MARK MARTIN RETIRING?

Stock Car Racing History

A few interesting Bobby Jones clips, including the first naming both Bobby Jones & Will Cronkrite each fielding cars out of Spartanburg in 1973:

And this from a 1993 Tom Higgins column:

Jones' AJ Foyt 1993 Daytona 500 entry didn't make the show, having overheating problems in the 125-miler:

1993 Gatorade Twin 125 Qualifier #2 NASCAR Daytona Qualifier race number 2 Thursday, February 11, 1993 at Daytona International Speedway , Daytona Beach, FL 50 laps on a 2.500 mile paved track (125.0 miles) Time of race: 0:47:41 Average Speed: 157.288 mph Pole Speed: 189.274 mph Cautions: 2 for 7 laps Margin of Victory: 1.5 cl Attendance: n/a Lead changes: 5 #ffa;">

Fin	St	#	Driver	Sponsor / Owner	Car	Laps	Money	Status	Led
1	4	3	Dale Earnhardt	GM Goodwrench (Richard Childress)	Chevrolet	50	35,200	running	34
2	16	15	Geoffrey Bodine	Motorcraft (Bud Moore)	Ford	50	22,200	running	0
3	1	18	Dale Jarrett	Interstate Batteries (Joe Gibbs)	Chevrolet	50	15,200	running	0
4	11	4	Ernie Irvan	Kodak Film (Morgan-McClure)	Chevrolet	50	10,200	running	1
5	12	7	Alan Kulwicki	Hooters (AK Racing)	Ford	50	8,400	running	0
6	3	5	Ricky Rudd	Tide (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	50	5,100	running	15
7	18	8	Sterling Marlin	Raybestos (Stavola Brothers)	Ford	50	4,800	running	0
8	20	41	Phil Parsons	Manheim Auctions (Larry Hedrick)	Chevrolet	50	4,650	running	0
9	5	27	Hut Stricklin	McDonald's (Junior Johnson)	Ford	50	4,500	running	0
10	8	26	Brett Bodine	Quaker State (Kenny Bernstein)	Ford	50	4,250	running	0
11	10	16	Wally Dallenbach, Jr.	Keystone (Jack Roush)	Ford	50	4,100	running	0
12	17	40	Kenny Wallace	Dirt Devil (Felix Sabates)	Pontiac	50	3,950	running	0
13	9	17	Darrell Waltrip	Western Auto (Darrell Waltrip)	Chevrolet	50	3,800	running	0
14	7	30	Michael Waltrip	Pennzoil (Bahari Racing)	Pontiac	50	3,650	running	0
15	2	12	Jimmy Spencer	Meineke (Bobby Allison)	Ford	50	3,500	running	0
16	24	48	James Hylton	De's LP Gas (Stavola Brothers)	Ford	50	3,250	running	0
17	15	89	Jim Sauter	Evinrude (Mueller Brothers)	Ford	49	3,100	running	0
18	13	29	Kerry Teague	Pro Cal (Jim Rosenblum)	Chevrolet	49	2,950	running	0
19	27	77	Mike Potter	Balough Racing (Henley Gray)	Ford	48	2,800	running	0
20	26	99	Brad Teague	Ball Racing (Ralph Ball)	Chevrolet	46	2,700	running	0
21	21	51	Jeff Purvis	Phoenix Construction (James Finch)	Chevrolet	36	2,500	running	0
22	23	50	A.J. Foyt	Slick 50 (Bobby Jones)	Ford	33	2,400	overheating	0
23	14	2	Rusty Wallace	Miller Genuine Draft (Roger Penske)	Pontiac	24	2,300	engine	0
24	6	21	Morgan Shepherd	Citgo (Wood Brothers)	Ford	21	2,200	engine	0
25	19	46	Al Unser, Jr.	Valvoline (Rick Hendrick)	Chevrolet	10	2,600	crash	0
26	22	52	Jimmy Hensley	NAPA (Jimmy Means)	Ford	10	2,000	crash	0

MARK MARTIN RETIRING?

Stock Car Racing History

This was a 2006 News Release:

Bobby Jones Racing opens new shop

New Shop Open and Ready to Race MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Bobby Jones, a veteran in the world of racing, has opened the doors to his 40,000 sq. foot race shop to do what he knows best, race. Currently running 3rd in points with driver TJ Bell in...

New Shop Open and Ready to Race

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Bobby Jones, a veteran in the world of racing, has opened the doors to his 40,000 sq. foot race shop to do what he knows best, race. Currently running 3rd in points with driver TJ Bell in the ARCA Series, Jones is committed to his new goal of team owner operator.

"We want to let everyone know about our facility and the commitment we have made and how serious we are about the future of developing two solid ARCA programs and a NASCAR Busch program," commented the 60-year-old Jones. "We also have Ron Neal on board. He will be a large part of the future of BJR as we will begin to build our own engines."

The three and one-half acre complex is on Rolling Hills Road in Lakeside Park in Mooresville, N.C. Equipment is moving in daily to the facility once owned by Ricky Rudd, Robert Yates and Wood Brothers Racing. The chassis dyno is used daily by Dodge, and a new engine dyno area is slated to be completed in four weeks. The building houses a complete paint shop, fabrication area, machine shop, parts department, etc., everything a multi-car team needs for success. Bobby Jones Racing uses Dodge chassis and Mike Eggy Engines.

