2026 Daytona 500 Countdown

[LewTheShoe]

NASCAR's rich and colorful history includes many individuals that we sometimes think of as "heroes" for their racing accomplishments. However, when it comes to genuine heroes from the NASCAR family, there is one clear GOAT, and his name was Bud Moore.

Bud Moore entered the army in June 1943, one day after graduating from high school. One year later, June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion of Normandy... Moore's platoon went ashore at Utah Beach in the first wave of the assault. Bud was a machine gunner. Loaded down with a heavy weapon plus a 51-pound backpack, just reaching shore was quite an accomplishment. In the face of German resistance, Moore and his unit took casualties, but managed to advance 1/2 mile from the shoreline on the first day. From that day forward, for the next 9 months and 14 days, Bud Moore was continuously on the front line without a break... the Battle of the Bulge, the Siege of Bastogne, the allied advance into Germany. He received two Bronze Stars for heroism and five Purple Hearts for combat injuries. When the war ended, he went home, married his high school sweetheart, and started a long and successful career in NASCAR as crew chief and team owner.

Buddy Baker, Bud Moore #15...

Bobby Allison, Bud Moore #15

1979 Daytona 500. Bobby parked his #15 Bud Moore Ford on the backstretch to join a chat between brother Donnie and Cale. No one knows for sure, but they probably were *not* discussing post-race dinner reservations.

 

[Dwayne]

 

[DIDIT]

Darl was from the town I grew up in. Eventually Rick Ferkle also moved there. MW Ohio was the place to be for a sprint car driver back in the day. Still is sometimes.

 

[RFK-PensekeFan]

 

[Whizzer]

That's an early 2000s car, and very clearly Mikey.

I am getting a little long in the tooth and my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be at the age of 89 but the driver of the 88 car was Darrell. To the best of my recollection, Mikey never drove a Gatorade sponsored car although he did drive a car sponsored by Hawaiian Punch a couple of years after his entry in the cup series whereas Darrell drove a Gatorade sponsored car, numbe3red eighty-eight, for several years in late 1970s and into early 1980s.

 

[pjmolo]

NASCAR's rich and colorful history includes many individuals that we sometimes think of as "heroes" for their racing accomplishments. However, when it comes to genuine heroes from the NASCAR family, there is one clear GOAT, and his name was Bud Moore.

Bud Moore entered the army in June 1943, one day after graduating from high school. One year later, June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion of Normandy... Moore's platoon went ashore at Utah Beach in the first wave of the assault. Bud was a machine gunner. Loaded down with a heavy weapon plus a 51-pound backpack, just reaching shore was quite an accomplishment. In the face of German resistance, Moore and his unit took casualties, but managed to advance 1/2 mile from the shoreline on the first day. From that day forward, for the next 9 months and 14 days, Bud Moore was continuously on the front line without a break... the Battle of the Bulge, the Siege of Bastogne, the allied advance into Germany. He received two Bronze Stars for heroism and five Purple Hearts for combat injuries. When the war ended, he went home, married his high school sweetheart, and started a long and successful career in NASCAR as crew chief and team owner.

Truly a giant from the greatest generation.

 

[pjmolo]

 

[Whizzer]

Correct I made the mistake of thinking the comment or correction was about the photo of DW spinning in the #88 car. The #15 car is MW.

The 15 car has the name Bobby Allison on the door and was a Bud Moore owned car in the late 1970s.

 

[donthaveanickname]

The 15 car has the name Bobby Allison on the door and was a Bud Moore owned car in the late 1970s.

Tehat's correct but we're talking the second picture from the top, not the one at the bottom

 

[Greg]

The 15 car has the name Bobby Allison on the door and was a Bud Moore owned car in the late 1970s.

I think the spin was just another chapter in the Allison, Waltrip rivalry etc.
Benny Parsons won that race.

 

[Pat]

Billy Myers

Sterling and Coo Coo

Harry Gant

 

[Greg]

 

[LewTheShoe]

#14 = A.J. Foyt, four time winner of the Indy 500...

Foyt sprint car...

Santino Ferrucci currently drives Foyt's #14 Indycar...

When Tony Stewart became a race team co-owner, he asked A.J. for his blessing to run #14 as an homage to Foyt...

 

[donthaveanickname]

Smoke's last win

Sato

Bourdais

Santucci

AJ

Randy de Puniet

Ole' Fernando

Sam Lowes

 

[StandOnIt]

Flock brothers at Charlotte.

 

[Whizzer]

Tehat's correct but we're talking the second picture from the top, not the one at the bottom

Stubborn old man never looked at the top photos with initials DW over photo of Michael. The fixation was the one below with caption 1979 wreck where the 88 was cleaning the top of the fence and thought that was the picture being referenced.
So much humility and embarrassment. ( Walks away with shaking head while looking down.)

 

[pjmolo]

 

[RFK-PensekeFan]

My favorite fighter plane of all time!

 

[Dwayne]

 

[Hikaru Kitsune]

 

[Greg]

Richard Childress, Swede Savage

I think the Camaro is the one that Richard Childress used to run in his first Cup race (the initial 1969 Talladega 500). So many things can and have been said about it all, probably enough to write a book.

I have heard Childress use the quote that "preparation meets opportunity," and whatever anyone thinks of him as an individual, he is living proof of that quote or idea.

 

[Pat]

Rutherford

McGinnies

Nadeau

 

[StandOnIt]