Ronald Richard Esau (October 9, 1954 – January 24, 2022) was an American

NASCAR Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, 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, ...

driver who competed from 1975 to 1990.''Ron Esau Career Statistics''
at Racing Reference

Career

The primary vehicle for this driver was the No. 56 Marc Reno-owned Gear Vendor

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

.''Ron Esau''
racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet He completed 1,704 laps - the equivalent of of racing - while picking up eight DNQs in the process. Esau started in an average of 31st place and finished in an average of 30th place; keeping him near the rear of the average racing grid. His total career earnings are $44,290. Even though he acquired a 17-race winless streak throughout his entire career as a NASCAR driver, Esau climbed as high in the championship rankings to 62nd place in the

1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 36th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 13th modern-era Cup series season. It began on Sunday, February 19 and ended on Sunday, November 18. Terry Labonte was crowned ...

season in addition to falling as low as 114th place in the

1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 1986 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 38th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 15th modern-era Cup series season. The season began on February 16 and ended November 16. Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress R ...

championship standings. In February 1988, Esau drove in the first ever NASCAR sanctioned stock car race held outside of North America when he was one of 32 starters in the Goodyear NASCAR 500 held at the Calder Park Thunderdome in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Driving in place of the critically injured Jim Robinson with all proceeds (including Esau s driving fee) going to the Jim Robinson Fund to help with medical bills, Esau's Oldsmobile Delta 88 started 5th, qualifying at 138.200 mph. For the first half of the race, Esau was able to avoid the predicted wrecks and was among the leaders, swapping the lead many times with regular Winston Cup stars

Neil Bonnett Lawrence Neil Bonnett (July 30, 1946 – February 11, 1994) was an American NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over his 18-year career. Bonnett was a member of the Alabama Gang, and started his career with the help of Bobby a ...

and

Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (December 3, 1937 – November 9, 2024) was an American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant ...

. However his race was over on lap 160 (of 280) with engine failure. Since 2013, Esau has operated a racing team in the independent circuits of stock cars that feature the old V8 engines that are rarely used in major league motorsports anymore.

Personal life and death

Esau was married to Marsha; they had one son. He worked as a mentor to young stock car drivers like Brandon Whitt and

Brendan Gaughan William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American former professional racing driver who has competed in off-road racing, off-road and stock car racing, stock cars. He is the grandson of Las Vegas Valley, Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaug ...

. Occasional jobs that Esau did after his NASCAR career include stints as the head driving instructor for Drivetech Racing School and doing fundraisers for people with various handicaps. Ron died on January 24, 2022, at the age of 67.

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

Craftsman Truck Series

Winston West Series

ARCA Hooters SuperCar 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:Esau, Ron 1954 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American businesspeople Sportspeople from San Diego County, California Racing drivers from California NASCAR drivers Businesspeople from California People from Lakeside, California ARCA Menards Series drivers