J.D. McDuffie's Tragedy at Watkins Glen
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- Опубликовано: 22 май 2023
- On August 11th, 1991, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series returned to Watkins Glen for the 6th consecutive Budweiser at The Glen. But just 5 laps into the race, 52 year old JD McDuffie lost his life in a horrific accident. This video showcases his life, career, death, and everlasting affect on NASCAR.
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J.D. McDuffie's Tragic and Forgotten Career
JD McDuffie Crash
I do not own any of the footage in this video, all credit goes to the respective owners: NASCAR, NASCAR Media Group, Fox, NBC, NBC Sports, ESPN. 
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Dude worked his ass off just to be apart of the show because he loved it. RIP JD
He didn't want to be apart from the show. If he's wanted that, he wouldn't have been racing.
Funny how I sometimes watch videos about Nascar back decades ago and forgot the names. However, I never forgot the name J.D. McDuffie.
Me rn lol. Finna bankrupt myself at 24 tryna make it to the big times from short track racing 😩
@@mrpoizunyou misunderstood the comment. "Dude worked his ass off to be a part of the show."
As an Aussie I've never heard of J.D. so thanks for showing.
What a guy. A battler. The world would be a better place if more had that drive, determination and tenacity.
@Flaming Hedgehog
Yes Sir, agreed he was always well Loved by all those who grew up in nascar area, Concord N.C. Kanapolis N.C. always cheered for J.D. no matter where he qualified.
I moved to where his shop was right after that race. They had an auction of his equipment, parts, and tools. He did a real lot with a real little. People I met that knew him said he was a great person and felt lucky to be doing what he loved even without what others had. Rest In Peace
A Small-Team legend and a hard worker! May he Rest in Peace
I was watching JD's final race live. The incident occurred during a commercial break and when the race footage resumed, I only saw Jimmy's car upside down. I had no idea JD's car was even there until they showed the replay. Jimmy crawled out of his car and immediately went to check on JD. His reaction said it all.
Just an FYI - JD was involved in an accident that burned him badly. He was a Nascar Legend, and 1 of 3 to die over the next 18 months. Davey and Allen. I’m glad you made this video! ❤
91 was rough
Pretty sure the burns you're talking about are from the 2nd qualifying race for the 1988 Daytona 500 where someone had stolen his driving gloves and he raced without them
@@anncase8673 you are correct, he was burnt on 15% of his body, he told my dad who happened upon him at a laundry mat across from the Daytona Track (mall i think?) JD told him how unpleasant the experience was to put it mildly. Thx for nailing down the race!
@@Wayne_Nero I learned it in a video on Brock Beard's channel once. Its called "The speedweeks that changed everything". I think
Allen? Who the hell is Allen? Did you mean "Album", as in Album Kulwicki? I thought so.
We need a full length JD documentary. He deserves it and so do we.
There is an excellent book that this video ripped off called "JD The Life and Death of a Forgotten Legend" by Brock Beard.
I was in The Bahamas that weekend and caught this on ESPN, it was shocking news. JD just kept showing up. He never had the equipment to compete for the trophy, but he won the hearts and appreciation of the fans and garage.
RIP JD McDuffie 🙏
High five!
@@joshheath2922 bro that means prayer not high five
The entry into the loop is scary as heck, you're running flat out on the fastest part of the track just before you enter the turn. I've raced motorcycles at the Glen, before McDuffie's crash and well before the bus stop was built. The track crests just as you get into the braking zone and it can unload you enough to make slowing down for the turn really difficult. While the bus stop probably wouldn't have prevented McDuffie's crash, it may have slowed him enough to have prevented his death if the mechanical failure had occurred in the same spot. He was the epitome of a NASCAR racer, and stuck to the roots of stock car racing. May he forever rest in peace.
I didn’t know there was motorcycle racing at the Glen. I can’t find it here
@@hmdwgf It was amateur roadracing, not professional, and I only ran the track once, but it was sublime. I don't imagine with all the Armco, there are many bikers who'd want to race there regularly, but that was the 1980's before some of the present safety items were placed.
That whole section of the Glen was lethal, JD was not the only crash there at all, Tommy Kendall's one was terrifying when they came back from commercial in an IMSA race and the first shot was of him in the same area, hard in the wall
This is why they reconfigured to the bus stop chicane to slow the cars down.
