Jimmy Spencer :: Stats

He will forever be known as the flamboyant, opinionated and brash character who knows no meaning to the word "stop" - on the track or in speech. Whether that has been offensive to some or troubling to others during his 14 years as a NASCAR Winston Cup driver, there is still one certainty about Jimmy Spencer - he’s not about to change in his 15th.

Spencer, who will turn 46 during the 2003 Daytona Speedweeks, has a new bark to his bite since signing on with Jim Smith and Ultra Motorsports this past January. One reason is he’ll be driving a Dodge Intrepid with a big, black dog on the hood. But the most important is that Spencer has something to prove, and what better team to embark on a mission of justification with than one looking for a little respect itself.

Spencer certainly brings accolades to the table. He is a two-time winner in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, both wins coming in 1994. The man known as "Mr. Excitement" earned his first win in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, and then backed it up with a win in the Diehard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway a few months later.

It should be no surprise that Spencer’s wins have come at the circuits’ fastest race tracks, for the Berwick, Pa., native has lived life in the fast lane his whole life. He captured his first racing win in the Late Model division at Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway in 1976, and won Rookie of the Year honors from the legendary Shangri-La (N.Y.) Speedway in the asphalt Modified division three years later. Shangri-La became site of back-to-back Modified track championships in 1982 and 1983. Having already been given the nickname "Mr. Excitement" for his aggressive driving style, Spencer became one of the true legends in Modified racing history by winning consecutive national Winston Modified titles in 1986 and 1987.

With the Modified ranks conquered, Spencer made his jump to the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series in 1989 - the same year in which he captured his first win at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway. He won two more Busch Series races in 1992. By that time he had already established himself as one of the premier up-and-comers in the Winston Cup circuit. Spencer captured his first top-five finish in a Cup race in ’91, finished a career-best 12th in the championship points standings in ’93, and claimed his two wins in ’94. The 1995 campaign saw Spencer win the popular Winston Select Open - a non-points race that is part of The Winston All-Star event. The ’96 season brought on more success in NASCAR’s premier division, while also allowed the chance to break into the sport as a team owner. Spencer launched his own NASCAR Busch Series team and promptly notched two wins in 1997 and one in 1998. In 2001 he joined on to drive for James Finch’s Phoenix Racing Busch Series team, in which he drove to Victory Lane four times in two years.

Entering the 2003 season, Spencer’s two Winston Cup wins are coupled with three Bud Pole Awards, 27 top-five finishes, and 76 top-10 finishes. Spencer’s arrival at Ultra Motorsports comes a year after driving for Chip Ganassi in the No. 41 Dodge. Before that he had driven for Travis Carter (five years) and Junior Johnson (two years.)