Jimmy Insolo

Last updated
Jimmy Insolo
Born (1943-02-04) February 4, 1943 (age 81)
Mission Hills, California, United States
Achievements1978 NASCAR Winston West Series Champion
Awards West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame (2002 - Inaugural Class)
1976, 1978, 1979 NASCAR Winston West Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Cup Series career
39 races run over 13 years
Best finish49th (1978)
First race 1970 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside International Raceway)
Last race 1983 Winston Western 500 (Riverside International Raceway)
WinsTop tens Poles
080

James Edward Insolo [1] (born February 4, 1943) is a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race driver whose career spanned from 1970 to 1983. [2]

Contents

Career

Insolo began his career at Saugus Speedway, where he became one of the top drivers at the track. In addition to his Winston Cup Series starts, Insolo would make 129 appearances in a Chevrolet vehicle in the Winston West division of NASCAR. Insolo finished an average of 21st place after starting an average of 13th. [2] His only DNQ came at the 1972 Miller High Life 500. Jimmy's total earnings as a driver were $59,785 ($182,890.56 when adjusted for inflation). [2] One of his famous races involved Insolo racing at the Westwood Motorsport Park (now developed into the Westwood Plateau neighborhood along with the Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club).

Before Insolo stepped onto the NASCAR scene, very few West Coast drivers had any level of success in NASCAR. [3] Drivers from that part of the United States were forced by necessity to race in the specially-designated Winston West Series. [3] Racing in the Southeastern United States back in the early days of NASCAR was a financially unsustainable activity that brought about meager amounts of money that probably couldn't feed the family or pay the bills back then. [4] The multimillion-dollar purses that make up the basis for today's NASCAR Cup Series races didn't appear until at least the 1980s. For example, the 1955 Southern 500, one of the highest paying events prior to the inaugural running of the Daytona 500 paid only $50 as its lowest prize ($568.7 when adjusted for inflation). [5]

Insolo would race in the days before Kevin Harvick, Ron Hornaday, and Kurt Busch made NASCAR into a household name west of the Mississippi River. [3] Derrike Cope, Ernie Irvan, and Chad Little would become a few of his "West Coast" contemporaries. [3] After racing the equivalent of 7,199.2 miles (11,586.0 km) and leading 24 laps out of 2804, Insolo would retire from his NASCAR career. [2] He was the 1978 NASCAR Winston West Series champion.

Awards

Insolo was inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in its first class (2002).

Related Research Articles

The Los Angeles Times 500 was an annual NASCAR Winston Cup race held at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, United States, in February from 1971 to 1972 and in November from 1974 to 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackie Pitt</span> American stock car racing driver

William H. "Blackie" Pitt was a NASCAR Grand National Series racer born in the American town of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. He is best known as the 1954 NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

The 1971 Miller High Life 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series event that took place at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1974 National 500</span> Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1974

The 1974 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on October 6, 1974, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970 Motor Trend 500</span> Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1970

The 1970 Motor Trend 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on January 18, 1970, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 CRC Chemicals 500</span> Auto race held at Dover International Speedway in 1980

The 1980 CRC Chemicals 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on September 14, 1980, at Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover, Delaware. The NASCAR Winston Cup Series was also plagued with top teams running big engines and finishing in third place to avoid inspection around the early-1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Alamo 500</span> Auto race run held at Texas World Speedway in 1973

The 1973 Alamo 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 10, 1973, at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. Speeds for this race would reach an average of 142.114 miles per hour (228.710 km/h).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 World 600</span> Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1976

The 1976 World 600, the 17th running of the event, was a Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on May 30, 1976, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

The 1971 Space City 300 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on June 23, 1971, at Meyer Speedway in Houston, Texas. While Houston was considered to be one of the epicenters of stock car racing during the 1950s and 1960s, the local passion for the motorsport died out starting in the 1970s.

The 1975 Los Angeles Times 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on November 23, 1975, at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 Winston Western 500</span> Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1983

The 1983 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on November 20, 1983, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Los Angeles Times 500</span> Auto race held at Ontario Motor Speedway in 1976

The 1976 Los Angeles Times 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on November 21, 1976, at Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California. Each copy of the souvenir program was $2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1979 Winston Western 500</span> Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1979

The 1979 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on January 14, 1979, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. Buying a souvenir program at this race was relatively inexpensive for the era at $2 USD per copy.

Gary Balough is a retired American stock car racing driver who competed from 1979 to 2001. Balough has won more than 1000 races throughout his short-track career and has accumulated more than 20 wins in the All-Pro division.

Mike Chase is an American former stock car racing driver. Winner of the 1994 series championship in the NASCAR Winston West Series, he has also competed in the Winston Cup Series, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series and currently works for Penske Racing as a crewman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1975 Winston Western 500</span> Auto race held at Riverside International Raceway in 1975

The 1975 Winston Western 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on January 19, 1975, at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California. A companion race known as the Permatex 200, in the Late Model Sportsmen Series, would be held one day prior to this event on the same track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 Virginia National Bank 500</span> Auto race held at Martinsville Speedway in 1982

The 1982 Virginia National Bank 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was set on April 25, 1982, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. During the early 1980s, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series was plagued with top teams running big engines and finishing in third place to avoid inspection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1974 Dixie 500</span> Auto race held at Atlanta International Raceway in 1974

The 1974 Dixie 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on July 28, 1974, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 NAPA National 500</span> Auto race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1978

The 1978 NAPA National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event held on October 8, 1978, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 Like Cola 500</span> Auto race held at Pocono International Raceway in 1983

The 1983 Like Cola 500, the 10th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event held on July 24, 1983, at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania.

References

  1. ↑ "James Edward Insolo, Born 02/04/1943 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Racing information for Jimmy Insolo". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "The History of West Coast Racers". Stock Car Racing. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
  4. ↑ "A Yankee's Guide to NASCAR - Winston West". JCS-Group. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
  5. ↑ "Prize winnings information for the 1955 Southern 500". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2012-04-23.
Sporting positions
Preceded by NASCAR Winston West Series champion
1978		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.