| Billy Standridge | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1953-11-27)November 27, 1953 Shelby, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | April 12, 2014(2014-04-12) (aged 60) Lake Wylie, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Cause of death | Cancer | ||||||
| NASCARCup Series career | |||||||
| 23 races run over 7 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 47th (1994) | ||||||
| First race | 1994Goodwrench 500 (Rockingham) | ||||||
| Last race | 1998Pepsi 400 (Daytona) | ||||||
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| NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career | |||||||
| 84 races run over 8 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 12th (1988) | ||||||
| First race | 1988All Pro 300 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last race | 1993AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham) | ||||||
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William Gerald Standridge (November 27, 1953 – April 12, 2014) was an Americanstock car racing driver. He was a competitor in theNASCAR Winston Cup Series andBusch Series.
Born November 27, 1953,[1] Standridge started his racing career in theGoody's Dash Series. Standridge began running the NASCARBusch Series in 1986, when he finished fourteenth at the All Pro 300 atCharlotte Motor Speedway in his own Pontiac. After that, he began running a limited schedule in the Busch Series, posting five top-ten finishes in 84 starts, the last of which came in 1993. In1994, he began running a limited schedule inWinston Cup, making his debut at North Carolina Speedway but finishing 42nd after a crash. He ran seven more races that year, his best finish being a 24th at theSouthern 500 as well as picking up sponsorship from theWCW andDura Lube. He followed that up with a fourteenth-place finish at Darlington the following year.
After an unsuccessful stint withTriad Motorsports in1996 and1997 (he was released afterNew Hampshire's summer race in 1997),[2] Standridge began running his own team, the No. 47Ford Thunderbird, picking up sponsorship fromJayski[3] and also from fan-sponsored donations. He even picked up sponsorship from Phillips afterGeoffrey Bodine failed to qualify for a 1998 Talladega race. Standridge was one of the last drivers to run in NASCAR using a Thunderbird after other teams switched to the redesignedTaurus for the 1998 season.
His last career start was that the Pepsi 400 in1998, where his engine expired nineteen laps into the race. His last attempt ever came in1999, when he filled in forDan Pardus in theMidwest Transit Racing Chevy at Rockingham Speedway in 2nd-round-qualifying, but his time was not fast enough to make the race. Outside of NASCAR, Standridge ran an auto-parts store inShelby, North Carolina.[4]
In March 2014, Standridge was diagnosed with cancer. He died on April 12, 2014, at his home inLake Wylie, South Carolina.[1][5] Standridge was survived by his wife, five children, and seven grandchildren.
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Standridge Motorsports | Ford | DNQ | |
| 1995 | DNQ | |||
| 1997 | Triad Motorsports | Ford | DNQ | |
| 1998 | Standridge Motorsports | Ford | 36 | 35 |
| 1999 | DNQ | |||
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | ABSC | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||
| 1996 | Triad Motorsports | 78 | Ford | DAY | ATL | SLM | TAL | FIF | LVL | CLT | CLT | KIL | FRS | POC | MCH | FRS | TOL | POC | MCH | INF | SBS | ISF | DSF | KIL | SLM | WIN | CLT 14 | ATL 25 | 120th | - | [21] | |||||||||||||