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was a NASCAR West and Cup Series driver. Elder graduated from Caruthers High School, earning Central California All-Star honors in football. Over the span of 12 seasons, Elder ran 31 Cup races. During that span, he only raced at Riverside Raceway, Ontario Motor Speedway (Ontario CA), Texas World Speedway (College Station, TX) and Daytona International Speedway. 19 starts came at Riverside. His first race did indeed come at Riverside in 1967. He started 30th, but broke a driveshaft and fell out after only 23 laps, finishing 36th. His second start was the following year, with much the same outcome. Elder started 19th, but broke a fuel pump and finished 30th. 1969 would be his next start, but things worked much better. He pulled off in 16th starting spot; and brought home his #96 Dodge in seventh place. This season he followed the Cup series back east to run in the following weeks Daytona 500. He started 16th, and came home a respectable tenth in the race. He added a sixth place finish at College Station before the season ended. 1970 saw issues again when the Cup stars raced at Riverside. Elder started way back in 36th, and his motor expired after 106 laps and he finished 24th. Once again Ray followed the Cup series back to Daytona. He

finished sixth in his qualifying race, and in the 500 he started 12th and brought home his car in eleventh spot. At Riverside when the 1971 season kicked off, Elder was fast. He qualified third, behind pole sitter Richard Petty, and Bobby Allison. Petty led the first three laps, Allison got by him for a single lap, before David Pearson took the points and led the next 20 circuits. Petty led next for 59 laps, before Elder made his way to the lead and would hold it for 23 laps. Petty's motor started to sour and he was out on lap 107. This left Allison and Elder to battle for the top spot. They swapped the lead about every 15 laps, and Elder would grab the lead with 12 laps to go, and scoot out

to a ten second win. Winning at the 1971 Motor Trend 500 race would essentially make him the first winner in NASCAR's "modern" history. He next finished seventh in a race at Ontario, and when the Cup cars were in Riverside for the series second event, Elder ran well again and finished second, behind Allison. In 1972 as the season opened, he would finish fourth at Riverside, behind Petty, Allison and Bobby Isaac. He ran fifth when he raced at Ontario, and then when the second Cup race happened, he was again one of the front runners. He started his #96 Olympia Brewing Company Dodge in seventh spot. Once again Petty started on the pole, and he led 85 laps, but fell out on lap 96 with a blown motor. After Petty blew up,

Bobby Isaac assumed the lead for 13 laps, but he would have transmission failure while leading on lap 109. Elder was waiting in the wings to pounce on the others misfortune, and took the lead at that point. He would scamper away from the rest of the field to lead the final 44 laps and beat Benny Parsons by over a lap. Donnie Allison was third, followed by James Hylton. He was strong again as the season opened in 1973, and finished third at Riverside in a race won by Mark Donahue. In the 1973 Daytona 500, Elder ran in the top five in a second-hand Petty Charger until an engine failure just 20 laps from the end, relegated him to a 18th place finish. The rest of his Cup career he made just 12 more starts; ten of those

coming at Riverside. When his equipment held up; he gave the Cup stars all they wanted as his posted three fourth place finishes and a sixth place. His final start came oddly enough at Ontario. He drove a #32 Dodge sponsored by Midland Motor Homes to a 40th place finish after his motor blew on lap two. While Ray made starts in the Cup series every year from 1967 - 1978 his primary focus was on his West Coast racing. His first start in the Pacific Coast Late Models (now ARCA West series) came in 1966 at Stockton 99 Speedway in Stockton CA. The rookie finished fifth in just his first start. His second start came at Gardena at Ascot Park; he would start second, lead 181 of 200 laps, and when the checkers fell, he would be the one parked in victory lane. Before the season ended he would win at Portland Speedway (OR). He missed two races that season and finished second in points. In 1967, he again won twice and had 13 top ten finishes; again finishing second in points. 1968 saw him step up his performance as he won of five of the 20 races ran. He won at Gardena twice, and

added wins at Tri-City Raceway (W Richland WA); Bakersfield CA, and Clovis Speedway (CA). He added 15 top five and 17 top ten runs in those 20 starts, but somehow, still finished second in the points to Scotty Cain. 1969 would see Edler break through and finally claim the points title. He only won twice, but put together strong runs all season once again. He had 12 top five finishes, and 16 top tens. He had one finish all year worse than 13th. In 1970, he won four times and piled up the top five finishes; as he had 15 in 19 starts. He again won the

points title. The series added more races in the 1972 season increasing from 19 to 26. He grabbed nine wins and had 21 top five finishes in his 26 starts. Easily winning the points championship again. 1972 was much like 1971. Races increased from 26 to 30, and Elder would win seven of them. He had 20 top five runs, and a whopping 27 top ten finishes. His worst finish of the year was 13th. 1973 saw Jack McCoy win 11 of 21 races as the number of races were reduced. Elder had four wins, 13 top five and 17 top ten finishes, but could only manage a third place finish in points. 1974 saw him win five times, and have 20 top five finishes in 27 starts, and claim the points

crown for the fifth time. He won five times in 1975 in the series 18 races. Once again if he didn't win he was near the top, as he had 14 top five and 15 top ten finishes to claim his sixth title in seven years. These ten years in a row, where he ran full time, he finished no worse than third in points. In 1976, he only ran two races, but being fourth place finishes at Riverside. In 1977 he again only ran two events; but ran a full season in 1978. In 22 starts he claimed two wins, and had six top five finishes and 14 top tens. He finished fourth in points. He didn't race any more until he made one start in 1983. It came (of course) at Riverside. He started 11th, but finished 16th after an oil pump failed about half way through the race. Elder’s team – with his father, Fred, the car owner and brother, Richard, the crew chief – were well known as the “Racing Farmers” from Caruthers, Calif. He was also called the Richard Petty of the West. Following their retirement from racing, they continued their farming operation. His family owned a 240-acre farm about 15 miles southwest of Fresno. In addition, Elder and his wife, Pat, ran a mini-mart in Caruthers, located about 15 miles from Fresno. Elder is second on the list of career wins, in what is now called the ARCA West, with 47 and is also second, on the list of career series poles, also with 47. His first series win came at Ascot Park in Gardena, Calif., in 1966 and his last victory was at Craig Road Speedway in Las Vegas in 1978. In addition to his six championships, Elder finished as the runner-up in the final standings three straight years – 1966, 1967, 1968. He holds various records in the modern era of the series, including the most consecutive starts, with 121, and the most top 10 finishes in a season, with 27. Elder received the Most Popular Driver Award in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West eight times, seven in consecutive years. He was among the drivers named to the “NASCAR K&N Pro Series West All-Time Top-10,” compiled by NASCAR and NASCAR Insider in 2005. He was among the inaugural inductees into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2002 and was inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.

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RAYMOND MARVIN "RAY" ELDER - 8/19/1942 - 11/22/2011