John Kennedy (December 25, 1939 – November 23, 2015) was a former

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

and ARCA driver from

Villa Park, Illinois Villa Park is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, within the Chicago metropolitan area. The population as of the 2020 Census is 21,113. Villa Park is a western suburb of Chicago. History When Ovaltine established its facto ...

. He competed in 18

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

races, 5 ARCA Menards Series races, and 1

NASCAR West Series The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...

race in his career.

Racing career

Kennedy started in 1969, he ran eight races in his own car. He debuted at

North Carolina Speedway Rockingham Speedway, formerly North Carolina Motor Speedway and later North Carolina Speedway is a racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina. It is also known as The Rock and previously hosted NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, ...

, where he started 43rd in the forty-three car field and finished there following an early engine failure. Kennedy would struggle for the rest of the year, only earning two top-twenties. The better of them was a 14th at

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and then a 15th at

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. With five DNFs in eight starts, Kennedy had to settle for 49th in points. Kennedy returned for one race in 1977, running his own car at

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. After starting 31st in the race, Kennedy would fall to 33rd after an engine failure. He also ran 1 race at Phoenix in 1977 in what was then known as the NASCAR Winston West Series. Kennedy was back in 1978, running five more races for his team. It was a struggle to say the best. He got a best finish of just 27th at North Wilkesboro Speedway and then a pair of twenty-ninths. He did not finish any of the races, and in fact, at Atlanta, Kennedy's car broke before the start of the race and was credited with last place. Kennedy closed his Cup Series career with five more starts in 1979, having his best season in a decade. He had a best finish of 15th at Michigan and was 18th at the other Michigan race. He also was able to finish three races on the year, the first time since 1969 that Kennedy finished a race. Following a 23rd at

, Kennedy did not compete in any other

events. He moved to the ARCA Racing Series in 1980, making 1 start at

Illiana Speedway The Illiana Motor Speedway is a closed race track located in Schererville, Indiana, United States and was built in 1947. Located about from downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States; the Illiana Motor Speedway is the only 1/2 mile paved oval in ...

. After not racing in the series for the next three years, Kennedy returned to the series in 1984, making 4 starts.

Motorsports career results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John NASCAR drivers People from Villa Park, Illinois Sportspeople from DuPage County, Illinois 2015 deaths Racing drivers from Chicago 1939 births ARCA Menards Series drivers Automobile Racing Club of America