Dan Pardus
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Daniel Joseph Pardus (born April 2, 1963) is an American former
stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...
driver. He was a regular on the
NASCAR Goody's Dash Series The ISCARS Dash Touring Series (previously known as the NASCAR Baby Grand National, Goody's Dash Series and IPOWER Dash Series among others) was a stock car racing series created by NASCAR in 1973 in sports, 1973, initially running solely at Nor ...
, and also competed in events in the Busch and
Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and fro ...
, as well as the
ARCA Re/Max Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...
.


Racing career

A native of
Port Orange, Florida Port Orange is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area. Port Orange is a principal city in the Fun Coast region of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 c ...
, a suburb of
Daytona Beach Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropo ...
, Pardus, a graduate of
Mainland High School Mainland High School is a public high school located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. It is attended by 1,979 students of grades nine through twelve. The mascot is a Buccaneer and strongly resembles the old logo of the Tampa Bay Buccanee ...
, won back to back track championships at New Smyrna Speedway in 1980 and 1981. Pardus began racing in NASCAR's touring series in 1992, competing in the
Goody's Dash Series The ISCARS Dash Touring Series (previously known as the NASCAR Baby Grand National, Goody's Dash Series and IPOWER Dash Series among others) was a stock car racing series created by NASCAR in 1973 in sports, 1973, initially running solely at Nor ...
, a series for four-cylinder
subcompact car Subcompact car is a North American Car classification, classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications. According to the Unite ...
s. He ran in the series for several years, running a
Chevrolet Cavalier The Chevrolet Cavalier is a line of compact cars produced by Chevrolet. Serving as the replacement of the Chevrolet Monza, the Cavalier was the second Chevrolet model line to adopt front-wheel drive. Three versions of the Cavalier have been sold, ...
and, later, a
Pontiac Grand Am The Pontiac Grand Am is a car model that Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac Division of General Motors produced in various years between 1973 and 2005. The first and second generations were Rear-wheel drive, RWD mid-size cars built on the Pontiac Leman ...
; he joined Jim & Judie Motorsports, the team he would run the majority of the remainder of his racing career for, before the 1995 season. Pardus moved to the
ARCA Re/MAX Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...
, a full-size stock car series, in 1997; running approximately half the series schedule, he placed third in the series' Rookie of the Year award standings and 12th overall. He ran only five races in the series in 1998, as he attempted to make his debut at the top level of NASCAR competition, the
Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and fro ...
; he failed to qualify for a number of races through the season, and was injured early in the season in a practice crash at
Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway (formerly known as Texas International Raceway from September to December 1996) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It has hosted various major races since its inaugura ...
. In October he successfully made his debut, in what would prove to be his only start in the series, in the Pepsi 400 in October. Pardus finished 36th in the event, which had been delayed from July by extensive wildfires in central Florida. Pardus entered the 1999 season intending to run the full 1999 Winston Cup Series schedule, competing for Rookie of the Year driving the No. 50 for Midwest Transit Racing. The team ran a limited schedule due to limited sponsorship; following his third failure to qualify in three attempts, at
Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...
in May, Pardus was released as the team's driver, moving to a management position. In 2000, driving for the Gardners, Pardus failed to qualify for the
Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
; after running a limited ARCA schedule in 2000, Pardus and the team moved to the NASCAR
Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
in 2001, with sponsorship from The Outdoor Channel; he made his debut in the series at
Nashville Superspeedway Nashville Superspeedway is a tri-oval intermediate speedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The track has held a variety of racing events since its opening in 2001, including NASCAR and the IndyCar Series. It is currently owned by Speedway Motorsport ...
. In his second Busch Series race, at
Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is an inactive tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Joliet, Illinois. It has hosted various major races throughout its existence, including NASCAR and IndyCar races. The track is currently own ...
, Pardus was involved in a hard crash with David Donohue, suffering a broken back; he returned to competition later in the year, and ran a partial schedule in 2002, competing in twelve races, all but one for Jim & Judie Motorsports; the exception being a drive for
Jay Robinson Racing Premium Motorsports (formerly Jay Robinson Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team last fielded the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 LE full-ti ...
in the GNC Live Well 250 at
Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...
; he also failed to qualify for six other races. Pardus' team hired pit crews from Winston Cup Series teams to pit their cars; at Nashville, due to a scheduling conflict, the crew for ML Motorsports pitted the car. Following the 2002 season, The Outdoor Channel ended their sponsorship of Jim & Judie Motorsports; Pardus attempted to qualify for two races in 2003, at
Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...
and
Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a egg-shaped oval track in Darlington, South Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1950; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The venue has a capacity of 47,00 ...
failing to qualify for both. Pardus would make one more attempt at a NASCAR start, in 2005 at Daytona, driving the No. 73 Chevrolet for Raabe Racing Enterprises in qualifying for the Pepsi 400; he failed to qualify for the event.


Personal life

Pardus is married, to Alice. He has two children, Danielle and Preston Pardus, both of whom also race cars; Preston won the
Sports Car Club of America The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, HPDE, Time Trial, Road Racing, RoadRally, and Hill Climbs in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs ...
Spec Miata Spec Miata is a class of racing car used in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), National Auto Sport Association (NASA), Midwestern Council of Sports Car Clubs (MCSCC) road racing, and other club events. The Spec Miata (SM) class is intended to ...
national championship in 2017. He currently works as a utilities contractor, and worked as a part-time commentator for radio and TV broadcasts of racing events on
SPEED Channel Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as a ...
and HD Net, which he joined following his racing career.


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.)


Winston Cup Series


=Daytona 500

=


Busch Series


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.)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pardus, Dan Living people 1963 births People from Port Orange, Florida Sportspeople from Volusia County, Florida Racing drivers from Florida NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers ISCARS Dash Touring Series drivers