1. Waddell Wilson was born on December 29,1936 and is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series crew chief and engine builder.
20 Facts About Waddell Wilson
1. 2.
Waddell Wilson was the winning crew chief for the Daytona 500 in 1980,1983, and 1984.
3.
Waddell Wilson was crew chief or engine builder for Holman-Moody, Harry Ranier, and Hendrick Motorsports.
4.
Waddell Wilson started driving jalopies, street stocks, and modifieds at the Hialeah, Palmetto and Hollywood short tracks in Florida.
5.
Waddell Wilson began as an engine builder for Holman-Moody in the early 1960s and he worked for them into the 1970s.
6.
Waddell Wilson became recognized after building the engine that Fireball Roberts used to win the 1963 Southern 500.
7.
Engines built by Waddell Wilson had 109 wins, earned 123 pole positions, and won three championships.
8.
Cale Yarborough drove a Waddell Wilson-prepared car to victory in the 1983 Daytona 500, and the combination repeated their win in the 1984 Daytona 500.
9.
Yarborough and Waddell Wilson worked together for Harry Ranier in the early to mid-1980s.
10.
Waddell Wilson prepared an engine for Hendrick Motorsports that Darrell Waltrip used in a practice session to set an unofficial track record at Daytona that exceeded Bill Elliott's 1985 mark.
11.
Rick Hendrick named Waddell Wilson to be the crew chief for his new third Hendrick Motorsports team in 1987.
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The friends didn't mesh well together as teammates, earning only one win, and Waddell Wilson was named the team manager after one season.
13.
Waddell Wilson became Ricky Rudd's crew chief in 1990 after Hendrick reduced to a two car team.
14.
Hendrick had Waddell Wilson be the crew chief for IndyCar driver Al Unser Jr.
15.
Between 1979 and 1993, Waddell Wilson was the crew chief for 22 NASCAR Winston Cup race wins.
16.
Waddell Wilson retired from racing in 2000 and he became a consultant for Jerico Performance Products.
17.
Waddell Wilson received the Golden Wrench Award from the North Carolina Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame in 2006, the same year that Waltrip was inducted.
18.
Waddell Wilson was selected to be one of three retired crew chiefs to vote for the inaugural class for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
19.
Waddell Wilson was featured on the April 9,2003, episode of the Speed television channel's show Men Behind the Wrenches.
20.
In 1990, Waddell Wilson released a book on preparing race motors called Race Engine Preparation.