Remember J D Mcduffie today

At Watkins Glen on August 11,1991 Stock racing lost one fine gentleman driver. RIP J.D.,we miss you.

One of our crew members for the 1986 Derrike Cope / Western Peterbilt / RABANCO Racing Rookie effort out of Campobello, SC was Jim (Teenie) Fox.

Jim had a home in Washington State where Derrike had been raised. However, before joining Derrike, Teenie had lived in a camper at JD's house in Sanford, NC and worked on the #70. He told of reworking broken parts that other teams replaced every week, running worn tires and all the things that went with racing with no budget. It was quite eye opening to listen to Teenie describe the lack of parts and pieces at the #70 shop while we bought whatever we needed new.

My Father In law Race with JD at Rockingham, Sanford &Fayetteville. JD told him one time He got to see the country& race Plus said he made a better living than working in a mill

.

He died much to young, would have liked to see him go one to retire and enjoy himself. What an addition J.D. would have made to this site and all the organizations that keep people like J.D. memories alive. Peace J.D.

Earl, not sure if you were aware of Jack Smith passing, it sure was news to me.

Got to meet Glenn McDuffie a couple weeks ago, what a nice fella, really enjoyed seeing him at Fayetteville for the Herb Thomas Tribute.

Not changing the subject Dave, but it was an experience to hear Teenie describe anything...Super guy to work with. Wonder what has become of him, do you have any idea?

J.D. McDuffie

1962 Late Model Champion

Rockingham Speedway

From Sept. 22,1962 Richmond County Journal

In 1974 or 75 can't remember which or whether it was spring or fall race. As usual some were having engine problems one of those were J.D. he had broken a valve spring and a valve dropped and hit a piston. He removed the head and seen what the problem was and after an exhaustive search through the garage area with no luck of finding parts I seen Herb Nabb go and talk to J.D. as he sat on the ground with the look of disappointment on his face. When Herb left he went and huddled with Jr. Johnson for a brief moment and returned to J.D. and said something to him and he lit up like child on Christmas morning.He soon went to work on the 70 car. As time neared for the garage area to close he was still going wide open. Gazaway called me to the garage office and ask me if I would stay to watch J.D. till he got done and I said sure.In those days the garage closed at 4:30 sharp. I can still hear Oscar Bowman hollering on the intercom at 4:25 each day layem down boy's and go home. And at 4:30 he would say the garage is now closed goodnight. Any how at 5:15 J.D. set the engine on the tail end of Ol Blue and tied it down and said thanks for staying with which I told him I was glad to stay anytime with him if it helped. I passed him on the way back to the Motel when I got there several of the guy's were hanging around in front of Herbs room which had a rope tied between to vehicles blocking the parking space. In a few minutes there was some noise & commotion outside and I looked out to see J.D. back into the space and a fellow we called bear that worked for Bud Moore and Herb and Junior pick the engine up and went into the motel room and quickly shut the door. After supper we were checking out the card games that were going on and the curtain to Herbs room was closed and the door locked. Someone said that he and Turk and Junior was in the room. The next morning we was leaving going to the track and on the back of Ol Blue was the engine wrapped in plastic.J.D. got to the track and installed the engine and Herb showed up just in time to fire it up. He done some fine tuning and J.D. was grinning like the kid in a candy store. Some say Jr. got a bill from the motel to replace the carpet and linens which was a good sum of money for the time. He just grinned when ask about it and said it was a small price to pay for such a good friend. I don't remember where he finished that day but I do remember him saying that was one fast engine and that he planned to run it as long as possible.

William, I was wondering the same thing myself when I thought of Teenie. I don't know. I'll sure second your statement of him being a super nice guy to work with, though. If I am not very badly mistaken, Teenie had a brother who was either a NASCAR official or promoter in the northwest.

You threw out another name I haven't heard in a very long time, Mike - Oscar Bowman. I know he looked terribly sick the last year or two he worked the garage office.