Kendall's crash was only like a month before JD's, after Kendall had nearly won at Sears Point subbing for the injured Kyle Petty and Kendall had been scheduled to sub for Petty again when the Cup series came to the Glen. The bus stop was instituted the following year.
It’s also the turn that Helmuth Koinnig went off of in 1974- he was decapitated by poorly installed guardrails. Speed into that corner used to be far too fast to be safe but it took this for them to do something.
@@saragrant9749 Huh I always thought he was decapitated in the Esses much like Cevert, though I may ahve got those two confused
@@jacekatalakis8316Both were the result of improperly secured guardrails. In Helmut’s case, the top tier of guardrail held up, but the bottom tier buckled. That’s what caused his decapitation. In Cevert’s accident, he hit the inside kerb at Turn 3, bounced off the kerb, went across the track, hit the guardrail and was sent back across the track into the guardrail on that side of the track. I don’t know which tier of the guardrail wasn’t secured properly, but it ended up bisecting him somewhere in the torso.
A composite of the two crashes is shown early on in Rush.
I worked at a local gas station in Sanford back then. A couple of weeks before he died he came into the store and I asked him why he wasn't racing this weekend (Talladega). He said because I don't have an engine for it. He said, "I'm gonna try my luck at the Glen."
I remember my Dad telling me about J.D. I had his car in my collection... so sad 😞
Unfortunately, more were to follow in the next 10 years 😢
Great driver. I was so moved by what the other drivers did for J.D. NASCAR and the old school legends really cared about each other. That is something that should be preserved. The current day big money has tainted many sports. RIP J.D. 🙏
I’ll never forget JD. His death was the first time I had ever heard of a driver dying during a race, much less watching the race when it happened. RIP JD.
Rest in Peace, you where one of the real drivers, not one of the rich kids who see it as nothing but a hobby..
I also love that old overlay where you could see the gears in an H-Pattern with speed,rpm’s and inputs!
Bro is trying to start a fight with Ty Gibbs
Thanks for making this. I remember watching this race live as a kid -- it's the first racing-related death that I recall experiencing, and it stuck with me all these years later. He's the first thing I think of any time I hear "Watkins Glen". Great retrospective and such a dignified recap of the man.
We will never forget that day we were there and it was devastating.
We were watching on television that day and so many of the cars headed into that sweeping right hander out of shape I told my wife it would be a miracle if something awful doesn't happen there. So sorry it happened, another native North Carolina racer who built the sport into a world famous spectacle. All the best to his family and all the folks in Elkin.
you're right - I can't remember who were the announcers but at least one of them mentioned this several times
Just saw his memorial mural in his hometown Sanford, NC today. It’s an amazing tribute!
There are none guys like him nowadays in the field, the closest that we have are guys like Timmy Hill, Jeremy Clements (Even though he has wins) or Joey Gase that somehow are still managing to put up grassroots family owned operations out there fighting against the unlimited budgets of the bigger teams. RIP J.D. you walked so other small team driver-owners could fly over your footsteps.
I just noticed your channel and, I have to say, WELL DONE!!!!! I was very fortunate to have met J. D. on a number of occasions, he was always very polite and nice and would easily answer any questions. He was very remarkable. I was and still am a huge fan of his. I still miss him and I still have the collectables he signed for me. I will never part with them. REST IN PEACE J.D.
He was well liked and receiveed alot of respect from the other drivers and their team and team owners. That says a hell of a lot about the man J.D. McDuffie
Great video bud! Glad you shared about JD's life, how independent drivers were back then, the switch to Winston Cup, and the track's change. Lots of well informative information
JD Mcffie is solidified as one of the greatest Nascar Legends in my heart. I remember finding out about him through conversations with my grandpa when we'd talk about Nascar. JD may not have stats like all the big corporate sponsor winning teams, but his sheer determination as an independent racer is legendary status.
Thank you for making this video! I remember the crash well. RIP JD
I remember seeing this accident when it happened. I was shocked when Chip came on air and announced that it was fatal. It didn’t seem that bad. After I learned the details I understood. What a gruesome way for a good man to go. RIP, J.D. You were the definition of a race car driver.
Thank you for telling his story. RIP JD🙏
Thank you for this video. I remember watching this live when I was a kid. I never forgot JD or that race. This was a nice tribute to him.
Thank you for sharing this story. I don’t remember ever hearing his name but I appreciate his story. Good work.
Great video! Thank you for sharing J.D’s story.
Thank you NFJJ for posting this elegiac video.
