Greg Sacks

Greg Sacks (born November 3, 1952) is an American former stock car racing driver. He is married and has three children. He lives in Ormond Beach, Florida. He and his sons are partners in Grand Touring Vodka.

Greg Sacks
Born (1952-11-03) November 3, 1952
Mattituck, New York
AchievementsMartinsville Speedway track record holder in modified division
NASCAR Cup Series career
263 races run over 18 years
Best finish19th (1984)
First race1983 Firecracker 400 (Daytona)
Last race2005 Pennsylvania 500 (Pocono)
First win1985 Firecracker 400 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 20 2
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
33 races run over 8 years
Best finish34th (1997)
First race1989 Goodwrench 200 (Rockingham)
Last race2010 Subway Jalapeño 250 (Daytona)
First win1996 Humminbird Fishfinder 500K (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 5 2
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish106th (2004)
First race2004 O'Reilly 400K (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of December 8, 2012.

Sacks has spent most of his career as a research and development (R&D) driver for many NASCAR teams. He won the 1985 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway acting as an R&D driver for DiGard Motorsports.

Modifieds

Early in his racing career, Sacks was a successful driver in what is now the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Competing from 1980 to 1983, he won 17 races at Stafford Motor Speedway. Nineteen-eighty two was an especially good year for him, as he won the track championship that year, as well as the Spring Sizzler, The Ferrera 100 and the Fall Final]. Greg also won the Dogwood Classic at Martinsville Speedway, the Bud Classic at Oswego Speedway, the Thompson 300 at Thompson International Speedway, the World Series of Asphalt at Thompson Speedway and the Race of Champions at Pocono Raceway.

In 1983, he made his NASCAR Winston Cup Series debut in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in the No. 5 car owned and sponsored by his father, Arnie. He only completed nineteen laps until experiencing engine failure, finishing 38th out of 40 cars. Sacks competed in four more events that season, posting a best finish of 17th in the Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway, the only race he finished that year.

Success in the 1980s

In 1984, Sacks made a full attempt at the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, once again in a car owned by his father, only now it ran as No. 51. Sacks made 29 out of the 30 races, finished 19th in points and runner-up to Rusty Wallace for the NASCAR Rookie of the Year award. 1985 got off to a rough start for Sacks. After the first four races, his father's team folded.

Sacks driving for DiGard in 1985

Seven races later, Sacks was able to drive the No. 49 car owned by 1966 NASCAR Rookie of the Year James Hylton. Before the Firecracker 400, DiGard Motorsports asked Sacks to drive their R&D car. Sacks qualified ninth and defeated pole-sitter Bill Elliott to earn his only NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory. The win was considered to be one of NASCAR's biggest upsets, as Sacks's car was only scheduled to run a set number of laps before going behind the wall to make changes, but his car kept competing for the win, therefore DiGard decided to let Sacks race as normal. After DiGard's regular driver Bobby Allison quit the team days after the race, the team let Sacks finish the season in their regular car. The next year, Sacks found himself running a limited schedule as DiGard slowly went bankrupt.

In 1987, he signed on to drive the No. 50 Pontiac for the Dingman Brothers, where he struggled with qualifying for each race. Three-quarters of the way through 1988, Sacks left the team to drive for Buddy Baker's team, the No. 88 Oldsmobile. Despite posting two top ten finishes in the first ten races of the 1989 season, Sacks was replaced by rookie Jimmy Spencer. Sacks was unemployed for a brief period, then joined on with Tom Winkle's No. 48 Pontiac for most of the season, joining with Hendrick Motorsports for the Autoworks 500 at Phoenix International Raceway as part of the driving team gathering in-race footage for the "Days of Thunder" movie.

