Stacy Marshall Compton (born May 26, 1967) is a
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 ...
former team owner and former driver. He is a former co-owner of
Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia in the
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 th ...
, and is a former racing analyst for
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
full-time. Before he ran in NASCAR, Compton was a successful short track racer in Virginia.
Early career
Compton was born in
Hurt, Virginia
Hurt is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. Population was 1,304 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Danville, Virginia Danville, Virginia metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
H ...
, and grew up racing in Virginia with his focus on late models in local racing divisions. Eventually, he moved up to the NASCAR
Winston Racing Series
The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local short track motor racing around the United States and Ca ...
, and won 36 races in seven years of late model competition. During this time, Compton also hosted a TV show dedicated to covering Virginia races. In
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
, Compton made his debut in a major NASCAR series driving for Dean Monroe, Monroe bought Alan Dillard team beginning 1996, when he qualified in 9th place for the
Goody's Headache Powder 500 at
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in s ...
in the
Winston Cup
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, ...
series. He finished 33rd that day after suffering brake failure. He ran one other race during his rookie season, the fall Martinsville event. He finished 33rd in that race as well.
1997–1999
In
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
, Compton signed up with a new team,
Impact Motorsports
{{Infobox former NASCAR team
, name = Impact Motorsports
, logo =
, owners = David Hodson, Russell Kersh
, base = Charlotte, North Carolina
, series = Craftsman Truck Series
, numbers = 12, 25, ...
, to run the No. 86
Ford F-150
The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford since the 1948 model year. Slotted above the Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range, the F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks. ...
for the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year
The NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award is presented to the first-year driver that has the best season in a NASCAR season. Each of NASCAR's national and regional touring series selects a RotY winner each year.
History of the Award
The Rookie of the Y ...
Award. During his initial Truck Series season, Compton had three Top 5 finishes and a 13th-place finish in the final points standings, but fell well short of the top rookie award. For the
1998 season, in the third race of the season held at
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
, Compton won his first career pole position, and finished in third in the race. The next week at
Portland Speedway
Portland Speedway was a half-mile race track for auto racing in Portland, Oregon, U.S. It was in existence from 1924 until 2001.
History
The track began as a five-eighths-mile (one km) clay oval in 1924 on the site of a field in north Portlan ...
, he led all but two laps and won his first career Truck Series race. He got another win later that season at
Heartland Park Topeka
Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly known as Heartland Park Topeka, is a multi-purpose motorsports facility south of downtown Topeka, Kansas near the Topeka Regional Airport.
When it opened in 1989, Heartland Motorsports Park was the first new ...
. He finished seventh in the final points standings and was named the Most Popular Driver. Compton had high hopes for
1999 season as Impact switched to
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 ...
s and getting a teammate in
Randy Tolsma
Randy Tolsma (born May 4, 1966) is an American former stock car racing driver. Tolsma began his racing career in go-karts at the age of nine, before moving into sprint cars, running as high as USAC, where he won four track championships. He fail ...
, but he failed to go to victory lane that season, although he did finish fourth in points. Late that season, Compton began competing in some Winston Cup races for
Melling Racing
Melling Racing was a Championship-winning NASCAR Winston Cup Series race team owned by Harry Melling and his son Mark Melling. Harry Melling ran the team from its inception in 1982, to mid-1999. When Harry died after a heart attack in mid-1999, ...
. Soon afterwards, Melling announced that Compton would driver their No. 9
Ford Taurus
The Ford Taurus is an automobile that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United States from the 1986 to 2019 model years. Introduced in late 1985 for the 1986 model year, six generations were produced over 34 years; a brief hiat ...
in the Winston Cup Series in
2000 season.
2000–2002
Compton struggled during his first year in the Cup series, as his best finish was 16th at
New Hampshire International Speedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mil ...
. In the summer
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 ...
race, he crashed during qualifying and suffered minor injuries. He was replaced by
Bobby Hillin Jr. at the following event. Compton ended the year 38th in points.
In
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
, Melling switched the car's number and manufacture to 92 and
Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
and had a new crew chief with
Chad Knaus
Chad Anthony Knaus (; born August 5, 1971) is an American former NASCAR crew chief. He is currently employed at Hendrick Motorsports as the Vice President of Competition. Knaus has 81 victories as Jimmie Johnson's crew chief and is the only N ...
. Compton started the season by qualifying on the outside pole next to
Bill Elliott
William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...
in the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
and went on to score a 10th-place finish. At the next restrictor-plate race at
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
, he won his first career Cup pole position, but finished last due to mechanical issues. After winning a second career pole at Talladega, he was only able to improve his points position by five spots. At the end of the year, sponsorship problems at Melling forced him to look elsewhere for a job.
In the
2002 season, Compton signed with
A.J. Foyt Racing
A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...
to drive the No. 14
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
, replacing
Ron Hornaday Jr.
