Terry Ryan (born May 13, 1938) is an American stock car racing driver. The Davenport, Iowa native competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1976 and 1977.
| Terry Ryan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | May 13, 1938 Davenport, Iowa, United States | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 12 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 40th – 1977 | ||||||
| First race | 1976 Daytona 500 (Daytona) | ||||||
| Last race | 1977 Champion Spark Plug 400 (Michigan) | ||||||
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Racing career edit
Ryan competed in the USAC Stock Car and ARCA Racing Series before his NASCAR career. He ran his first USAC race in 1971 with a locally purchased car.[1] in 1975 he won the pole for the ARCA event at Daytona International Speedway.[2]
After receiving new backing and a new car in 1975, Ryan went down to Daytona International Speedway to attempt to qualify for the 1976 Daytona 500. He posted the fifth-fastest time, but the times of A. J. Foyt, Darrell Waltrip and Dave Marcis were disallowed, leaving Ryan on the front row with fellow Iowan Ramo Stott.[1] He finished sixth in that race, and attempted four more races that year; he failed to finish two and finished the other half in the top ten.[3]
Ryan again made the Daytona 500 in 1977 but fell victim to mechanical issues in that race and the three after that. Turning a page in the second half of the season, Ryan finished three races, steadily improving to get a top ten in his final race of the year.[4] He attempted Daytona in 1978 but failed to qualify and never again ran NASCAR.[5]
After retiring from NASCAR in 1977, Terry eventually returned to the vintage racing circuits in 1997; where he was racing as of 2009.[1] Ryan was inducted into the Quad Cities Raceway Hall of Fame in 2008.[6] His old Camaro from the NASCAR days could not be sold because of all of the rule modifications.[7]
References edit
- ^ a b c Terry Ryan: Still turning laps at age 71 at Front Porch Expressions
- ^ "Surprising Ryan wins pole position". The Montreal Gazette. Montreal, PQ. February 8, 1975. p. 18. Retrieved 2013-08-14.
- ^ "Driver Terry Ryan 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "Driver Terry Ryan 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "Driver Terry Ryan 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "5/30/76: Terry Ryan's journey from Iowa short tracks to NASCAR superspeedways continues to this day". brock.lastcar.info. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "Driver Terry Ryan 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results - Racing-Reference.info". racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
External links edit
- Terry Ryan driver statistics at Racing-Reference
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