1990–1997

Sacks started off 1990 in a familiar situation with no ride, driving part-time for Hendrick's development team. He participated in the Busch Clash at Daytona and at Darlington in the TranSouth 500, driving the No. 46 'City Chevrolet' Lumina "Days of Thunder" movie car. Four races later, Sacks was rewarded with a part-time ride at Hendrick, driving the No. 18 Ultra Slim-Fast Chevrolet, finishing second at Talladega Superspeedway in the Winston 500. After Darrell Waltrip was injured in a practice crash at Daytona, Sacks drove the No. 17 car for three races—the Champion Spark Plug 400, Busch 500, and the Heinz Southern 500, with a best finish of second at Michigan during this three-race stretch. The highlight of his season was winning the pole position at the Pepsi Firecracker 400. Following a crash in practice by teammate Waltrip, NASCAR officials noted that several teams had made modifications, and NASCAR made the teams spot-weld the blocks back into place, causing a loss of power. Trying to make up for lost speed, Sacks caused a 23-car pileup at the end of the first lap, taking out eight cars, including Sacks. No one was seriously hurt in that race, but it gave Sacks a reputation of being an excellent qualifier, as shown in 1989, when he won the pole in just his second Busch Series race. Sacks was signed to a three year deal to drive the #18 for Hendrick and Paul Newman, with backing from Ultra Slim-Fast, but following the season Ultra Slim-Fast pulled out, the team was folded, and Sacks was released. [1]

Sacks in the No. 40 in 1997

Sacks started off 1991 at the Daytona 500 driving his own No. 18 car, but crashed early in the race. He ran ten more races that year in the No. 47 Oldsmobile for Derick Close, posting two top-twenty finishes. He started 1992 with Larry Hedrick Motorsports, but suffered injuries in a lap five crash at the Champion Spark Plug 400, and only drove one race for the rest of the season. He moved on to Tri-Star Motorsports in 1993, and finished sixth at the DieHard 500. In 1994, Sacks set the track record at Atlanta when he won the pole. Nineteen-ninety four also marked the second time in his Cup career that he completed the full schedule, piloting the No. 77 Ford owned by D.K. Ulrich. Sacks raced part-time in the Cup and Busch series over the next two years, winning a Busch Series event in a one-race deal for Diamond Ridge Motorsports at Talladega Superspeedway in 1996. The next year, he started out driving the No. 20 Ford for championship owner Harry Ranier, but was soon released as sponsorship funding ended; following his release, he sued the team, claiming breach of contract.[2] Later in the season, he filled in for rookie driver Robby Gordon, who had suffered burns in the Indianapolis 500. After Gordon was released later in the year, Sacks finished the season for the team.

Struggles

In 1998, it looked like Sacks had finally found a steady ride, driving the No. 98 Ford for Cale Yarborough. However, on lap 136 of the Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Sacks lost control of his car and wrecked, suffering life-threatening injuries. He missed the rest of the season.

Sacks made his return in 1999 in the Busch Series, but only qualified for one of the several races he attempted. Sacks tried his hand at Winston Cup again in 2000, attempting that year's Daytona 500 in the No. 96 Chevrolet. He did not make the field. After making sporadic races in modifieds, Sacks announced his return to the Winston Cup Series and Busch Series in the summer of 2002, driving the No. 05 Chevy. Sacks teamed with Loren Fossie to form "Team Franchisit/Sacks Racing". Originally set to debut at the Brickyard 400, the date was pushed to the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Nothing was ever heard from the team since, and it is not clear if the team was originally planned as a marketing tool for Franchisit.

In 2004, Sacks formed Daytona Speed Inc., with Ed Raabe and James Wilsberg. Making its first attempt at Chicagoland Speedway, the team did not make a race until the Pennsylvania 500 the next month. In February 2005, Raabe departed to form his own race team (Chevrolet), leaving all of the (Dodge) Daytona Speed equipment in the care of Sacks. Sacks ran both Pocono races in 2005, and finished 43rd in both of them.

The team attempted a part-time schedule in 2006, but failed to make the field for any race. In early 2007, an arbitrator forced his sponsor Who's Your Daddy? to pay over a million dollars to Sacks after a contract violation.[3]

2008–present

2008

Sacks was to attempt a partial schedule in the ARCA/ReMAX series in 2008. He tried to qualify for the ARCA race at Daytona but missed the field after posting the 48th best qualifying time.

2010

Sacks drove the No. 88 car owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the Nationwide Series Subway Jalapeño 250 on July 2 at Daytona. Sacks finished 21st after qualifying 7th.[4]

Sacks and his family, who own Grand Touring Vodka, sponsored JR Motorsports for the 2011 Nationwide Series season.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

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

Nextel Cup Series

NASCAR Nextel Cup 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 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NNCC Pts
1983 Sacks & Sons 5 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR NWS MAR TAL NSV DOV BRI CLT RSD POC MCH DAY
38
NSV POC
29
TAL MCH
17
BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
30
CAR ATL
38
RSD 47th 359
1984 51 DAY
18
RCH
24
CAR
34
ATL
16
BRI NWS
18
DAR
21
MAR
17
TAL
14
NSV
29
DOV
24
CLT
38
RSD
32
POC
22
MCH
32
DAY
39
NSV
29
POC
24
TAL
29
MCH
22
BRI
9
DAR
37
RCH
21
DOV
25
MAR
30
CLT
18
NWS
24
CAR
35
ATL
31
RSD
16
19th 2545
1985 DAY
6
RCH CAR
13
ATL
10
BRI DAR NWS MAR TAL
Wth
DOV 25th 1944
Hylton Motorsports 49 Chevy CLT
35
RSD
36
POC
16
MCH
DiGard Motorsports 10 Chevy DAY
1
77 Buick POC
34
TAL
15
MCH
33
BRI
28
DAR
35
RCH
20
DOV
29
MAR
14
NWS
16
CLT
11
CAR
10
ATL
9
RSD
21
1986 10 Pontiac DAY
35
RCH
19
CAR
37
TAL
10
DOV 41st 579
Chevy ATL
25
BRI DAR NWS MAR CLT
39
RSD POC MCH DAY
39
POC TAL GLN MCH
38
BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL RSD
1987 Dingman Brothers Racing 50 Pontiac DAY
20
CAR
30
RCH ATL
37
DAR
26
NWS BRI MAR TAL
26
CLT
36
DOV POC
36
RSD MCH
29
DAY
25
POC
35
TAL GLN MCH
19
BRI DAR
38
RCH DOV MAR
24
NWS CLT
42
CAR
27
RSD ATL
26
33rd 1200
1988 DAY
40
RCH CAR ATL
DNQ
DAR
31
BRI NWS MAR TAL
17
CLT
10
DOV RSD POC MCH DAY
10
POC
34
TAL
38
GLN MCH
42
BRI DAR 37th 1237
Baker-Schiff Racing 88 Olds RCH
13
DOV MAR
12
CLT
29
NWS
10
CAR
12
PHO
38
ATL
28
1989 DAY
23
CAR
9
ATL
26
RCH
34
DAR
25
BRI
7*
NWS
21
MAR
28
TAL
37
CLT
30
DOV SON POC 32nd 1565
Winkle Motorsports 48 Pontiac MCH
39
DAY POC
30
TAL GLN MCH
35
BRI
30
DAR
38
RCH
DNQ
DOV MAR
19
CLT
35
NWS CAR
18
ATL
29
Hendrick Motorsports 46 Chevy PHO
38
1990 DAY RCH CAR ATL
DNQ
DAR
37
BRI NWS MAR 32nd 1663
18 TAL
2
CLT
14
DOV SON POC
7
MCH
26
DAY
37
POC
33
TAL
18
GLN
40
RCH
23
DOV
21
MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO
12
ATL
10
17 MCH
2
BRI
20
DAR
30
1991 Daytona Speed Inc. 18 Chevy DAY
42
RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR 39th 791
Close Racing 47 Olds TAL
39
CLT
39
DOV SON POC MCH
DNQ
DAY
39
POC
17
TAL
19
GLN MCH BRI DAR
21
RCH
32
DOV
DNQ
MAR
DNQ
NWS CLT
31
CAR
29
PHO ATL
26
1992 Larry Hedrick Motorsports 41 Chevy DAY
14
CAR
34
RCH
32
ATL
31
DAR
28
BRI
13
NWS
21
MAR
12
TAL
35
CLT
16
DOV
19
SON
43
POC
11
MCH
14
DAY
26
POC
29
TAL
19
GLN
31
MCH
41
BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR
33
PHO ATL 30th 1759
1993 Melling Racing 9 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL
23
DAR BRI NWS MAR 35th 1730
TriStar Motorsports 68 Ford TAL
33
SON CLT
17
DOV
38
POC
18
MCH
22
DAY
15
NHA
32
POC
32
TAL
6
GLN MCH
12
BRI
19
DAR
25
RCH
31
DOV
20
MAR
28
NWS
DNQ
CLT
32
CAR
32
PHO ATL
24
1994 U.S. Motorsports Inc. 77 Ford DAY
6
CAR
28
RCH
28
ATL
7
DAR
30
BRI
11
NWS
34
MAR
29
TAL
6
SON
24
CLT
27
DOV
24
POC
24
MCH
33
DAY
37
NHA
25
POC
36
TAL
29
IND
18
GLN
39
MCH
32
BRI
27
DAR
19
RCH
27
DOV
38
MAR
26
NWS
35
CLT
35
CAR
39
PHO
26
ATL
39
31st 2593
1995 Dick Brooks Racing 40 Pontiac DAY
DNQ
CAR
41
RCH
19
ATL
29
DAR
22
BRI
36
NWS
35
MAR
22
TAL
35
SON
DNQ
CLT
DNQ
DOV
28
POC
33
MCH
DNQ
39th 1349
Junior Johnson & Associates 27 Ford DAY
17
NHA POC TAL
Active Motorsports 32 Chevy IND
33
GLN MCH
40
MAR
DNQ
NWS
DNQ
CLT
33
CAR
37
PHO
43
ATL
34
A.G. Dillard Motorsports 31 Chevy BRI
25
DAR
38
RCH
37
DOV
DNQ
1996 Leo Jackson Motorsports 33 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT
QL
DOV
27
POC MCH 42nd 710
Diamond Ridge Motorsports 29 Chevy DAY
39
NHA
30
POC
29
TAL
25
IND
32
GLN MCH
30
BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS
Team SABCO 40 Chevy CLT
24
CAR PHO
Pontiac ATL
18
1997 Ranier-Walsh Racing 20 Ford DAY
37
CAR
39
RCH
DNQ
ATL
27
DAR
29
TEX
40
BRI
DNQ
MAR SON TAL
25
CLT DOV 45th 778
Team SABCO 40 Chevy POC
42
MCH
DNQ
CAL
27
DAY NHA TAL
39
CAR
39
PHO
21
ATL
DNQ
LJ Racing 91 Chevy POC
DNQ
IND
31
GLN MCH BRI DAR
DNQ
RCH NHA DOV MAR
Bud Moore Engineering 15 Ford CLT
DNQ
1998 Yarborough-Burdette Motorsports 98 Ford DAY
39
CAR
36
LVS
25
ATL
31
DAR
42
BRI
36
TEX
38
MAR TAL CAL CLT DOV RCH MCH POC SON NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI NHA DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT TAL DAY PHO CAR ATL 53rd 400
2000 Petty-Huggins Motorsports 96 Chevy DAY
DNQ
CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL NA -
2004 Sacks Motorsports 13 Dodge DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI
DNQ
NHA POC
42
IND
DNQ
GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH
DNQ
NHA
DNQ
DOV
DNQ
TAL KAN CLT
41
MAR
DNQ
ATL
DNQ
PHO DAR HOM
42
71st 114
2005 DAY
DNQ
CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL DAR RCH CLT
DNQ
DOV POC
43
MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC
43
IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN
DNQ
CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM 79th 68
2006 Ford DAY CAL LVS ATL
DNQ
BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NA -
Front Row Motorsports 34 Chevy POC
DNQ
MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC
DNQ
IND GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH NHA DOV KAN TAL CLT MAR ATL TEX PHO HOM
- Qualified for Robert Pressley
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1984 Sacks & Sons Chevrolet 20 18
1985 13 6
1986 DiGard Motorsports Pontiac 26 35
1987 Dingman Brothers Racing Pontiac 42 20
1988 7 40
1989 Baker-Schiff Racing Oldsmobile 37 23
1991 Daytona Speed Inc. Chevrolet 25 42
1992 Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 9 14
1994 U.S. Motorsports Inc. Ford 31 6
1995 Dick Brooks Racing Pontiac DNQ
1997 Ranier-Walsh Racing Ford 34 37
1998 Yarborough-Burdette Motorsports Ford 24 39
2000 Petty-Huggins Motorsports Chevrolet DNQ
2005 Sacks Motorsports Dodge DNQ

