Joey Arrington (born July 25, 1956) is an American 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 ...

driver, team owner, and crew chief from

Rocky Mount, Virginia Rocky Mount is a town in and the county seat of Franklin County, Virginia, United States. The town is part of the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area, and had a population of 4,903 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the Roanoke Region of ...

. He made nine

Winston 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 ...

starts with a best finish of 12th. He made his first start in 1974 as a 17-year-old and raced until 1980. He is currently the owner of Race Engines Plus LLC and is the son of former NASCAR driver

Buddy Arrington Buddy Rogers Arrington (July 26, 1938 – August 2, 2022) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner. Racing career Arrington has the second-most starts without a win, and finished in the top 10 of NASCAR points twice; in 1 ...

. Arrington was a partner in Bobby Hamilton Racing. Joey Arrington started Arrington Manufacturing and Arrington Engines in 2000. After selling his interests in both entities, he moved the majority of his business ventures to Concord, NC. In 2012 Joey, once again, owned a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Team under the Toyota banner with REP providing the engines.

Biography

Arrington is the son of Buddy and Jeanette Arrington, and often was present at his father's races. His interests in engines and car tuning were sparked by Petty Enterprises engine builder

Maurice Petty Maurice Petty (March 27, 1939July 25, 2020) was an American NASCAR crew chief and engine builder for Petty Enterprises, of which he was part owner. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2011. He was subsequently ens ...

, and Joey would tweak his skills in the Petty shop in Level Cross. After graduating high school in 1975, the younger Arrington became the crew chief and engine builder for his father's racing efforts. Arrington was an integral part of Dodge's return to stock car racing, building engines and providing parts for Dodge teams for their return to ARCA in 1991,

Trans-Am The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includi ...

, and 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 ...

in 1995.

Arrington Manufacturing / Race Engines Plus

In 2000, Arrington founded Arrington Manufacturing, Inc. in

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, althou ...

, also operating as Arrington Engines. Arrington built engines for Dodge truck teams Bobby Hamilton Racing and

Ultra Motorsports Ultra Motorsports was a NASCAR Winston Cup and Craftsman Truck Series racing team. Jim Smith helped start the team and the Craftsman Truck Series. It ran full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series from 1995 to 2005, earning 31 series wins and a ch ...

, winning championships in 2004 and 2005 with

Ted Musgrave Theodore Musgrave (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver. Pre-NASCAR Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wi ...

and

Bobby Hamilton Charles Robert Hamilton Sr. (May 29, 1957 – January 7, 2007) was an American stock car racing driver. A driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit and the winner of the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship, Hamilt ...

. In 2009, with Dodge pulling support from the Truck Series, Arrington shifted its focus and expanded into the aftermarket parts industry. That same year, they began providing engines to rookie Cup team

Tommy Baldwin Racing Tommy Baldwin Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the modified ranks. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, and is owned by former crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr., son of the late modified ...

, a team he had worked with in the

NASCAR Nationwide 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 ...

. In 2011, Arrington began his new entity, called Race Engines Plus and located in the auto racing hub of

Concord, North Carolina Concord is the county seat and largest city in Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 105,186, with an estimated population in 2021 of 107,697. In terms of population, the cit ...

. The company builds race engines for teams in NASCAR, NHRA, and SCCA. Race Engines Plus also provides engine building contract services for businesses and individuals. REP provides rebuild and complete engine building services for race teams and the speed enthusiast. The Weddington Road location of Race Engines Plus is the all under one roof engine building facility owned entirely by Joey Arrington. Arrington's association with Dodge remains, providing customized HEMI engines for street cars. Buddy Arrington, Joey's father, was a 2015 Mopar Hall of Fame inductee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrington, Joey 1956 births Living people NASCAR drivers NASCAR team owners People from Rocky Mount, Virginia Racing drivers from Virginia