Oscar passed away several years ago. He and I used to room together and drank a lot of beer and booze together while we would sit in the room and stamp garage passes and watch tv. He was a great guy and very loyal to NASCAR. He knew everyone that walked into the gate of a garage area. You should have heard some of the stories that he would tell of people and what they would say to get a garage pass. It was hillarious to hear those stories. Good times......

Thank you PK for bring back the good memories of our beloved friends.

William, here's a really good 4 year old piece piece I just found from Kitsap, Washington... there were FOUR Fox brothers... you'll see the article mentions Teenie and JD. Teenie would be around 76 now.:

The Good Ol' Boys Head to the Hall

Kitsap, Washington Sun

By Chuck Stark
Published Friday, October 3, 2008

The Fox brothers, the first family of racing in Kitsap County, will be inducted into the Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame today. (Kitsap Sun file)

When looking back at the history of auto racing in Kitsap County, it's impossible to talk about it without mentioning the Fox family.

Tom, Jim, Leon and Bob sons of the late Alma and Cornelius "Connie" Fox, who operated Fox Auto Electric on Sixth Street in downtown Bremerton for years are our Unsers, Pettys or Allisons.

And our first family of racing will be recognized today when Bremerton's four good ol' boys are inducted into the Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame.

Starting with Tom, the oldest at 75, these guys couldn't kick the motorsports habit once they got into it.

"I don't know what it is," said Jim Fox , a crew member on cars that won the Indianapolis 500 (Tom Sneva, 1983) and Daytona 500 (Derrike Cope, 1990). "They figure out ways to get people off alcohol and get you off drugs, but one they get cars in their blood, there's no cure for that. You're stuck with that."

Jim , 72, will be the only brother on hand to accept his award during the induction ceremony at Olympic College's Bremer Student Center Gym. Tom, still working his magic on cars in the Greenville, S.C., area, is recovering after being bit by a brown recluse spider. Tom was one of the finest behind-the-scene car builders in the Indy and NASCAR business during his day.

Leon, who owned and operated a NASCAR Busch Series racing team, was 62 when he passed away in 2002 after a battle with cancer.

Bob, 60, is living in Mooresville, N.C., and family obligations surrounding his two youngest boys will keep the former NASCAR regional champion, who's still winning races, from coming home.

The Foxes all started as drag racers, back in an era when cruising was the biggest pastime for young gearheads. Cars used to congregate in the parking lot at the Triple-X Drive-In on Sixth Street, and then drive to other hangouts along Sixth and Kitsap Way.

The Foxes eventually got hooked on oval-racing after being exposed to it at Silverdale Speedway, an old-dirt track that was eventually demolished in the late 1970s to make way for Central Kitsap Junior High..

All of the brothers made their own mark in the sport, and they're being honored for their individual achievements.

Bob talked about how important his brothers were to his success.

"Being the youngest, I was able to soak up a lot of knowledge just hanging around the shop or watching them race," he said. "Each one taught me something different. I wouldn't have had the success I've had now or in the past if not for them.

"We all have a little different personality, a little different expertise.

"I learned a lot from Tommy. He still has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. From Teenie, I learned the business side of it. Leon was the ultimate tuneup man and a good businessman, too. Everyone had kind of a different flavor. Damn, I learned a lot from all of them. I was very fortunate."

None of the Fox brothers ever sought publicity. If anything, they shunned it.

"Leon was very proud of what he did do and what he accomplished, but he didn't want anybody to take about it or make a big deal about it," his wife, Patty, said after her husband had passed. "He doesn't like a fuss or big deal made out of anything."

Here's a few highlights about each of the Fox brothers.

TOM FOX

Tom and friends Lowell Hite and Jim Hausdorf used to sneak onto an abandoned Navy runway at night and race. It led to organized racing at the track, which still continues as Bremerton Raceway. Tom and Harry Penor started the old Crankers Car Club and were later partners in a car in that Tom raced at Silverdale Speedway.

Fox said he had a chance to go Formula-1 racing in Europe in 1957, but "was a little leery of traveling out of the country" because of the language barrier, which he later admitted was a mistake.

When he joined forces with Oregon businessman Art Sugui to form the Pink Lady Racing team in the early '70s, he gave up driving and concentrated on producing cars that would win. The Pink Lady based out of his business, Tom Fox Automotive, on Park and 7th Street featured Spokane driver Jerry Sneva and was among the top open-wheel programs in the Northwest.

That led to a move to Europe, where he built Formula 1 cars for drivers like Mario Andretti. He built and maintained cars for 18 years at Laughlin Racing Products based in Simpsonville, S.C., which was a leading builder of race car chassis on the Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup). Recruited by George Bignotti, the most successful Indy Car crew chief of his time, Tom later worked with several Indy 500 drivers. He built he car and was instrumental in setting up the car Tom Mears won Indy with in 1984.

With Bignotti, they were the first team to build a garage in a place that became known as Gasoline Alley in Indianapolis. "Pretty soon two or three others built there and it became a helluva complex."

Lately, he's helped Randy Pickens set late model sportsman track records at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. He's now taking a break from racing, but he's restoring cars. He just finished a 1930 Model A Rat Rod and is going to tackle a 1925 Franklin (with an air-cooled motor) next.

"I was lucky that God gave me a brain that a lot of other people didn't get," said the master fabricator. "I was lucky to be able to do this stuff and it came so easy."

Fox told the story about how he built his first Indy car, which had a Chevy-powered engine, and took it to Phoenix for testing. Inspectors and other mechanics were stumped because Fox's car didn't leak any oil, no matter how fast it went.

"They wanted to know what the secret was," he said.

He said it was a simple trick he learned from his dad. It was just a matter of installing a pump to pump the oil out of the pan instead of it blowing out of the valve covers.

Another time he designed a car frame that was 400 pounds lighter than anything anybody else had come up with.

"I tried stuff nobody wanted to try," he said. "I never thought about anything else. I'd think about them damn racing cars 16 to 18 hours a day. Still do. It's been a good life. I've done a lot of stuff. Like I said, I've been blessed."

JIM (TEENIE) FOX

As mentioned above, Jim was a crew member on Derrike Cope's 1990 Daytona 500 championship team and Tom Sneva's 1980 Indianapolis 500 team. He also spent time in England with Tom building cars and 13 years in North Carolina helping NASCAR driver J.D. McDuffee on the Winston Cup (now Sprint) circuit.

Those years, where he was traveling to 36 NASCAR races a year, were among his most enjoyable.

"The atmosphere and people, going south was like going with the good ol' boys," he said. "It was just more laid back."

The 1954 Bremerton grad, like his older brother, would have liked to have gone to the big-leagues of racing sooner in life.

"That would have been nice, but that's not the way it worked out," he said. "I owned a business here."

He and Leon owned Fox Motors, and he also owned two gas stations and a tavern. He retired in 1980.

During his early years, Jim was an accomplished driver. He was the Silverdale track champion from 1959-61, and later teamed with Leon to run successfully in the NASCAR Winstron West Series and NASCAR Sportsman Series.

Jim and his wife, Diann, who've been married 41 years, satisfy their car fixes by organizing the Cool Car Cruises at Westsound Bank, the first Tuesdays from April through September, in downtown Bremerton.

LEON FOX

Chris Horn, a former drag-racing crew chief and local motorsports historian, once said this about Leon Fox, who lived, appropriately, in a home on Victory Lane in Sunnyslope.

"Leon was always a fine dresser and he could build a motor in those clothes, not have a speck of grease on him, wipe his hands and go meet a banker."

Cars were his life.

"The thing is," he once said, "we're car people. That's all we've ever been. If I ain't racing, I go watch somebody else race."

Leon was a drag racer and one of the original members of the Handlers Car Club the first meeting was in an office at his dad's shop. He later drove a Camaro in Sports Car Club of America events before becoming one of the top stock car drivers on the west coast. His 14th place finish in a NASCAR Grand National race in the 1977 Riverside 500 was a career highlight.

After selling the business he and Tom owned, he moved to North Carolina, where he got involved in the Busch Racing series. Fox and partner Derrike Cope ran a limited schedule. Fox build the first four show cars for Ray Evernham's new Dodge NASCAR team in 2000.

