There are many stories I could tell about the man I never had the privilege of meeting in person,but who I feel was a big part of my life. I will always remember the day J.D. was killed in Watkins Glenn, N.Y. . August 11, 1991. I was watching the race by satellite on what is called a wild feed. ( no commercials and continuous showing of the race). I saw the accident and watched during what would have been commercial hoping for good news. The look on Jimmy Means face when he went to J.D.'s car I will always remember. But after some false reports it was confirmed that J.D. McDuffie had died in the accident. And my view of Nascar racing changed on that day.. I used to go to 6 to 8 races a year, now I don't go to any in person. That year I went to Dover in September, not long after the accident, a long trip from my home in Florida. I used to look forward to it, but that year I had to force myself to go. It was not the same, the life was out of racing for me. Without the familiar #70 on the track things were different. I went to a few races after that but all felt the same. Even the excitement of speedweeks the following year wasn't there. I even stopped watching the races if I had something else to do. Slowly I came back to the sport that J.D. loved so much. Now I watch every race, qualifying and happy hour. I still have not gone back to a track to watch but what has drawn me back is the fact that Nascar racing is family. A family that has seen it's share of death but also its share of life.

    This is not the end of my memories of J.D. McDuffie. This has just scratched the surface. I will be adding new photos of J.D. as I get them. Hopefully I will get enough that I can have a regular photo page devoted to them. Also I have lots of old race tapes with J.D. driving in them and will, as time permits, put up short clips of them. This start to the J.D. McDuffie Memorial site I hope explains why I am doing this and why I feel so strongly about it.

    I hope that others will share their feelings about J.D. on these pages. Especially the people that really knew him. The happy times and some race experiences. It is my hope that these pages will help people who did not know J.D. McDuffie to get to know the man and in that way get to know Nascar racing when it was a time of single car teams, low budget racing and when 10,000 people in the stands make as much noise as 100,000 today. Nascar, I hope, will always be family where fans and drivers are as one.