Hometown: Rome, N.Y.
Competed: 1963-82
Starts: 1,474
Wins: 342
Poles: 26
Jerry
Cook made his name in modifieds, winning six NASCAR Modified championships,
four coming consecutively from 1974-77. All the while, he was vying with
another driver from his hometown of Rome, N.Y., nine-time champion and NASCAR
Hall of Famer Richie Evans, for supremacy in NASCAR’s open-wheel realm. The
rivalry was home-grown – and intense.
Modified racing is NASCAR's oldest form of competition – modifieds
were the staple of the very first NASCAR season in 1948. Cook has said the
cars’ appeal was based on that history and the fact that the racing is unique
within NASCAR.
After retiring from racing in
1982, Cook stayed with the sport and helped shape the series that is known
today as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Cook served as the series’ director
when it began in 1985 and remains with NASCAR as competition administrator.
In
1998, he was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.
This is the latest in
a series of GodfatherMotorsports.com biographies profiling the 25 nominees for
the 2012 class of the NASCAR Hall Of Fame. Each of the 25 candidates will be
profiled in the coming weeks, in alphabetical order.
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