Jimmy Spencer

Jimmy Spencer

Born: February 15, 1957
Age: 67
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Biography

Jimmy Spencer (born February 15, 1957) is a former American racing driver, team owner, and television commentator. He is best known for competing in NASCAR. He hosted the NASCAR-inspired talk show, What’s the Deal?, on Speed, and was co-host, with John Roberts and Kenny Wallace, of the Speed's pre-race and post-race NASCAR shows NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Victory Lane. Before retiring, Spencer had segment on Speed's NASCAR Race Hub offering commentary and answering viewer questions (Tuesdays and Thursdays). During his days racing modifieds, he was nicknamed "Mr. Excitement" for his aggressive racing style. Spencer is one of the few drivers to have won a race in all three of NASCAR's top series: Sprint Cup, Xfinity, and Camping World Truck Series

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Early life

Jimmy Spencer followed his father, Ed Spencer, Sr. (Fast Eddie), in racing. Spencer started in Late Models in Pennsylvania. He captured his first racing win in the Late Model division at Port Royal Speedway in 1976. He moved to NASCAR Modifieds at Shangri-La Speedway (Owego, New York), then branched out to bigger events throughout the Northeast.

In 1984, Spencer was one of the top contenders for NASCAR's National Modified Championship, at a time when all sanctioned races counted toward that title; after running over sixty races, he was second to Richie Evans in the final standings. When NASCAR changed the National Modified Championship into the smaller-schedule Winston Modified Tour (now Whelen Modified Tour) in 1985, Spencer continued to run, and won the title in 1986 and 1987.

Spencer debuted in the Busch Series in 1985, finishing 19th at North Carolina Motor Speedway in the No. 67 Pontiac for Frank Cicci Racing, which was also his Modified team. The team ran twice in 1987 with a best finish 36th, then ran the full season in 1988, finishing seventh in the point standings in the No. 34. In 1989, Spencer won his first career Busch race at Hickory Motor Speedway, then won two more races over the course of the season, finishing fifteenth in the final standings.

1989-1994

In 1989, he moved to the Winston Cup Series, driving the No. 88 Crisco Pontiac for Buddy Baker's team in 17 of the 29 races. He posted three top-tens and finished 34th in points. He then ran full-time in 1990, finishing in the top-ten twice for Rod Osterlund Racing. During the season, he posted two top-tens in the No. 57 Heinz Pontiac and finished 24th in points. In 1991, Spencer moved to the No. 98 Banquet Frozen Foods Chevrolet for Travis Carter Motorsports. Despite six top-ten finishes, Spencer dropped one position in the standings due to twelve DNFs. He began 1992 with Carter, but moved down to the Busch Series to drive the No. 20 Daily's 1st Ade Oldsmobile for Dick Moroso after Carter's team folded early in the season. He responded with wins at Myrtle Beach Speedway and Orange County Speedway.

Late in the 1992 season, Spencer joined Bobby Allison Motorsports' Cup team and posted three top-fives in the last four races of the season. He signed to drive Allison's No. 12 Meineke Ford Thunderbird full-time in 1993, and finished in the top-five five times, resulting in a career-best fifteenth-place in the final standings. In 1994, he drove the No. 27 McDonald's Ford for Junior Johnson and won his first two and so far only career Cup races, at Daytona and Talladega. In the 1994 Pepsi 400, Spencer won his first career Cup race despite leading only one lap. He also won his first career pole at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

1995-2001

After finishing 29th in the standings in 1994, Spencer left to reunite with Travis Carter, who was now fielding the No. 23 Smokin' Joe's Ford. He finished in the top-ten four times in 1995 and in 1996, Spencer had two top-fives en route to a fifteenth-place finish in points. He fell to twentieth in 1997.

In 1998, Winston/No Bull became his team's new primary sponsor and he was eleventh in points when he suffered injuries at the Brickyard 400, forcing him to sit out the next two races to recover and fall to fourteenth in points. During the season, Spencer formed his own NASCAR team, Spencer Motor Ventures, which fielded the No. 12 Zippo Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the Busch Series for himself and several other drivers. The team expanded to two cars in 1999, fielding the No. 12 and the No. 5 Schneider National Chevy for Dick Trickle. In 2000, he moved his team up to Cup to run the road course races with Boris Said in the No. 23 Federated Auto Parts Ford Taurus. The team ceased operations at the end of the season.

