is a former
Winston Cup /
Nextel Cup owner/driver. Currently, he is an adviser for
Front Row Motorsports .
Means won dozens of Late Model races in Alabama and Tennessee in the early 70's, including track championships at Huntsville Speedway and the historic
Nashville Speedway USA .
Means did not win a single race. Means raced with car number "52". He had 17 Top 10 finishes in his 18 years of racing.
He was part the
Alabama Gang which included
Bobby Allison ,
Davey Allison ,
Red Farmer , and
Donnie Allison .
A long-time owner in the Cup Series, Means made his debut as an owner in
1978 , when he fielded the #52
Chevrolet . He had two top-tens and finished sixteenth in points. He expanded to a multi-car team briefly, fielding the #25 for
Charlie Chamblee in the #25 at Nashville, the #53 for
Cecil Gordon at
North Wilkesboro Speedway , and the #50 for
Baxter Price at
Texas World Speedway . In
1983 , he stepped aside for
Lennie Pond at
Michigan International Speedway , who finished 22nd. In
1986 , he shared the #52 with
Dale Jarrett ,
Sterling Marlin ,
Morgan Shepherd ,
Roy Smith , and
Bobby Wawak . Means drove the #52 solely and didn't field a second car until in
1989 , when he fielded the #67
Alka-Setzer Pontiac Grand Prix at the
Daytona 500 for
Mickey Gibbs , where he finished 34th after suffering engine faliure. Means gave up the #52 on two different occasions;
Bobby Hillin, Jr. drove at
Dover and
Sears Point (finishing 19th & 21st), and
Mike Wallace (finishing 31st and 39th) at
Phoenix and
Atlanta .
Means continued to run a part-time schedule in
1992 , while fielding the #52 full-time.
Scott Gaylord ,
Tommy Kendall ,
John McFadden ,
Mike Potter ,
Scott Sharp , and
Brad Teague took over in the interim, with Kendall having the car's best finish was 13th at Sonoma.
Graham Taylor drove the #53 at both Dover races. Means competed in 18 races in
1993 , his final year, and shared the #52 with Gaylord,
Jimmy Hensley ,
Mike Skinner , Taylor, Wallace, and
Clay Young , with Hensley having the best finish, 25th at Rockingham. After Means' retirement as a driver, he kept the #52 team open for
1994 , as Teague ran eight races in the car, his best finish a 22nd at
Bristol Motor Speedway. Skinner, [[Bob Keselowski , and
Kirk Shelmerdine also ran one race apiece for Means that season. Afterwards, sponsorship problems caused the team to close its doors.
In
2001 , Means Racing returned to NASCAR in the
Busch Series with a partnership with
Moy Racing . They began the season with Teague, who ran five races total for them that season, his best finish a 38th at
Watkins Glen International . Gaylord also returned to run two races, both resulting in 42nd place finishes.
Kertus Davis ,
Ricky Sanders , and
Andy Kirby also drove for the team that year. In
2002 , Teague drove eleven races for the team, his best finish 38th at
Nazareth Speedway .
Jimmy Kitchens ,
Phil Bonifield , and
Eric Jones drove part-time as well for the team that year. Teague made 11 starts for Means in 2003, with
Donnie Neuenberger running an additional two races. In
2004 ,
Bruce Bechtel joined as another driver to the team. He made several attempts, but only made one race, at Pikes Peak. Teague continued to run with the team, his best finish being a 26th at Bristol. The next season,
Shane Hall was the team's original driver, but was soon released.
Eric McClure began running with the team, with a best finish of 30th at
Texas Motor Speedway , but was released in favor of Neuenberger. At the
Dover 200 , Neuenberger flipped over the
Plan B Technologies Ford Taurus on Lap 2. He was uninjured, but as that was team's only car, it is unlikely Means Racing will ever return.
