) debut in 1963 at the Rambi Speedway near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina driving Curtis Turner’s old 1961 Ford. Though McDuffie was an expert dirt track racer, he never had similar success on asphalt tracks. His best NASCAR finish came at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, in 1971, where he managed to finish third. Meanwhile, his first last-place finish came at the 1963 Pickens 200. In 1978, McDuffie won the pole position for the Delaware 500. In the 1988 Daytona 500 qualifying race, McDuffie received second- and third-degree burns in an accident after he raced without fireproof gloves because they were stolen before the race.
One day before his fatal accident at Watkins Glen International Speedway, McDuffie won a celebrity race in Owego, New York, at the Shangri-La Speedway, not far from Watkins Glen.
McDuffie is still the record holder for the most starts in NASCAR's top touring series without recording a win. His 653 starts rank him 21st in all-time starts (as of September 2014). McDuffie held the series record for the most last-place finishes with 32 until Joe Nemechek surpassed him in 2014.
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