Ronald Lee Hornaday Jr. (born June 20, 1958) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the father of former NASCAR driver Ronnie Hornaday and son of the late Ron Hornaday Sr., a two-time Winston West Champion. Hornaday is ...
He had a best finish of 18th when his sponsor
Conseco
CNO Financial Group, Inc. (formerly Conseco, Inc. (from Consolidated National Security Corporation)) is a financial services holding company based in Carmel, Indiana. Its insurance subsidiaries provide life insurance, annuity and supplemental he ...
filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...
. He was let go after the
New England 300. He returned to Melling for one race before competing in two for
BAM Racing
BAM Racing was a NASCAR racing team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, owned by Beth Ann and Tony Morgenthau. The team began racing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2000 before moving to NASCAR in 2001. They sat out 2009 due to the recession, and ...
at the end of the season. His last career Cup start for nine years came in the
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
Pepsi 400
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series ci ...
for
Morgan-McClure Motorsports.
2001–2012
In 2001 at the
GNC Live Well 300, Compton made his Busch Series debut with
JTG Daugherty Racing
JTG Daugherty Racing (formerly ST Motorsports and JTG Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by former advertising executive Tad Geschickter and his wife Jodi ...
, then known as ST Motorsports. He qualified 12th and finished 10th. For four consecutive seasons, Compton ran every Busch Series race with JTG. Although he did not win a Busch Series race, he has 33 career top-ten finishes and one pole position. His best points finish was a 9th in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
.
Following the conclusion of the 2006 season, Compton was replaced by
Marcos Ambrose
Marcos Ambrose (born 1 September 1976) is an Australian former racing driver and current Garry Rogers Motorsport competition director. He won the Australian V8 Supercar series' championship in 2003 and 2004.
In 2006, Ambrose relocated to the Un ...
and returned to the Truck Series, sharing the No. 09 Ford with
Joey Clanton
Joseph Clanton (born November 1, 1972) is an American race car driver and businessman. He was the 2002 champion in the now-defunct American Speed Association stock car series. He is also the owner of two Zaxby's franchises.
Busch Series
Clanton m ...
for nine races. In 2006, Compton founded Turn One Racing, LLC, as a way of promoting talented young drivers in the southeastern United States. He made a total of fourteen starts that season, ten for Wood Brothers/JTG, as well as one for
Key Motorsports
Key Motorsports (formerly The Motorsports Group and Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group) was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded by Virginia businessma ...
and three for
Xpress Motorsports
Xpress Motorsports was a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team. The team won the Truck Series championship in 2002 and 2003 with Mike Bliss and Travis Kvapil, respectively. The team was owned by Steve Coulter until 2004, when he sold the team to then ...
. He bought into Bobby Hamilton Racing in 2008, and was named driver of the No. 4 Dodge for the team during the season. After the race at
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...
the No. 4 team shut down, leaving Compton out of a job. He drove the No. 60 Toyota for
Wyler Racing
Turn One Racing (formerly Wyler Racing) was an American NASCAR motor racing team that competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team was owned by Ohio car dealer Jeff Wyler until 2009 when driver Stacy Compton bought the assets of Wy ...
in 2009, finishing with 8 top-tens and finishing 11th in points. Despite the new sponsorship, Jeff Wyler was unsure if the team would continue into 2010, so Compton and Turn One Racing bought the No. 60 from Wyler, though the team continued into 2010 under the Wyler Racing banner. Compton would split the No. 60 Truck with former
Formula 1
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
driver
Narain Karthikeyan
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One.
He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F3, ...
and
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
development driver
Cole Whitt
Cole Daniel Whitt (born June 22, 1991) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. After advancing his way through Kart racing, Whitt moved up to sprint cars and became a development driver for Team Red Bull. After running in the ...
, while also changing manufacturers to Chevrolet. Compton later took sole ownership of the team and renamed it Turn One Racing. Compton scored only five top tens and finished 20th in points. Karthikeyan left at the end of the year to drive for
Hispania Racing
HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrián Campos. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in 2010, and then to investment group ...
in F1, while Safe Auto left the team to sponsor
ThorSport Racing
ThorSport Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The team was founded in 1996 as SealMaster Racing and is based in Sandusky, Ohio. Owned by Duke Thorson and his wife ...
's No. 13 Truck.
2012 saw Compton expand his Truck Series team, Turn One Racing, into the Cup series with the No. 74 Chevrolet, starting at
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...
in March He himself would attempt to qualify the car at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...
but failed to do so. However, Compton did later manage to get into the field for the
Pocono 400
The Pocono Organics CBD 325 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, with the other being the Pocono 350, held th ...
in June. He has not raced since then.
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.)
Sprint Cup Series
=Daytona 500
=
Busch Series
Camping World Truck Series
ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde 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:Compton, Stacy
Living people
1967 births
People from Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Racing drivers from Virginia
NASCAR drivers
Motorsport announcers
A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers