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Draft:StuartLyndonPreliminary

Stuart Lyndon

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Stuart Lyndon
BornSeptember 24, 1949
Hastings, New Zealand
DiedJune 2, 1985
Hampton, Georgia, United States
ARCA Menards Series career
2 races run over 1 year
First race1985 Georgia ARCA 150
Last race1985 Georgia ARCA 500
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
ARCA Menards Series West career
3 races run over 2 years
First race1978 Winston Gardena 100
Last race1979 Winston Las Vegas 100
Wins Top tens Poles
0 1 0

Stuart George Lyndon (September 24, 1949 - June 2, 1985) was a New Zealand racing driver. He competed in the Winston West Series from 1978 to 1979, and the ARCA Permatex Super Car Series in 1985. This latter racing endeavor would see Lyndon driving the No. 69 Ford Thunderbird as an owner-driver; the car originally having belonged to NASCAR Winston Cup driver Kyle Petty.[1] He was killed in a racing accident at Atlanta International Raceway in 1985.

Early Career

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Stuart Lyndon had been interested in racing since the age of three[2], and his early racing career saw him take to the dirt speedways of New Zealand between 1969 and 1974, winning one event at Gisborne Speedway on the Labour Day weekend of October 26-28, 1974 in a Holden Monaro.[3] In addition to saloon cars, Lyndon was a bike racer and part-time Midget racer. According to his brother, Lyndon would spend two years in England before moving to the United States by way of Canada, in approximately 1977.[4] His speedway bike racing career continued while in England, at Brands Hatch Circuit.[5][6] His move was prompted by a comparative lack of opportunity in New Zealand, as well as the allure of the higher top speeds in stock car competition.[2]

Stuart Lyndon spent the next eight years of his life in America, working as a mechanic for NASCAR driver Bosco Lowe.[4][7] He married his girlfriend Doreen Jones and raced in California before moving to Arizona and finally settling in Asheville, North Carolina.[2][4][6] In 1978, he participated in his first race in the Winston West series (now known as ARCA West): the 1978 Winston Gardena 100 where his No. 69 Ford Gran Torino finished 13th in the 20-car field.[8][9] 1979 would see him race twice; finishing 13th at Mesa Marin[10] and capturing his only top-ten at Craig Road Speedway, finishing 10th.[11] Lyndon would also unsuccessfully attempt to qualify for a Super Late Model race at Mesa Marin in late 1979.[12] Lyndon was also listed as an alternate driver for the October 1984 Bobby Isaac Memorial Sportsman race at Hickory Speedway.[13]

Late Career and Death

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In 1984, Stuart Lyndon acquired a Ford Thunderbird that had been built for Kyle Petty during his final year at Petty Enterprises before his move to Wood Brothers Racing. Lyndon used parts from his Ford Gran Torino that he had used in the 1978-79 ARCA West Series to complete what was essentially a "kit car"[2], performing extensive suspension and engine work.[14] His soon-to-be crew chief Randy Jackson stated that "Every penny he had was in that car."[15] This car was given the same No. 69 as his previous ARCA West attempts, but for 1985 he would run select races in the full ARCA Permatex Super Car series alongside his boss and friend Bosco Lowe. The nature of their racing relationship is unclear; Lyndon was officially credited as the owner of the No. 69 car, but other sources claim he drove for Lowe.[5] In 1984, Lyndon looked to enter a Busch Grand National race at Hickory, but this ultimately did not eventuate. Lyndon completed his first ARCA race at Atlanta International Raceway in March of 1985 with sponsorship from 'Bosco Lowe Enterprises Incorporated' (BLE Inc.), an auto wrecking yard, finishing 23rd.[16]

