In 1962, McQuagg entered his first NASCAR Grand National Division (Sprint Cup) event, driving his own #62 Ford at Valdosta 75 Speedway. Sam qualified 9th for the race, but when he blew his motor in the second practice, he was forced to start 12th. That was his only race that year.
1964 was a year that McQuagg only raced five races in the Grand National Division. He drove in J.L Thomas' #71 and #72 Fords. In the five races he ran, four of them were recorded as a DNF and the other race was a 12th place. Back home at Valdosta, Sam won 37 of the 39 races he entered.
In 1965, McQuagg had 5 top tens in the 14 races he entered with about 5 teams, which earned him the Rookie of the Year in the Grand National Division. Sam was involved in one of the most violent and memorable wrecks in NASCAR history. During the 1965 Southern 500 at Darlington, Cale Yarborough tangled with McQuagg, who was leading, in the first turn. Yarborough spun, and then plunged over the guard rail; he rolled 6 times down the 40-foot embankment, landing in the parking lot. When the car landed, Cale got out, climbed the bank back to the track, and waved his arms to let the 50,000 fans at the race know he was fine.
In 1966, Dodge noticed Sam's accomplishments in his small Ford team, so they hired him to drive their factory backed #98, Ray Nichels' team. At Daytona that July he unveiled a new spoiler on his Dodge Charger; it was the first spoiler that had ever been used on the NASCAR circuit. Sam won the Firecracker 400 that year in a car sponsored by a newlywed couple from Georgia. He won about $13,000 for the only Grand National win of his career. A neat fact is that that race was also the first time a motor home was brought into the Daytona infield. He made 15 more starts that year with 4 top fives and 7 top tens, finishing 15th in points.
In 1967, Sam drove for Bud Moore, Don Robertson, Cotton Owens, and many more car owners. He had a chance to drive for the Wood Brothers, but they told him he would have to run Firestone tires. He was a diehard Goodyear fan due to them giving him his first set of tires, so he declined and Cale Yarborough got that ride, which gave him much success. At Darlington that year, Sam was involved in a violent wreck; McQuagg went over the guardrail and flipped many times before landing back on his wheels. Sam got aggravated at how many wrecks he was involved in and decided to go back to some local stuff, but in the 5 years he'd been in NASCAR, his beloved local racing had changed a lot. In all of 1967 Sam ran 14 races, and had 3 top-5 finishes.
In 1970, he became the company pilot for the local W. C. Bradly Co. in Columbus, Georgia and unofficially retired from racing.
McQuagg decided to come back after his leave of absence, for three starts in 1974. He drove Hoss Ellington's Chevy, in which he had a 7th place finish at Darlington and an 8th at Talladega. His last start was at the 1974 World 600.
Out of 8 years in NASCAR's top series, McQuagg garnered 62 starts, 1 win, 9 top-5s, and 21 top-10s. If you think about it, I guess one win doesn't sound impressive, but 21 top 10's out of 62 starts is to me. That's a 1/3 of his starts!
In 1997 McQuagg retired as a commercial pilot after 27 years of flying.
Sam McQuagg was inducted into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2008.
He died of cancer on January 3, 2009 at the age of 73 at St. Francis Hospital. He and his wife Joy had recently celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary.
-Cody
Email: cody7474@yahoo.com
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