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Ted Musgrave
Theodore David Musgrave Sr. (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver.
Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wilmot, Wisconsin before moving into asphalt late models in the American Speed Association (ASA) and ARCA. "I was really young at the time," Musgrave said. "But I can still remember sitting in the infield at Milwaukee and watching him race against drivers like Paul Goldsmith. He finally retired so he could help my older brother, Tom, and I get started." He began racing in 1977 at the age of 22 at Waukegan in a 1967 Ford Galaxy that he inherited from his brother. He immediately rebuilt the car into a 1967 Ford Torino and won the track's rookie of the year award. He and his father built a Ford Mustang using some tips from Dick Trickle to race the next season.
By 1979, Musgrave was a regular driver on the Central Wisconsin (CWRA) circuit, finishing seventh in the season points. Originally from Illinois, Musgrave moved across the nearby state line so that he could race five nights per week in the CWRA. He raced at LaCrosse, State Park Speedway in Wausau, Grundy County Speedway, Wisconsin Dells Speedway (now Dells Raceway Park), and Waukegan. In 1980, he finished second in the points at Wisconsin International Raceway (WIR) behind Alan Kulwicki. Musgrave's highlight of the 1982 season was winning the Holiday 50 at Capital Speedway (now Madison International Speedway). Musgrave qualified the fastest five times in a row at WIR and was leading the points when he battered his wrist in a wreck. He returned the following week in a cast with a special arm support in the car. He finished third in points. Musgrave won ten CWRA features in 1983, including the Holiday 50 at Capital Super Speedway, the Triple Hot Dog Dash at Wisconsin Dells, and the Race of Champions at Capital's Oktober Nationals. Musgrave won seven features at Capital in 1984, along with two features at LaCrosse, two at State Park, and two at Wisconsin Dells. He ran out of money to fund his team in 1985, and he ended his season early. Musgrave returned in 1986 with a new car which contained several of his experimental ideas. He finished tenth in CWRA points even though he started the season over a month late. He had numerous feature wins that season, including the Firecracker 100 at Capital.
In 1987, Musgrave moved to Franklin, Wisconsin and went national in the ASA series in Terry Baker's ride that Bobby Dotter vacated. Musgrave finished 21 of 25 events, winning at the Milwaukee Mile, Birmingham, and Huntsville. He earned rookie of the year honors by finishing fifth in points.
In 1990, Musgrave was called upon by Winston Cup team owner Ray DeWitt to replace Rich Vogler, who had been killed at a wreck at Salem Speedway. Musgrave had four starts in the Cup Series that year, his best finish being a 22nd at the Checker Auto Parts 500. From 1991 to 1993, he raced the No. 55 for the DeWitt/Ulrich team. He was runner-up to Bobby Hamilton for rookie of the year in 1991 and had twelve top-ten finishes.
In 1992, driving for Dewitt/Ulrich, Musgrave led all Winston Cup drivers in laps completed. In 1994, he was hired by Jack Roush to race for Roush Racing in the No. 16 Family Channel Ford Thunderbird as a teammate to Mark Martin. In his first season, Musgrave had three poles and finished fifteenth in points. In 1995, Musgrave had a breakout year of sorts, posting seven top-five finishes (including two 2nd-place finishes) and thirteen top-tens. At one point in the season, he was third in Winston Cup points. He slumped late in the season and finished seventh, but most felt his first race win was just around the corner. The 1996 season turned out to be a disappointment for Musgrave. He usually ran well in most races, but could never find what he needed to get his first win. He had several top-tens early in the season, but once again slumped in the second half and wound up seventeenth in points. He did, however, win the pole for the final Winston Cup race ever held at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
In 1997, Roush vowed to give Musgrave whatever he needed to win his first race. The No. 16 car now had dual sponsorships from the Family Channel and Primestar. Once again, he started off well, and came very close to his first win, at Darlington Raceway. Musgrave was running second late in the race and clearly had a faster car than leader Dale Jarrett in the closing laps. At one point, he was side by side with Jarrett, but Jarrett held him off for the win. Critics of Musgrave said after the race that he should have been more aggressive and bumped Jarrett out of the way to get his first win. Later in the season at Pocono Raceway, Musgrave had a strong car and was running second late in the race with a chance to win when his car went unexpectedly loose. He ended up fourth. Musgrave was in the top-ten in points for most of 1997, but a poor final race, at Atlanta, caused him to fall to twelfth for the year.
In 1998, Musgrave got full sponsorship from Primestar, and was eighteenth in points when he was suddenly replaced by rookie Kevin Lepage, to the shock of many. Still, Musgrave filled out 1998 by running part-time for Bud Moore Engineering and Bill Elliott Racing (a team co-owned by Elliott and Dan Marino), as well as doing substitute duty for Travis Carter and Jasper Motorsports. He ended up missing only one race that year and gave Elliott's team its only top-ten finish with a fifth place run at Phoenix.
