Mike Alexander (racing driver)

Last updated
Michael Clay Alexander
Born (1957-07-31) July 31, 1957 (age 67)
Franklin, Tennessee
Achievements1984 All-American Challenge Series Champion
1983 Grand Am Stock Car Series Champion
2-time Nashville Speedway USA Track Champion
Awards Nashville Speedway USA Hall of Fame
NASCAR Cup Series career
74 races run over 7 years
Best finish28th (1984)
First race 1980 Music City 420 (Nashville)
Last race 1990 First Union 400 North Wilkesboro)
WinsTop tens Poles
0110
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
71 races run over 6 years
Best finish4th (1988)
First race 1983 Miller Time 300 (Charlotte)
Last race 1988 Winston Classic (Martinsville)
First win 1987 Hampton 200 (Langley)
Last win 1988 Mountain Dew 400 (Hickory)
WinsTop tens Poles
2313
Statistics current as of November 2, 2013.

Mike Alexander (born July 31, 1957) is a retired American racing driver. He won the NASCAR Weekly Series national championship in 1983. [1] He also raced in Winston Cup and in the Busch Series.

Contents

Career before national racing

Alexander was the 1978 and 1992 track champion at the historic Nashville International Raceway, now known as Fairgrounds Speedway.

In 1983, driving Late Models on paved tracks for car owner Bobby Ray Jones, he won the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series national championship, and won the NASCAR Grand American Stock Car championship in its final year. Alexander won 31 of the 56 races that he entered. Most were at Nashville, Tennessee or Birmingham, Alabama (where he won the track championship), but some ranged as far as South Carolina or Florida. He was born to a family well-known in the Nashville automotive scene who operated several area franchised dealerships. [1]

2020 Brought Alexander back to the fairgrounds with ARCA driver Mason Mingus behind the wheel of the famed 84 throwback to the BRJ days in the 80’s. The two paired up with longtime Fairgrounds member Ben Pruitt and Mark Lawson. 2021 plans are the same as 2020 with Mingus driving and Alexander on top of the box.

NASCAR career

Winston Cup Series

Alexander began his national-level racing career in the Winston Cup Series. He made the field in the Music City 420 in 1980 and performed fairly well, finishing tenth. He ran part of the 1981 season for Bob Rogers. Most of his finishes in 1981 were in the Top 15 (if he was running). He ran most of the first 22 races in 1984 for car owner Dave Marcis with limited success. In 1985 he ran a partial schedule for Sims Brothers and Sadler Brothers. He drove for the Stavola Brothers for the final 16 races in 1988, substituting for the injured Bobby Allison. [1] He had his greatest success in 1988, with six top-ten finishes in 18 starts, including a career best 3rd-place finish at the season finale at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 1989, Alexander drove the Stavola Brothers car at Daytona, but he was hampered by the effects of an injury in the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL the previous December, and resigned from the ride. [1] His final stint in Cup was the first seven races for Bobby Allison Motorsports in 1990.

Busch Series

Alexander ran a partial season in the Busch Series in 1986. He ran full-time in 1987 and 1988, and had a win in both seasons (1987 Langley Speedway) and (1988 Hickory Motor Speedway). He had three career poles. He had 31 Top 10 finishes in his 71 Busch starts.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
YearTeamNo.Make12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031NWCCPtsRef
1980 Ulrich Racing 40 Chevy RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV
10
DOV CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV NWS MAR CLT CAR ATL ONT NA0 [2]
1981 Rogers Racing 37 Olds RSD DAY RCH CAR
13
BRI
12
NWS
11
MAR
10
DOV
21
DAR
20
29th1784 [3]
Buick ATL
33
DAR
36
TAL
21
NSV
11
CLT
27
TWS RSD MCH
32
DAY
7
NSV
27
POC
17
TAL
35
MCH
10
BRI
25
RCH
32
DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR
Gordon Racing 24 Buick ATL
DNQ
RSD
1983 Zervakis Enterprises 01 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV BRI CLT RSD POC MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR
Wth
NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD NA- [4]
1984 Marcis Auto Racing 71 Olds DAY
21
RCH
21
CAR
11
ATL
31
BRI
29
NWS
21
DAR
32
MAR
31
TAL
17
NSV
13
DOV CLT
16
RSD
31
POC MCH
23
DAY
22
NSV
12
POC TAL
17
MCH
24
BRI
7
DAR
34
RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR ATL RSD 28th1862 [5]
1985 Sims Brothers Racing 84 Chevy DAY
12
RCH CAR ATL
34
BRI DAR
23
NWS MAR
29
TAL
31
DOV CLT
24
RSD POC MCH DAY
13
POC TAL 35th1046 [6]
Sadler Brothers Racing 95 Chevy MCH
13
BRI
26
DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS
26
CLT
18
CAR ATL RSD
1988 Stavola Brothers Racing 12 Buick DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV RSD POC MCH
10
DAY
15
POC
15
TAL
25
GLN
5
MCH
23
BRI
18
DAR
14
RCH
17
DOV
7
MAR
29
CLT
21
NWS
9
CAR
6
PHO
27
ATL
3
32nd1931 [7]
1989 84 DAY
27
CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO ATL 81st82 [8]
1990 Bobby Allison Motorsports 12 Buick DAY
41
RCH
14
CAR
16
ATL
23
DAR
19
BRI
23
NWS
17
MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 38th682 [9]
Daytona 500
YearTeamManufacturerStartFinish
1984 Marcis Auto Racing Oldsmobile 4221
1985 Sims Brothers Racing Chevrolet 2912
1989 Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 2227
1990 Bobby Allison Motorsports Buick 1541

Busch Series

NASCAR Busch Series results
YearTeamNo.Make1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435NBSCPtsRef
1983 Alexander Racing 84 Olds DAY RCH CAR HCY MAR NWS SBO GPS LGY DOV BRI CLT SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU CRW ROU SBO HCY LGY IRP GPS BRI HCY DAR RCH NWS SBO MAR ROU CLT
38
HCY MAR 146th49 [10]
1984 Pontiac DAY
39
RCH CAR HCY MAR DAR ROU NSV LGY MLW DOV CLT SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU HCY IRP LGY SBO BRI DAR RCH NWS CLT HCY CAR MAR 97th46 [11]
1985 Buick DAY CAR HCY BRI MAR DAR SBO LGY DOV CLT SBO HCY ROU IRP SBO LGY HCY MLW BRI DAR RCH NWS ROU CLT
33
HCY CAR MAR 100th- [12]
1986 Pontiac DAY
33
CAR
11
HCY MAR CLT
8
DAR
11
RCH DOV MAR ROU CLT
8
CAR MAR 27th1102 [13]
Chevy BRI
22
DAR SBO
18
LGY
17
JFC DOV SBO
21
HCY
26
ROU IRP
14
SBO RAL OXF SBO HCY LGY ROU BRI
1987 Buick DAY
39
HCY
2
MAR
5
DAR
23
BRI
8
LGY
1*
SBO
20
CLT
25
DOV
12
IRP
13*
ROU
14
JFC
2*
OXF
44
SBO
8
HCY
2
RAL
16
LGY
6
ROU
21
JFC
3
DAR
21
RCH
6
DOV
15
MAR
4
CLT
16
CAR
40
MAR
2
6th3367 [14]
03 Pontiac BRI
15
1988 84 Buick DAY
7
HCY
1*
CAR
2
MAR
4
DAR
11
BRI
13
LNG
9
NZH
18
SBO
2
NSV
9
CLT
9
DOV
10*
ROU
5
LAN
5
LVL
4
MYB
20
OXF
43
SBO
20
HCY
18
LNG
8
IRP
11
ROU
2
BRI
2
DAR
7
RCH
24
DOV
22
MAR
2
CLT
26
CAR
17
MAR
22
4th3966 [15]

ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series results
YearTeamNo.Make123456789101112131415ATSSPtsRef
1984 Sims Brothers Racing 96 Pontiac DAY ATL TAL CSP SMS FRS MCS LCS IRP TAL
33
FRS ISF DSF TOL MGR 108th- [16]
1985 Alexander Racing 84 Chevy ATL DAY ATL TAL ATL
2
SSP IRP CSP FRS IRP OEF ISF DSF TOL 72nd- [17]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Schaefer, Paul. Where Stars Are Born: Celebrating 25 Years of NASCAR Weekly Racing. Coastal 181, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA, 2006. ISBN   0-9789261-0-2. pp. 11-15.
  2. "Mike Alexander – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  3. "Mike Alexander – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  4. "Mike Alexander – 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  5. "Mike Alexander – 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  6. "Mike Alexander – 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  7. "Mike Alexander – 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  8. "Mike Alexander – 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  9. "Mike Alexander – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  10. "Mike Alexander – 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  11. "Mike Alexander – 1984 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  12. "Mike Alexander – 1985 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  13. "Mike Alexander – 1986 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  14. "Mike Alexander – 1987 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  15. "Mike Alexander – 1988 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  16. "Mike Alexander – 1984 Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  17. "Mike Alexander – 1985 ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2017.