Prior to his death, he'd talked about building a drag car he could take to the Bonneville Salt Flats. He planned to drive it.

His wife, Patty, will accept his award today.

BOB FOX

Bob has been driving stock cars for 35 straight years. He's won more than 100 feature races in his career with no plans of getting out of the driver's seat or helping prepare other cars for other drivers.

"If I slowed down, I'd be done," he said.

He's got four race cars a late-model sportsman, a limited sportsman and two dirt cars plus 33 others, some vintage, sitting on his four-acres in Mooresville, N.C., which is in the heart of racing country.

"We're within an hour and a half of three or four places you can go race every Friday or Saturday night," he said. "People just don't work back here on Friday. They're either going racing or going to the races."

The former drag racer got the bug for oval racing after watching his brothers at Silverdale in 1975. Fox and long-time crew chief Wayne Mille, who passed away a year ago, bought a car at the track that day and quickly turned into one of the top teams in the Northwest winning a NASCAR Pacific Coast Regional championship in 1987. He attempted to qualify in four Winston Cup races in 1977, placing 31st at Rockingham.

Fox moved to Wisconsin in 1980 and worked as a fabricator for Dillon Racecars, and he also raced in short-tracks throughout the Midwest. He was a crew chief and driver on the ARCA circuit for six seasons, commuting from North Carolina to the Midwest.

He's built a drag-racer that set a speed record for MuscleMotorSports president Bob Gribble, and has finished as high as seventh overall in a high-powered series during Daytona Speed Week.

"That was one of my goals," he said. "Run (Daytona) Speed Week and I did it four or five years (his best finish was seventh overall in the seven-day series). One year I took five cars. I maintained five and ran my own."

His other goal is to run in the season-ending Snowball Derby, an end-of-the-season race in Pensacola, Fla. "It's a big short-track race with lots of history behind it."

KITSAP SPORTS HALL OF FAME

Today: 1 p.m.

Where: Olympic College Bremer Student Center Gym

What: Induction ceremony

Master of Ceremony: Pat O'Day

Inductees: Orville Anderson, Joe Aiken, Dick Baird, Jack Dean, Cal Gilbert, Darwin Gilchrist, Melissa Kolb, Darrell Monroe, Lloyd Pugh, Dwight Scheyer, Art Sperber, Bill Walker, Jim Wileym, 1950 South Kitsap basketball team, 1953 Bremerton baseball team.

Rex Brown Award: Chuck Haselwood.

Organizer: Kitsap County Bremerton Athletic Roundtable

Sponsor: Kitsap Credit Union

Thanks for this great article Dave..It contains a few facts about Teenie and his Brothers that I did not know...Jim was as laid back, easy going and on an even keel as much as anyone I ever met..At that time of my life I was a lot younger and full of water and vinegar so to speak and Teenie was THE ONE that was able to get me to keep my focus and don't get rattled by circumstance....He definitely had duck feathers on his back as anything would roll right off. I would hire Teenie Fox for my shop just for morale alone if for no other reason...Thank you again Dave.

I wish I had met JD. I started watching what was then known as Winston Cup back in the late '80's. I remember a few racing memories about JD, such as watching him race his way into the 1989 Daytona 500 during a Twin 125 qualifying race. For some reason (and this is kinda strange) but I remember JD getting a stop-and-go penalty at the Michigan Cup race in 1990 for jumping the restart (CBS was broadcasting that event). Used to have a photo from a 1990 issue of Winston Cup Scene with McDuffie standing beside his car on pit lane at Pocono (with a cigar in his hand, of course). I did met Tom Rumple of Rumple Furniture in August 2002 (which, I learned much later, was about a year before he died). Rumple was very nice and we talked a lot about JD. Rumple took me to his back office and I remember seeing three walls covered with photos of either JD or JD's car racing. It's been so many years since we lost J.D. but I love reading old stories about him and trying to find old newspaper stories and articles about him. Would like to get my hands on a November 1966 issue of Stock Car Racing magazine; it's supposed to have an article about McDuffie in it. His life meant so much to me, and, at almost 36 years of age, still does, for certain reasons.