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide 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 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NNSC Pts
1989 Baker-Schiff Racing 87 Pontiac DAY CAR
25
MAR HCY DAR
41
BRI NZH SBO LAN NSV CLT
22
DOV ROU LVL VOL MYB SBO HCY DUB IRP ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT CAR MAR 69th 225
1990 Hendrick Motorsports 46 Chevy DAY
3
RCH CAR MAR HCY DAR BRI LAN SBO NZH HCY CLT
12
DOV ROU VOL MYB OXF NHA SBO DUB IRP ROU BRI 45th 654
Darrell Waltrip Motorsports 17 Chevy DAR
33
RCH
31
DOV
35
MAR
Hendrick Motorsports 15 Chevy CLT
2
NHA CAR MAR
1995 Sacks Motorsports 33 Pontiac DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NHA NZH CLT
34
DOV MYB GLN MLW TAL
DNQ
SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH
30
DOV CLT
44
CAR HOM
36
70th 220
1996 Diamond Ridge Motorsports 29 Chevy DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY NZH CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NHA TAL
1
IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR 57th 338
BACE Motorsports 7 Chevy HOM
31
1997 Laughlin Racing 45 Chevy DAY
6
CAR
16
RCH
30
ATL
DNQ
DAR
16
TEX
14
BRI
33
NSV TAL
34
NHA NZH
18
CLT
15
DOV
38
SBO GLN MLW MYB GTY IRP 34th 1420
Ford LVS
6
HCY
15
Bobby Jones Racing 50 Pontiac MCH
DNQ
BRI DAR RCH DOV
Shaver Motorsports 49 Chevy CLT
42
CAL CAR
29
HOM
33
1999 GTS Motorsports 90 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR TEX NSV BRI TAL CAL NHA RCH NZH CLT DOV SBO GLN MLW MYB PPR GTY IRP MCH
DNQ
BRI DAR
DNQ
RCH DOV CLT
34
CAR MEM PHO
DNQ
HOM
DNQ
123rd 61
2000 Petty-Huggins Motorsports 84 Chevy DAY
DNQ
CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX NSV TAL CAL RCH NHA CLT DOV SBO MYB GLN MLW NZH PPR GTY IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR MEM PHO HOM NA -
2004 Davis Motorsports 0 Chevy DAY CAR LVS DAR BRI TEX NSH
DNQ
TAL CAL GTY RCH NZH CLT DOV
40
NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR IRP MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM ATL PHO DAR HOM 144th 43
2005 GIC-Mixon Motorsports 7 Chevy DAY CAL MXC LVS ATL NSH BRI TEX PHO TAL
DNQ
DAR RCH CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW DAY CHI NHA PPR GTY IRP GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM NA -
2010 JR Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY CAL LVS BRI NSH PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT NSH KEN ROA NHA DAY
21
CHI GTY IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT GTY TEX PHO HOM 113th 100