Wins was always in his sight, but not part of his dream. He loved the sport and went out doing what he loved. Upmost respect for J.D 🙌
Thanks. I remember that day. Nice job with the video. R.I.P. J.D.
Excellent Video!!! Thank you for all of the Time and Effort that went into making it! I was born in 1965 and I did not remember J.D. the days of the independent owner/driver are Long Gone! Thank you for informing us all about this one! 👏 Bravo!!!
Brock Beards book on him has to be one of my favorites I’ve read. I’m still waiting to meet Brock to have him sign it lol
Benny Parsons' remarks after the announcement of JD's death were spot on and worth listening to if you haven't heard them. What a lot of people probably don't remember all these years later was that Benny was uniquely positioned to deliver those remarks because Benny's wife had died 2 months earlier.
What an inspiration, never really knew much about him apart from him being a very experienced driver. This is a great video
May he rest up there❤
Thanks for keeping this history alive
That was an awesome remembrance of JD McDuffie thank you for taking the time to make this I was a fan of this independent driver 🏁
Can you look into maybe telling the racing career of SCOTTY CAIN I think you will enjoy some of the story's you find ☘️
I remember in an era of tractor trailers hauling cars to the tracks, I was at a car dealership where Richard Petty was doing a meet and greet, when J.D. pulls up with his race car on the back of an oooooold flat bed car hauler truck. He came in and sat down unannounced and signed the backs of Richard's post cards he was giving out (Somewhere I still have mine). It wasn't too long after his fiery crash, because he was still wearing burn gloves. He was such a nice guy.
What a great video. Really appreciated it.
Excellent video! I saw that accident live, and I have never forgotten who he was.
I was 9 years old. It was my first and only nascar race my dad took me to. It was shocking. I saw the car go off in the grass. RIP sir
I remember watching the 1991 Budweiser at the Glen and see his crash sent shivers down my spine.
I was in the Marine Corps, stationed at Camp Pendleton in 1991. I used to go home on the weekends, if I didn’t have to be on barracks duty. I remember watching this at my parents house and thinking it was bad. JD was a class act. He is missed.
Thank you for this video, friends and I were big fans of JD especially when he had a local sponsorship on his car from Hatboro , PA….. I have the 1:24 Racing Champions diecast with that sponsorship ….. RIP JD…..I was always a fan.
Well done on the vid. Covering those who were lost is a good thing. So they are not forgotten. Buren Skeen, Friday Hassler, Don Mactavish, Russle Phillips, etc. Unfortunately the list is long and this doesn't include F1 or Drag Racing. In the end, every racer in history died doing what they love. May they all rest in peace.
He was in NASCAR for fun. What a legend. RIP JD.
A great example of how titles don't tell the whole story. Fighting just to make it to the starting line each time.
Me and my dad who passed july13 and his birthday is today August 11 was watching this on his birthday. It is very hard to lose a love one
Listen guys, this dude could drive a car. It just so happens he didn’t get the car/investment into the car that was needed to be up with the top teams. Think of a driver spending their entire career in a Williams f1 car now.. just fighting for last every week but ur skill could be the best out their but the car under you isn’t. The independent guys are absolutely the peak of racing idc what anyone has to say.
I was here for this race. I jumped the fence and was probably one of the closest spectators to this crash.
I was watching that race that day it broke my heart shortly after the accident stock car racing magazine published a really nice article it was written by a man who has a boy met JD at a track and helped him out it was a good article if it's out there online you should check it out thanks good show look forward to the next one
I used to watch the races with my dad as a little kid and this is one of my first recollections of a race, but I was actually watching it alone that day. I believe my dad was working. I remember telling him what happened when he got home. I took it pretty well for my age, because I had been going to demolition derby events since I was old enough to talk, so this didn't feel too different. Definitely would have hit me different if I was older. I teared up a little just watching it now.
I remember the announcement live on tv when I was twelve years old. I've been going to the Glen now for twenty years and I think of J.D. every year I walk into the track.
I remember this as if it was yesterday. I wan't a road course fan probably because Earnhardt didn't have a lot of success on that type of track but it was a hot Sunday afternoon day here in South Dakota so I decide to stay inside and watch it. I was sitting very close to the TV & seen his car go into the grass then fip & stop. There is some things a person just never forgets where you were when it happens & sadly this was one of them for me.