"The plan is to continue to run TJ and go for the championship because we are right in the thick of it and I should mention we are looking for sponsorship to finish that out," continued Jones. "Next year, I would like to take TJ to the Busch Series and keep my ARCA program going to bring young talent in to the sport. We have cars available to run this year so I welcome calls from drivers or sponsors."

Bobby Jones started fixing his Dad's cars as a teenager and over the last 43 years has worked with a long list of motor sports icons such as Junior Johnson, Mark Martin, and Rick Hendrick. Jones has been behind the scenes for most of these years and looks forward to his opportunity to be out front contributing to the sport he loves.

Former crew chief and FOX TV analyst Larry McReynolds has known Jones personally and professionally for many years, "Bobby is a racer and the key to being a successful owner is relating to everything that happens to the car and team," said McReynolds. "Nobody has handed Bobby anything; he has worked hard for it and his commitment is obvious when you see what he is building over at Lakeside."

- www.bobbyjonesracing.com

MARK MARTIN RETIRING?

Stock Car Racing History

Looks like Bobby Jones was still involved with Mark in spring 1982 after reading this clip:

Bobby Jones was still fielding cars as late as 2007, but has since passed. Bobby was around pit road for a long time. I have not been able to figure the year of his passing, but ARCA carried the news on its web site:

ARCA Car Owner Bobby Jones Passes. ....

Bobby Jones, who was a winning car owner/crew chief and fielded cars as a team owner in the ARCA RE/MAX Series for over 20 years, died Wednesday, October 21 on Amelia Island, Florida. He was 62, and had battled a series of medical issuesfor the past several years. The owner of Bobby Jones Racing, a business built on over 40 years of experience in the automotive industry, Jones learned auto repair and maintenance as a teenager working with his father, Edward Junior' Jones before pursuing a motorsports career. Jones worked for many years as a crew member and crew chief for NASCAR team owners, working with many of the legends of stock car racing including Tiny Lund, Bud Moore, Parnelli Jones, Junior Johnson, Cale Yarbrough, Darrell Waltrip, Mark Martin, Rick Hendrick, Greg Sacks, Page Jones, and many others. Jones was also involved with Ford Motor Company and the Ford-backed Holman & Moody. In the process, Bobby drove, built, was the pit crew, shop foreman, division manager and key contributor to racing teams that participated in NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide, ARCA RE/MAX and NHRA races. Jones was a member of racing teams that won two SCCA Trans-Am championships and three NASCAR Winston Cup championships. In addition to building race cars, teaching metal fabrication, welding, and race car construction techniques, Bobby also ran a race car driving school. His ARCA RE/MAX Series career highlights included a car owner victory with driver Mickey Gibbs at Texas World Speedway in 1992 and a pole at Texas with driver Page Jones in 1993. He also finished second as a car owner with driver Greg Sacks at Chicagoland Speedway in 2003 and finished second again with driver TJ Bell at Winchester Speedway in 2006. Bobby was also instrumental in grooming ARCA drivers' Bell and Chase Miller during each driver'sascension into the NASCAR ranks. Bobby is survived by his sister Judy Jones and son Edward. He is preceded in death by his father Edward L. Jones, his mother Johnnie Jones and brothers' Jimmy and Richard Jones. Messages of condolences may be sent to Judy Jones, 474323 State Road 200, Fernandina Beach, Florida 32034. The Bobby Jones Racing video below was posted from Daytona on February 22, 2007.

MARK MARTIN RETIRING?

Stock Car Racing History

Chased with a Big Gulp!

MARK MARTIN RETIRING?

Stock Car Racing History

I definitely remember the rag and the car not firing because our Wrangler New York ad agency (Dancer, Fitzgerald, Sample) had brought executives of Skippy Peanut Butter (Best Foods) to Richmond to observe Mark, as they were considering going racing in 1982. They didn't. This clip is from the Fredericksburg paper:

MARK MARTIN RETIRING?

Stock Car Racing History

Will, I think you may have partially answered a question posed back in January by our RR member, Woody Delbridge of Richmond responding to an earlier post I had made about the 1981 race:

Permalink Reply by Woody Delbridge on January 25, 2013 at 2:34pm

MARK MARTIN RETIRING?

Stock Car Racing History

Will, by all means, please use the clip. I captured it using the Google News Archive search.

A very quick seach turned up these 3 photos of Mark's Sept. 1981 pole winning Richmond car:

Above photo from www.mantiquesto.com

above photo from RR member, Ray Lamm

Above photo from RR member, Woody Delbridge

MARK MARTIN RETIRING?

Stock Car Racing History

Johnny, Mark won the pole as a youngster in September 1981 at the first race I ever sponsored. It was his 2nd pole, including Nashville in just five 1981 starts.

MARK MARTIN RETIRING?

Stock Car Racing History

A lotta races have gotten the checkers for Mark since this 1981 interview at Raceway Park. Wish the best for him however it shakes out.

Racing History Minute - November 9, 1958

Stock Car Racing History

Note the AP story has Welborn winning $200 more than the race report.