Grover Clifton "G. C." Spencer[1] (July 9, 1925[2] – September 20, 2007) was a NASCAR driver who competed in 415 Grand National/Winston Cup Series races from 1958 to 1977. Despite never winning a race, he had 55 top-5 finishes and 138 top tens, including 7 second-place finishes.
G. C. Spencer | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Grover Clifton Spencer July 9, 1925 Owensboro, Kentucky | ||||||
Died | September 20, 2007 Johnson City, Tennessee | (aged 82)||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
415 races run over 20 years | |||||||
Best finish | 4th (1965) | ||||||
First race | 1958 Southern 500 (Darlington) | ||||||
Last race | 1977 Dixie 500 (Atlanta) | ||||||
|
Born in Owensboro, Kentucky,[3] he was a dominant short-track racer in the 1940s and 1950s. He served in World War II with the U.S. Navy.[3]
Spencer drove for his own independent team for most of his career, and was one of the most successful independents of the day. His best season came in 1965, when he finished fourth in points with 14 top-5 finishes and 25 top-10s and his only career pole. Although he drove GM and Chrysler cars for most of his career, he drove Fords in 1965, where he found most of his success.
He sold his team and equipment in 1983,[4] and his No. 49 became the No. 4 of Morgan-McClure Motorsports.[3] Spencer acted as the team manager to the team for its first three years.[3]
He died in 2007 at the age of 82.[3]
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Grand National Series
Winston Cup Series
NASCAR Winston Cup Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | NWCC | Pts | Ref | |||||||
1972 | GC Spencer Racing | 49 | Plymouth | RSD | DAY DNQ | RCH | ONT | CAR 30 | ATL 14 | BRI 9 | DAR 36 | NWS DNQ | MAR | TAL | CLT 39 | DOV | MCH | RSD | TWS | DAY | BRI 28 | TRN | ATL 40 | TAL | MCH 38 | NSV | DAR 19 | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | 43rd | 1238.25 | [19] | ||||||||||
Altheide Racing | 0 | Dodge | CLT 36 | CAR | TWS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1973 | GC Spencer Racing | 49 | Dodge | RSD | DAY | RCH | CAR | BRI | ATL | NWS | DAR 15 | MAR | TAL | NSV | CLT 29 | DOV 26 | TWS | RSD | MCH | DAY 14 | BRI 29 | ATL 8 | TAL | NSV | DAR 39 | RCH | DOV 30 | NWS | MAR | CLT 39 | CAR 41 | 37th | 1503.15 | [20] | ||||||||||
1974 | RSD | DAY DNQ | RCH | CAR 39 | BRI | ATL 30 | DAR 36 | NWS | MAR | TAL | NSV | DOV 31 | CLT 25 | RSD | MCH | DAY 30 | BRI | NSV | ATL 21 | POC | TAL | MCH | DAR 6 | RCH | DOV 37 | NWS | MAR | CLT | CAR 35 | ONT | 38th | 96.8 | [21] | |||||||||||
1975 | RSD | DAY 9 | RCH | CAR | BRI | ATL 36 | NWS | DAR 24 | MAR | TAL 22 | NSV | DOV | CLT 38 | RSD | MCH | DAY 39 | NSV | POC | TAL 49 | MCH | DAR 31 | DOV | NWS | MAR | CLT 32 | RCH | CAR | BRI | ATL | ONT | 40th | 634 | [22] | |||||||||||
1976 | RSD | DAY | CAR | RCH | BRI | ATL | NWS | DAR | MAR | TAL | NSV | DOV | CLT | RSD | MCH | DAY | NSV | POC | TAL 25 | MCH 34 | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT 17 | CAR | ATL 35 | ONT | 59th | 319 | [23] | |||||||||||
1977 | RSD | DAY DNQ | RCH | CAR | ATL 21 | NWS | DAR 8 | BRI | MAR | TAL | NSV | DOV | CLT 20 | RSD | MCH | DAY 14 | NSV | POC | TAL 31 | MCH | BRI | DAR 37 | RCH | DOV | MAR | NWS | CLT 18 | CAR | ATL 25 | ONT | 39th | 785 | [24] |
Daytona 500
Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | GC Spencer Racing | Chevrolet | 27 | 31 |
1962 | Matt DeMatthews | Ford | 48 | 45 |
1963 | Fox Racing | Chevrolet | 21 | 32 |
1964 | Cliff Stewart | Pontiac | 32 | 33 |
1965 | GC Spencer Racing | Ford | 36 | 10 |
1966 | Plymouth | 18 | 24 | |
1967 | 45 | 44 | ||
1972 | GC Spencer Racing | Plymouth | DNQ | |
1974 | GC Spencer Racing | Dodge | DNQ | |
1975 | 37 | 9 | ||
1977 | GC Spencer Racing | Dodge | DNQ |
References
External links
- G. C. Spencer driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- G. C. Spencer owner statistics at Racing-Reference