Ted Musgrave

Musgrave had four starts in the Cup Series that year, his best finish being a 22nd at the Checker Auto Parts 500.

Theodore David Musgrave Sr. (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver.

Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wilmot, Wisconsin before moving into asphalt late models in the American Speed Association (ASA) and ARCA.

"I was really young at the time," Musgrave said.

"But I can still remember sitting in the infield at Milwaukee and watching him race against drivers like Paul Goldsmith. He finally retired so he could help my older brother, Tom, and I get started."

He immediately rebuilt the car into a 1967 Ford Torino and won the track's rookie of the year award.

He and his father built a Ford Mustang using some tips from Dick Trickle to race the next season.

He began racing in 1977 at age 22 at Waukegan in a 1967 Ford Galaxy that he inherited from his brother.

By 1979 he was a regular driver on the Central Wisconsin (CWRA) circuit, finishing seventh in the season points.

Originally from Illinois, Musgrave moved across the nearby state line so that he could race five nights per week in the CWRA.

He raced at LaCrosse, State Park Speedway in Wausau, Grundy County Speedway, Wisconsin Dells Speedway (now Dells Raceway Park), and Waukegan.

In 1980, he finished second in the points at Wisconsin International Raceway (WIR) behind Alan Kulwicki.

Musgrave's highlight of the 1982 season was winning the Holiday 50 at Capital Speedway (now Madison International Speedway).

Musgrave qualified the fastest five times in a row at WIR and was leading the points when he battered his wrist in a wreck.

He returned the following week in a cast with a special arm support in the car.

He finished third in points.

Musgrave won ten CWRA features in 1983, including the Holiday 50 at Capital Super Speedway, the Triple Hot Dog Dash at Wisconsin Dells, and the Race of Champions at Capital's Oktober Nationals.

Musgrave won seven features at Capital in 1984, along with two features at LaCrosse, two at State Park, and two at Wisconsin Dells.

He ran out of money to fund his team in 1985, and he ended his season early.

Musgrave returned in 1986 with a new car which contained several of his experimental ideas.

He finished tenth in CWRA points even though he started the season over a month late.

He had numerous feature wins that season, including the Firecracker 100 at Capital.

In 1987 he moved to Franklin, Wisconsin and went national in the ASA series in Terry Baker's ride that Bobby Dotter vacated.

Musgrave finished 21 of 25 events, winning at the Milwaukee Mile, Birmingham, and Huntsville.

He earned rookie of the year honors by finishing fifth in points.

In 1990, Musgrave was called upon by Winston Cup team owner Ray DeWitt to replace Rich Vogler, who had been killed at a wreck at Salem Speedway.

From 1991 to 1993, he raced the No. 55 for the DeWitt/Ulrich team.

He was runner-up to Bobby Hamilton for rookie of the year in 1991 and had twelve Top 10 finishes.

In 1992, driving for Dewitt/Ulrich, he led all Winston Cup drivers in laps completed.

In 1994, he was hired by Jack Roush to race for Roush Racing in the No. 16 Family Channel-sponsored Ford Thunderbird as a teammate to Mark Martin.

In 1995, Musgrave had a breakout year of sorts, posting seven Top 5 finishes (including two second-place finishes) and 13 Top 10’s.

At one point in the season, he was third in Winston Cup points.

He slumped late in the season and finished seventh, but most felt his first race win was just around the corner.

The 1996 season turned out to be a disappointment for Musgrave.

He usually ran well in most races, but could never find what he needed to get his first win.

In 1997, Roush vowed to give Musgrave whatever he needed to win his first race.

The No. 16 car now had dual sponsorships from the Family Channel and Primestar.

He had several Top 10’s early in the season, but once again slumped in the second half and wound up 17th in points.

He did, however, win the pole for the final Winston Cup race ever held at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

In his first season, Musgrave had three poles and finished 15th in points.