Jack Ingram, pioneer of today’s NASCAR Xfinity Series, has died at the age of 84.
Ingram is credited with over 300 wins throughout his racing career. He made his mark in NASCAR’s Late Model Sportsman Division and, then, the NASCAR Busch Series that it morphed into. The Busch Series is the series now known as the Xfinity Series.
Ingram won three-consecutive Late Model Sportsman titles between 1972 and 1974. When the series became the Busch Series in 1982, he was its first champion. After two runner-up finishes to Sam Ard in 1983 and 1984, Ingram was the title holder, again, in 1985.
“There is no better way to describe Jack Ingram than ‘Iron Man.’ Jack was a fixture at short tracks across the Southeast most days of the week, racing anywhere and everywhere,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said. “He dominated the Late Model Sportsman division like few others. He set the bar for excellence in the Xfinity Series as its Most Popular Driver in 1982 and champion in 1985. Jack was an ‘old school racer’ and his work on his own car helped propel him to victory lane hundreds of times. Of our current 58 NASCAR Hall of Fame members, he is one of only six that was elected based on his career and contributions in the grassroots level of our sport. On behalf of the France family and NASCAR, I offer my condolences to the friends and family of NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Ingram.”
Ingram also contested 19 NASCAR Cup Series races between 1965 and 1984, resulting in a best finish of second in Hickory, N.C., in 1967. He posted four top-10 race finishes in NASCAR’s top division.
Ingram was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007 and the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2014.
“NASCAR has lost a true racer’s racer and the NASCAR Hall of Fame team, and I have lost a dedicated supporter and cherished friend,” NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director Winston Kelley said. “Jack’s legacy and incredible accomplishments and contributions in NASCAR will live in our minds, our hearts and our archives at the NASCAR Hall of Fame forever.”
