Grant Adcox

Herbert Grant Adcox (January 2, 1950 – November 19, 1989) was an American stockcar driver who died in a single-car accident in the 1989 Atlanta Journal 500 in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

Grant Adcox
Born(1950-01-02)January 2, 1950
Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
DiedNovember 19, 1989(1989-11-19) (aged 39)
Hampton, Georgia, United States
Cause of deathRacing accident
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg)
Awards1987, 1988 ARCA Racing Series Bill France Four Crown
NASCAR Cup Series career
60 races run over 11 years
Best finish29th (1978)
First race1974 Carolina 500 (Rockingham)
Last race1989 Atlanta Journal 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 6 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish80th (1989)
First race1989 AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham)
Last race1989 AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of December 18, 2012.

Career

Adcox's Winston Cup Series career started in 1974, running a handful of races for his father Herb Adcox with sponsorship backing from the family's Chevrolet dealership in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

In that year's Winston 500 – considered one of the top events in the sport – held at the fastest track on the circuit, the Talladega Superspeedway, Adcox and his father qualified for the event. With a hundred laps in the books, a caution period came out as Donnie Allison's clutch burned out and David Sisco's motor blew up. Gary Bettenhausen, who had pitted a lap after the leaders, was up on jacks as Adcox came down for service. Adcox's car hit an oil and water patch and slammed straight into Bettenhausen's Matador, crushing catch-can man Don Miller between the cars. A young crew member of the Nord Krauskopf team who was nearby, Buddy Parrott, came rushing down to help, while Penske crew members John Woodward and John Watson were also injured. Miller was taken to a hospital and eventually had his right leg amputated. Learning of the extent of Miller's injuries, Adcox went into shock, and his car was withdrawn from the event.

Adcox continued to run sporadic Winston Cup races over the years. He qualified for the 1975 Talladega 500, but his crew chief Gene Lovell suffered a heart attack and died in their garage. Adcox's car was withdrawn, but he was able to find a substitute ride. However, the race was delayed for a week due to rain, and Adcox was again forced to withdraw. His spot on the grid was given to Tiny Lund, who had not raced in Winston Cup for several years. Lund subsequently died during the race in an accident on lap seven.

The 1978 Winston 500 at Talladega was Adcox's best result, as Krystal Restaurants came on board for a partial season with sponsorship money and in his family-owned Chevrolet, Adcox finished fifth in his career best Winston Cup finish.

Adcox's racing career was consistently underfunded. A year later, he was again sponsorless; he timed in fourth for the 1979 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway, but his car's raw speed did not pay off, and his motor expired early.[1][2] He continued to run sporadic events over the years, but never again contended.

Adcox's primary claim to fame was for being a strong competitor in ARCA competition, a lesser stockcar series that uses older Winston Cup cars and more grassroots-based operations. He was especially dominant on the superspeedways; he won a record four of them in 1986 and had eight total superspeedway triumphs in his career, with five victories coming at Talladega. Dale Earnhardt, in an interview before a 1989 race at North Carolina Motor Speedway, remarked about how well Adcox had done in ARCA and said that if he had the monetary backing that other teams had, he might become a success in NASCAR.

For 1989, Adcox had signed up with Bumper to Bumper All Pro Autoparts and in a family-owned Chevrolet planned to run in a handful of Cup events.

Death

In the season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Adcox crashed heavily on lap 198 of the event and died of major chest and head injuries, also suffering a heart attack as result of the crash. Upon investigation, the severe impact was determined to have torn his improperly mounted racing seat away from its mount entirely, and this led to Adcox's death. It also led to new safety regulations on the way seats were mounted for the 1990 season.

ARCA's sportsmanship award, the H.G. Adcox Award, is named in Adcox's honor, and was awarded annually by his father Herb until his death in 2015. The Grant Adcox Memorial is also held annually in his honor at North Georgia Speedway and a subsequent event has been held also in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Adcox is interred at the Chattanooga Memorial Park in Chattanooga, TN.

