Ramo Stott (April 6, 1934 – August 19, 2021) was an American stock car racing driver from

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States, along with Fort Madison. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk chief Keokuk, who is ...

. He competed in

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. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...

, USAC stock car, and ARCA. He was a 2011 inductee in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.

Career

Stott was one of a large group of national drivers from

ARCA

Stott won his first ARCA race in 1969 at Crown Point Speedway (

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

). Stott was the ARCA champion in 1970 and 1971. His ARCA career stretched from the 1950s to 1990s. Stott won 27 ARCA races in his career, which placed him seventh on the series all-time wins at his time of death. Stott's final ARCA victory came in 1988 at

Hazard, Kentucky Hazard is a home rule-class city in, and the county seat of, Perry County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 5,263 at the 2020 Census. History Local landowner Elijah Combs Sr. laid out the town in 1824 as the planned seat of the ne ...

USAC

Stott competed in USAC's

stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

division, finishing second in 1973, 1976, and 1977, first in 1975, and third in 1974.

NASCAR

Stott's greatest NASCAR accomplishment was starting from the pole for the 1976 Daytona 500. He was awarded the pole after the front-row starters,

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...

and A. J. Foyt along with

Dave Marcis David Alan Marcis (born March 1, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his fin ...

, were disqualified for illegal engines. He raced part-time in 35 starts between 1967 and 1984 along with leading 10 races. His highest career finish was second at Talladega. In the Daytona 500, Stott scored his best finish of third in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

, two Top-5s, and four Top-10's. In his overall NASCAR career, he had five Top-5s and 17 Top-10s.

Life after racing

He farmed corn and beans during his racing career. Stott became a NASCAR official and drove the NASCAR pace car.

Family life

Stott's sons Lance and Corrie both drove in ARCA before working in the racing industry. Stott was married to his wife Judy for 66 years; she helped repairing cars in his garage and attended his races. He also had two daughters.

Legacy

At the July 2021 race, ARCA honored former champions from Iowa at

Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch ...

. He was honored along with fellow Keokuk driver

Ron Hutcherson Ronald Hutcherson (April 4, 1943 – August 25, 2022) was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series and ARCA driver whose career spanned from 1972 to 1979. He was the brother of NASCAR race winner and IMCA champion Dick Hutcherson. Engine builder ...

Mason Mitchell Mason Mitchell (born June 25, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competed in the ARCA Racing Series as an Owner-Driver (NASCAR), owner/driver, driving the No. 98 for Mason Mitchell Motorsports. He is the 2 ...

, and team owner Larry Clement. Stott was inducted in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame in 2011.

Death

Stott died on August 19, 2021 from cancer.

References

External links

*
The Stott Family Racing team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stott, Ramo 1934 births 2021 deaths People from Keokuk, Iowa Racing drivers from Iowa NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers People from Kahoka, Missouri USAC Stock Car drivers