The yesteryears of NASCAR are filled with fearless, raw individuals with rock-solid attitudes. One of them was the late Harry Hyde. A World War 2 veteran, Hyde is one of the biggest reasons behind the legacy of Hendrick Motorsports.
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He was recently awarded the Smokey Yunick award in Charlotte and this gives a great reason to look back at his incredible story in stock car racing.
A native of Brownsville, Kentucky, Hyde developed his skills as a mechanic after he joined the United States Army in 1941. He was just 16 years old at the time.
A battle injury pushed him towards the job of repairing jeeps and trucks. The extraordinary skill that he displayed in this field led to him continuing down the line of work after the war.
Eventually, success as a crew chief in the Midwest resulted in NASCAR team owner Nord Krauskopf offering him a job with his race team in 1965.
Fame wasn’t far off from that point. He won 11 races along with Bobby Isaac and the 1970 Cup Series championship five years later. He then went on to work with multiple icons like Buddy Baker and Neil Bonnett before Rick Hendrick came into the picture.
Hendrick created a Cup Series team in 1984 and hired Hyde as its crew chief. He was paired with Geoff Bodine and the duo found great success with each other.
In 1986, he was paired with the young Tim Richmond. Although they didn’t click instantly, they eventually did and heaped seven wins in the final 17 races of 1986. By the time he retired, Hyde had accumulated 48 victories.
Rick Hendrick collects the Smokey Yunick Award on Hyde’s behalf
Hyde joined a lengthy list of NASCAR greats such as Ray Evernham and Dale Inman by receiving the prestigious Smokey Yunick Award. Hendrick was given the award by Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith ahead of the 2024 Cup Series race in the Charlotte Roval this Sunday.
Hendrick told Frontstretch, “We wouldn’t even be in the sport if it wasn’t for Harry. Harry was a guy that I met storing my boats, talking to me about what he could do and he just had a dream of racing again. And then the opportunity popped up and he is the reason that Hendrick Motorsports is here today.”
Kyle Larson went on to win the Roval race after the event. A fitting ode to the man who helped create one of the most successful organizations in global motorsports. Hyde will be remembered for as long as the name Hendrick blazes itself around race tracks across the world.
