EMANUEL ZERVAKIS
01-30-1930 - 06-25-2003
was a NASCAR driver and team owner. He won two NASCAR Cup races in his career, both in 1961. He later went on to own a part-time Cup team and a successful Xfinity Series team, receiving five Xfinity wins as an owner, four with Butch Lindley and one with Ricky Rudd. (pic of Zervakis and Lindley in bottom photo). He started in 83 NASCAR Cup races between 1956 and 1963 and finished in the top ten in points twice. He started his first race at Daytona Beach in 1956, finishing last in a field of 76 cars. He did not score a single top ten finish until 1960, but after that, he was in the top ten more than he was out. In 1961, he finished third in the point standings, only behind Ned Jarrett and Rex White. He ran his last race in 1963. He also made 6 starts in the now-defunct Convertible Series. Zervakis was also a team owner. He might be remembered most for fielding a car for Dale Jarrett's first Winston Cup race; his Cup team competed in 39
events total, with a best finish was a second place finish by Butch Lindley at Martinsville. Zervakis wasn't a stock car racing superstar, but everybody inside the sport knew "The Golden Greek." He flirted with greatness as a driver, then carved out a long career as an innovative, eccentric car owner and racing businessman. His advice was sought at all levels of the sport. Car owners, drivers and mechanics alike consulted him. Teams hired him to gain an edge over
their competition. He parlayed his knowledge of cars and his desire to succeed into a racing career. He started racing locally in 1950, was immediately a track champion. He finished first in a race in 1960 at Wilson, N.C., but was stripped of the victory after Joe Weatherly filed a protest regarding Zervakis fuel tank, even though mileage hadn't influenced the victory. The tank's capacity was found to be slightly over the legal limit. Weatherly was awarded the victory in the 200-lap race. His fuel tank was not inspected. Contemporaries say that when he was asked how he knew Zervakis' tank was illegal, Weatherly grinned and said, "because I was running the same tank he was." Zervakis won two races in 1961 - a 200-lapper at the half-
Emanual Zervakis 1961
mile track in Greenville, S.C., and a 500-lap event at the quarter-mile track in Norwood, Mass. - and finished third in the series standings that year. Surrounding Zervakis in the top eight finishers that year is a hall-of-fame roster of the era: champ Ned Jarrett, Rex White, Zervakis, Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, Jack Smith, and Richard Petty. Emanuel Zervakis broke his kneecap in a fiery crash at Southside Speedway in 1964. The injury, his business concerns and reluctance of his insurers to underwrite a race driver led to an early retirement from driving. Zervakis became a builder/engineer/owner of race cars. Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd and Ray
Hendrick were among his drivers. His longest-running success was with Richmond restaurateur Sonny Hutchins behind the wheel. Hutchins said he enjoyed tweaking the ever-serious Zervakis. "We'd be running great, out in front, and I'd start singing to him over the radio. He'd get on there and tell me, 'Pay attention to what you're doing before you wreck my car. ' "Or I'd brace the steering wheel on my knees and go by the pits with both hands in the air, waving
at him. You should've seen him." Zervakis forays into Cup racing against NASCAR's elite showed promise - qualifying up front, leading races. Hutchins qualified on the outside front row in a race at Martinsville and out-gunned pole-sitter Richard Petty to take the early lead. In another race at Martinsville, Lindley finished second, narrowly defeated after making an extra stop for fuel. But the impressive on-track showings never resulted in the major sponsorship necessary to run a first-class Cup team. Zervakis remained a background figure in the sport - constructing cars, offering advice, building a legacy that touched countless teams. "Dad was standoffish. He wasn't an outgoing personality," said Butch Zervakis. "He understood the politics and the corporate side of things, but he didn't want to play that game." Geoff Bodine credits Emanuel Zervakis with opening the door that led to his long career as a Cup driver - 18 victories and almost $17 million in winnings. "He took a chance on me," said Bodine. "He
Sonny Hutchins
Zervakis (left) and Butch Lindley (right)
didn't know if I could drive those big, heavy Cup cars. We both found out I could. "I had two really fun years with Emanuel and his three boys. And the things I learned from them made a big difference in my career." Zervakis' reputation made him an enduring source of information and race car theory. His "official" stats as a Cup car owner show he fielded a car in 39 events over nine seasons. He also fielded cars for 18 Xfinity events claiming five wins over a year period. He died on June 25, 2003. He was 75 and he had been out of racing's competitive loop since a 1994 stroke severely limited his ability to communicate.
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