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Ted Musgrave
Theodore David Musgrave Sr. (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver.
Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wilmot, Wisconsin before moving into asphalt late models in the American Speed Association (ASA) and ARCA. "I was really young at the time," Musgrave said. "But I can still remember sitting in the infield at Milwaukee and watching him race against drivers like Paul Goldsmith. He finally retired so he could help my older brother, Tom, and I get started." He began racing in 1977 at the age of 22 at Waukegan in a 1967 Ford Galaxy that he inherited from his brother. He immediately rebuilt the car into a 1967 Ford Torino and won the track's rookie of the year award. He and his father built a Ford Mustang using some tips from Dick Trickle to race the next season.
By 1979, Musgrave was a regular driver on the Central Wisconsin (CWRA) circuit, finishing seventh in the season points. Originally from Illinois, Musgrave moved across the nearby state line so that he could race five nights per week in the CWRA. He raced at LaCrosse, State Park Speedway in Wausau, Grundy County Speedway, Wisconsin Dells Speedway (now Dells Raceway Park), and Waukegan. In 1980, he finished second in the points at Wisconsin International Raceway (WIR) behind Alan Kulwicki. Musgrave's highlight of the 1982 season was winning the Holiday 50 at Capital Speedway (now Madison International Speedway). Musgrave qualified the fastest five times in a row at WIR and was leading the points when he battered his wrist in a wreck. He returned the following week in a cast with a special arm support in the car. He finished third in points. Musgrave won ten CWRA features in 1983, including the Holiday 50 at Capital Super Speedway, the Triple Hot Dog Dash at Wisconsin Dells, and the Race of Champions at Capital's Oktober Nationals. Musgrave won seven features at Capital in 1984, along with two features at LaCrosse, two at State Park, and two at Wisconsin Dells. He ran out of money to fund his team in 1985, and he ended his season early. Musgrave returned in 1986 with a new car which contained several of his experimental ideas. He finished tenth in CWRA points even though he started the season over a month late. He had numerous feature wins that season, including the Firecracker 100 at Capital.
In 1987, Musgrave moved to Franklin, Wisconsin and went national in the ASA series in Terry Baker's ride that Bobby Dotter vacated. Musgrave finished 21 of 25 events, winning at the Milwaukee Mile, Birmingham, and Huntsville. He earned rookie of the year honors by finishing fifth in points.
In 1990, Musgrave was called upon by Winston Cup team owner Ray DeWitt to replace Rich Vogler, who had been killed at a wreck at Salem Speedway. Musgrave had four starts in the Cup Series that year, his best finish being a 22nd at the Checker Auto Parts 500. From 1991 to 1993, he raced the No. 55 for the DeWitt/Ulrich team. He was runner-up to Bobby Hamilton for rookie of the year in 1991 and had twelve top-ten finishes.
In 1992, driving for Dewitt/Ulrich, Musgrave led all Winston Cup drivers in laps completed. In 1994, he was hired by Jack Roush to race for Roush Racing in the No. 16 Family Channel Ford Thunderbird as a teammate to Mark Martin. In his first season, Musgrave had three poles and finished fifteenth in points. In 1995, Musgrave had a breakout year of sorts, posting seven top-five finishes (including two 2nd-place finishes) and thirteen top-tens. At one point in the season, he was third in Winston Cup points. He slumped late in the season and finished seventh, but most felt his first race win was just around the corner. The 1996 season turned out to be a disappointment for Musgrave. He usually ran well in most races, but could never find what he needed to get his first win. He had several top-tens early in the season, but once again slumped in the second half and wound up seventeenth in points. He did, however, win the pole for the final Winston Cup race ever held at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
In 1997, Roush vowed to give Musgrave whatever he needed to win his first race. The No. 16 car now had dual sponsorships from the Family Channel and Primestar. Once again, he started off well, and came very close to his first win, at Darlington Raceway. Musgrave was running second late in the race and clearly had a faster car than leader Dale Jarrett in the closing laps. At one point, he was side by side with Jarrett, but Jarrett held him off for the win. Critics of Musgrave said after the race that he should have been more aggressive and bumped Jarrett out of the way to get his first win. Later in the season at Pocono Raceway, Musgrave had a strong car and was running second late in the race with a chance to win when his car went unexpectedly loose. He ended up fourth. Musgrave was in the top-ten in points for most of 1997, but a poor final race, at Atlanta, caused him to fall to twelfth for the year.
In 1998, Musgrave got full sponsorship from Primestar, and was eighteenth in points when he was suddenly replaced by rookie Kevin Lepage, to the shock of many. Still, Musgrave filled out 1998 by running part-time for Bud Moore Engineering and Bill Elliott Racing (a team co-owned by Elliott and Dan Marino), as well as doing substitute duty for Travis Carter and Jasper Motorsports. He ended up missing only one race that year and gave Elliott's team its only top-ten finish with a fifth place run at Phoenix.