At the age of 64, Elton Sawyer holds a mountain of responsibility on his shoulders as the Senior Vice President of Competition at NASCAR. He took on the role in 2023 by replacing Scott Miller. What separated Sawyer from his predecessors in this position was the fact that he was a NASCAR driver himself. What also made him stand apart was his marriage to Patty Moise – also a former driver in the sport
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Sawyer and Moise are deemed to be the first racing couple in NASCAR. They raced against each other in the Busch Grand National Series 58 times through the 1990s. They married in November 1991 after dating for a brief period of time. Moise started her racing career in the early 1980s on the IMSA circuit. She competed in her first Grand National race in 1986 and joined the show full-time in 1990.
August 10, 1991: Husband and wife crash. Patty Moise and Elton Sawyer wrecked togethet at Rougemont early in the Busch Series race pic.twitter.com/ImsbTMXJXP
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) August 10, 2021
She started 133 races over 12 years and secured four top-10 finishes. Sawyer, on the other hand, began his racing career as a teenager at Langley Speedway. He won three track championships and also won the NASCAR Mid-Atlantic region championship twice. His first Grand National race came in 1983. He started 392 races over 20 years and won twice throughout his career.
So, how did this couple manage to keep their professional and personal lives apart at a speed of 200 miles per hour? Sawyer told The Roanoke Times in 1991, “We can separate it. When we leave the race track, it’s a husband-and-wife situation. I feel that we handle it very well. It’s a little awkward for the competitors right now, but they’ll get used to it.” And they have handled it well over the next 30 and counting years.
Sawyer’s rise to becoming one of the most important NASCAR officials
After his racing career ended, Sawyer worked for Red Bull Racing, Evernham Motorsports, and road-racing team Action Express. He joined NASCAR in 2015 as the managing director of the Truck Series. He spent seven years as a Vice President, overseeing event management and transportation. In 2023, NASCAR handed him his golden ticket.
Sawyer told Fox Sports upon taking on the role, “I have a love and a passion for the sport, no matter what the role has been. I’ve just kind of dove in the deep end and working closely with the powers that be and the experience that you surround yourself with.”
While it goes without question that Sawyer is more than qualified to officiate at NASCAR’s top level, teams, and drivers have been urging for better consistency from the governing body, especially in light of incidents such as the one triggered by Austin Dillon at Richmond Raceway. An official decision will be presented to the teams and fans on Tuesday this week.