1985 Georgia ARCA 500k

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Stuart Lyndon started the 1985 Georgia ARCA 500 33rd out of 40 cars.[17] On lap 32, his Ford Thunderbird was gaining on Bosco Lowe's Pontiac and he made a move to pass him on the inside at turn 2, but as he did so, his car lost traction and he spun out heading towards the infield. Lyndon plowed into a dirt embankment at high speed, resulting in the total destruction of the car; including the roll cage, which failed completely and led to the driver being ejected through the windshield. The sheet metal on the car was said to have flown off akin to an explosion.[14] Davey Allison, who would go on to win the race, said "It was the worst wreck I've ever seen. When I went by him, he was laying half out the car and on the engine. After that I didn't look again. He hit so hard that part of the frame was still embedded in that bank. I called my pits and told them not to let the girls [his wife and daughter] look at the car when they brought it in. That's how bad it was."[1][14][18] In the previous Winston Cup race at Atlanta in 1984, Terry Schoonover was killed in nearly identical circumstances after hitting the same stretch of inside dirt embankment. At Henry General Hospital, Stockbridge, Georgia, at 2:30PM EDT, Stuart Lyndon was pronounced dead of "multiple head injuries".[6][14][19]

Aftermath

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The 1985 Georgia ARCA 500 was originally planned to be broadcast, but following the death of Stuart Lyndon, this was ultimately not followed through with. In 2020, the YouTube channel 'digitalmanchris' posted nearly three hours of footage from the race. This is likely raw footage intended to be cut together at a later date for highlights, proven by the appearance of portions of this footage in the June 6th 1985 edition of ESPN's 'SpeedWeek' television program.[20]

Randy Jackson stated that the Ford Thunderbird was safe, declaring that no car would have survived such an impact considering how Lyndon "must have hit it [the wall] wide open."[14] Richard Petty pointed out that "You bounce off concrete, even head-on, but in dirt, the car just sticks in there..."[21]

Given that this was the second death at this same section of Atlanta International Raceway in as many years, Mike Helton (general manager of the track at the time) announced that the dirt embankment would be replaced by concrete.[19] In 1990 the track was renamed Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the complex underwent a radical reconstruction in 1997 that led to Lyndon's crash site (and Schoonover's) now being located off the exit of turn four.

As of 2023, Stuart Lyndon is the only New Zealander to die in any NASCAR-affiliated series, and the only New Zealander to have raced in the ARCA West series. Lyndon was the first New Zealander to race a stock car on a superspeedway.

Motorsports career results

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ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series

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

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 APSC Pts Ref
1985 Stuart Lyndon 69 Ford ATL DAY ATL

23

TAL ATL

36

SSP IRP CSP FRS IRP OEF ISF DSF TOL - 0

Winston West Series

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NASCAR Winston West 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 NWWSC Pts Ref
1978 – 69 Ford ASP

13

– 0
1979 – 69 Ford MMR

13

CRS

10

– 0
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References

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  1. ^ a b Davey Allison: NASCAR's Unstoppable Man, retrieved 2023-10-27
  2. ^ a b c d "The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia". Newspapers.com. 1985-06-04. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  3. ^ "Season Away - Gisborne Photo News - No 245 : November 6, 1974". photonews.org.nz. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  4. ^ a b c "Lyndon, Russell Ivor Interview". knowledgebank.org.nz. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  5. ^ a b "The Roaring Season". www.theroaringseason.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  6. ^ a b c "Motorsport Memorial -". www.motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  7. ^ Star-News. Star-News.
  8. ^ "1978 Winston Gardena 100 - The Third Turn". thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  9. ^ "Stuart Lyndon/Results/NASCAR Winston West Series/1978 - The Third Turn". thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  10. ^ "1979 Winston Mesa Marin 100 - The Third Turn". thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  11. ^ "1979 Winston Las Vegas 100 - The Third Turn". thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  12. ^ "1979 Holley Carburetors 200 - The Third Turn". thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  13. ^ "The Asheville Times 13 Oct 1984, page 18". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  14. ^ a b c d e "The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia". Newspapers.com. 1985-06-03. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
  15. ^ The Tuscaloosa News. The Tuscaloosa News.
  16. ^ "1985 Georgia ARCA 150 - The Third Turn". thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  17. ^ "1985 Atlanta ARCA 500K - The Third Turn". thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2023-10-27.
  18. ^ "https://twitter.com/nascarman_rr/status/1135611351181746176". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-10-27. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  19. ^ a b The Albany Herald. The Albany Herald.
  20. ^ 1985 ESPN SpeedWeek - (June 6th), retrieved 2023-10-27
  21. ^ "The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia". Newspapers.com. 1985-06-05. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
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