Edward Kirk Shelmerdine V (born March 8, 1958) is an American former stock car racing driver and former championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt.

Crew chief Shelmerdine spent his early NASCAR career as an engineer and crew chief for Hylton Engineering. In 1980, Shelmerdine joined Richard Childress Racing. He initially served as crew chief for owner/driver Richard Childress in 1980 & 1981 until Dale Earnhardt moved to the #3 car for the final eleven races of the season. In 1982 & 1983, Shelmerdine was the crew chief for Ricky Rudd. The duo recorded 2 wins, 13 top-five finishes, 27 top-ten finishes, and finishes ninth in the final points standings both years.

In 1984, Shelmerdine was named the crew chief for a returning Dale Earnhardt, who spent the previous two seasons with Bud Moore Engineering. Earnhardt had 44 wins, 124 top-five finishes, and 182 top-ten finishes with Shelmerdine en route to four championships in 1986, 1987, 1990 and 1991. The pit crew won four consecutive Pit Crew Titles over the next eight years. In 1992, he announced he was retiring from his crew chief duties, and embarked on a racing career on his own to pursue his dream of being a driver.

Driving career begins

Shelmerdine started running in the ARCA series in 1993 where he has three career wins. He has since run in all the top levels in NASCAR. Shelmerdine has run a total of two Craftsman Truck Series races with a best finish of seventeenth at Bristol in 1995. He has also run twelve Busch Series races with a best finish of seventeenth in 1994 at Daytona for Levin Racing.

Cup driving career Shelmerdine's NASCAR Winston Cup Series career actually started in 1981 in a race at College Station (Texas World Speedway, where owner/driver James Hylton brought out a second car (No. 8) for Shelmerdine to drive. After two laps, he quit and finished 33rd of the 34 cars. His next start would come at Talladega Superspeedway in 1994 for Jimmy Means. Shelmerdine finished 26th in the No. 52 Ford. He started his own Cup team in 2002 and ran races at Talladega, Loudon and Pocono, but he was primarily a "field filler" driver.

2004 was a breakout year for Shelmerdine, as he attempted all 36 races as an owner, 32 as a driver. As team owner he had other drivers fill in for him at selected tracks: Tom Hubert at Infineon and Watkins Glen, Brad Teague at the fall Bristol race, and Ted Christopher at the July Loudon race. Shelmerdine's best finish would be a 37th at Michigan while his car's best finish would be a 29th at Watkins Glen, with Hubert behind the wheel.

2005 was a step back. The team qualified for only three races (Infineon with Hubert, Loudon with Christopher, and Pocono with Shelmerdine). Shelmerdine finished 42nd in the Pocono race with heating conditions ending his day 192 laps short of the finish.

Shelmerdine started out 2006 on a better note. He was rolling his car on to his hauler after failing to qualify high enough in his qualifying race for the Daytona 500. A NASCAR official stopped him and informed him that he qualified for his first Daytona 500 by gaining the final spot with his qualifying speed. He finished in twentieth place on the lead lap, the best finish of his Cup career. His performance gained media attention as he said if he did not qualify, he'd sell his race team because he was extremely low on money. He was using a motor from Richard Childress (in exchange for a displaying a sponsorship decal). His tires had been donated by a family of Dale Earnhardt fans. He had no full-time pit crew, only his loyal teammates such as Phil Harris, J.V. Daniels and a few others.

Shelmerdine's plans for the rest of 2006 were limited, however, he did race at Talladega. He qualified 22nd and was having a good run when he wrecked early in the race. Shelmerdine finished fortieth. Since then, he has attempted to qualify for the Coca-Cola 600 but failed to make the race after a qualifying crash, his next appearance was at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona where he made the show but fell out early and finished 43rd.

On December 22, 2006, the Federal Election Commission sent an "admonishment letter" to Shelmerdine as a response to him for running with a Bush/Cheney decal on his car in 2004.

Shelmerdine drove the Richard Childress Racing No. 33 in the 2008 Daytona testing sessions and was to be entered in the 2008 Daytona 500. He attempted a number of races during the 2009 season after buying Toyotas from Bill Davis Racing. Shelmerdine used Tom Hubert for road courses and New England staple Ted Christopher for Loudon.

It was announced on August 26, 2010, that on September 14, 2010, the assets of Kirk Shelmerdine Racing were to be sold at Public Auction at the team's basis in Welcome, North Carolina. Shelmerdine stated the reason for the closure is lack of sponsorship and technology provided for independent teams.

