Pat Kirkwood (racing driver)
Patrick "Pat" Kirkwood (December 22, 1927 in Fort Worth, Texas – February 9, 2001) was a NASCAR Grand National Driver from 1949 to 1957.
| Patrick "Pat" Kirkwood | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | December 22, 1927 | ||||||
| Died | February 9, 2001 (aged 73) | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 9 races run over 4 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 33rd – 1956 NASCAR Grand National Series season | ||||||
| First race | 1949 untitled race (Langhorne Speedway) | ||||||
| Last race | 1957 untitled race (Daytona Beach Road Course) | ||||||
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Career
As a driver
He competed in the first season of what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kirkwood completed 1479 laps and 1,899.6 miles (3,057.1 km) of stock car racing action during his four non-consecutive year career. On average, Kirkwood started and finished a race in 15th place with total career earnings of $3290 ($34,279.93 when adjusted for inflation). In 1956, Kirkwood finished 56th in the entire season's championship standings. However, he did worse in 1957 with a final result of 178th in that season's championship standings.[1] Although Kirkwood never won a race or a championship, Kirkwood competed in NASCAR during its unregulated and highly unsponsored era. Funding for teams and drivers was so sparse back then that none of the teams could race in all eight races of the 1949 NASCAR Strictly Stock season.
As an owner
Kirkwood was also briefly a NASCAR owner who had his vehicles race in one race in the 1949 season in addition to four races in the 1952 season.[2] The vehicles under his ownership managed to earn two finishes in the top five, two finishes in the top ten, one pole position, 764 laps of racing, and 971.9 miles (1,564.1 km) of experience. With an average start of 14th and an average finish of 15th, Kirkwood's vehicles had an average finish for the time.[3]