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck 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 23 24 25 NCTC Pts
2004 Ron Rhodes Racing 48 Dodge DAY
DNQ
ATL
DNQ
MAR MFD CLT DOV TEX
32
MEM MLW KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA LVS CAL TEX MAR PHO DAR HOM 106th 67

ARCA Re/Max Series

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

ARCA Re/Max 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 23 ARMC Pts
1985 5 Chevy ATL DAY ATL TAL
40
ATL SSP IRP CSP FRS IRP OEF ISF DSF TOL NA 0
2003 Bobby Jones Racing 88 Ford DAY
7
ATL NSH SLM TOL KEN CLT BLN KAN MCH LER POC 40th 680
Dodge POC
26
NSH ISF WIN DSF CHI
2
SLM TAL CLT
19
SBO
2004 DAY
28
NSH
38
SLM KEN TOL CLT KAN POC MCH SBO BLN KEN GTW POC LER NSH ISF TOL DSF CHI SLM TAL 139th 135
2005 DAY NSH SLM KEN TOL LAN MIL POC MCH KAN KEN BLN POC GTW LER NSH MCH ISF TOL DSF CHI
17
SLM TAL 127th 145
2008 Bobby Jones Racing 50 Dodge DAY
DNQ
SLM IOW KAN CAR KEN TOL POC MCH CAY KEN BLN POC NSH ISF DSF CHI SLM NJE TAL TOL NA -

References

  1. Dame, Mike (February 16, 1991). "Sacks Scurries To Start Season After Setbacks". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  2. Byrd, Alan (September 29, 1997). "Driver wins cash, loses contract, sues NASCAR team". Orlando Business Journal. Orlando, FL. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  3. Archived May 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Greg Sacks returns to NASCAR under Dale Jr.'s wing". Archived from the original on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
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