RICHMOND, Va. – NASCAR owner and Richmond native Junie Donlavey passed away Monday, according to a report on FoxSports.com. He was 90 years old.
Donlavey was involved in NASCAR from 1950 to 2002.
In that time Donlavey had three NASCAR rookies of the year drive for him, and several current NASCAR crew chiefs and other team members get their start in his garage, including Tommy Baldwin who fields cars for Michael Annett and Reed Sorenson.
NASCAR Hall of Famers Fred Lorenzen and David Pearson drove for Donlavey as did three-time Indy 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, Harry Gant, Ray Hendrick, Buck Baker, Ken Schrader, Ricky Rudd, Benny Parsons, and Ernie Irvan.
For years Donlavey was one of a very few owners who would not re-locate his team to the Charlotte area.
“Though Donlavey’s teams were never among the elite of NASCAR, he was well respected among his peers and highly regarded as one of the true gentleman competitors,” Fox Sports reported.
