The Buddy Shuman Award is one of the most coveted awards in the arena of NASCAR. It recognizes outstanding individual efforts made behind the advancement and holistic growth of the sport. But who was Buddy Shuman and why was the award named after him?
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Lee Grier Shuman, popularly known as Buddy Shuman, was a race car driver back in the mid-1900s. However, his career did not last long as he was killed in a tragic hotel fire in 1955, which was also the last year of his tenure in NASCAR’s Grand National Series. Two years later, NASCAR created the Buddy Shuman Award to commemorate the life and deeds of this deceased legend.
This year, NASCAR vet and Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace won this prestigious award for his lifetime contributions to the sport. With 55 victories, 202 top-5s, and 349 top-10s in his 706 starts across a term of over two whole decades, Wallace’s latest achievement is indeed, quite well-deserved.
Congratulating him, his son Greg Wallace wrote on X, “Proud to be on hand tonight to witness Dad add to the trophy case as the 2023 recipient of #NASCAR’s Buddy Shuman Award! Few people care more about advancing the sport of @NASCAR and carrying out Mrs. France’s vision at the @NASCAR_FDN more than @rustywallace.Congratulations!”
Proud to be on hand tonight to witness Dad add to the trophy case as the 2023 recipient of #NASCAR’s Buddy Shuman Award! Few people care more about advancing the sport of @NASCAR and carrying out Mrs. France’s vision at the @NASCAR_FDN more than @rustywallace. Congratulations!… pic.twitter.com/0iLbiRdgDz
— Greg Wallace (@GregWallace66) January 20, 2024
Past winners of this reputable award in NASCAR
With the honor conferred on him, Wallace joined a list of notable personalities who have received the Buddy Shuman Award through the years. Back in 2019, former Dover Motorsports Inc. president and CEO Denis McGlynn won this famed title.
The following year, former Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed Clark was felicitated with this award. In 2021, Goodyear’s Stu Grant received this award for everything that he has given to the sport while running the Goodyear Racing Program for over 25 years now. Grant has also served as an official member of the NASCAR Foundation.
Besides Wallace, McGlynn, Clark, and Grant, the list of recipients of the Buddy Shuman Award includes Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, crew chief Dale Inman, track operator Bruton Smith, veteran sportscaster Ken Squier and NASCAR team owners Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress and Jack Roush.
