Former NASCAR crew chief and car owner Bud Moore died November 27 at the age of 92.
By Ted Van Pelt from Mechanicsburg, PA, USA – Bud Moore 1985 Pocono Photo By Ted Van Pelt, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4949610
Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011, Moore was the oldest living member of The Hall. He was the crew chief for Buck Baker in 1957 when Baker took home the championship. Moore was the car owner when he won what would be his only titles in 1962 and 1963 whe Joe Weatherly won the championship. Weatherly died during a race at Riverside, California in 1964.
Dale Earnhardt Sr, Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker, Benny Parsons, and Ricky Rudd also drove for Moore.
Moore would be the winning car owner 63 times in his NASCAR career with his final win coming in 1993 at Sonoma Raceway in California.
He was born Walter Moore Jr. in Spartanburg, South Carolina. An 18 year old Moore joined the Army in 1943 and the Gunney found himself one of the soldiers who stormed Utah Beach on D-Day in 1944 and as a part of the unit led by General George W. Patton, helped to liberate Europe. During his time in the Army, Moore was awarded five Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, and a Bronze Star with clusters.
Moore was there when NASCAR was born in 1948; saying that he was, “a country mechanic who loved to make ’em run fast.”
Predeceased by his wife of over 60 years Betty, he is survived by children Daryl, Brent, and Greg; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; three great great-grandchildren; and siblings Ralph, William, Richard and Ann.