Rick Wilson (racing driver)

For other people named Rick Wilson, see Richard Wilson (disambiguation).

Rick Wilson (born January 31, 1953) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver.^[1] He began racing in 1980, and posted 23 top-ten finishes over his career. NASCAR's website says that he is probably best known for his "close, side-by-side second to Bill Elliott in Daytona's summer event in 1988."^[2] He was also known for taking over Richard Petty's car at Petty Enterprises after Petty retired in a car numbered 44.^[2]

Rick Wilson
Born	(1953-01-31) January 31, 1953 (age 71) Bartow, Florida, U.S.
NASCAR Cup Series career
206 races run over 14 years
Best finish	17th (1989)
First race	1980 Firecracker 400 (Daytona)
Last race	1997 UAW-GM Quality 500 (Charlotte)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 23 1
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
47 races run over 8 years
Best finish	29th (1989)
First race	1985 Winn-Dixie 300 (Charlotte)
Last race	1997 All Pro 300 (Charlotte)
First win	1989 Budweiser 200 (Bristol)
Last win	1989 Budweiser 200 (Dover)
Wins Top tens Poles 2 11 1
Statistics current as of November 29, 2012.

Career

Wilson's 1989 Winston Cup Series car

Wilson's most successful run came from 1986 until 1989, driving the No. 4 car for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, when he was a consistent top-20 driver and won his only pole position, at Bristol Motor Speedway. Wilson also famously narrowly lost the 1988 Pepsi 400 to Bill Elliott, which was the best finish, at the time, for MMM. In 1990, he drove for RahMoc Enterprises and followed that up with a year with Stavola Brothers Racing. Following the 1992 Daytona 500, he was fired from his ride with the Stavola Brothers.^[3] Wilson was tabbed by Richard Petty to replace him at Petty Enterprises following the 1992 season.^[4] Wilson also raced several years in the Busch Series driving for the Abingdon-based Food Country No. 75 Oldsmobile operated by Henderson Motorsports. He won two races, Bristol, and Dover, both in 1989.^[5] The Bristol race he won was postponed due to snow, and ran on a Monday. Wilson led 161 of the 200 laps ran on his way to victory. Wilson started second in 1989 at Martinsville, leading 160 of the 200 laps before blowing a motor and finishing 21st. Wilson has not raced in NASCAR since 1998.

Wilson won the Scotts EZ Seed Showdown in 2010; a race against other retired NASCAR drivers.^[6] He returned to active competition for a single race in the USARacing Pro Cup Series at Bristol later that year, finishing 19th following an accident.^[7]

