Mike Chase (April 17, 1952 – April 18, 2025) was an American professionalstock car racing driver. Winner of the 1994 series championship in theNASCARWinston West Series, he also competed in theWinston Cup Series,Busch Series, andCraftsman Truck Series and worked forPenske Racing as a crewman.

Born inRedding, California, Chase moved to theCharlotte, North Carolina, area in 1993 to further his racing career.^[1]

Chase died April 18, 2025, at the age of 73.^[2]

Growing up competing atShasta Speedway in his native California, Chase began competing inNASCAR touring series in the mid-1980s, winning the 1987 championship in theFeatherlite Southwest Tour;^[3] Chase also made his debut in theBusch Series in 1986 atDarlington Raceway, finishing 32nd.^[4]

Chase moved up to theWinston West Series in 1990 where he won Rookie of the Year.^[5] In 1991 he made his debut in theWinston Cup Series, competing in a combination race atSears Point Raceway; he finished 25th in the event. Chase would run selected races in Winston Cup over the next few years, in addition to selected Winston West events; his best finish in Cup came atMichigan International Speedway in 1990 where he finished 24th.^[6]

In addition to his racing career, in the early 1990s Chase worked as the head of stock car racing forA. J. Foyt Enterprises; he planned to attempt to qualify for theIndianapolis 500 on two occasions with the team, but was not approved byUSAC for competition.^[1][7]

In 1994, Chase qualified for the1994 Brickyard 400, the inaugural stock car race at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway. The event, although on the Winston Cup Series schedule, was a combination race between Cup and theWinston West Series;^[1] despite running too slow to make the field for the race on time, Chase started 43rd in the event due to being eligible for a provisional starting spot as the then-current Winston West Series points leader.^[8] He came into the event with car No. 50 but another No. 50 car made the race inA. J. Foyt and Chase switched to No. 58 for the race. He finished 42nd in the race, being involved in an accident after completing 91 of the race's 160 laps.^[1]

Chase would go on to win the 1994 Winston West series championship,^[9] winning five times over the course of the season.^{[10][N 1]} Chase moved to the Winston Cup Series in 1995, intending to run full-time forRookie of the Year in the No. 32Active Racing Chevrolet; however, after failing to qualify for the first race of the season, theDaytona 500,^[11] Chase was released by team ownerDean Myers and replaced byJimmy Hensley.^[9]

Chase returned part-time to the West Series for the remainder of 1995, winning twice, as well as running eight races in theSuperTruck Series, making his first race in the series atBristol Motor Speedway forChesrown Racing, where he finished 27th;^[12] later that year he replacedP. J. Jones in the No. 1DieHard Chevrolet for team ownerScoop Vessels,^[13] posting a best finish of sixteenth in seven races.^[12]

In 1996, Chase returned to the renamed Craftsman Truck Series, driving forSteve Sellers Racing; driving in seven events for the team, he posted a best finish of thirteenth atPortland Speedway.^[14] Chase would run selected races in the Winston West Series in 1998, before returning to the series for a full season in 1999 withGreen Light Racing; he failed to win a race but finished seventh in points.^[15]

Chase would run three races in theNationwide Series forST Motorsports in 2001,^[16] with a best finish of 27th; these would be his final races in NASCAR competition.^[4]

After retiring from competition, Chase worked for several race teams, includingWood Brothers Racing; he worked forPenske Racing as a fabricator.^[1] Chase also worked as acrew chief in theNationwide Series.^[17]

Chase was inducted into theWest Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2010.^[18]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Notes

Citations

• Mike Chase atIMDb
• Mike Chase driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• 1952 births
• 2025 deaths
• American Speed Association drivers
• Sportspeople from Redding, California
• Racing drivers from Shasta County, California
• NASCAR drivers
• A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers
• Brickyard 400 drivers

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