Tuesday Feb 04, 2025
Ray Elder, The Racing Farmers & The Rise of the NASCAR Winston West Series
Shortly after the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2025 nominees were announced, two-time Daytona 500 winner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted, “Ray Elder won six NASCAR Western series championships: 1969, 70, 71, 72, 74, and 75. Elder would compete with the NASCAR Cup regulars when they ran at Riverside and beat them in 1971 and again in 1972.” Yet Ray Elder was not one of the nominees.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the Elder family raced and grew alfalfa, beans, and cotton at their farm in tiny Caruthers, California. With Ray at the wheel, older brother Richard atop the pit box, and father Fred handling ownership, “The Racing Farmers” dominated the competitive NASCAR Winston West Series for years. They also held their own when NASCAR Cup Series regulars visited Riverside.
Elder finished in the top five on eight occasions from 1971-1976, claiming two victories. Elder—and fellow Winston West competitors such as Hershel McGriff, Dick Bown, Jimmy Insolo, and Jack McCoy—helped facilitate the growth and development of NASCAR west of the Rocky Mountains. It wasn’t too long after the Racing Farmers returned to the fields that a new crop of west coast stars began to compete full-time (and win championships) at the national level in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Daniel J. Simone earned his Ph.D. in American History from the University of Florida in 2009, where he wrote his dissertation: “Racing, Region, and the Environment: A History of American Motorsports.” From 2010-2015, Dr. Simone taught World History and Environmental History at Monmouth (NJ) University. In 2016, he was hired as Curator of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina, and held that position through 2021. The following year, Dr. Simone was tabbed to assist the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library, where he co-processed the Women's Sports Foundation Collection and developed content for digital exhibition. Dr. Simone is on the editorial board of the Journal of Motorsport Culture & History and serves on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Voting Committee.
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This episode is part of our HISTORY OF MOTORSPORTS SERIES and is sponsored in part by: The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC), The Society of Automotive Historians (SAH), The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Argetsinger Family - and was recorded in front of a live studio audience.
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