Personal life

Rick continues to live on his family’s cattle ranch and work as a business owner in his home of Bartow, Florida. He is married to wife, Teresa and has three children Erin, Travis and Lori Ann. Rick was elected to the Polk County Commission on August 28, 2018 after soundly beating his opponent, Kathryn Gates-Skipper, by an almost 2 to 1 vote. His elected term was to begin on November 20, 2018. However, Wilson was appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott to begin serving early when the sitting commissioner resigned and was sworn in on October 2, 2018.^[8]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1980	Wilson Racing	62	Olds	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY 15	NSV	POC	TAL 36	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR							68th	225	[9]
			Chevy																												CLT 37	CAR	ATL	ONT
1981			Olds	RSD	DAY DNQ	RCH	CAR 35	ATL	BRI	NWS	DAR	MAR	TAL 25	NSV	DOV	CLT 42	TWS	RSD	MCH 37	DAY 42	NSV	POC	TAL 20	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 13	CAR	ATL 11	RSD			41st	639	[10]
1982				DAY 18	RCH	BRI	ATL 9	CAR	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL 32	NSV	DOV															CLT 10	MAR	CAR	ATL 27	RSD				34th	731	[11]
			Buick												CLT 36	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY 33	NSV	POC	TAL 27	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS
1983				DAY DNQ	RCH	CAR	ATL	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL 37	NSV	DOV	BRI	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD				98th	52	[12]
1985	Wawak Racing	74	Chevy	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	DOV	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL 29	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR								75th	109	[13]
	Ellington Racing	21	Chevy																											ATL 18	RSD
1986	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Olds	DAY 7	RCH	CAR	ATL 39	BRI 12	DAR 15	NWS	MAR						MCH 8	DAY 21	POC 10	TAL 11	GLN 23	MCH 40	BRI 26	DAR 28	RCH	DOV 32	MAR	NWS	CLT 29	CAR	ATL 14	RSD 40					28th	1698	[14]
			Chevy									TAL 8	DOV	CLT	RSD	POC
1987			Olds	DAY 37	CAR	RCH	ATL 11	DAR 34	NWS	BRI	MAR	TAL 20	CLT 30	DOV 29	POC	RSD 14	MCH 30	DAY 30	POC 40	TAL 16	GLN 21	MCH 12	BRI 7	DAR 28	RCH	DOV 27	MAR	NWS	CLT 30	CAR	RSD 18	ATL 27					28th	1723	[15]
1988				DAY 15	RCH DNQ	CAR 36	ATL 10	DAR 27	BRI 25	NWS 28	MAR 25	TAL 35	CLT 18*	DOV 7	RSD 33	POC 25	MCH 41	DAY 2	POC 13	TAL 4	GLN 12	MCH 9	BRI 23	DAR 38	RCH 33	DOV 24	MAR 16	CLT 25	NWS 20	CAR 22	PHO 29	ATL 17					21st	2762	[16]
1989				DAY 8	CAR 17	ATL 6	RCH 17	DAR 11	BRI 21	NWS 30	MAR 4	TAL 15	CLT 35	DOV 14	SON 8	POC 27	MCH 6	DAY 29	POC 25	TAL 5	GLN 8	MCH 32	BRI 27	DAR 11	RCH 22	DOV 19	MAR 18	CLT 41	NWS 29	CAR 13	PHO 40	ATL 18					17th	3119	[17]
1990	RahMoc Enterprises	75	Olds	DAY 30	RCH 30	CAR 18	ATL 17	DAR 29		NWS 22	MAR 27	TAL 39	CLT 19		SON 10	POC 35	MCH 10	DAY 39	POC 31	TAL 35	GLN 32	MCH 29	BRI 32	DAR 12	RCH 20	DOV 27	MAR 20	NWS 18			PHO 19	ATL 33					23rd	2666	[18]
			Pontiac						BRI 5					DOV 23															CLT 11	CAR 18
1991	Stavola Brothers Racing	8	Buick	DAY 33	RCH 18	CAR 19	ATL 12	DAR 14	BRI 33	NWS 27	MAR 22	TAL 25	CLT 18	DOV 25	SON 16	POC 13	MCH 31	DAY 24	POC 24	TAL 38	GLN 19	MCH 39	BRI 20	DAR 13	RCH 13	DOV 29	MAR 26	NWS 32	CLT 17	CAR 20	PHO 15	ATL 33					26th	2723	[19]
1992			Ford	DAY 23	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	BRI	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	SON	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	PHO	ATL					73rd	94	[20]
1993	Petty Enterprises	44	Pontiac	DAY 34	CAR 17	RCH 25	ATL 24	DAR 26	BRI 25	NWS 23	MAR 17	TAL 16	SON 8	CLT 32	DOV 11	POC 12	MCH 34	DAY 11	NHA 28	POC 21	TAL 23	GLN 22	MCH 28	BRI 28	DAR 30	RCH 29	DOV 34	MAR	NWS 33	CLT 36	CAR 26	PHO 20	ATL 23				28th	2647	[21]
1997	David Blair Motorsports	27	Ford	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	DAR	TEX DNQ	BRI	MAR	SON	TAL	CLT	DOV	POC	MCH 21	CAL	DAY	NHA	POC	IND 21	GLN	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	NHA	DOV	MAR	CLT 19	TAL	CAR	PHO	ATL		53rd	306	[22]
1998	SBIII Motorsports	58	Ford	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	MAR	TAL	CAL	CLT	DOV	RCH	MCH	POC	SON	NHA	POC	IND	GLN DNQ	MCH	BRI	NHA	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT						NA	-	[23]
	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	41	Chevy																													TAL DNQ	DAY DNQ	PHO	CAR	ATL

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1981	Wilson Racing	Oldsmobile	DNQ
1982			13	18
1983		Buick	DNQ
1986	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	Oldsmobile	16	7
1987			9	37
1988			13	15
1989			40	8
1990	RahMoc Enterprises	Oldsmobile	28	30
1991	Stavola Brothers Racing	Buick	26	33
1992		Ford	38	23
1993	Petty Enterprises	Pontiac	15	34

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	NBSC	Pts	Ref
1985	Wilson Racing	69	Olds	DAY	CAR	HCY	BRI	MAR	DAR	SBO	LGY	DOV	CLT 30	SBO	HCY	ROU	IRP	SBO	LGY	HCY	MLW	BRI	DAR 27	RCH	NWS	ROU	CLT 41	HCY	CAR	MAR					61st	195	[24]
1986				DAY	CAR	HCY	MAR	BRI	DAR 4	SBO	LGY	JFC	DOV	CLT	SBO	HCY	ROU	IRP	SBO	RAL	OXF	SBO	HCY	LGY	ROU	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	ROU	CLT	CAR	MAR	134th	-	[25]
1989	Henderson Motorsports	75	Olds	DAY 6	CAR 27	MAR 21*	HCY	DAR 5	BRI 1*	NZH 26	SBO	LAN	NSV	CLT 42	DOV 1*	ROU	LVL	VOL	MYB	SBO	HCY	DUB	IRP	ROU	BRI 30	DAR 34	RCH 24	DOV	MAR	CLT 28	CAR	MAR			29th	1273	[26]
1990	Whitaker Racing	7	Buick	DAY	RCH	CAR	MAR	HCY	DAR	BRI 29	LAN	SBO	NZH	HCY	CLT	DOV	ROU	VOL	MYB	OXF	NHA	SBO	DUB	IRP	ROU	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	CLT	NHA	CAR	MAR	112th	-	[27]
1992	Henderson Motorsports	77	Olds	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL	MAR	DAR	BRI	HCY	LAN	DUB	NZH	CLT	DOV	ROU	MYB	GLN	VOL	NHA	TAL	IRP	ROU	MCH	NHA	BRI 6	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	MAR	CAR	HCY	88th	150	[28]
1993		75		DAY	CAR	RCH	DAR	BRI	HCY	ROU	MAR	NZH	CLT	DOV 36	MYB	GLN	MLW					BRI 10		RCH 16	DOV 28	ROU									44th	722	[29]
			Chevy															TAL 39	IRP	MCH 5	NHA		DAR 37				CLT 39	MAR	CAR	HCY	ATL 41
1995	Henderson Motorsports	75	Ford	DAY 17	CAR	RCH	ATL 9	NSV 13	DAR 14	BRI 27	HCY	NHA 43	NZH	CLT 32	DOV	MYB	GLN	MLW	TAL 8	SBO	IRP	MCH 41	BRI 32	DAR 22	RCH 21	DOV 38	CLT DNQ	CAR DNQ	HOM						35th	1173	[30]
1997	Henderson Motorsports	75	Chevy	DAY	CAR	RCH	ATL 19	LVS	DAR 36	HCY	TEX	BRI 27	NSV 36	TAL	NHA	NZH	CLT 18	DOV	SBO	GLN	MLW	MYB	GTY	IRP	MCH	BRI 5	DAR DNQ	RCH	DOV	CLT 36	CAL	CAR DNQ	HOM		50th	617	[31]
1998		50		DAY	CAR	LVS	NSV	DAR	BRI	TEX	HCY	TAL DNQ	NHA	NZH	CLT	DOV	RCH	PPR	GLN	MLW	MYB	CAL	SBO	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	CLT	GTY	CAR	ATL	HOM	NA	-	[32]

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	NCTC	Pts	Ref
1998	M-R Motorsports	04	Chevy	WDW	HOM	PHO	POR	EVG	I70	GLN	TEX	BRI	MLW	NZH	CAL	PPR	IRP	NHA	FLM	NSV	HPT	LVL	RCH DNQ	MEM	GTY	MAR	SON	MMR	PHO	LVS	123rd	-	[33]

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	APSC	Pts	Ref
1984	Wilson Racing	6	Buick	DAY 1	ATL 2															NA	-	[34]
			Chevy			TAL 30	CSP	SMS	FRS	MCS	LCS	IRP	TAL	FRS	ISF	DSF	TOL	MGR
1985				ATL 16	DAY 36	ATL 28	TAL	ATL	SSP	IRP	CSP	FRS	IRP	OEF	ISF	DSF	TOL			52nd	-	[35]
1986	Gray Racing			ATL 34	DAY	ATL	TAL	SIR	SSP	FRS	KIL	CSP	TAL	BLN	ISF	DSF	TOL	MCS	ATL	120th	-	[36]

References

1. "Rick Wilson Cup statistics". NASCAR. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
2. Houston, Rick (August 30, 2007). "Where is ... Rick Wilson?". NASCAR. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
3. "Trickle in, Wilson out for Stavolas". Daily Press (Virginia). February 21, 1992. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
4. "Petty names Rick Wilson to drive No. 44". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. November 13, 1992. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
5. "Rick Wilson Busch Series statistics". NASCAR. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
6. "Rick Wilson wins Legends race at Bristol Motor Speedway". Bristol Herald Courier. March 21, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
7. Gregory, Allen (September 11, 2010). "Great Balls of Fire". Bristol Herald Courier. Bristol, TN. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
8. Chambliss, John (October 3, 2018). "Scott appointee Rick Wilson sworn in, Melony Bell praised by Polk commissioners". Daytona Beach News Journal. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
9. "Rick Wilson – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
10. "Rick Wilson – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
11. "Rick Wilson – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
12. "Rick Wilson – 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
13. "Rick Wilson – 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
14. "Rick Wilson – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
15. "Rick Wilson – 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
16. "Rick Wilson – 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
17. "Rick Wilson – 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
18. "Rick Wilson – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
19. "Rick Wilson – 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
20. "Rick Wilson – 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
21. "Rick Wilson – 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
22. "Rick Wilson – 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
23. "Rick Wilson – 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
24. "Rick Wilson – 1985 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
25. "Rick Wilson – 1986 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
26. "Rick Wilson – 1989 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
27. "Rick Wilson – 1990 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
28. "Rick Wilson – 1992 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
29. "Rick Wilson – 1993 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
30. "Rick Wilson – 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
31. "Rick Wilson – 1997 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
32. "Rick Wilson – 1998 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
33. "Rick Wilson – 1998 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
34. "Rick Wilson – 1984 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
35. "Rick Wilson – 1985 ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
36. "Rick Wilson – 1986 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 20, 2016.

External links

• Rick Wilson driver statistics at Racing-Reference