After a 20th-place finish in 1999, Winston left the team, and Kmart became the team's new sponsor, causing Spencer to switch to the No. 26 to accommodate the new sponsor, who was already backing the No. 66 car driven by Spencer's teammate, Darrell Waltrip. Spencer had two top-fives and in 2001 won the pole positions at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway and advanced to sixteenth in points. He departed the team at the end of the season.

2002-present

For the 2002 season, Spencer would join Chip Ganassi Racing and drive the No. 41 Target Dodge Intrepid. He began the season by failing to qualify for the Daytona 500, then had a streak of four top-five qualifying efforts, including at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he started fourth and was leading the race when he was bumped by Kurt Busch to win, starting a long rivalry between the two. After another DNQ at Watkins Glen International, Spencer was released from the ride at the end of the season, causing him to file a lawsuit against the Ganassi organization, saying his dismissal was a violation of his contract. During the season, he also won his most recent Busch Series race to date at Bristol driving for James Finch.

Spencer joined Ultra Motorsports in 2003, piloting the No. 7 Sirius Satellite Radio Dodge. After some on-track incidents with Kurt Busch, Spencer confronted Busch after the GFS Marketplace 400 while Busch was still in his car. He was suspended for the next week's race, the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway while Busch was placed on probation. Despite the events that took place at Michigan, he had four top-tens and ended the season 29th in points. He was also hired to drive three races for in the No. 2 Team ASE Racing Dodge Ram for Ultra's Truck Series team, winning the pole and the race in his second start at New Hampshire International Speedway. He became a part-owner of the Cicci organization that season, when he put Stuart Kirby in Cicci's No. 34 United States Air Force Chevy, but that partnership soon dissolved. He continued to remain involved as a part-owner, when he leased his shop to Bang! Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2004.

He began 2004 with Ultra's Cup team at the Daytona 500, but when the team closed down due to a lack of sponsorship, he replaced Kevin Lepage at Morgan-McClure Motorsports, which had also been running unsponsored. Spencer's best finish that season had been 13th, when on October 25, he was arrested after trying to interfere with the police, who had a warrant to arrest his son for vandalism. The incident cost Spencer his job at Morgan-McClure, and he sat out the rest of 2004.

Spencer returned to the No. 2 Ultra truck in 2005. While he failed to win a race, he had nine top-ten finishes and finished twelfth in points. He did come close to a victory, however, in the season opener at Daytona. He held the lead late in the race and held off 2004 series champion Bobby Hamilton until just before the caution came out on the last lap. Assuming he was in the lead when NASCAR froze the field, he completed the caution lap then pulled into victory lane, only to be told by an official that, in fact, he had finished second. He also ran part-time in Cup, running nine races in the No. 50 Arnold Motorsports Dodge, and one race apiece for Peak Fitness Racing and R&J Racing.

When Arnold was unable to locate a sponsor and Ultra closed its doors following a fallout with the Ford Motor Company, Spencer began working full-time on SPEED. He had run both Cup races at Pocono Raceway for Furniture Row Racing in 2006, finishing 32nd and 36th, respectively. Spencer then worked full-time as an analyst for SPEED TV and was the host of his own show What's The Deal?, along with Ray Dunlap in 2010. The show was cancelled the same year. His segments on the Tuesday and Thursday editions of NASCAR Race Hub are done from the studio of that show.

Since 2010, Spencer talks about the NASCAR highlights while he often feigns sobs with his gag called "The Crying Towel" for which driver gets the crying towel and the fake cigar if they complain about something that cannot be punishable. In 2012 Spencer named his "Crying Towel" segment as (Driver) Radio Sweetheart."

On November 21, 2013 on NASCAR Race Hub, Spencer said he was still not ready to announce his retirement yet, even though he hasn't raced in years.

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.)