Ernie Irvan was my favorite driver. Hearing him say "it's hard to drive by that corner every lap" is creepy, knowing how many drivers were killed by basilar skull fractures. Irvan was nearly killed by one in 1994 at Michigan.
I cannot believe they finished this race. RIP JD. I had your car in my matchbox car collection as a kid, and I never knew how hard you worked just to be a part of the show.
Thanks for this video -- J.D. was a true privateer on the Grand National circuit... not widely publicized, he continued to run the local dirt tracks when he could... down on the local classes he was almost always there to win. we ran against him often in the old Fayetteville speedway, and often as not he came out ahead of the car I hung around... and the Ray Mason car was one of the best of the time (old big-block mid-late 70s). J.D.s equipment didn't allow him to win at the Grand National, but he knew how to make a living at it and raced what he had... plus, he was just a nice guy... thanks for posting...
Thank you for this video. I watched JD with much interest, back then. And partly because I believed that he had moved to Sanford FL.
He lived in Sanford North Carolina
JD inspired me to just work and build cool stuff i may not drive a race car but he proved that as long as you enjoy the work you’re doin there will be zero stress anytime of day. RIP JD you inspire many to this day
Well done. Much Respect !!
One of my all time favorite drivers.
Good Man, hard worker, loved the sport.
A true tragedy when he died.
I remember watching that race that day.
It was bad.
You’re RUclips videos are awesome 👍
I live near Watkins Glen, about 20 mins away, remember this crash vividly. JD was one of my favorite drivers at the time, few years later I have been able to take my car (not a racecar) onto the track. The speed generated on that stretch must have been crazy. The “bus stop “ or inner loop was put in to decrease speed into that corner.
Damn great video Sir, RIP J.D.Mcduffy you are not forgotten!
It's a shame you can't spell his name correctly..
@@wyatberp3611 Yeah I messed that up, My fault, We gonna have a party now about Grammar Nazi stuff???????
@@VeliusCoba Ignore that asshat-he just out here lookin to cause trouble over a minor misspelling.
@@wyatberp3611 it’s a shame your saying it like it will save his life
Poor JD, I watched the race that day. Such a sad accident. Later on in life I guess about 2008 I worked with a girl who told me her daddy was on his pit crew that day.
RIP JD McDuffie...
I just remember that segment they did about JD at the 1985 Daytona 500 where his wife was like “I just wish he’d quit”
My father was the guy standing next to Jerry Punch. He was working for MRN that day.
I actually got to see his hauler this past Weekend at Baileys Excavatings 50th. Anniversary with one of his old cars on the back of it.
Great video, I'd like to see one like this about Raymond "Friday" Hassler. RIP!
JD McDuffie the ultimate underdog R.I.P
RIP to one of the last great independents. Also, side note to say that seeing Chip Williams’ face makes me sick.
Sad to see him go.He was still a great driver he literally won a celebrity race at owego Speedway the night before. Fly High JD
* Owego, not Oswego
@@MidgetRacer8192 my bad sorry
@@RedneckJesus88 No worries... lots of people get the tracks mixed up, since the towns sound so familiar & Oswego is more famous. But Shangri-La is/was in Owego, where JD won.
My buddy Terry used to pit for him as a tire changer in the late 80's. Said he was one of the nicest guys ever, and the definition of "shoestring budget".
McDuffie is a under-rated and mostly forgotten legend
Still remember how sad I was that day watching, RIP J.D.
I Used to watch Mr.JD race at Dublin NC dirt track back in the 80's.Horns Furniture was his sponsor. The car was red and had chrome numbers on the doors.
Been to that racetrack coming from Fayetteville, me and my dad used to go up there when they shut down the dirt track at Fayetteville speedway on i-95
Iam glad someone said it he was out there with the best without the high dollar sponsorship like some of the others had and was still getting it done
Its sad that all the old tracks and drivers are gone. The short races, I was a fan of old Beltsville speedway in Maryland. It was a NASCAR track which had Friday night racing. I saw the likes of Bobby Alison, Bobby Issac, The King, plus all the great locals like Reds Kagle. Many Friday nights spent there. JD was a bold warrior, doing it on his own. There are still teams less funded but they have manufacturers support. I remember his last race, it was a sad day. I always rooted for the underdogs like him.
I was standing right there today that JD lost his life. Accidentally didn't look all that bad until I got home and watch the video that's when the OMG moment hit. May he rest in peace. Men like him made NASCAR.
