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These pages are in memory of John Delphus McDuffie Jr., better know as J.D.. The cigar chomping driver competed in 653 Winston Cup starts. He only won one pole*, never won a race, only had 12 top 5 finishes and 106 top 10 finishes. Some may ask what made him so special and I guess those who ask are too young to remember him. For if you remember him you would know what made him special.
I guess everyone has thier own reason why J.D. is special to them, but they would all include his dedication to the sport he loved. When he was in the #70 he was in his boardroom conducting business. J.D. spent 25 years in Winston Cup Racing, starting in 1966 when it was known as the Winston Cup Grand National racing circuit.
For me there are other things that made him special besides what I mentioned above. J.D. was a role model, an example of dedication, hard work and making do with the hand that God gave you. J.D. was one of the last true independents in Nascar Winston Cup racing. While everyone else had fancy haulers and big money spongers J.D.'s was a low budget operation. J.D. made due with pick up crews at different race tracks. A lot of his help was part time with few full time employees. J.D. worked on his car himself and rarely had the extra parts needed to make his car competitive. But that was okay, he was doing what he loved. I am sure J.D. was frustrated at times but to my knowledge never showed it.
