Kirk Shelmerdine

Kirk Shelmerdine

Born: March 8, 1958
Age: 66
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Biography

Kirk Shelmerdine (born March 8, 1958 in Philadelphia) is a NASCAR driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt.

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Crew chief

In 1982 he joined Richard Childress Racing to become the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt had 46 wins, 142 top 5 finishes, and 246 top 10 finishes with Shelmerdine en route to four championships in 1986, 1987, 1990 and 1991. The pit crew won four consecutive Pit Crew Titles over the next eight years. His accomplishments include being the youngest crew chief to win a NASCAR race, and the youngest crew chief to win a Winston Cup championship. In 1992, he announced he was retiring from his crew chief duties, and embarked on a racing career on his own to pursue his dream of being a driver.

Driving career begins

He started running in the ARCA series in 1993 where he has three career wins. He has since run in all the top levels in NASCAR. Shelmerdine has run a total of two Craftsman Truck Series races with a best finish of 17th at Bristol in 1995. He has also run 12 Busch Series races with a best finish of 17th in 1994 at Daytona for Levin Racing.

Cup driving career

Shelmerdine's Nextel Cup career actually started in 1981 in a race at College Station (Texas World Speedway, where owner/driver James Hylton brought out a 2nd car (#8) for Shelmerdine to drive. After two laps, he quit and finished 33rd of the 34 cars. His next start would come at Talladega Speedway in 1994 for Jimmy Means. Shelmerdine finished 26th in the #52 Ford. He started his own Cup team in 2002 and ran races at Talladega, Loudon and Pocono, but he was primarily a "field filler" driver.

2004 was a breakout year for Shelmerdine, as he attempted all 36 races as an owner, 32 as a driver. As team owner he had other drivers fill in for him at selected tracks: Tom Hubert at Infineon and Watkins Glen, Brad Teague at the fall Bristol race, and Ted Christopher at the July Loudon race. Shelmerdine's best finish would be a 37th at Michigan. His car qualified 18 races but completed none of them.

2005 was a step back. The team qualified for only three races (Infineon with Hubert, Loudon with Christopher, and Pocono with Shelmerdine). Shelmerdine finished 42nd in the Pocono race with heating conditions ending his day 192 laps short of the finish.

He started out 2006 on a better note. He was rolling his car on to his hauler after failing to qualify high enough in his qualifying race for the Daytona 500. A NASCAR official stopped him, and informed him that he qualified for his first Daytona 500 by gaining the final spot with his qualifying speed. He finished in 20th place on the lead lap, the best finish of his Cup career. His performance gained media attention as he said if he did not qualify, he'd sell his race team because he was extremely low on money. He was using a motor from Richard Childress (in exchange for a displaying a sponsorship decal). His tires had been donated by a family of Dale Earnhardt fans. He had no full-time pit crew, only his loyal team mates such as Phil Harris, J.V. Daniels and a few others.

Shelmerdine's plans for the rest of 2006 were limited, however he did race at Talladega. He qualified 22nd, and was having a good run when he wrecked early in the race. Shelmerdine finished 40th. Since then, he has attempted to qualify for the Coca Cola 600 but failed to make the race after a qualifying crash, his next appearance was at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona where he made the show but fell out early and finished 43rd.

On December 22, 2006, the Federal Election Commission sent an "admonishment letter" to Shelmerdine was a response to him for running with a Bush/Cheney decal on his car in 2004.

Kirk drove the Richard Childress Racing #33 in the 2008 Daytona testing sessions and was to be entered in the 2008 Daytona 500. He attempted a number of races during the 2009 season after buying Toyotas from Bill Davis Racing. Shelmerdine used Tom Hubert for road courses and New England staple Ted Christopher for Loudon.

It was announced on August 26, 2010, that on September 14, 2010, the assets of Kirk Shelmerdine Racing were to be sold at Public Auction at the team's basis in Welcome, North Carolina. Shelmerdine stated the reason for the closure is lack of sponsorship and technology provided for independent teams.

Personal life

Shelmerdine resides in Welcome, North Carolina, and is the father of two children.

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.)

