- Jim Cook
Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = James "Jim" Preston Cook
Birthdate = birth date|1921|10|2|mf=y | Birthplace =Illinois
Died = death date and age|1983|11|29|1921|10|2|mf=y
Cause of Death = Murder
Awards = 2006 inductee into theWest Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Best_Cup_Pos = 45th 1960 (Grand National)
Cup_Wins = 1
Cup_Top_Tens = 7
Cup_Poles = 1
First_Cup_Race = 1954Oakland Stadium Race #1 (Oakland Stadium )
First_Cup_Win = 1960Sacramento Race #1 (Sacramento)
Last_Cup_Win = 1960Sacramento Race #1 (Sacramento)
Last_Cup_Race = 1970Motor Trend 500 (Riverside)
Total_Cup_Races = 39
Years_In_Cup = 16Jim Cook (James Preston Cook,
October 2 ,1921 -November 29 ,1983 ) was a Stock Car racer who competed in theNASCAR Nextel Cup series andNASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model (PCLM) series. Born in Illinois, Cook lived inBoston before relocating west across the United States toNorwalk, California .Biography
Cook began racing in
Boston . He moved to the Western United States in the early 1940s. [http://www.stockcarreunion.com/inductees/2006inductees.html Biography] at theWest Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame , RetrievedNovember 22 2007 ] He had a successful short track racing career in Southern California, primarily driving for owner Floyd Johnson. Cook made 39 starts in theNextel Cup series from 1954 through 1970. Most of Cook's starts were in West Coast races during the time the races counted for bothNextel Cup and PCLM points, though he did compete in the inauguralWorld 600 atCharlotte Motor Speedway and in the 1964Daytona 500 and Richmond 250. After this foray, hisNextel Cup series starts were limited to an annual start in the Motor Trend 500, then held each January atRiverside International Raceway . He did compete regularly in the PCLM series, primarily driving for owners Floyd Johnson or Cos Cancilla, finishing in the top ten in points eight times between 1956 and 1969, with a best points finish of 3rd on three occasions (1963, 1967 and 1968). He had five career victories in the PCLM series, the last one coming at Tri-Cities Speedway in West Richland, Washington in July 1969.Cook scored one career win in the
Nextel Cup series at the oldCalifornia State Fairgrounds inSacramento, California onSeptember 11 ,1960 . The 100 mile race took place on the 1 mile dirt oval. Cook, driving Floyd Johnson's Dodge, edged Scotty Cain's T-Bird.Cook's racing career came to an end when he was severely injured in a crash during the 1970 Motor Trend 500 at
Riverside International Raceway onJanuary 18 ,1970 . His Ford crashed into the end of the turn 9 wall and he suffered head trauma and many broken bones.After his accident left him wheelchair bound and with large medical and hospital bills, benefit races were held for him at Southern California tracks.
Cook was murdered on
November 29 ,1983 by a drifter who broke into hisLong Beach, California apartment and beat him to death with one of his racing trophies.In 2006, Jim Cook was inducted into the
West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame .References
* [http://racing-reference.info/driver?id=cookji02 NASCAR Cup statistics]
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