Nextel Cup Series

NASCAR Nextel 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 32 33 34 35 36 NNCC Pts Ref
1989 Baker-Schiff Racing 88 Pontiac DAY CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV
SON MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR CLT
NWS
CAR
PHO
ATL
34th 1445
Olds POC
1990 Osterlund Racing 57 Pontiac DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
CLT
DOV
SON
POC
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR PHO ATL 24th 2579
1991 Travis Carter Enterprises 98 Chevy DAY
RCH
CAR
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
CLT
DOV
SON
POC
MCH
DAY
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
PHO
ATL
25th 2790
1992 DAY
CAR
RCH
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
CLT
DOV SON POC MCH
DAY POC TAL GLN MCH 33rd 1284
Moroso Racing 20 Ford BRI
DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS
Bobby Allison Motorsports 12 Ford CLT
CAR
PHO
ATL
1993 DAY
CAR
RCH
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
SON
CLT
DOV
POC
MCH
DAY
NHA
POC
TAL
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
PHO
ATL
12th 3496
1994 Junior Johnson & Associates 27 Ford DAY
CAR
RCH
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
SON
CLT
DOV
POC
MCH
DAY
NHA
POC
TAL
IND
GLN MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
PHO
ATL
29th 2613
1995 Travis Carter Enterprises 23 Ford DAY
CAR
RCH
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
SON
CLT
DOV
POC
MCH
DAY
NHA
POC
TAL
IND
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
PHO
ATL
26th 2809
1996 DAY
CAR
RCH
ATL
DAR
BRI
NWS
MAR
TAL
SON
CLT
DOV
POC
MCH
DAY
NHA
POC
TAL
IND
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
NWS
CLT
CAR
PHO
ATL
15th 3476
1997 DAY
CAR
RCH
ATL
DAR
TEX
BRI
MAR
SON
TAL
CLT
DOV
POC
MCH
CAL
DAY
NHA
POC
IND
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
NHA
DOV
MAR
CLT
TAL
CAR
PHO
ATL
20th 3079
1998 DAY
CAR
LVS
ATL
DAR
BRI
TEX
MAR
TAL
CAL
CLT
DOV
RCH
MCH
POC
SON
NHA
POC
IND
GLN
MCH BRI NHA
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
CLT
TAL
DAY
PHO
CAR
ATL
14th 3464
1999 Haas-Carter Motorsports DAY
CAR
LVS
ATL
DAR
TEX
BRI
MAR
TAL
CAL
RCH
CLT
DOV
MCH
POC
SON
DAY
NHA
POC
IND
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
NHA
DOV
MAR
CLT
TAL
CAR
PHO
HOM
ATL
20th 3307
2000 26 DAY
CAR
LVS
ATL
DAR
BRI
TEX
MAR
TAL
CAL
RCH
CLT
DOV
MCH
POC
SON
DAY
NHA
POC
IND
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
NHA
DOV
MAR
CLT
TAL
CAR
PHO
HOM
ATL
22nd 3188
2001 DAY
CAR
LVS
ATL
DAR
BRI
TEX
MAR
TAL
CAL
RCH
CLT
DOV
MCH
POC
SON
DAY
CHI
NHA
POC
IND
GLN
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
KAN
CLT
MAR
TAL
PHO
CAR
HOM
ATL
NHA
16th 3782
2002 Chip Ganassi Racing 41 Dodge DAY
CAR
LVS
ATL
DAR
BRI
TEX
MAR
TAL
CAL
RCH
CLT
DOV
POC
MCH
SON
DAY
CHI
NHA
POC
IND
MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
NHA
DOV
KAN
TAL
CLT
MAR
ATL
CAR
PHO
HOM
27th 3187
42 GLN
2003 Ultra Motorsports 7 Dodge DAY
CAR
LVS
ATL
DAR
BRI
TEX
TAL
MAR
CAL
RCH
CLT
DOV
POC
MCH
SON
DAY
CHI
NHA
POC
IND
GLN
MCH
BRI DAR
RCH
NHA
DOV
TAL
KAN
CLT
MAR
ATL
PHO
CAR
HOM
29th 3147
2004 DAY
CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI 35th 1969
Morgan-McClure Motorsports 4 Chevy TEX
MAR
TAL
CAL
RCH
CLT
DOV
POC
MCH
SON DAY
CHI
NHA
POC
IND
GLN
MCH
BRI
CAL
RCH
NHA
DOV
TAL
KAN
CLT
MAR
ATL PHO DAR HOM
2005 Arnold Motorsports 50 Dodge DAY CAL LVS ATL
BRI
MAR TEX PHO TAL DAR RCH CLT
DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND
GLN BRI
CAL RCH
NHA
DOV TAL KAN CLT
ATL
TEX
PHO
HOM
46th 667
Peak Fitness Racing 66 Ford MCH
R&J Racing 37 Dodge MAR
2006 BAM Racing 49 Dodge DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR
TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV 61st 122
Furniture Row Racing 78 Chevy POC
MCH
SON DAY CHI NHA POC
IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1990 Osterlund Racing Pontiac 6 15
1991 Travis Carter Enterprises Chevy 23 40
1992 DNQ
1993 Bobby Allison Motorsports Ford 30 13
1994 Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 21 37
1995 Travis Carter Enterprises Ford DNQ
1996 19 11
1997 7 35
1998 7 15
1999 Haas-Carter Motorsports 11 41
2000 22 30
2001 11 27
2002 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge DNQ
2003 Ultra Motorsports Dodge 23 40
2004 40 24

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch 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 32 33 34 35 NBSC Pts Ref
1985 Frank Cicci Racing 67 Pontiac DAY CAR HCY BRI MAR DAR SBO LGY DOV CLT SBO HCY ROU IRP SBO LGY HCY MLW BRI DAR RCH NWS ROU CLT HCY CAR
MAR 75th 106
1987 Frank Cicci Racing 4 Olds DAY HCY MAR DAR BRI LGY SBO CLT
DOV IRP ROU JFC 72nd 55
24 OXF
SBO HCY RAL LGY ROU BRI JFC DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT CAR MAR
1988 34 Buick DAY
HCY
CAR
MAR
DAR
BRI
LNG
NZH
SBO
NSV
CLT
DOV
ROU
LAN
LVL
MYB
OXF
SBO
HCY
LNG
IRP
ROU
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
MAR
CLT
CAR
MAR
7th 3801
1989 DAY
CAR
MAR
HCY
DAR
BRI
NZH
SBO
LAN
NSV
CLT
DOV
ROU
LVL
VOL
MYB
SBO
HCY DUB IRP ROU 15th 2704
87 Pontiac BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV MAR
CLT
CAR MAR
1990 Huffman Racing 77 Buick DAY RCH CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH HCY
CLT DAR
RCH 46th 642
Rodney Franklin 58 Pontiac DOV
ROU VOL MYB OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI
Henderson Motorsports 75 Olds DOV
MAR
CLT
NHA CAR
MAR
1991 Laughlin Racing 45 Pontiac DAY
RCH CAR MAR VOL HCY DAR
BRI
LAN SBO NZH CLT DOV ROU HCY MYB GLN OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU 42nd 636
98 Chevy BRI
DAR RCH DOV
45 CLT
NHA
CAR MAR
1992 DAY
CAR BRI
CLT
17th 2941
Olds RCH
ATL
MAR DAR
Huffman Racing 77 Buick HCY
LAN DUB NZH
Moroso Racing 20 Olds DOV
ROU
MYB
GLN
VOL
NHA
TAL
IRP
ROU
MCH
NHA
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
CLT
MAR
HCY
Allison Racing 28 Ford CAR
1993 Ingram Racing 10 Chevy DAY
CAR RCH DAR BRI
HCY ROU MAR NZH CLT
BRI
DAR
RCH CLT
MAR 42nd 838
Shoemaker Racing 64 Chevy DOV
MYB GLN MLW CAR
HCY ATL
Three Star Motorsports 22 Chevy TAL
IRP MCH NHA
Ingram Racing 10 Pontiac DOV
ROU
1994 Shoemaker Racing 64 Chevy DAY
CAR DOV
MYB GLN MLW SBO TAL HCY IRP MCH BRI DAR
RCH
DOV CLT MAR CAR 63rd 348
Pontiac RCH
ATL MAR DAR HCY BRI ROU NHA NZH CLT
1995 Moroso Racing 20 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NHA
NZH CLT
DOV
MYB GLN
MLW TAL
SBO
IRP MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
CLT
CAR
HOM 34th 1177
1996 Keystone Motorsports Chevy DAY
CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI
CLT
DOV SBO MYB GLN
MLW NHA TAL
IRP MCH
BRI
CLT
HOM
32nd 1392
Bown Racing 51 Chevy HCY
NZH
Mark III Racing 77 Ford DAR
Keystone Motorsports 20 Ford RCH
Laughlin Racing 45 Ford DOV
Chevy CAR
1997 Keystone Motorsports 20 Chevy DAY
CAR RCH ATL LVS
DAR HCY TEX
BRI NSV TAL
NHA NZH CLT
DOV SBO GLN
MLW MYB GTY
IRP MCH
BRI
DAR RCH
DOV CLT
CAL CAR HOM
30th 1576
1998 Spencer Motor Ventures 12 Chevy DAY
CAR LVS
NSV DAR BRI TEX
HCY TAL
NHA NZH CLT
DOV RCH PPR GLN MLW MYB CAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH
DOV CLT
GTY CAR ATL HOM
43rd 1164
1999 DAY CAR LVS
ATL DAR TEX
NSV BRI TAL CAL
NHA RCH NZH CLT
DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB PPR GTY IRP MCH
BRI
DAR RCH
DOV CLT
CAR MEM
PHO
HOM
43rd 1197
2000 DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSV TAL CAL RCH NHA CLT
DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP MCH
BRI
DAR RCH
DOV
CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM
65th 406
2001 Phoenix Racing 1 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR
BRI
TEX
NSH CAL
RCH
NHA NZH CLT
DOV
KEN MLW GLN CHI
GTY PPR IRP MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
KAN
CLT
MEM PHO
CAR HOM
26th 2329
Pontiac TAL
2002 DAY
TAL
DAY
26th 2454
Chevy CAR
LVS
DAR
BRI
TEX
NSH CAL
RCH
NHA NZH CLT
DOV
NSH KEN MLW CHI
GTY PPR IRP MCH
BRI
DAR
RCH
DOV
KAN
CLT
MEM ATL
CAR PHO
HOM
2003 Tommy Baldwin Racing 6 Dodge DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI
86th 241
FitzBradshaw Racing 82 Chevy TEX
TAL NSH CAL RCH GTY NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL PHO CAR HOM
2004 BACE Motorsports 74 Chevy DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL GTY RCH NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT
MEM ATL PHO
HOM
92nd 222
Michael Waltrip Racing 98 Chevy DAR
2005 DAY CAL MXC LVS ATL
NSH BRI TEX PHO TAL DAR RCH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR 120th 82
Red Cactus Racing 73 Chevy GTY
IRP GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck 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 NCTC Pts Ref
2003 Ultra Motorsports 2 Dodge DAY DAR MMR MAR CLT DOV TEX MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH
NHA
CAL LVS SBO TEX MAR
PHO HOM 55th 416
2004 DAY ATL MAR MFD CLT DOV TEX MEM MLW
KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI 55th 303
Phoenix Racing 09 Dodge RCH
ThorSport Racing 13 Chevy NHA
LVS CAL TEX MAR PHO DAR HOM
2005 Ultra Motorsports 2 Dodge DAY
CAL
ATL
MAR
GTY
MFD
CLT
DOV
TEX
MCH
MLW
KAN
KEN
MEM
IRP
NSH
BRI
RCH
NHA
LVS
MAR
ATL
TEX
PHO
HOM
12th 3050

ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * - Most laps led.)

ARCA Hooters SuperCar 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 AHSC Pts Ref
1989 Wayne Paging 46 Buick DAY
ATL KIL TAL FRS POC KIL HAG POC TAL DEL FRS ISF TOL DSF SLM ATL 128th -
1994 Junior Johnson & Associates 2 Ford DAY TAL FIF LVL KIL TOL FRS MCH DMS
POC POC KIL FRS 100th 325
Roulo Brothers Racing 39 Chevy IND
I70 ISF DSF TOL SLM WIN ATL

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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