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 NWCC Pts Ref
1974 Adcox Racing 41 Chevy RSD DAY
DNQ		 RCH CAR
18		 BRI ATL
25		 DAR NWS MAR TAL
38		 NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY BRI NSV ATL POC TAL MCH DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT
18		 CAR ONT 54th 16.6 [3]
1975 RSD DAY
37		 RCH CAR BRI ATL
21		 NWS DAR MAR TAL
7		 NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH
29		 DAY
36		 NSV
27		 POC MCH
14		 DAR
13		 DOV NWS MAR CLT
16		 RCH CAR BRI
25		 ATL ONT 33rd 1020 [4]
Tom Williams 38 Chevy TAL
34
1976 Adcox Racing 41 Chevy RSD DAY
DNQ		 CAR
7		 RCH BRI ATL
12		 NWS DAR
7		 MAR TAL
19		 NSV DOV CLT
12		 RSD MCH DAY
30		 NSV POC TAL
18		 MCH BRI DAR
13		 RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
14		 CAR
12		 ATL
20		 ONT 31st 1163 [5]
1977 RSD DAY
34		 RCH CAR ATL NWS DAR BRI MAR TAL
37		 NSV DOV CLT RSD MCH DAY
26		 NSV
25		 POC TAL
15		 MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL
22		 ONT 50th 413 [6]
1978 RSD DAY
14		 RCH CAR
30		 ATL
7		 BRI DAR
25		 NWS MAR TAL
5		 DOV CLT
11		 NSV
6		 RSD MCH
22		 DAY
22		 NSV
11		 POC TAL
22		 MCH BRI DAR
31		 RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
33		 CAR ATL
38		 ONT 29th 1467 [7]
1979 RSD DAY
23		 CAR RCH ATL
28		 NWS BRI DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV 36th 560 [8]
Olds CLT
11		 TWS RSD MCH DAY
33		 NSV POC TAL
19		 MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR
Buick ATL
27		 ONT
1983 Adcox Racing 29 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV BRI CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL
36		 MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 95th 55 [9]
1984 DAY
QL†		 RCH CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL
40		 MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL RSD 91st 43 [10]
1985 DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY
22		 POC TAL
40		 MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD 71st 140 [11]
1986 DAY
DNQ		 RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL DOV CLT RSD POC MCH DAY
26		 POC TAL
DNQ		 GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL
DNQ		 RSD 101st 85 [12]
1987 24 DAY
DNQ		 CAR RCH ATL DAR NWS BRI MAR TAL CLT DOV POC RSD MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR RSD ATL NA - [13]
1989 Adcox Racing 22 Chevy DAY CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL
24		 CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY
13		 POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO 51st 282 [14]
Olds ATL
32
† - Qualified but replaced by Connie Saylor
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1974 Adcox Racing Chevrolet DNQ
1975 25 37
1976 DNQ
1977 14 34
1978 13 14
1979 21 23
1984 Adcox Racing Chevrolet QL†
1986 Adcox Racing Chevrolet DNQ
1987 DNQ
† - Qualified but replaced by Connie Saylor

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 NBSC Pts Ref
1989 Adcox Racing 21 Olds DAY CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI NZH SBO LAN NSV CLT DOV ROU LVL VOL MYB SBO HCY DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT CAR
18		 MAR 80th 109 [15]

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 17 18 19 APSC Pts Ref
1975 Adcox Racing 41 Chevy SLM DAY SLM TAL
24		 QCS NSV TOL SLM AVS FMS JEF TOL AND NA 0 [16]
1976 SLM DAY
27		 QCS FMS TAL
21		 QCS AVS SLM FRS TOL NSV TOL SLM NA 0 [17]
1977 TOL DAY QCS BFS NSV FRS TOL SLM AVS TAL
4		 TOL SND SLM NA 0 [18]
1978 DAY
18		 QCS AVS NSV IMS LOR FRS TAL
13		 FRS CMS JEF NA 0 [19]
1985 Adcox Racing 29 Chevy ATL
2		 DAY ATL TAL
10		 ATL
3		 SSP IRP CSP FRS IRP OEF ISF DSF TOL 35th - [20]
1986 2 ATL
5		 DAY
1		 ATL
26*		 TAL
1*		 SIR SSP FRS KIL CSP TAL
1		 BLN ISF
11		 DSF TOL
5		 MCS ATL
1		 20th - [21]
1987 DAY
9		 ATL
4		 TAL
1*		 DEL
2		 ACS
3		 TOL
13		 ROC
7		 POC
24		 FRS
23		 KIL
12		 FRS
4		 ISF
21		 INF
6		 DSF
20		 SLM
18		 4th 3450 [22]
Olds TAL
1*		 ATL
20
1988 DAY
21		 TAL
2		 3rd 3980 [23]
Chevy ATL
1		 FRS
2		 PCS
6		 ROC
10		 POC
5		 WIN
3		 KIL
3		 ACS
4		 SLM
24		 POC
6		 TAL
1*		 DEL
15		 FRS
4		 ISF
36		 DSF
39		 SLM
14		 ATL
20
1989 DAY
34		 ATL
7		 KIL TAL
27		 FRS POC KIL HAG POC TAL
28		 DEL
24		 FRS
1*		 ISF TOL
22		 DSF SLM 26th - [24]
Olds ATL
27
Results before 1985 may be incomplete.

References
  1. "Grant Adcox newest Firecracker 400 star". Bangor Daily News. July 3, 1979. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  2. Biddle, Joe (July 4, 1979). "Adcox Joins Life In The Fast Lane". Daytona Beach Sunday-News Journal. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  3. "Grant Adcox – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  4. "Grant Adcox – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  5. "Grant Adcox – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  6. "Grant Adcox – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  7. "Grant Adcox – 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  8. "Grant Adcox – 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  9. "Grant Adcox – 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  10. "Grant Adcox – 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  11. "Grant Adcox – 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  12. "Grant Adcox – 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  13. "Grant Adcox – 1987 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  14. "Grant Adcox – 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  15. "Grant Adcox – 1989 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  16. "Grant Adcox – 1975 Season Results ARCA Racing Series". TheThirdTurn. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  17. "Grant Adcox – 1976 Season Results ARCA Racing Series". TheThirdTurn. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  18. "Grant Adcox – 1977 Season Results ARCA Racing Series". TheThirdTurn. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  19. "Grant Adcox – 1978 Season Results ARCA Racing Series". TheThirdTurn. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  20. "Grant Adcox – 1985 ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  21. "Grant Adcox – 1986 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  22. "Grant Adcox – 1987 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  23. "Grant Adcox – 1988 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  24. "Grant Adcox – 1989 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
Preceded by
Rick Baldwin		 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series fatal accidents
1989		 Succeeded by
J. D. McDuffie
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