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint 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 NSCC Pts Ref
1981 Richard Childress Racing 8 Pontiac RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT TWS
RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD NA 0
1994 Jimmy Means Racing 52 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 66th 85
53 CLT
CAR PHO ATL
2002 Hover Motorsports 80 Ford DAY
CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY 73rd 77
Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 72 Ford CHI
CLT
27 NHA
POC
IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN
TAL MAR
ATL CAR PHO HOM
2003 Donlavey Racing 90 Ford 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 NA -
2004 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 72 Ford DAY
CAR
LVS
ATL
DAR
BRI
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
47th 723
2005 27 DAY
CAL
LVS
ATL
BRI MAR
TEX PHO TAL DAR RCH
CLT
DOV
POC
MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC
IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH
NHA
DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 84th 37
2006 Chevy DAY
CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL
RCH DAR CLT
DOV POC MCH SON DAY
CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL
CLT
MAR ATL
TEX PHO HOM 58th 177
2007 DAY
CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY
CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT
MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM NA -
2009 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 27 Toyota DAY
CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH NHA DOV KAN CAL CLT MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM NA -
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2002 Hover Motorsports Ford DNQ
2003 Donlavey Racing Ford DNQ
2004 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Ford DNQ
2005 DNQ
2006 Chevy 42 20
2007 DNQ
2009 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Toyota DNQ

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide 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 NNSC Pts Ref
1994 Levin Racing 19 Chevy DAY
CAR
RCH
ATL
MAR DAR HCY BRI ROU NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW SBO TAL HCY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR 59th 361
1995 Beverley Racing 25 Chevy 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 49th 562
2002 Jay Robinson Racing 49 Ford DAY
CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL CAR PHO HOM 110th 70
2008 Jay Robinson Racing 28 Chevy DAY
CAL LVS ATL BRI NSH TEX PHO MXC TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP CGV GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM 122nd 78

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 26 27 NCTC Pts Ref
1995 AAG Racing 65 Chevy PHO TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL BRI
MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH MAR NWS SON MMR PHO 79th 112
1997 Kenneth Appling Racing 03 Chevy WDW TUS HOM PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH
MAR
SON MMR CAL PHO LVS 124th 71
1998 WDW
HOM PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS 126th 25

ARCA Re/Max Series

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

ARCA Re/Max 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 ARSC Pts Ref
1993 Kenneth Appling Racing 98 Olds DAY
FIF TWS TAL
KIL CMS FRS TOL POC MCH
FRS POC KIL ISF DSF TOL SLM WIN ATL
50th
1994 DAY
TAL FIF LVL KIL TOL FRS MCH
DMS POC POC KIL FRS IND I70 ISF DSF TOL SLM WIN ATL
75th 690
1996 Kenneth Appling Racing 98 Chevy DAY ATL SLM TAL FIF LVL CLT
CLT
KIL FRS POC MCH FRS TOL POC MCH IND SBS ISF DSF KIL SLM WIN CLT ATL 119th
1997 3 DAY ATL SLM CLT
CLT
POC MCH
SBS TOL KIL FRS MIN POC MCH DSF GTW SLM WIN CLT
TAL ISF ATL
50th
1998 DAY
ATL
SLM CLT
MEM MCH
POC
SBS TOL PPR POC
KIL FRS ISF ATL
DSF SLM TEX
WIN CLT
TAL
ATL
15th 2175
1999 DAY
ATL
SLM AND CLT
MCH
POC
TOL SBS BLN POC
KIL FRS FLM ISF WIN DSF SLM CLT
TAL
ATL
28th 1260
2000 DAY
SLM
AND
CLT
KIL
FRS
MCH
POC
TOL
KEN
BLN 15th 2340
Team CLR 57 Ford POC
WIN ISF KEN DSF SLM CLT
TAL
ATL
2001 DAY
NSH WIN SLM GTY KEN CLT KAN MCH POC MEM GLN KEN MCH POC NSH ISF CHI DSF SLM TOL BLN CLT TAL ATL 105th 240
2003 Hylton Motorsports 48 Ford DAY ATL NSH SLM TOL KEN CLT BLN KAN MCH LER POC POC NSH ISF WIN DSF CHI SLM TAL CLT
SBO
60th 510
2008 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 27 Chevy DAY
SLM IOW KAN CAR KEN TOL POC MCH CAY KEN BLN POC NSH ISF DSF CHI SLM NJE TAL TOL 149th 60

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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