Thank you
J D was my favorite underdog driver in the 70's - 80's
This Man deserves more and more recognition and respect then what he gets. This Guy Was A True Racer and he earned my respect. It’s a Shame He Lost His Life Like He Did But As We All Knew He was doing what he loved. I have heard from other people that knew him and they told me he was decapitated
JD was a good ole boy - The kind of driver the rank and file could relate to - He wasn't a superstar but he was solid - none of us are superstars -
When JD's luck went bad , all of us NASCAR fans lost something - because a piece of NASCAR - why we loved NASCAR - was lost forever -
JD got in trouble in the worst spot possible - It was a sad day at Watkins Glen - & I remember it well -
JD you aren't forgotten Brother -
I was at that race...saddest race I have ever been to...may he rest in peace
I was at WGI that day for my first NASCAR race and my first race in person. We were sitting near the start/finish line on the front stretch (you can see where we were sitting in the background behind the announcement at 7:30 minute mark of the video), and the race suddenly went quiet. We had no idea what happen since we didn't have radios with us. My memory is faded, but I don't recall the car being brought in through pit lane, so they must have brought it back to the pits using the infield roads inside the track. We didn't know he died or how until we got home. I was also in Toronto the day Jeff Krosnoff was killed and heard that accident but didn't see it. I was also at WGI the day Rod Millen had that huge accident in the esses in the Nissan and were watching in the esses grandstand and saw it coming seconds before the impact. The hood flew 2 stories in the air after the hit. He was nearly killed along with another driver jumping over the fence nearly being hit by a car at full throttle. Consequently I am not a fan of "the big one" accidents that nascar fans love...
Thank you.
Raleigh NC native and I love the drivers and cool stories from my state. Thanks for that great video. I actually didn't know much about him as I started watching in the mid nineties. Learning more about the history all the time though.
I was at the race. Could not see the wreck but we sure did feel the emotion of the loss JD as the news was passed on within the fans. Sad day for sure.
RIP = I WAS IN DAYTONA FOR THE FEB 500 = JD"S ATEMPT TO GET IN HE WAS RUNNING 14 TH (TOP 15 ) GOT IN = ALL OTHER TEAMS GAVE JD THEIR TAKE OFF TIRES SO HE COULD MAKE THE RACE = I SAW HIM RUNNNG WITH ALL SORT OF RIMS NOT MARCHING = BUT HE GOT INTO THE RACE LEAGAL = ALL FANS GAVE HIM A STANDING OVATION = MIND BENDING
JD was a friend of mine’s uncle. Very sad time for the family. R.I.P. JD.
I was almost a yr old when this happened. I was born n raised in nearby Elmira. WGI will always be close to me
Fr JD was a legend on the track even though no cup win he still was a great independent driver
I mean when you look at his stats it makes you wonder what he would have done in competitive equipment
@@xavierjuno4572 people in the top-tier equipment is like they do so well become a champion a couple years later than they just retire and they say they just call it a career but we JD that's a whole nother story like this man
Stayed in the series for long as he could go and that's something I think you will never see again
RIP JD :(
This video deserves more likes
He was racing back when my father was racing the local circuit up until I started following NASCAR in my late teens thru my 20s. Over 2 almost 3 decades. That alone is flabberghasting.
Sadly, his name did not ring a bell at first, but his car closer to the end of his racing career sure did. I recognised it immediately.
His story was amazing and but one of many I've never heard. Back then there was no youtube, so you never really got to know all these ins and outs, twists and turns of the drivers' lives and racing struggles. Media was controlled by just a few outlets. Where I lived, car racing was pretty much only on ABC Wide World of Sports along with women's gymnastics, golf and the agony of defeat. You were at their mercy to see even what little racing you did, and were just as likely to tune into arm wrestling or whatever. Not racing.
It's unfortunate in many ways that big sponsor teams drove guys like JD out of top tier racing. This would make an amazing, if tragically poignant, movie, so that more people would learn about how NASCAR once was and the drivers who loved the sport despite all hardships. We hear about the high profile drivers ad nauseam, but never these salt of the earth drivers.
Rest well JD. My sincerest condolences to his family.
I grew up a couple of miles from JD's early shop on 42 between Sanford and Broadway, NC. My father owned an auto body shop and would loan JD his frame machine to fix his race car if it was wrecked at the race.
How sad he died from a basilar skull fracture too, good this has become extremely rare now that the drivers have to use the Hans device, must have saved many lives.
Crazy i was born 12 hours before his death.