Personal life Shelmerdine resides in Welcome, North Carolina, and is the father of two children.

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.)

Sprint Cup Series NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts Ref 1981 Richard Childress Racing 8 Pontiac RSD DAY RCH CAR ATL BRI NWS DAR MAR TAL NSV DOV CLT TWS RSD MCH DAY NSV POC TAL MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD NA 0 1994 Jimmy Means Racing 52 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS 66th 85 53 Chevy CLT CAR PHO ATL 2002 Hover Motorsports 80 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY 73rd 77 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 72 Ford CHI CLT 27 NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL MAR ATL CAR PHO HOM 2003 Donlavey Racing 90 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX TAL MAR CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO CAR HOM NA - 2004 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 72 Ford DAY CAR LVS43 ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH43 SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN43 CLT MAR ATL PHO DAR HOM 47th 723 2005 27 DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL DAR RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 84th 37 2006 Chevy DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY43 CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 58th 177 2007 DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 73rd 0 2009 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 27 Toyota DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH NHA DOV KAN CAL CLT MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 82nd 0

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 2002 Hover Motorsports Ford DNQ 2003 Donlavey Racing Ford DNQ 2004 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Ford DNQ 2005 DNQ 2006 Chevy 42 20 2007 DNQ 2009 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Toyota DNQ

Nationwide Series NASCAR Nationwide Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 1994 Levin Racing 19 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL MAR DAR HCY BRI ROU NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW SBO TAL HCY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT MAR CAR 59th 361 1995 Beverley Racing 25 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NHA NZH CLT DOV MYB GLN MLW TAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM 49th 562 2002 Jay Robinson Racing 49 Ford DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX NSH TAL CAL RCH NHA NZH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI GTY PPR IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL CAR PHO HOM 110th 70 2008 Jay Robinson Racing 28 Chevy DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI NSH TEX PHO MXC TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP CGV GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM 122nd 78

Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Pts Ref 1995 AAG Racing 65 Chevy PHO TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH MAR NWS SON MMR PHO 79th 112 1997 Kenneth Appling Racing 03 Chevy WDW TUS HOM PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO LVS 124th 71 1998 WDW HOM PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS 126th 25

ARCA Re/Max Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ARCA Re/Max Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Pts Ref 1993 Kenneth Appling Racing 98 Olds DAY FIF TWS TAL KIL CMS FRS TOL POC MCH FRS POC KIL ISF DSF TOL SLM WIN ATL 50th - 1994 DAY TAL FIF LVL KIL TOL FRS MCH DMS POC POC KIL FRS INF I70 ISF DSF TOL SLM WIN ATL 75th 690 1996 Kenneth Appling Racing 98 Chevy DAY ATL SLM TAL FIF LVL CLT CLT KIL FRS POC MCH FRS TOL POC MCH INF SBS ISF DSF KIL SLM WIN CLT ATL 119th - 1997 3 DAY ATL SLM CLT CLT POC MCH SBS TOL KIL FRS MIN POC MCH DSF GTW SLM WIN CLT TAL ISF ATL 50th - 1998 DAY ATL SLM CLT MEM MCH POC SBS TOL PPR POC KIL FRS ISF ATL DSF SLM TEX WIN CLT TAL ATL 15th 2175 1999 DAY ATL SLM AND CLT MCH POC TOL SBS BLN POC KIL FRS FLM ISF WIN DSF SLM CLT TAL ATL 28th 1260 2000 DAY5* SLM AND CLT KIL FRS MCH POC TOL KEN BLN 15th 2340 Team CLR 57 Ford POC WIN ISF KEN DSF SLM CLT TAL ATL 2001 DAY NSH WIN SLM GTY KEN CLT KAN MCH POC MEM GLN KEN MCH POC NSH ISF CHI DSF SLM TOL BLN CLT TAL ATL 105th 240 2003 Hylton Motorsports 48 Ford DAY ATL NSH SLM TOL KEN CLT BLN KAN MCH LER POC POC NSH ISF WIN DSF CHI SLM TAL CLT SBO 60th 510 2008 Kirk Shelmerdine Racing 27 Chevy DAY SLM IOW KAN CAR KEN TOL POC MCH CAY KEN BLN POC NSH ISF DSF CHI SLM NJE TAL TOL 149th 60

References

External links

ESPN.com article on Shelmerdine