KIRK SHELMERDINE - 03/08/1958
was a NASCAR driver and former championship-winning crew chief for the late Dale Earnhardt. 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 Truck Series races with a best finish of 17th at Bristol in 1995. He has also run 12 Xfinity Series races with a best finish of 17th in 1994. Shelmerdine's 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. He started his own Cup team in 2002 and ran races at Talladega, Loudon and Pocono, but he was primarily a "field filler" driver (a driver filling up otherwise empty spots in the field). 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. 2005 was a step back. The team qualified for only three races. 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. His tires had been donated by a family of Dale Earnhardt fans. He had no full-time pit crew. 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 lack of technology provided for independent teams. Shelmerdine is best known for his abilities as a top-notch crew chief. He was the crew chief for car owner Richard Childress, with Dale Earnhardt Sr as driver for 10 seasons, winning 44 times. His major wins included the 1986 and 1992 Coke 600's; 1987, 1989 and 1990 Southern 500's. He was the crew chief for Earnhardt when he won the Cup championships in 1985, 1986, 1990, and 1991. In 2022 he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as a Crew Chief.
2006 Daytona 500
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