Richard Shelton "Dick" May (November 7, 1930June 9, 2009) was an American
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
driver who competed in 185 races in the NASCAR Grand National/
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 ...
between 1967 and 1985.
Racing career
May began his racing career at the
St. Lawrence Valley Speedway in
Canton, New York
Canton is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 11,638 at the time of the 2020 census. The town contains two Administrative divisions of New York#Villa ...
.
He spent much of his early career racing at the
Watertown Speedway
Watertown Speedway was a 1/2 mile dirt oval raceway located at the Jefferson County fairgrounds in Watertown, New York.
History
Auto racing was first presented at the former horse track located on Coffeen St in 1936 and again in 1940, when ...
, where he was 1962 Track Champion.
Known as NASCAR’s pinch hitter, May was a coveted as a relief driver and hailed for his ability to qualify cars and avoid crashing, and some estimates put his total NASCAR appearances at over 500.
In the 1975 running of the
Mason-Dixon 500, May drove five different cars but did not finish the race.
After retiring as a driver, NASCAR, worked as a NASCAR inspector until 2003.
May was inducted into the
Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame
The Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame was established in 1992 to recognize individual achievements in the sport of stock car racing. It is located at 1 Speedway Dr., Weedsport, New York.
History
The inaugural induction ceremony was held on Ap ...
in 2007.
DIRT Motorsports
Death
On June 9, 2009, May died following a long illness.
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.)
Grand National Series
Winston Cup Series
=Daytona 500
=
References
External links
*
Early Dick May stock car
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Dick
1930 births
2009 deaths
NASCAR drivers
Sportspeople from Cabarrus County, North Carolina
Racing drivers from New York (state)
Sportspeople from Ithaca, New York
Racing drivers from North Carolina
Sportspeople from Watertown, New York
People from Jefferson County, New York
Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame