Joe Shear, Sr. (May 8, 1943 – March 6, 1998) was an American

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 from Clinton,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. He won an estimated 350 races in his career, including four of his last five races. Fred Nielsen, Shear's car owner from 1975 to 1984 and 1986 to 1994, said that his team won 250 races and he estimates that Shear won 600 races. He won at least 30 track or touring series championships in his career. Even though he was known as a pavement driver, two of those championships were on the

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Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is k ...

Racing career

Shear began racing

kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of small sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance ...

s as a youth. While he was still under age, he would sneak in the pits to work on his father Al Shear's racecar at Rockford Speedway. His father won the track's championship in 1951, 1962, and 1965. Joe Shear was named the track's Outstanding Mechanic for 1962. Joe Shear began racing at Rockford in 1964 and he won the track's Rookie of the Year award. He had his first win at the track on his birthday May 8, 1965. In 1972, Shear was awarded his sixth straight Rockford track championship. That year he won the first of his eight National Short Track Championship events at the track. Shear finished second behind Dick Trickle with 58 ARTGO wins and he won the championship of the

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

touring series in 1986 and 1989. In 1979, 1987, and 1989 he won the Red, White, and Blue State championship races at Wisconsin International Raceway. During the

Daytona Speedweeks Daytona Speedweek presented by AdventHealth is a series of racing events that take place during January and February at Daytona International Speedway. Traditionally leading up to the Daytona 500, in 2021 it concluded with the Daytona road cours ...

, he won the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway in 1988 and 1989, and in 1990 he won the Volusia County Speedway championship. Shear was a four-time winner at the Slinger Nationals at Slinger Super Speedway (1987, 1990, 1991, 1993) also won the Wisconsin Short Track Series title in 1994. Shear won six ARTGO events in 1996 plus five out of six special events at Wisconsin International Raceway. He could feel cancer returning in May 1996, but he decided to continue racing. In February 1997 he had surgery to remove his

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and muscles on his neck. He was unable to prepare his car for the upcoming season and he received five weeks of radiation. With his health failing, he won four of the last five races in his career. His final victory was winning the 1997 National Short Track Championship race at Rockford. He was recorded laps 0.2 seconds faster than the rest of the cars at the Saturday qualifying race for his final event at the Oktoberfest race at

La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway The La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway is a semi-banked asphalt oval racetrack in West Salem, Wisconsin. The outer track is 5/8 mile and the inner track is a 1/4 mile. The speedway has progressive banking in the corners, from 5 degrees on the bottom t ...

until his motor blew up. Shear borrowed another driver's car which had already qualified for the Sunday finale and raced from the last place up to fourth place. He had won the event five times, mainly later in his career.

Personality

Shear was known for being very quiet. His wife Connie said, "There were times, especially early in his career, when he would not talk to a soul. He would go to the track, unload the car, set a track record, win the feature, and leave."

Death and legacy

Shear discovered he had cancer three years before he died. He died on March 6, 1998.

Madison International Speedway The Madison International Speedway (MIS) is a half-mile paved oval racetrack in the Town of Rutland near Oregon, Wisconsin, United States. With 18-degree banked turns, the track is billed as "The Track of Champions" and "Wisconsin's Fastest H ...

has held an

ARCA Midwest Tour The ASA Midwest Tour (known between 2012 and 2022 as the ARCA Midwest Tour) is a pavement Late model, Super Late Model auto racing series based in the Midwestern United States with its headquarters in Oregon, Wisconsin. It was a developmental se ...

memorial race since 2008 (except in 2020, where it was held at Dells Raceway Park because Madison could not hold events because of pandemic restrictions. His son Joe Shear, Jr. is a NASCAR champion crew chief, primarily with Johnny Sauter, coincidentally the son of Shear's rival Jim Sauter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shear, Joe 1943 births 1998 deaths People from Clinton, Rock County, Wisconsin Racing drivers from Wisconsin American Speed Association drivers