BUDDY ARRINGTON - 7/26/1938 - 8/2/2022
Arrington is a noted figure in NASCAR and Mopar history. His first Cup race was on December 1, 1963 at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, FL. It was 200 laps around a dusty old dirt track. Buddy started 20th and ended up finishing eighth; in a race famous for it's winner: Wendell Scott. He began professional NASCAR career behind the wheel of his Dodge hardtop, and for the next twenty-five years, he never missed a season; finally retiring from the sport in 1988. What made Arrington unique in the history of the sport was his absolute dedication and loyalty to Chrysler, and his positive attitude in spite of what often seemed like insurmountable odds. Buddy; from day one, almost always ran his own car, and his operation was a very money conscious effort. His pit crew were almost always unpaid volunteers, and he relied on used equipment; at first Dodge Magnums that he bought from Richard Petty team, and also Harry Hyde's defunct team. These cars were later re-skinned and re-wheel-based to Dodge Miradas and Chrysler Imperial/Cordobas to meet the new NASCAR 110" wheel-base rule in 1981. Arrington's two Chrysler Imperials were the last Chrysler products to run in the NASCAR Cup series. Buddy Arrington never abandoned the Mopar banner until Mopar completely abandoned him, and pulling all parts sponsorships in 1985. Arrington's two Chrysler Imperials were the last Chrysler
products to run in the NASCAR Cup series. He ran the car at first in two races in the 1981 season, and in more races (alternating with Dodge Miradas) until April 1985, when at that point the parts supply, even used, for Chrysler products (Chrysler factory support ended in late 1978) dried up. He sold one of the Imperials, and his other Imperial was given to the NASCAR Hall of Fame at Talladega, Alabama. Arrington was always a much-liked man on the NASCAR circuit, and other teams and a small,
1969 Dodge at Daytona 500
1970 Dodge Daytona
but loyal fan club pitched in to help keep him racing. He has the second most starts without a win, and managed to finished in the top 10 of NASCAR points twice; in 1979 (ninth) and 1982 (seventh). He was known as a stubborn Mopar (Chrysler vehicles) loyalist until 1985 (long after almost every other team moved to other makes, and when the cars became ineligible to compete) and finished his career driving a few FORD Thunderbirds. His best career race and finish was at Talladega in 1979, where he had a powerful enough car to lead a few laps towards the end, and finished third. Buddy was always a much liked man on the NASCAR circuit, and other teams, and a small, but loyal fan club pitched in to help keep him racing. In 1985 the generosity of rising NASCAR star driver Bill Elliott (who sold Buddy his slightly used Ford Thunderbird race cars and parts on the cheap) kept Buddy driving until 1988. Buddy's son Joey, now runs Arrington Manufacturing in Martinsville
VA. The company builds racing engines (mostly Dodges) for the Craftsman Truck Series, and test engines for NASCAR Xfinity series. Tragedy struck Arrington's team in 1986. Rick Baldwin substituted for Arrington, who had been injured the previous week at Pocono International Raceway, for the Miller 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. During his qualifying run in Arrington's Thunderbird, Baldwin spun in turn one and pancaked the wall with the drivers side of the car, and his head struck the wall. Baldwin remained in a coma for over 11 years, succumbing to his brain injuries in 1997. Arrington ran in 560 races in his career. He recorded a best finish of third
1981
on two occasions (Nashville 1965 and Talladega 1979). He had 15 Top 5 finishes. He recorded 103 top 10 finishes. His last race was the 1988 FireCracker 400 at Daytona. Arrington died on August 2, 2022 at the age of 84. Some info from Wikipedia
<----------- Last start - Daytona 1988
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