Michael Dokken (born June 4, 1971) is a retired American
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver and a former competitor in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of thr ...
.
Career
Dokken first achieved notice in 1990, when he won the first race he ever competed in at
New Smyrna Speedway
New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt oval racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in t ...
. He made his NASCAR Truck Series debut in 1995 at
I-70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
, driving his own No. 64
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
he started the race in 25th and only completed 120 laps before his engine expired and finished 21st. Dokken made six other starts in 1995, his best finish being 15th at
Flemington. His best start was third at
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
.
In 1996, Dokken competed in 20 of the 24 races. He started off by running 13th in points after
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, where he scored his first career top-10 of 9th, before missing several races. He earned a 7th in one of his last races for his team at
Nashville Speedway USA
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is a motorsport racetrack located at the Nashville Fairgrounds near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The track is the second-oldest continually operating track in the United States. The track held NASCAR Grand Nati ...
, and then split the last part of the schedule with
MB Motorsports
MB Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team was based in Foristell, Missouri, and was owned by Mike Mittler until his death in 2019. The team was one of few t ...
, and
Kurt Roehrig J. Kurt Roehrig (born 28 October 1956) is a motorsports engineer and racing driver. Roehrig was the head of former NASCAR Cup Series team Roehrig Motorsports. Roehrig himself has raced in various series such as the IMSA GT Championship.
Racing car ...
.
In 1997, Dokken signed to drive Roehrig's No. 18
Dana Holding Corporation
Dana Incorporated is an American supplier of axles, driveshafts, transmissions, and electrodynamic, thermal, sealing, and digital equipment for conventional, Hybrid vehicle, hybrid, and Electric vehicle, electric-powered vehicles. The company's ...
Dodge Ram
The Ram pickup (marketed as the Dodge Ram until 2010) is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by Stellantis North America (formerly Chrysler Group LLC and FCA US LLC) and marketed from 2010 onwards under the Ram Trucks brand. The current fi ...
for the full season. At Tucson, Dokken won his first career pole, becoming the series' youngest pole winner until
Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...
in 2000, and led 95 of 200 laps, before late race problems relegated Dokken to 13th. Later on, Dokken would earn a 3rd at Evergreen Speedway and 5th at
Nazareth
Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
. However, mechanical problems plagued the team, falling out of multiple races, and the team only ran one of the last thirteen races due to limited funding.
Dokken skipped 1998, but returned for five races in 1999, splitting races between three teams. He DNF'd in every start however, with his best finish being a 27th place showing at
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
Dokken made four more starts in 2000. where had an eighth-place run with
Ware Racing Enterprises
Rick Ware Racing (RWR) is an American motorsports team which currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the NTT IndyCar Series.
History
The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing with ...
at
NHIS. Dokken also finished in the top-21 in all his starts and finished all of them.
Dokken made starts in 2001, splitting time between
Brevak Racing
Bob Brevak (born March 28, 1947) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He was the champion of the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 1990.
Racing career
Brevak began racing in the United States Auto Club (USAC)'s stock car series between 1972 a ...
and Ware Racing. His best run was with Ware at Nazareth: an 11th-place finish. He closed 2001 with three straight top-20 finishes. Dokken also ran three
Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
races in 2001, running for
Armando Fitz
Armando Fitz was an owner of Fitz Racing, a NASCAR Nationwide Series team.
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Fitz graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1987 with a degree in Business and Human Development. While attending Vanderbilt, he played ...
. He made his debut at
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest ...
, where he started 39th and finished 41st. He finished 42nd in his other two starts, but earned his best career start of 36th 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 ...
.
Dokken only made eight races in 2002, running with Ware,
Troxell Racing
{{Infobox former NASCAR team
, name = Mighty Motorsports
, logo =
, owners = Lonnie Troxell, Rob Ferguson
, series = Craftsman Truck Series
, drivers_champ = 0
, wins = 0
, numbers = 24, 93
, ...
,
Richardson Racing
R3 Motorsports (formerly Richardson Motorsports) was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Re/Max Series. The team commonly fiel ...
, and
Team Racing
Team racing, also known as team sailing, is a popular form of dinghy racing and yacht racing. Two teams compete in a race, each sailing two to four boats of the same class. The winning team is decided by combining the results of each team's boats ...
. He ran three races with Ware, where he had a 22nd and then a pair of 19ths. After his departure from Ware, his best run was a 32nd.
Dokken's last year was 2003, competing in six races, with Troxell,
RDS Motorsports, and Team Racing. His best run was a 14th at
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
, running the RDS truck. Dokken's final race at the series was at
Gateway International Raceway
World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a o ...
in July of that year; he was injured in a practice crash the following week at
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...
; he suffered a minor fracture to the base of the skull,
and has not competed in NASCAR competition since.
Post-NASCAR
Dokken ran a limited schedule in the
Pro Cup Series
The CARS Solid Rock Carriers Tour (formerly known as the USARacing Pro Cup Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, CARS Pro Cup Series, Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series, CARS X1-R Pro Cup Series) is a stock car auto racing series in the United States. It is s ...
in 2004, before retiring from driving and becoming a
crew chief in the Craftsman Truck Series.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Busch Series
Craftsman Truck Series
ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dokken, Michael
Living people
1971 births
Sportspeople from Clearwater, Florida
Racing drivers from Florida
NASCAR drivers
NASCAR crew chiefs
CARS Tour drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers