Randy Ayers' Nascar Modeling Forum

Alby Moore · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 207 Location: Northern Michigan

Howdy Gang,

I've seen various pictures and TV footage of early 80's races and have noticed the name J.D. Stacy on several cars of the time. Who was this person? The couple of searches I've tried doesn't yield much useful information beyond mentioning he was Kentucky business man and NASCAR team owner.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Alby
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Tom M. · Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:51 pm Post subject:

The '70's were a time when a lot of "nontraditional" team owners began to enter NASCAR. With no factory involvement, a person of means could buy equipment that was as good as anybody who was racing and could legitimately contend for wins and championships. Jim Stacy, Rod Osterlund, Billy Hagan, Warner Hodgdon, Nelson Malloch, Chris Vallo, Harry Ranier, Kenny Childers, John Rebhan, and several others all started new teams or purchased/funded existing teams in that era. An unusual number of those teams were started by people in the coal industry. Stacy, Ranier, and Childers were all involved with coal and energy in some way, and if you add Billy Hagan who was a contractor to the oil industry in Louisiana/Texas then it's apparent that the wealth generated by the energy boom of the '70's financed several of those teams.

Jim Stacy came on the scene when he bought the #71 car from Nord Krauskopf and hired a young Neil Bonnett to drive. He made a big splash but the obsolescence of his Dodge equipment caused him to fade from the scene somewhat by '79-'80. In '81 he was back full-force with the introduction of the downsized cars. At one time (I think it was the Daytona 500 of either '81 or '82) Stacy either owned or funded seven or eight teams. This concerned Billy France and they instituted the rule that one car owner could only have two cars on the Winner's Circle program. They didn't like the idea of one car owner funding almost 20% of the field, it took too much control away from NASCAR.

Stacy always seemed to be temperamental, he didn't have the public clashes with NASCAR that some owners did but since he didn't have sponsors to please he was able (and willing) to just pack up his stuff and leave. I suspect that he also was very busy with his businesses, and the energy bust that occurred in the early '80's seemed to cause him to leave the sport.
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Alby Moore · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 207 Location: Northern Michigan

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the indepth answer. So I guess it is fair to say he kinda laid the groundwork for today's mega multi-car operations like Hendrick, Rousch, et al. Another reason for asking is that I knew Dale Earnhardt drove for Stacy after he acquired the team from Rod Osterlund Racing in 1981. It didn't last long obviously as Earnhardt left and took the Wrangler sponsorship with him to Richard Childress to finish out the '81 season.

Thanks again. Like I said, there isn't a lot of information out there for J.D. Stacy beyond mentioning him as a car owner in NASCAR.

Cheers,
Alby
_________________
I know the pieces fit
'Cause I watched them tumble down
No fault, none to blame
It doesn't mean I don't desire to
Point the finger, blame the other
Watch the temple topple over
To bring the pieces back together
Rediscover communication

ea757grrl · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 857

I seem to recall that Earnhardt wasn't keen at all on J.D. Stacy. Earnhardt had a fairly new multi-year deal with Osterlund and things looked great for him, then Rod sold the team in 1981 to concentrate on his developing business, Stacy came in and fired a bunch of people and replaced them with his own people (whom Doug Richert said had no idea what they were doing). Earnhardt drove (IIRC) four races and left Stacy's outfit.

There's also the somewhat famous story about Stacy yanking his support of Dave Marcis in 1982 after Dave pushed Bobby Allison back to the pits at Pocono after Allison ran out of gas. Allison went on to win, beating Tim Richmond, who was driving for Stacy.

I've always thought it appropriate that so many cars in "Stroker Ace" were Stacy cars. Clyde Torkle and Jim Stacy seem one and the same, to me anyway.

jodie

danimal5m · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 102 Location: Lancaster, NY

I believe Stacy only owned 2 cars. The #2 team he bought from Osterland and the #5 team driven by Combs, McCall, and Sauter. He "sponsored" the 28, 44, 47, 71, & 90. Most teams did not receive their promised sponsorship money and by 83 he was down to a single car, the #2.

danno · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 4116 Location: Michigan

Stacy also screwed Harry Hyde on the #71 team. Harry had litigation in the courts for years over the deal.
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jdroke1045 · Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 294 Location: memphis tn

J D Stacy made the news in Memphis in 2006, when he unvieled a plan to develop a $517 million dollar resort at Elvis' former farm at Walls, MS.

The project features the following (sorta/kinda i guess at this point):

Go Kart racing complex

two hotels and a convention center,

650 "luxury condominiums" (tentatively priced from $600,000 to $1.2 million - it cost a lot to live in rural mississippi

three wedding chapels and a number of "honeymoon cottages."

Elvis museum (i guess Graceland isnt good enough)

two golf courses,

a reproduction of the White House (I cant figure that one out)
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hemihead357 · Joined: 05 Oct 2006 Posts: 849 Location: Lancaster SC

In other words he was/is a fella with more money than brains Laughing

Digger · Joined: 31 May 2003 Posts: 31508

Said that right Laughing

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Billy Kingsley · Joined: 26 Jun 2004 Posts: 10351 Location: NY

Stacy also pulled his sponsorship from Terry Labonte because it had "Unapproved Sponsorship" on it. The unapproved sponsor was Strat-A-Graph, owned by car owner Billy Hagen. I had read that it was more a way to get out of paying the team then an actual issue, but since it was before I was born, I really don't know the reasons.
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ea757grrl · Joined: 03 Mar 2003 Posts: 857

"Unapproved associate sponsorship decals" was also the excuse he gave for yanking his support from Dave Marcis and the #71, but it's widely believed that was a fig leaf for the real reason.

Having dealt with (and, in one case, worked for) a few folks in my career who'd make Jim Stacy seem like a minor-leaguer, I know they'll find a way to run people over, throw their money around (or withhold it) and get what they want, all the while not realizing (or caring) that the way they're acting is keeping them from the success they're seeking.

There's no telling what kind of success Jim Stacy could have had if he'd been able to control his Type-A tendencies, and had he let the people who knew what they were doing run things. When you consider the talent in those cars at various points, when you consider the people he inherited when he bought Osterlund's team (which had just come off a championship season), and when you consider how many of those people he alienated, cut off, replaced or fired, it says an awful lot about how it's possible to have everything and yet have nothing.

jodie

Digger · Joined: 31 May 2003 Posts: 31508

Kind of like the owners of the Redskins and Cowboys Laughing

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Alby Moore · Joined: 24 Oct 2004 Posts: 207 Location: Northern Michigan

Wild Bill · Joined: 22 Mar 2003 Posts: 2612 Location: Langford, BC

An early Jack Roush type
here are some stats on him.
http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=stacyji01
I believe he passed way some years ago??
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danno · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 4116 Location: Michigan

Found this pic in Raytona's Fotki album.

http://public.fotki.com/tona/1981-1996-rays-nasc/jdstacycars.html
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composerp · Joined: 12 Mar 2003 Posts: 2036 Location: California

Those Stacy sponsored cars are from 1982 not 1981. Just wanted to clarify in case anyone's building those cars.

Paul
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fordfan · Joined: 05 Dec 2003 Posts: 2179 Location: Vinton Va

raytona · Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 328 Location: RICHMOND,VA.

1977 j.d. stacy was know as jim stacy.that what was on car.neil bonnett was his drivers.tacy buy the k-k ins.dodge 71 and change no 5
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Rob Spires · Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 6:18 pm Post subject:

ok so we know who J.D. is now, but what is Stacy-Pak? Is that an actual thing, or just what the cars he sponsored were called? Seems a little weird to me that a man advertising no tangible product would sponsor 7 cars???
Rob
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Tom M. · Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 7:58 pm Post subject:

Stacy-Pak was a vitamin product, IIRC. No, I can't imagine the connection either.
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"You should never point a loaded gun at anyone. This is not a hard and fast rule, however. A hard and fast rule is that you should never, ever, point an unloaded gun at anyone." P.J. O'Rourke

tracstir · Joined: 16 Nov 2008 Posts: 1

Regarding all the negative comments and assumptions I've been reading about J.D Stacy, has anyone even met or know him personally???? I'd like to hear from THAT person.
Tracstir

tracstir · Joined: 16 Nov 2008 Posts: 1

FYI
J.D Stacy is alive and well, Thankyou very much!!!!
Tracstir boogie

Tom M. · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 11:30 pm Post subject:

I would love for Mr. Stacy to talk about his experiences in NASCAR, maybe write a book or do an interview. It was a fascinating time in the sport, he was associated with some of the more interesting people and stories of the era.
_________________
The Dark Side, when cars were steel, bumpers were chrome and men were iron...

"You should never point a loaded gun at anyone. This is not a hard and fast rule, however. A hard and fast rule is that you should never, ever, point an unloaded gun at anyone." P.J. O'Rourke

Marcis diecaster · Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 736 Location: Cheesehead

Found this on the internet. Sems to tie stacy pac in some how?

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modelsbyray2 · Joined: 17 Mar 2004 Posts: 2628 Location: raeford nc

maybe it refered to his "pak" of race car drivers???
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WALLYDOG007 · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:41 am Post subject:

I believe Stacy found some dynomite connected to his street car on time? A colorfull fellow, not always liked.

racingfan126 · Joined: 26 Jan 2008 Posts: 226

I've heard of Stacy, but none of the stories about him were good. It sounds like he wasn't liked by to many. Reminds me of the DiGard team owners, I read that Bobby and Donnie Allison didn't have much use for them after getting it stuck to them. Robert Yates was another one who thought little of them too. IIRC, Darrell Waltrip had problems getting out of his contract too.

TCFAN · Joined: 05 Apr 2007 Posts: 76 Location: Mass.

Stacy also had no problems scaming the little guys. Right after Ron Bouchard, won the Talladega race, the Stacy name was painted on the RaceHill Farms Buick.
On open weekends Ronnie would come home and run Lenny Boehlers Modified at Seekonk. These pictures were from the Seekonk pits. I heard Len was never paid for the sponsorship. Mike Rolling Eyes