(b. 5/29/22 – d. 1/19/64)
Hometown: Norfolk, Va.
Competed: 1952-64
Starts: 229
Wins: 25
Poles: 18
Joe Weatherly won two championships (1962-63) and 25 races in the NASCAR premier series.
But that’s only part of his story, which is long on versatility.
A decade earlier in 1952-53, he won 101 races in the NASCAR Modified division, capturing that championship in ’53. He even tried his hand in NASCAR’s short-lived Convertible Division from 1956-59.
Weatherly was one of the first drivers who attracted fans to NASCAR as much for his personality as his racing ability, thus his nickname the “Clown Prince of Stock Car Racing.”
When he won his first NASCAR premier series championship, in 1962, he drove for legendary owner Bud Moore. When he repeated as champion a year later, he drove for nine different teams.
Moore was named one of the NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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