Jake Elder time line

In conjunction with the greatest crew chiefs list, I was always wondering if anybody had a timeline for whom, where and when Jake Elder worked on each team he helped. Itseems as though whoever he worked with always had some level of success. I know he has worked with greats such asEarnhardt, Davey Allison, Rob Moroso, and many others. Can we fill in the long list?

Jake worked for Billy Hagan as Terry LaBonte’s crew chief. I am not positive about the year but I think it was part of 1981 & 1982.

Good Gosh, if Jake was here , I seriously doubt he could tell you who & when he worked for in his career himself. They didn’t call him “Suitcase Jake” for no reason. I know he worked as the chief wrench on Pearson’s #17 during the 2 seasons when David won the championship for Holman Moody 68-69 & probably into 70. He moved alot during the 70s. I know he worked for Darrell 3 times, Dale @ least once, Hagen once or twice, LG DeWitt,, Harry Ranier,Digard,Osterland, & many many others that are no longer around. I saw Jake during one stretch in the late 70s or early 80 come to the racetrack & work for 3 different teams during a 3 race stretch. You’d do best asking the drivers , if you can.I’d like to find the pic of Jake wearing a light blue Ban Lon Golf shirt that had “Suitcase Jake ” written across the shoulders on the back. He was a mighty fine man with few equals. Jake seemed to step into bad situations & turn programs around immediately. He was the first person I know who told someone measuring something on a race car that they “weren’t holding their tongue right” because they were laying under a car with a tape measure & had their tongue out trying to read the tape. I heard stories that Jake went into work & rolled his toolbox out the door before lunch because he found the environment just didn’t “suit him anymore”. He was a giant @ setting a race car up, but he had his own ways. Jake was one of my heroes. He is sorely missed by his friends & the rest of us who admired him so much.

Jake worked for Petty Enterpsies during the early mid 60’s I do not know the exact period but here is what Richard had to say about him …..

He’d put something on the car and say, OK, now it’s right. Here, you go drive it. And don’t come back in complaining to me, because I got the car fixed. You go learn how to drive it.’ Elder was certainly a leader. He might not always be right, but he was never wrong. One thing about Jake he was always the same. When you saw him coming, you knew what you were going to get. He was good enough and forceful enough that when he said he’d fixed something, they had confidence in the car and could go out and get something done.

This man was a genius and Elder epitomizes OLD SCHOOL. Much has been said hereabout the new compared to the old ….Jake Elder is one of the best ever to turn a wrench. Some feel that a certain feeling is missing these days and that includes myself. The sport of NASCAR owes a tone to people like Jake Elder.

He was Waltrips crew cheif in his rookie year and a couple more years I think.. But I know he was one of the smartest crew chiefs to hit the curcuit.Then or now !!!!!

Dave, just thought we would mention that Dale Sr. told us Jake Elder was the best—-enough said.

God bless we love all and MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Jake was a prototype that has notand probably never will be repeated. He was REAL. The one year and driver combo thatJake had NO success with that comes to mind would be Bobby Hillin in ’85. Of course he did not stay very long either.